Jenn McKinlay: I am absolutely delighted to have one of my fave foodie mystery authors with us today. Jen has writeen multiple series all clever and full of...you guessed it...food. Here's Jen to tell her all about her latest, which I have on order, because of course I do as should you!
Jennifer J. Chow: The joy of introducing a new series is getting to dream up everything from scratch. My Magical Fortune Cookie series is set in a small town with a tight-knit community. The first book, Ill-Fated Fortune, gives affectionate nods to the cozy genre and provides loving connections to my own life.
Small towns are some of the best locations for a cozy mystery. I grew up reading Agatha Christie and especially loved Miss Marple and the village of St. Mary Mead. My protagonist, Felicity Jin, is a lot younger than Miss Marple, and lives across the ocean in the United States in Pixie, California.
The setting of Central California is inspired by my own childhood growing up in the geographic region. Although Pixie is fictional, I do, in fact, refer to real local landmarks. For example, in Fresno, there’s a fascinating underground gardens that’s mentioned in my novel.
I chose to call the town “Pixie” for multiple reasons. First, small is an accurate descriptor of Pixie. It’s also a play on Pixley, an actual place in California. Moreover, there’s a tie to my own Sassy Cat books, where one of the characters is named Pixie St. James.
There’s even a personal element to the magic featured in Ill-Fated Fortune. I add a cultural twist to the fantastical parts of the book. The magical bunny (yes, there’s a pet with powers!) has ties to Chinese mythology. And the Jins have their own backstory on how the ancestors from their homeland came to possess magic.
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| Pineapple Bun - YUM! |
I really liked crafting the baking duo of the mother and the daughter. The sweetest of relationships exist between Felicity and her mom, Angela. I wanted to have that particular pairing in this book to explore the complex and beautiful love between a mother and her child. It’s also a special chance to honor my own mom, who passed away in 2015 after a brief bout with cancer.
I’m grateful for the chance to launch this new series. Beyond the hidden love messages I’ve placed in Ill-Fated Fortune, I hope readers will enjoy my more obvious appreciation of food, especially fortune cookies!
Reds and Readers, what “loves” do you have in your life?
Jennifer J. Chow writes cozies filled with hope and heritage. She’s been a finalist for the Agatha, Anthony, Lefty, and Lilian Jackson Braun Award. Her newest series is the Magical Fortune Cookie mysteries; the first book is Ill-Fated Fortune. Her other series include the L.A. Night Market Mysteries and the Sassy Cat Mysteries. Jennifer currently serves as Immediate Past President on the board of Sisters in Crime and blogs at chicksonthecase.com. She is an active member of Crime Writers of Color and Mystery Writers of America. Connect with her online and sign up for her newsletter at JenniferJChow.com.
Congratulations, Jen, on your new book. Perhaps you'd tell us a bit about the story line?
ReplyDeleteLoves in my life? Family is right at the top of that particular list . . . also, I love a good book, baking [especially desserts], and playing with my grandbabies . . . .
What wonderful loves in your life, Joan! Also, happy to share the blurb of the book:
DeleteFelicity Jin grew up literally hanging onto Mom’s apron strings in their magical bakery in the quaint town of Pixie, California. Her mother’s enchanted baked goods, including puffy pineapple buns and creamy egg tarts, bring instant joy to all who consume them. Felicity has always been hesitant in the kitchen herself after many failed attempts, but a takeout meal gone wrong inspires her to craft some handmade fortune cookies.
They become so popular that Felicity runs out of generic fortunes and starts making her own personalized predictions. When one customer’s ill-fated fortune results in his murder, Felicity’s suspiciously specific fortune has the police focusing on her as the main culprit. Now Felicity must find a way to turn her luck around and get cleared from suspicion.
The new series sounds delightful, Jen. I slid my mother in as a lady friend to my protag's great-uncle in my Local Foods mysteries. She was my role model for reading mysteries as I grew up, but she died six months before my first book came out. I loved honoring her in that way.
ReplyDeleteAww, that's so touching, Edith. I'm glad you got to put her in the series as a tribute.
DeleteI'm looking forward to reading this book. I miss cooking with my parents but I still use some of their recipes that I know by heart.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Paula! Cooking family recipes does mean that I can still have a connection to relatives who've passed on.
DeleteJEN: Congratulations on your new series! I had an early read and hope that others will enjoy the love, food & magic you included in this story.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Grace! And grateful for you as a bookish supporter to all!
DeleteJen, congratulations on your new series. I would also like to hear a little more about the plot. How does magic figure into your book? Is there a little romance, too?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Judy! Basically, the mom and daughter have a family bakery that produces magical joy. Except when Felicity (the daughter) bakes her fortune cookies, the customized messages start coming true. And one predicts an ill-fated fortune which ends up in murder...and the body is found in the alley behind the bakery. (There's also a magical bunny in their lives as well.)
DeleteAs for romance, there's a sparkle of that with Felicity's best friend Kelvin...
I love cozies that include romance as well as mystery! This series sounds delightful!
DeleteThank you, Judy!
DeleteCongratulations
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lynette!
