Jenn McKinlay: Small surprise that I love Halloween. Scary stories, apple cider donuts, costumes, CANDY...what's not to love. And, yes, I'm counting it's only 41 days until my most favorite holiday! So to get us in the mood, here is Catherine Bruns, talking about her love of all things Halloween, which is the foundation of her latest book Dessert is the Bomb.
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Main character Sally Muccio owns a novelty cookie shop in Western New York, and everything is coming up chocolate chips and roses until a competing bakery, It’s The Bomb, moves in across the street. Along with worries that the new bakery will steal her customers, Sal also has to cater a Halloween bash at—of all places—a funeral home.
Sal’s father is a mortician and a loveable guy, but he’s also a bit of a wackadoodle. In his strange mindset, there’s no better place to celebrate the holiday, and the rest of the town agrees. But the party comes to an abrupt halt when the owner of the new bakery is blown away (another pun) while driving off in the Muccio hearse. Of course, Sal and her friend/baker Josie are at the top of the suspect list and soon land behind bars with a murder to solve.
I only went trick or treating twice as a child, but I still remember those horrible masks that smelled of plastic and made breathing and seeing almost impossible. Ironically, I dressed up more often as an adult for home and at-work parties. Still, it wasn’t until after I had children of my own that the holiday took on a whole different meaning. Costume shopping, decorating the house and baking treats for school events made the day even more special because I got to experience the excitement through my children’s eyes. It was the one night a year that they could be any creature or person they wanted to. Batman and Robin? Holy Jackpot! Scooby Doo and Sully? Jinkies!
Halloween activities with my kids (now grown) always included a visit to my in-laws house. My father-in-law was a big kid at heart and nothing pleased him more than to watch dozens of children traipsing their way to his front door. He made a point to talk to each child and had a unique way of making everyone feel welcome and special.
One Halloween shortly after my husband and I were married, we attended a horror film screening with my father-in-law at the town hall. It may have been the only year my mother-in-law was allowed to hand out candy. After the movie, we came outside and found that every car in the parking lot had been soaped, with the exception of my father-in-law’s. I’ll never forget how his big blue eyes shone with unspoken laughter and merriment that night.
Do you have a favorite memory or costume from Halloween? Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Dessert is the Bomb!
About Dessert is the Bomb:
Baker turned sometimes-sleuth Sally Muccio has always loved Halloween, but this year she has more on her mind than ghosts and goblins. In addition to catering a party at her wacky father’s funeral home, a competing bakery has just moved in across the street from Sally’s Samples. The new owner, Celeste Delgado, seems intent on burying Sal’s novelty cookie shop into the ground with her sensational smash cake bombs. Suddenly, the homemade fortune cookies that Sal and her best friend Josie create with loving care are predicting an ominous future for their business.
Before Sal can discover what’s behind Celeste’s grudge, the woman is killed by an explosion. To take the cake, Josie was heard threatening Celeste shortly before her death. A night in the slammer, another deadly explosion, and dangerous family secrets all add to Sal’s growing list of concerns. Like an oven timer, precious minutes of her life are ticking away. Can she find Celeste’s killer before everything blows up in her face? *Recipes Included!*
USA Todaybestselling author Catherine Bruns lives in New York with her very patient husband, three sons, and several spoiled pets. She writes the Cookies & Chance, Italian Chef, and Cindy York mysteries. Her new series, the Maple Syrup Farm Mysteries, debuts in 2022. Catherine’s book, For Sale by Killer, won the 2019 Daphne du Maurier award for Mainstream Mystery/Suspense. When she’s not writing, she loves to bake, read and attend live theater performances.
Sign up for Catherine’s monthly newsletter and get a free ebook at https://www.catherinebruns.net/contact
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Congratulations on your new book, Catherine. It sounds as if Sally is in quite a predicament this time . . . .
