Name: Debra H. Goldstein
Book Title: One Taste Too Many
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Kensington
Website: https://DebraHGoldstein.com
Thank you for your time in answering our questions about
getting published. Let’s begin by having you explain to us why you
decided to become an author and pen this book?
Author:
Before I could read or write, I fell in love with stories listening to those my
mother read to me and by attending a children’s storytelling hour at our local
library. I began telling my own tales and that evolved into writing short
stories and neighborhood skits. By the time I attended college, I was sure I
was going to get a degree in journalism and become a globe-trotting journalist.
Instead, I graduated with a degree in English and History; went to New York
giving myself eight months to obtain two goals – find a job in publishing and
become a Jeopardy contestant; goals accomplished, I went to law school and
became a litigator and then a federal Administrative Law Judge. During this
time, I wrote boring legal briefs, law journal articles, and decisions, but I
yearned to write something more fun. For ten years, I played on and off with an
idea I had for a mystery set on the University of Michigan’s campus until a friend
challenged me to write it or shut up. She softened her words by graciously
offering me a beach condo for a week-end of writing. I came home from that
weekend knowing I could do it. One Taste Too Many is the fruition of another
idea I had for a series featuring a cook of convenience – someone like me – for
whom the kitchen is a fate worse than death.
Is this your first book?
Author:
No. My prior books are 2012 IPPY Award winning Maze in Blue, a mystery set on
the University of Michigan’s campus in the 1970’s and Should Have Played Poker:
a Carrie Martin and the Mah Jongg Player’s Mystery (2016). I also write short
stories which have appeared in periodicals and anthologies including Alfred
Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Mystery Weekly, the Birmingham Arts Journal, Mardi
Gras Murder, and The Killer Wore Cranberry. “The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s
Place,”(AHMM 2017) was an Agatha and Anthony finalist this year.
With this particular book, how did you publish – traditional,
small press, Indie, etc. – and why did you choose this method?
Author:
One Taste Too Many is the first of the Sarah Blair cozy mystery series being
traditionally published by Kensington. Kensington’s books are distributed by
Penguin-Random House. Much as I respect
people who handle all the details involved with self-publishing, because of my
time commitments and limited artistic talents, traditional publishing is a
better alternative for me. I’m thrilled to be writing this series for
Kensington.
Can you tell us a little about your publishing journey? The pros and cons?
Author:
My first book, Maze in Blue, was published by a small publisher who requested
it after a friend told the owner “There’s a judge with a mystery that I think
you should read.” Not knowing anything about publishers, agents, and queries, this
was the only place I submitted it and I was thrilled when Maze was accepted.
Six months after publication, when I had just won an IPPY Award and had
speaking engagements booked for most of the next year, the publisher ceased
operations. It graciously returned my rights and encouraged me to reissue it
through Amazon’s Create Space to keep it alive. In the meantime, I sold mass
market rights to Harlequin.
After
being orphaned, agents and editors I spoke with encouraged me to “write
something new.” I wrote Should Have Played Poker: a Carrie Martin and the Mah
Jongg Player’s Mystery. This time, I sent out queries and pitched the book at
conferences. At Killer Nashville, a Five Star editor asked to see the book and
a week later offered me a contract. The book came out in hardcover, I sold mass
market rights to Harlequin, and the publisher announced it was discontinuing
its mystery line.
Orphaned
twice, I knew to write something new. Drawing on my loathing for the kitchen, I
created a character whose fine china is paper plates and whose greatest fear is
being asked to cook. When One Taste Too Many was ready, I queried and obtained
an agent. She sold One Taste Too Many to Kensington as part of a three book
deal for the Sarah Blair cozy mystery series.
What lessons do you feel you learned about your particular
publishing journey and about the publishing industry as a whole?
Author:
Being orphaned twice taught me that the publishing industry is everchanging and
evolving and that survival necessitates flexibility and a willingness to move
forward after a limited amount of tears. I also learned how wonderful the
people in the mystery community are. Their help and support got me through the
rough times.
Would you recommend this method of publishing to other authors?
Author:
Because of my limited time and distribution mechanisms, traditional publishing
was the best fit for me. I would definitely recommend it to other authors.
What’s the best advice you can give to aspiring authors?
Author:
Don’t stop believing in yourself and your work in progress, but take classes,
network, and do everything you can to improve your writing. Finally, pay it
forward.
//////////////
About
the book:
For
culinary challenged Sarah Blair, there’s only one thing scarier than cooking
from scratch—murder!
Married at eighteen, divorced at twenty‑eight, Sarah Blair reluctantly swaps her luxury lifestyle for a cramped studio apartment and a law firm receptionist job in the tired town she never left. With nothing much to show for the last decade but her feisty Siamese cat, RahRah, and some clumsy domestic skills, she’s the polar opposite of her bubbly twin, Emily—an ambitious chef determined to take her culinary ambitions to the top at a local gourmet restaurant.
Sarah knew starting over would be messy. But things fall apart completely when her ex drops dead, seemingly poisoned by Emily’s award-winning rhubarb crisp. Now, with RahRah wanted by the woman who broke up her marriage and Emily wanted by the police for murder, Sarah needs to figure out the right recipe to crack the case before time runs out. Unfortunately, for a gal whose idea of good china is floral paper plates, catching the real killer and living to tell about it could mean facing a fate worse than death—being in the kitchen!
Married at eighteen, divorced at twenty‑eight, Sarah Blair reluctantly swaps her luxury lifestyle for a cramped studio apartment and a law firm receptionist job in the tired town she never left. With nothing much to show for the last decade but her feisty Siamese cat, RahRah, and some clumsy domestic skills, she’s the polar opposite of her bubbly twin, Emily—an ambitious chef determined to take her culinary ambitions to the top at a local gourmet restaurant.
Sarah knew starting over would be messy. But things fall apart completely when her ex drops dead, seemingly poisoned by Emily’s award-winning rhubarb crisp. Now, with RahRah wanted by the woman who broke up her marriage and Emily wanted by the police for murder, Sarah needs to figure out the right recipe to crack the case before time runs out. Unfortunately, for a gal whose idea of good china is floral paper plates, catching the real killer and living to tell about it could mean facing a fate worse than death—being in the kitchen!
Books-a-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/One-Taste-Too-Many/Debra-H-Goldstein/9781496719478
IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781496719478
Hudson Booksellers: https://www.hudsonbooksellers.com/book/9781496719478
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