A PARFAIT MURDERNAL
ISBN: 978-0451233806
Life has been good for Tallulah Jones, and nabbing a spot on the judging panel at the Lantana County Fair puts the cherry on top. But when Tally's cousin Bree spots her deadbeat ex-husband strolling the fairground with a vixen on his arm and fat wallet in his pocket, all the fun goes cold.
Bree immediately files for back child support, but then her ex's attorney is found dead at the fair and things look more than a little sticky because Bree is standing over the body with a gun in her hand. She pleads her innocence and begs Tally to clear her sweet name.
Will Tally prove Bree's innocence or will she find her cousin as committed the "parfait" crime.
~ ~ ~
Wendy Lyn Watson writes deliciously funny cozy mysteries with a dollop of romance. Her Mysteries a la Mode feature amateur sleuth Tallulah Jones, who solves murders in between scooping sundaes. While she does not commit--or solve--murders in real life, Wendy can kill a pint of ice cream in nothing flat. She's also passionately devoted to 80s music, Asian horror films, and reality TV.
EXTRA SCOOPS
ANGI: What’s the first book you remember reading?
WENDY: I read a lot as a kid. I always had a book with me and spent every possible lunch hour in my school library. The first book I really remember reading--like, actually turning pages and reading words--was a picture book called "Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine" (a Caldecott winner by Evaline Ness). I don't remember the story well, but Sam was a little girl and Bangs was a cat. Sam told tall tales and one of her bits of "moonshine" almost gets her friend killed. Pretty heavy for a picture book, but I loved it.
ANGI: What’s your favorite cartoon character?
WENDY: Geez, this one is tough … I love cartoons. There are a lot of good ones now, for grown-ups at least. But I'll stick with an old classic: Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius. I empathize with his tendency to make everything more difficult than it actually is as well as his sheer cussedness in pursuing his goal. And, let's face it, the anvil on the head never gets old.
ANGI: What turns you off like nothing else?
WENDY: People who are fake-y nice. I'd rather hang out with someone who is openly mean than with someone who is just pretending to be nice. All that syrupy baby talk and those brittle smiles … Makes me crazy.
ANGI: Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?
WENDY: Oh, fun! Well, there are two songs in the book: "Can't We Try" by Dan Hill and Vonda Shepard, and "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood. I would also add "Hold Me Now" (The Thompson Twins), "Fancy" (Reba McEntire), and "Something to Talk About" (Bonnie Raitt).
ANGI: What sound or noise do you love?
WENDY: I love all my cats, but one of them--Todd--has the most wonderful, rumbly purr. He prefers to sit on people, tummy to tummy, and it's like feline valium.
ANGI: What was the first story you remember writing?
WENDY: We'll skip over the stories I started and gave up on and move right ahead to the first story I completed. In "Grandma," a sad-sack named Amos finds his wealthy grandmother dead at the foot of her stairwell. Terrified people will think he killed her, he decides to frame his sister (Mehetabel) by ditching the body in her basement. He hauls the body across town in his trunk, tucks her behind Mehetabel's Maytag,
and then waits. When Mehetabel, on the lam, calls Amos, she expresses wonder that he somehow figured out she'd killed grandma … It was silly, but I guess my very first story was, at heart, a mystery.
ANGI: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
WENDY: "A Room with a View." Le sigh … so dreamy.
ANGI: Who’s your favorite villain?
WENDY: This may not be a fair answer, but Glenn Close. I know, she's not a villain. But she plays the best villains ever. Cruella De Vil, Alex Forrest in "Fatal Attraction," Isabelle de Merteuil in "Dangerous Liaisons," and most recently Patty Hewes on "Damages" . . . she manages to be super-bad but still human and relatable. I love her.
ANGI: Warm weather or Cold weather? And why please.
WENDY: Cold. Cold, cold, cold. I love cold weather accoutrements: a roaring fire, comfy quilts, hot cocoa, cuddling up with a good book. Besides, you can always put more clothes on …
there's only so much you can legally take off.
ANGI: What’s something you’d like to tell your fans?