ReplyDeleteI have to agree, Halloween is so different when your children are celebrating. Trick-or-treating in the mall was a big deal.
We always had a big party for the children at church . . . costume parades, spooky storytelling, games, and lots of candy . . . the kids had almost as much fun as the parents.
Thanks, Joan. Trick or treating at the mall or the local VFW Hall is a big deal in my area. Because of this, I don't see many trick or treaters anymore, and I miss that.
DeleteCongratulations on writing a Halloween book, Catherine! I've have an idea for one I plan to pitch to my editor.
ReplyDeleteI loved being a mom at Halloween time. We are big on homemade costumes and I told my boys they could be anything they wanted. One year I sewed a redwing blackbird costume. Another year my younger son (age 5) went out dressed as a little Aladdin with his Army officer big brother (age 8). And more! Your father-in-law sounds like a pip.
Thanks so much, Edith. He was a wonderful man. What fun costumes! You must be very handy with a needle, something I never have been. It was always store bought for my kids.
DeleteCatherine, welcome to JRW and congratulations on Dessert is the Bomb. I have lots of catching up to do on your series, but this story sounds like one I'd read out of turn.
ReplyDeleteMy birthday is on Halloween so it has been a big celebration my whole life. My dad would decorate the house with friendly looking ghosts, witches, skeletons and streamers. My grandmother would come in from NYC and bake cakes and cupcakes for the party. We did very little trick-or-treating because it was so rural.
As an adult, I had Halloween parties for my friends, decorating inside and out and serving hors d'oeuvres and desserts. Everyone came in costumes. We had a ball.
As a mom, I liked to make my son's costume. One year, the day before Halloween, he told me he wanted to be a mountain lion. I was still sewing when my husband came home to take him trick-or-treating. Dad was not pleased! Most of the costume was ready and off they went.
Now, we hand out chocolate bars and then go out for dinner at a favorite restaurant. I have a few ceramic pieces that I put out for us to enjoy. I bake my own cake!
What a fabulous day to have a birthday, Judy! And I bet that mountain lion costume was amazing. My kids always knew better than to ask me for a homemade costume, lol.
DeleteOh, congratulations on your upcoming book birthday! Halloween books are among my favorites.
ReplyDeleteMy mom was an early opponent of halloween masks. I was allowed to buy any costume I wanted, but mom did the face paint - and she was good at it. The most memorable was when I trick or treated as a tiger. I spent most of my time walking on my tail, but the face was fabulous. Wish I could find those pictures.
Times have changed and kids don't canvas neighborhoods the way they did when I was in my trick or treating prime. Most of the towns we've lived in as adults have parties with games and entertainment. Much safer, and a lot of fun.
Thanks, Kait. Your mom was smart to avoid the masks. Gosh, I can still smell them, even after all these years!
DeleteI love Halloween! The candy, the movies, the food, the decorations, the costumes.... I think my best costume was the year I went to work dressed as a trick-or-treat bag, with mini candy bars stuck all over. Everyone had a good time picking candy off the costume all day.
ReplyDeleteWhat a creative idea, Alicia! I always had a great time dressing up for work. I think Cruella Deville was my favorite costume of all. It was easy to put together and I didn't have to sew anything, lol.
DeleteLove all these stories!
ReplyDeleteHalloween is my favorite of all the holidays except Thanksgiving. So much opportunity for creativity, and low expectations of everything but fun. As the oldest in my family I was the organizer of the costumes, a role which continued as a mom, and as a partner. Steve and I have dressed in couples' costumes since our first costume party together in 1980. My Halloween Pinterest section is by far the largest one.
I remember the smell of masks, too, but the ones from the '50s and '60s were made of fabric, sometimes heavy satin, stiffened with some kind of paste. When they got wet, either from outdoor humidity or the kid's breath, they had a unique and weird odor. And they were always garish.
Catherine, that cover! Poor Celeste. What a way to go.
