Double or Muffin by Victoria Hamilton ~ Author Interview

Posted March 7, 2021 by karenbaron in Author Interview, Blitz, Blog Tour, Contest - Giveaway, Mystery, Series, Spotlight / 1 Comment

Double or Muffin

Series: A Merry Muffin Mystery #7

Author: Victoria Hamilton

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Pages: 234

Release Date: February 23, 2021, by Beyond the Page

Summary:

In the new Merry Muffin Mystery, baker Merry Wynter must solve a disturbing crime among opera singers before the culprit decides it’s curtains for her . . .

When a reality TV show for aspiring opera singers descends on Wynter Castle, Merry’s got her hands full catering to the endless demands of the distinguished judges and ambitious contestants. Then mysterious rumors about the cast and crew begin to surface, suggesting that some of their performances may be filled with false notes. When a dogged reporter with an eye for scandal who’s been covering the competition is attacked and left for dead, Merry’s determined to discover who orchestrated the heinous deed.

Her long list of suspects is filled with eccentric personalities, including a promiscuous tenor known for making unwanted overtures, a pampered young prodigy and her meddlesome mother, and a quiet up-and-comer whose shadowy uncle may have ties to the underworld. As the musical contest and Merry’s investigation near their finale, she’ll have to act fast to keep a conniving contestant from plotting out her final act . . .

Interview with Victoria Hamilton

Tell us a little bit about yourself? Perhaps something not many people know?

Writing is my life and has been for many years; it’s not secret how much I love it. I’ve been a full time writer for over twenty years. But before that I held many jobs, from salesclerk to factory worker. I feel like the luckiest person on earth to get to do what I love all day and fortunately I’m a homebody; I love cats and coffee and tea and books and… quiet.

What made you want to become a writer?

It’s the only career that ever excited me. Being a writer is more than a career… it’s me.

What book that you have read has most influenced your life?

I can’t say one book, but I can name writers who influenced me. Agatha Christie started me reading and wanting to write mysteries with plots that engage and puzzle. Jane Austen gave me my drive as a character author… I love to write about people. Sue Grafton blended the two for me; her books are character driven AND plot driven. She took so much care with each and every one of her Kinsey Millhone novels, and I’ve been reading them since the eighties, so… Sue Grafton is certainly the writer who has most influenced me.

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

The power to climb into someone’s mind and figure out how they think and why they do what they do.

What do you love most about your writing process?

I’m so excited every day to write and really, I can’t pin down one aspect. Every phase is my favorite while I’m doing it. Research for a new mystery is invariably fascinating… I get to read books and peruse the internet on everything from insurance fraud to women in history. Then I get to start the writing process, and speed through the first part. I always try to plot the book out but I invariably get too excited to move on, and so I start writing. Editing after the first draft is a great opportunity to make sure I’m telling the story I want to tell. Every stage has its excitement.

Do you like music or silence while writing? If you listen to music what type of music do you listen to?

Silence! NO music, though I can write with music on if I have to… if someone else is listening. However I cannot write while the TV is on or someone is talking.

Is anything in your book(s) based on real-life experiences or purely all imagination?

Pure imagination from beginning to end.

What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

Oh, without a doubt the most fun to write was the part with Becket the cat in the woods… the best fun. You’ll see why when you read it.

How did you come up with the title?

Cozy mystery titles rely on puns, so I keep a running list of possibilities and brainstorm future titles. I have often used the notion that ‘muffin’ and ‘nothing’ kind of sound alike, so Double or Muffin was a good fit. Next up in the Merry Muffin Mysteries is Thanks For Muffin!!

What project are you working on now?

I am writing book #10 of my Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, A Calculated Whisk. So much fun writing it!

Do you have any other books coming out this year?

Yes, actually, the book I just mentioned will be out in September 2021, later this year. The idea for the plot came to me after reading a true crime book. Good inspiration, but in the end it has only a vague similarity to what I’m writing.

A Merry Muffin Mystery Series

About the Author

Victoria Hamilton is the bestselling author of several mystery series including the national bestselling Vintage Kitchen Mysteries and Merry Muffin Mysteries. She does, indeed, collect vintage kitchenware and bake muffins. She drinks tea and coffee on writing days, and wine other times. It doesn’t do to confuse days. She crochets (a little), paints (a little) and reads (a lot). A solitary being, she can be coaxed out of her writing cave for brownies and cat videos.

She started her writing life as Donna Lea Simpson, bestselling author of Regency Romances, paranormal historicals and historical mysteries, and still has a soft spot for the Regency period.

If you Google ‘Victoria Hamilton’, you will find listed first a famous actress who starred as the Queen Mother in the series The Crown and as Charlotte Brontë in ‘In Search of the Brontës’. That’s not the Victoria who writes mysteries.

No, really, it’s not!

You can find her buried in a good book, (entombed in a good tome?) or online at her website.