March’s featured author is Maria DiRico (aka Ellen Byron)
Ellen’s Cajun Country Mysteries have won the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel and multiple Lefty Awards for Best Humorous Mystery. Bayou Book Thief will be the first book in her new Vintage Cookbook Mysteries. She also writes the Catering Hall Mystery series under the name Maria DiRico.
Ellen is an award-winning playwright, and non-award-winning TV writer of comedies like Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly Odd Parents. She has written over two hundred articles for national magazines but considers her most impressive credit working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. An alum of New Orleans’ Tulane University, she blogs with Chicks on the Case, is a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of America, and will be the 2023 Left Coast Crime Toastmaster.
As you can see from above, Maria/Ellen writes cozy mysteries now. The characters that she creates are perfectly unperfect. Each of her sleuths is funny, intelligent, curious, and courageous.
I have the most fun when reading one of her amazing mysteries. She makes me feel like I have popped up in one of their worlds. Each installment is like going home to visit friends and family.
Let’s get to know her better.
Tell us a little about yourself. Perhaps something not many people know?
I never set out to be a writer. I wanted to be an actress and pursued that for about five years. In between jobs, I wrote a play because I had nothing else to do, and found my calling.
What made you want to become a writer?
I honestly didn’t know I wanted to be a writer. (See above.) My dad was a Mad Man, so I grew up with a copy writer. The chairman of my college theatre department, whose speciality was lit and crit, told me I should be a writer, but I came to it gradually and by accident. A few years ago, I tracked her down and told her she was right!
Who is your favorite author(s)?
Charles Dickens, Emily Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, and Agatha Christie. Those are my go-to standards.
Do you play a musical instrument or sing?
I sing but not professionally, although I did once get a callback for the chorus of a Broadway show. I wish I could remember which one it was!
Do you have a favorite song or artist?
Yes! My all-time favorite group is KC & the Sunshine Band. I think “Get Down Tonight” is the best pop song ever written. I basically have the taste of a tween, lol. But I love all kinds of music – swing, Cajun, Zydeco, Bollywood., etc.
What is the worst job that you have ever had?
Handing out menthol cigarette samples while wearing a boater hat made of Styrofoam. It was the late 1970s, and I was a young, starving actress.
What is your favorite place to escape?
New Orleans.
Who is your hero (real or fictional)?
Madeline Albright.
Would you rather live in a haunted mansion or an un-haunted cottage?
Un-haunted cottage, please! Especially if it’s in Cambria, California, my second-favorite place to escape.
What is your favorite recipe?
Whatever recipe my daughter used two Christmases ago to make an amazing gumbo!
Writing Style
What do you love most about your writing process?
I love suddenly coming up with unexpected plot twists as I outline a book. I also love when I find the exact way to intersect the A and B stories.
Do you like music or silence?
Silence, for sure.
Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym, or do you?
Yes – I write the Catering Hall Mysteries as Maria DiRico because the publisher asked me to take a pen name for the series. Since it’s inspired by my Italian family, I chose my nonna’s maiden name. I’m Ellen Byron, my fake real name, for my other series. Why is that a fake name, you ask? Because my birth name was Seideman. But when I was acting, everyone kept misspelling or mispronouncing it, so I took my dad’s middle name – Byron – as my last name.
What comes first for you, the plot, or the characters?
The characters.
Do your characters seem to hijack the story, or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?
I feel like I hold the reins. At least with my books. When I wrote my plays, the characters would often dictate the direction of the story.
Do you choose the character names based on how they sound or their meaning?
Both. But mostly, the sound.
Describe your writing space.
An unholy mess!
How do you deal with the emotional impact of a book (on yourself) as you are writing the story?
Sometimes I do bring myself to tears. But it’s usually good tears, like I’m really moved by what I wrote. My books are light and funny. I don’t want to traumatize myself or my readers.
How much ‘world-building’ takes place before you start writing?
Quite a bit, because I have to create a proposal to sell the book. So I create a world to paint a picture for future publishers.
What is your favorite cover out of all your books? Why is it your favorite?
That’s like asking to pick a favorite child! But I do have two I particularly love. MURDER IN THE BAYOU BONEYARD, Cajun Country Mystery #6, has a fabulous cover. I love how the artist, Stephen Gardner, dressed up Gopher, the basset hound, as a doggy vampire! And WINED AND DIED IN NEW ORLEANS has a fabulous cover. There are peacocks in the series, and I think it’s brilliant how the cover artist put the peacocks into the stained-glass window transom above the door.
Book/Series
How did you come up with the title of this book?
I didn’t. My friends did. I was stumped!
Does one of the main characters hold a special part in your heart? If so, why?
I just love Mia. She’s determined, smart, and dryly witty. There’s just something indefatigable about her. She’s got some of me in her, but I see a couple of my New York friends in her as well.
Can you share something about the book that isn’t in the blurb?
Do you know what a “poor door” is? If not, you’ll learn when you read the book!
What is the future for Mia Carina? Will there be more books in the series?
THE WITLESS PROTECTION PROGRAM will be out in June 2024.
What is your favorite part about working in the cozy mystery genre?
I love combining humor with fun plot twists and creating people you want to be friends with and places where you wish you could visit or live.
How did you find the setting for the Catering Hall Mystery series?
It’s real! It’s the catering venue a cousin by marriage ran in Queens. It’s where my husband and I had our NY reception.
What was the highlight of writing this book?
Revisiting Astoria and my Italian family through the writing of this series.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Everywhere – friends, family… the internet!
What project are you working on now?
I’m writing a draft of the first book in a new series, the Golden Motel Mysteries. A burned-out sitcom writer (who might or might not be me, lol) buys a rustic mid-century motel at the foot of California’s Gold Rush Country and a national park (that may or may not be Yosemite!)
Do you have any other books coming out this year or next year?
WINED AND DIED IN NEW ORLEANS, Vintage Cookbook Mystery #2, just released on February 7th. And THE WITLESS PROTECTION PROGRAM will be out in June 2024.
Find Maria on the web:
Find Ellen on the web:
The Mystery Series
by Maria DiRico
My reviews: Here Comes the Body, Long Island Iced Tina, It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder
by Ellen Byron
Jen’s reviews: Mardi Gras Murder, Murder in the Bayou Boneyard, Cajun Kiss of Death
My reviews: Bayou Book Thief and Wined and Died in New Orleans
We are so grateful for Maria DiRico (and Ellen Byron) being featured on the Baroness’ Book Trove. It is such an honor to have you here. We can’t wait for your new series. Jen and I must do roshambo to determine who gets to read it.
Until the next time, happy reading!
This is amazing!!! One of the best posts EVER. Thank you so much!