Halloween should definitely be all about the fun, Karen. My husband and I also dressed in couples costumes when we were first married. An angel and a devil, pirates...Oh, it was fun.
DeleteI remember one year ahead to fight my mom to be a storm trooper because she really wanted me to be a gypsy but my brother and I went to go see Star Wars when it first came out and I just had to be a storm trooper for Halloween
ReplyDeletePopular movies always had a big affect on what kids wanted to be for Halloween, didn't they? I'm not sure if that's still the case.
DeleteAs a child, my favorite memories are of the school Halloween carnivals. Being an Army brat, Halloween itself was like everything else military - restricted and orderly, but the carnivals were for having fun. I remember all the homemade goodies that the parents of the PTA made and furnished for the carnivals. Oh our today's children miss out on the time when you didn't have to worry about being poisoned in a piece of candy or someone doing you harm while walking in the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteAll of our costumes were what we made from things we found around the house. So the year I got to "buy" a costume stands out. Don't ask me why, because for the life of me I can't remember, but I was a hotdog. I do remember thinking that a bought costume really wasn't all that special and not as fun as making your own.
My favorite Halloweens have been as an adult too. There's nothing like seeing a holiday through the eyes of small children or getting to become a child for a few hours yourself. I do so love Mary Jane peanut butter taffy and caramel apples which were always a sign it was Halloween because back then it was the only time you could find or have them. I still make the caramel apples on Halloween for hubby and I. Now that we live in the country, we don't get to see the little trick or treaters and I miss that.
Your father-in-law sounds like my Dad. Every Halloween he had his spooky record playing and was sitting on the porch to pass out candy. After retiring from the Army, Dad drove a school bus for 15 years. The kids loved Dad. They would often go out of their way to go by his house to trick or treat. Dad could usually spot them and gave them extra treats and the kids would leave smiling when Dad would mention them by name by saying "Make sure to tell ----- hi for me when you see them."
Congratulations on the upcoming release of "Dessert is the Bomb"! It's on my TBR list and I can't wait for the opportunity to read it. Thank you for the chance to win a copy! Shared and hoping to be the very fortunate one selected.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
What fun memories, Kay! I remember that peanut butter taffy. Candy cigarettes and anything chocolate were among my favorites.
DeleteThe costume I vividly remember is Cinderella. This was in the time of the full face mask that made it difficult to see or breathe. I think I wore it for 3 years before I could get a new one.
ReplyDeleteA friend's daughter was recently Belle for her birthday party. She looked so adorable in the Disney dress. I remember always wanting to dress my child as a Disney princess for Halloween. And then I had three boys...lol.
DeleteOh, the costume I remember most as a child was my princess outfit! It was the most glamorous thing you have ever seen. My mom made a pointy silver hat out of poster board, stapled together, and poked in a pink scarf to float out of the top. And added an elastic band to hold it under my chin. Then I had a beautiful elegant swirly cape made out of a pink shower curtain, which was somehow affixed around my neck. I cannot begin to tell you how beautiful the whole thing was, and I think I insisted on wearing it until the hat fell apart as I princessed around the house.
ReplyDeleteHank, this is incredibly cute.
DeleteWhat a creative costume, Hank. I would have loved that cape!
DeleteWelcome Catherine and congratulations on your upcoming release. Halloween was fun during my youths. I did not wear a costume but was responsible for the little ones who did wear costumes. It was fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dru. Halloween is always fun when you can experience it through the eyes of a child.
DeleteMy mother had really good sewing skills. It was the '50's; home made costumes were in fashion. My last name was 'Battin', and I played the 'cello. One year I was a bat, another year The Cat and the Fiddle. Thanks mom, for the inspiring costumes, and for not taking all the candy.
ReplyDeleteCoralee, I confess that I was always one of those mothers who loved routing through my kids trick or treat bag for my favorite candy!
