Charred by G. P. Gottlieb ~ Character Interview

Posted February 22, 2023 by karenbaron in Blitz, Blog Tour, Character Interview, Contest - Giveaway, Mystery, Series / 4 Comments

Charred

Series: Whipped and Sipped Mysteries #3

Author: G. P. Gottlieb

Genre: Cozy Culinary Mystery

Pages: 255

Release Date: DX Varos Publishing, February 21, 2023

Summary:

Alene Baron is dealing with frustrated employees, closed schools, and a homeless man who harasses customers outside the door of her café. Then, two dead bodies turn up in the burned remains of buildings owned by the husband of Alene’s best friend and pastry chef, Ruthie. Both bodies are wearing jackets that once belonged to Ruthie and crumbled in the pockets are the café’s distinctive wrappers. At the same time, Alene’s uncle, a convicted felon, has resurfaced after disappearing for 22 years. It’s all too much for the owner of the Whipped and Sipped Café.

Interview with Alene Baron

How did you and your author meet?

I’m Alene Baron, proprietor of the Whipped and Sipped Café, single mother of three, daughter of Cal Baron who struggles with an autoimmune disease and seems older than his years, sister of Lydia, who is finally pregnant after years of trying. I think the author imagined a character who struggled to run a business, raise her children, look out for her father, be a good sister and friend. She didn’t make me perfect by any means, and I wish she’d made me a little less washed out and exhausted all the time!

Why did this writer decide to feature you in a book?

I think the writer wanted to depict a certain amount of reality – I’m in my late thirties and still haven’t figured out how to handle my ex-husband, the immature father of my three kids, or the troubled daughter of the man I’m dating – wouldn’t a real heroine know the perfect way to handle that relationship? I’m not sure most characters work such long hours, have so much responsibility, and don’t have movie-star looks. I make mistakes (which seem like the right thing to do at the time), screw up every time I have to talk to my boyfriend’s horrible partner (from the Chicago Police Department), and had little patience when my dad’s long missing brother showed up in the middle of the pandemic. I’m just not leading woman material, so I don’t know what the author was thinking!

Do you have any friends or family helping you out?

I couldn’t survive without my dad’s help – especially during the pandemic, when my kids were home from school but expected to pay attention via zoom classes. I needed my dad’s caregiver, Blanca, who sadly got Covid during the events of this book and was unavailable to help in any way. Kacey Vanza from across the hall is someone I can call at the last minute, but she has a lot of her own issues, and now her boyfriend might be considered a witness in a homicide. My sister is not at all available and never has been – at least now her excuse is that we’re in the middle of a pandemic and she’s pregnant, so she’s being super careful. And of course, my best friend and pastry chef, Ruthie – she’s always offering to help.

Do you have a regular job and investigate on the side or are you a full time detective?

I’d never want to be a full-time detective! It’s my boyfriend Frank’s job, and he loves it, but he has a very difficult partner who doesn’t understand good manners, or human interaction if I’m being honest. I don’t spend time investigating (I run a business and a household!) but when my family is involved or at risk, you bet I’m going to get involved. I’m going to ask questions and keep my eyes open, you know?

What is the funniest thing that happens to you or another character in this story?

Olly Burns, who used to work for me before he left to start his own woodworking company but then got screwed when the pandemic began, managed to find a covered-up doorway in one of the walls of my café. It apparently led down to a basement that none of us knew existed, and the weird thing about it was that it had once been a speakeasy (during Prohibition, when alcohol was illegal). Olly is the funniest character in the story and some of his antics are ridiculous, but he’s a good person at heart.

Have you solved other cases or is this your first one?

I helped solve the murder of the previous café owner in Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery, and also helped solve the murder of the scummy owner of the business next door to the café in Smothered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery. It’s sad that we actually do have murders happening here in Chicago, and it’s not the kind of small town where if a murder took place forty years ago, they’re still talking about it. I recently read that crime is down though, so I’m hopeful that I won’t come across any more murders for a while.

Do you have a gift or special talent?

That’s a tough one unless you include being a good friend, nurturing friends and family, and running a successful business. I knit a little, I’m a relatively good cook, I follow Ruthie’s directions for baking, and I try to be the best mom I can be. I guess I have to admit that I don’t have a special talent, but I’m a good person!

Who is the most important individual in your life?

Whoa, that’s a tough one. My children come first, my dad comes second, my boyfriend Frank comes third, and my friends, employees, sister come in fourth. I think if my mom was still alive, she’d jump to the second slot before my dad.

What is your ideal vacation?

The story of Charred takes place during that horrible Covid summer of 2020, when nobody could go anywhere, and everyone was stuck at home. Any vacation sounded good to me, and now that that’s mostly behind us, I have to say that anywhere we can go as a family, whether it’s around Illinois, north to Wisconsin, or east to the Indiana Dunes – it’s all ideal. On a separate note, I’d love to go somewhere with Frank, just the two of us, and it doesn’t even matter where.

If you could change anything about your life what would it be?

If we’re talking about magical thinking, I wish my mother was still alive. And if I could wave a wand, I’d also make sure that all three of my children were happy and healthy (the eldest has been struggling). My third wish would be that my father stays healthy and his autoimmune disease never again flares up. I love the Whipped and Sipped Café, love my employees and friends and neighbors – I don’t think there’s anything else I’d rather do or anywhere else I’d rather live (outside of Chicago)!

Whipped and Sipped Mysteries

About the Author

G.P. Gottlieb holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in piano and voice. During her career as a cantor, a high school music teacher, and the administrator of a law center, she wrote stories, songs, and several unwieldy manuscripts. She also developed healthful recipes for her family and friends. After recovering from breast cancer, she turned to writing in earnest, melding her two loves, nourishment for mind and body and recipe-laced murder mysteries. And, after receiving an untoward number of agent rejections, she submitted her manuscript to an online contest, and won a publishing contract from D.X. Varos Ltd. GP Gottlieb is now working on a Whipped and Sipped sequel, Smothered. You can hear her interview novelists and short-story writers on New Books in Literature, a podcast of the New Books Network, which gets nearly 60,000 downloads each day. Also, she is a graduate of the French Pastry School’s Bread Boot Camp and Chocolate Boot Camp.