Louise Lyndon: Murder at Morningside by Sandra Bretting #Cozy #Mystery

Sandra Bretting will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

If your book were made into a movie, who would you want to play your main characters? I’d definitely want Amy Adams to play Missy DuBois, the lead, and I’d like to have country singer Luke Bryan play her best friend/love interest. (A girl can dream, can’t she?)

How do you come up with the titles of your books? For MURDER AT MORNINGSIDE, I picked the name by researching old plantation houses. I’m a big fan of co-joined words, so I played around with adding or subtracting syllables. I do that with all of my titles…make it a game to see which nouns I can link.

What does your writing space look like? My office has a wall lined with white boards, where I note details about each character and setting. Readers are so smart – they’ll notice right away if you get a detail wrong. I actually stole the idea from William Faulkner, who plotted A FABLE by writing the outline directly on his study wall. (His wife didn’t appreciate that, by the way.)

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?Every afternoon, I take a long bike ride to stretch my muscles. I also enjoy yoga (though I cheat during the meditation part and plot out scenes instead), read voraciously and travel to far-flung places with my family. We recently visited Istanbul and St. Petersburg, Russia.

What is your favourite color? No one’s ever asked me that before…I’d have to say red is my favorite color. It’s not shy, it stands out in a crowd, and it doesn’t care what the other colors think about it.

What is your favourite pleasure food? Any food with chocolate will bring me pleasure. Doesn’t matter if it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner…there’s always a way to work chocolate onto the menu.

What is your favourite season? My favorite season is probably summer, since it reminds me of childhood. I love the smells of summer: Coppertone suntan lotion; the chlorine in a swimming pool; lemonade with fresh mint.

What is your favourite television show? I used to enjoy watching “Monk,” because my daughters and my nephew would race me to see who could solve the mystery first. Now, I’d have to say I enjoy a good episode of “The Middle,” mainly because I think Patricia Heaton is brilliant.

What is your favourite movie? My favorite recent movie is the remake of “The Great Gatsby,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio. I thought it represented the book so well, and it was clever in the details. (Like showing the crates of oranges Gatsby would order for parties.)

Who is your favourite actor?I actually love watching two actors: Antonia Banderas and George Clooney. Of course, they’re both gorgeous, but they’re also suave and sophisticated. Can you imagine eating dinner in a Moroccan café with either of them? Be still my heart!

What is your favourite song? My favorite singer is Andrea Bocelli, and his duet with Celine Dion on “The Prayer” is breathtaking. Have you heard it? It brings me to tears every time.

What is your favourite comfort clothing attire? I bless the person who invented yoga pants, because I live in them during fall and winter. When the weather turns hot, I switch to some comfy shorts and a Hanes t-shirt.

What books might we find on your bedside table? I just finished reading “The Nightingale” (loved it!), and I gave it a place in my library. (Only books I love go in there, but it made the cut.) Now I’m starting on Lisa See’s “Shanghai Girls,” which is embarrassingly late, since most people read it years ago.

Describe yourself in three words. I’d have to say I’m optimistic, headstrong and loyal. (Which is surprisingly the three words I’d use to describe my wiener dog, Chrissy.)

Thanks for having me here today. I’ve enjoyed our little chat!

Heads turn when milliner Missy Dubois waltzes into town to set up shop on the Great River Road in Louisiana. Heaven only knows the brides who get married in the grand old mansions there could use a bit of help.

But then Missy discovers a murder among the magnolias, and even the worst “bridezilla” seems suddenly tame.

Excerpt:

Time rewound with each footfall as I began to climb the grand outer staircase at Morningside Plantation. The limestone steps, burdened with the history of five generations, heaved their way toward heaven.

At the top lay a wide-plank verandah supported by columns painted pure white, like the clouds. By the time I took a third step, the digital camera in my right hand began to dissolve into the sterling silver handle of a ladies parasol. The visitors’ guide in my left hand magically transformed into a ballroom dance card bound by a satin cord.

Another step and the Mississippi River came into view as it flowed to the Gulf, languid as a waltz and the color of sweet tea. Could that be a whistle from a steamboat ferrying passengers past the plantation? If so, a turn and a wave wouldn’t be out of the question once I reached the top of the stairs, and good manners would dictate it.

I was about to do that when I realized the whistle was only my friend’s cell and not a Mississippi riverboat. “Ambrose! Turn that thing off. Honestly.”

“Sorry.” He shrugged. “I always forget you were Scarlett O’Hara in a past life.”

The mood was broken, though, and the sterling silver in my hand returned to plastic while the linen dance card hardened to a glossy brochure.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Sandra Bretting works as a freelance feature writer under contract to the Houston Chronicle. She received a journalism degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and wrote for other publications (including the Los Angeles Times and Orange Coast Magazine) before moving to Texas.

Her Missy DuBois Mysteries series debuts from Kensington/Lyrical Underground in May 2016. Bretting’s previous mysteries include Unholy Lies (2012) and Bless the Dying (2014). Readers can reach her online at www.sandrabretting.com and through Facebook at www.facebook.com/sandra.bretting .