DeleteWhen I was growing up my mother made all the Halloween costumes for my sister and me. One of my favorites was little Bo Peep. She made my trick or treat bucket look like a lamb...glued cotton balls all over it and made felt ears and eyes and nose...it was SO CUTE! She even made me a shepherd's hook. She was so talented!
ReplyDeleteThat’s adorable!
DeleteDawn, that sounds so cute! My mother was not very handy with a needle (I guess I inherited that trait from her, lol.) I would have been envious of your costume!
DeleteI lived out of town on a road with three houses, including mine. Trick or treating had to be done elsewhere. The town had a party at the recreation center and that is where we went.
ReplyDeleteMy two favorite costumes are one my mother made, using hula hoops, to make me a pumpkin and another I came up with to be a storm-draped in black cloth that had "boom!" and "crash!" and such painted on it. I held coat-hangers wrapped in foil and bent like lightening bolts that I could spin in my hands.
We live in a rural area, so my kids always had to be driven from house to house. Last year I had a grand total of three trick or treaters, and they were all from a family that I knew. I wish we had more!
DeleteWe never wore masks. Mom would add make-up to complete our very simple costumes. We often spent time, when we're really little, with our preschool friends. We had PJs with Peter Pan on the tops, make a point green hats and Diana and I were set. Plus the costume did double duty. That was the year my sister as in the hospital with polio, she came home earlier than expected, I think, because her costume was a clown and didn't match Carolyn's. Mom took a small white lamp shade, glued red pom-poms in it. Kath had bright red checks, colored with red lipstick and her onesie pajamas. I remember a school parade to the park behind the school and back, in first grade. End of school day activities in third to sixth grades and then trick-er-treating around the neighborhood at dusk with one parent, while the other stayed at home dispensing the mini boxes of raisins. Yup, we gave out raisins. Any left-overs then became party of our lunch bags and after-school snacks. I've never been an adult Halloween participant beyond having candy to give out and small seasonal decorations in the house. I have a small ceramic pumpkin that got a battery tea light. Once it was nine o'clock the candle was turned off and so was the porch light. Past couple years Halloween has been surrounded by wild fires and now the pandemic.
ReplyDeleteYour Halloween book sounds great. I like a person who thinks a mortuary is a good place for a Halloween party. Remember when funeral homes and parlors? Now that would be a great place for a party, especially a two story house with a basement.
Oh geez, Remember when THEY WERE funeral par!ors..... I must remember to see the word on the page, not just in my head. :)
DeleteWhat fun memories, Deana!
DeleteCongratulations, Catherine! Your book sounds like a blast! (excuse the pun.) My mom didn't really sew and I don't remember ever having anything fancier than store-bought witches and ghosts. I'm very envious of everyone with the creative parents!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deborah. I'm envious of them, too! Funny, I'd forgotten until you mentioned it, but I remember being Casper the Friendly Ghost for a school Halloween party. I must have been six or seven. That was a very popular costume back then.
DeleteShocking no one, I am sure, I LOVE Halloween! Best Halloween costume was with my college roommates when we made ourselves look like cans of Coors Light with the slogan "Reach for a SIlver Bullet Tonight". Never going to top that one.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great costume, Jenn!
DeleteMy two favorite Halloweens were "Mother Nature" from the Chiffon Margarine Ad(remember her?) and the year my school class decorated a float for the Halloween parade(8th grade) One year, I Trick or Treated for UNICEF. I asked only for the donations. The next day, a retired neighbor who had donated contacted me when I got home from school. He said it wasn't Halloween anymore but he still wanted me to have some candy because I wss so kind.
ReplyDeleteEmily, I do remember the Chiffon commercials. I haven't thought about them in years. I wonder if they still make the margarine!
DeleteCongratulations! My mother was very creative and inventive. We would always have a surprise costume and never knew beforehand what to expect.
ReplyDeleteThat must have been so exciting as a child!
DeleteHalloween? It's SEPTEMBER. Halloween is a month and a half away. Just sayin'.