DeleteWelcome Jen--this series sounds delightful! Are there any difficulties in starting a brand new cast of characters?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lucy/Roberta! There's the joy of making new characters & coming up with them out of nowhere. (That's also the challenge.) I spent a lot of time googling pictures of people and figuring out physical descriptors.
DeleteJen, I enjoy books with a little magic and a magic bunny sounds a treat! Congratulations on the new series! Family and friends top my list of loves, with my animals not far behind. Right now, I'm loving the magic of a pair bright red cardinals perched amid the tall weeds of my garden in the morning sun.
ReplyDeleteFlora: Your description of a pair of red cardinals in your garden sounds like a painting! Beautiful.
DeleteThose red cardinals sound wonderful! Thank you about the series!
DeleteJEN: Congratulations on your book launch day to your new book and new book series!
ReplyDeleteAlready started reading and loving it. I love the idea of Magic in food. These buns look yummy. I remember eating fortune cookies and collecting the little written notes. May I ask if "Jin" sounds like Jen? I thought it was interesting how both names looked similar except for the vowel differences. Family and friends top my list of loves with cute animals, morning homemade Cafe Latte and afternoon tea.
Diana
Thanks for sharing, and happy continued reading, Diana! Oh, that's so funny about Jin. I didn't think about it that way. It's more that Jin translates to "gold" in Mandarin, and I wanted the tie-in of the fortune & value for the name of the family.
DeleteLove that idea of the tie in! I learned a Mandarin word - Jin, meaning Gold. Diana
DeleteYay! Love the gift of learning!
DeleteCongratulations on the new series. It sounds spectacular and I'm now craving a pineapple bun.
ReplyDeleteMe, too! That picture is so tempting!
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DeleteA magic bunny makes me laugh...and become curious, too. I think l I have to go get this new book. And best of luck with it. Answering your question, my books have an obvious love for history, and for my adopted "home town", Brooklyn, but here's a less obvious and deeper answer: I wrote 3 books in a (much earlier) series. Two were published and then the publisher dropped their mystery line without warning, just about the time I turned in the 3rd (ouch). When I started thinking about something new, I realized that all 3 books had a secret theme - parents and children.No one noticed it but me, and I thought, "If that's what's bubbling along under the surface, maybe it's time to start writing about it on-purpose." And so I did, an ongoing thread tying together all the Brooklyn books.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I thought I replied to this: Triss, I'm happy that you figured out your secret theme. Parents and children is a great thread across books. And thanks for being interested in Ill-Fated Fortune!
Deletei ordered it today!
DeleteJennifer, congrats on the publication on ILL-FATED FORTUNE! I have to say, just looking at the cover is making me hungry. I also want to say how much I, a very WASPy New Englander, am delighted by the growing diversity in cozy mysteries. I so enjoy reading about customs, foods and culture different from my own decidedly white-bread upbringing. So, while a put a lot of love for where I come from into my own writing, as a reader, I love being taken out of my own home town.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Julia!
DeleteI agree with Julia!
DeleteSo glad that books can transport you everywhere! I also love immersing myself in different cultures and perspectives in cozy mysteries!
DeleteHuge thanks to Jungle Red Writers & Jenn for having me here today! And, again, here's a quick blurb about the book:
ReplyDeleteThe Magical Fortune Cookie mysteries follow Felicity Jin as she hones her talent for baking delicious treats with a touch of magic in her family-run bakery.
When she realizes that her personalized fortune cookies might influence people’s fates, Felicity feels compelled to solve murders connected to her predictions.
Hi Jen--I'm impressed at the idea of you starting a third series, and it sounds like a lot of fun. Apart from loving my family, I think the everyday activity I enjoy the most is chatting with women friends while we walk. I love walking out of doors, I love telling my friends what's going on in my life, and I love listening to their stories, and those things come together for me several times a week with different women I care about. I feel lucky to have these hours with them. PS I also enjoy books with magic, like other Readers above!
ReplyDeleteIt's been fun to write a new series with magic--it opens up so many possibilities! Glad you get to spend time with family & take enjoyable walks!
DeleteJen, congratulations on the series. I love a touch of magic, and I've always been hooked on fortune cookies, to the point that I had a little jar where I kept all my best fortunes, so that on any given day I could pull out a positive fortune if I felt the need of one. (This was all in good fun, but I enjoyed the idea of it.)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Elizabeth! I, too, have a fortune cookie message collection. For a few of my writing journals, I'd tape encouraging messages on them to keep me going and creating!
DeleteJen - I am so looking forward to this book! I have been on a magical reading bender lately and can't wait to add to it!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jenn! There's something extra transportive and beautiful about finding magic sprinkled in the pages.
DeleteThis new series sounds wonderful! Fortunes that come true. Yummy food. I can't wait.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Pat!
DeleteHi Jen! Congratulation on your new series--it sounds delightful. I love a little bit of magic in mystery storylines!
ReplyDeleteHi, Deborah! Aww, thank you!
DeleteComing to you from on the road! And that’s why I am so late… Love, love love you, Jenn , and loved your Monday post on Magic in Mystery on Career Authors — check it out, you all at www.careerauthors.com!
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