ReplyDeleteI have so many fun memories of Halloween costumes! I once sewed an "Earth" costume for my son to wear and also made for him (out of boxes) a haunted house with moving creatures and sound effects. My daughter was once a baby in a carriage.
ReplyDeleteBut my favorite costume I made for myself when I was about 10 years old. I dressed as a baby doll and sang an old dirty that starts with these lyrics: "My mommy told me, if I was goody, that she would buy me a rubber dolly. So, don't you tell her I got a feller, or she won't buy me that rubber dolly! ". The old folks loved it and gave me extra candy!
What fun memories!
DeleteWe looked forward to Hallowe'en since we went trick or treating through the neighborhood on our own. The 1950's which was wonderful. Homemade costumes from whatever was available in the house and usually unique.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a great time! Thanks for commenting.
DeleteHi Catherine, hope your having a great Sunday. Looking forward to reading this book. Thanks for your great generosity. Linda May
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Linda!
DeleteMy favorite year was first grade and attending the school Halloween carnival for the first time. I was Jane Jetson and won the cake walk!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for your release.
browninggloria(at)hotmail(dot)com
Oh, I loved watching The Jetsons as a child! What a fun costume that must have been.
DeleteOh how I love Halloween! I should already have my decorations out for it in the house, but, alas, I'm behind. It's the cleaning beforehand that is the part that has me dragging my feet. But, I have lots of cool decorations and usually add something new each year. This year, I have the three witches, the little girl, and Billy (from the grave) Funko Pop figures from Hocus Pocus. I also think I'm going to have a new pumpkin Scentsy burner. My daughter and younger granddaughter love to decorate for Halloween, too, and I have a new pillow and a cat Scentsy burner to give them this year.
ReplyDeleteCatherine, your new book sounds like a great Halloween read. That cover with the dessert yummies and the purple and orange coloring is outstanding. I'm betting this one will fly (maybe via broomstick) off the shelves.
Thanks so much, Kathy. A cat scentsy burner? I need one of those!
DeleteI remember how much fun we had on Halloween. We couldn't wait to get home from school and get into our costumes and take off to visit the houses in the neighborhood. We would be gone for hours and came home with lots of candy. It was always a good time.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun memories! Thanks for commenting.
ReplyDeleteWe never carved a pumpkin when I was growing up, but my mother had a ceramic pumpkin that she'd put out each year. When the pumpkin came out, I knew Halloween was close! The ceramic pumpkin is lost to the mists of time, but I now have my Jack Skellington Scentsy warmer to serve as my Halloween decor centerpiece.
ReplyDeleteHard to choose a favorite costume. I have had so many favorites through the years. Some of my favorite childhood ones were a pink bunny one and one of my favorite adult ones was Cleopatra. This year I will be a pumpkin. My teenage daughter's favorite holiday is Halloween so the minute it hit September she started putting out decorations around the house.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite costume was one I wore in first grade. My mother who was quite handy at sewing took a bridal gown she had bought at a yard sale and sized it to fit me. My shoes were covered with foil and I had a bouquet of roses from her rose garden. I was picked to be in the parade. Maybe this is why I enjoyed making outfits for my children instead of buying store bought ones. I'm proud to say they won several costume contests because of their costumes.
ReplyDeleteHellfire is one.
ReplyDeleteDO NOT go down
at Halloween...
Looking forward to Dessert is the Bomb! My favorite Halloween costume was when my son (2years old at the time) was a shark and I went as a surfer. We got a lot of great compliments 🙂
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to Dessert is the Bomb! My favorite Halloween costume was when my son (2years old at the time) was a shark and I went as a surfer. We got a lot of great compliments 🙂
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Halloween costume was a clown outfit that my grandmother handmade me. I wore it for like 4 or 5 years. She made it big and I loved wearing around the house to scare my sister.
ReplyDelete