We met online, through a matchmaking service (which shall remain nameless, lest they come after me for money). See, I signed up for the free trial week, entered all my info, and hit "submit." One person came up as a 99% match. I sent him a message and gave him my real e-mail address, confessing that I wasn't planning to pay to continue. Turns out he, too, was doing the free week and wasn't going to pay. We exchanged e-mails, phone cal
ls, met, and three years later we were married. And neither one of us ever paid that service a dime.
WENDY NEEDS TO KNOW: In "Scoop to Kill," I left my readers with a romantic cliffhanger … wondering whether Tally would choose the Boy Scout or the bad boy. The answer's coming out next week, so I can't change it … but I'd still like to know: do you prefer your heroes diligent or devilish?
Wendy will send one (North American) commenter a copy of A Parfa
it Murder. Check back here and on our WINNERS CIRCLE PAGE.
EXTRA SCOOPSANGI: What’s the first book you remember reading?
WENDY: I read a lot as a kid. I always had a book with me and spent every possible lunch hour in my school library. The first book I really remember reading--like, actually turning pages and reading words--was a picture book called "Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine" (a Caldecott winner by Evaline Ness). I don't remember the story well, but Sam was a little girl and Bangs was a cat. Sam told tall tales and one of her bits of "moonshine" almost gets her friend killed. Pretty heavy for a picture book, but I loved it.
ANGI: What’s your favorite cartoon character?
WENDY: Geez, this one is tough … I love cartoons. There are a lot of good ones now, for grown-ups at least. But I'll stick with an old classic: Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius. I empathize with his tendency to make everything more difficult than it actually is as well as his sheer cussedness in pursuing his goal. And, let's face it, the anvil on the head never gets old.
ANGI: What turns you off like nothing else?
WENDY: People who are fake-y nice. I'd rather hang out with someone who is openly mean than with someone who is just pretending to be nice. All that syrupy baby talk and those brittle smiles … Makes me crazy.
ANGI: Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?
WENDY: Oh, fun! Well, there are two songs in the book: "Can't We Try" by Dan Hill and Vonda Shepard, and "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood. I would also add "Hold Me Now" (The Thompson Twins), "Fancy" (Reba McEntire), and "Something to Talk About" (Bonnie Raitt).
ANGI: What sound or noise do you love?
WENDY: I love all my cats, but one of them--Todd--has the most wonderful, rumbly purr. He prefers to sit on people, tummy to tummy, and it's like feline valium.
ANGI: What was the first story you remember writing?
WENDY: We'll skip over the stories I started and gave up on and move right ahead to the first story I completed. In "Grandma," a sad-sack named Amos finds his wealthy grandmother dead at the foot of her stairwell. Terrified people will think he killed her, he decides to frame his sister (Mehetabel) by ditching the body in her basement. He hauls the body across town in his trunk, tucks her behind Mehetabel's Maytag,
and then waits. When Mehetabel, on the lam, calls Amos, she expresses wonder that he somehow figured out she'd killed grandma … It was silly, but I guess my very first story was, at heart, a mystery.ANGI: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
WENDY: "A Room with a View." Le sigh … so dreamy.
ANGI: Who’s your favorite villain?
WENDY: This may not be a fair answer, but Glenn Close. I know, she's not a villain. But she plays the best villains ever. Cruella De Vil, Alex Forrest in "Fatal Attraction," Isabelle de Merteuil in "Dangerous Liaisons," and most recently Patty Hewes on "Damages" . . . she manages to be super-bad but still human and relatable. I love her.
ANGI: Warm weather or Cold weather? And why please.
WENDY: Cold. Cold, cold, cold. I love cold weather accoutrements: a roaring fire, comfy quilts, hot cocoa, cuddling up with a good book. Besides, you can always put more clothes on …
ANGI: What’s something you’d like to tell your fans?
WENDY: A lot of people ask where I get my story ideas, and the answer is "real life." I am a true crime junkie, and many of my stories are cobbled together from bits and pieces of the news (a motive here, a method there, a setting or red herring from someplace else). I could never be as creative as actual criminals.
ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: So, Wendy... I’m not certain if I love the story of how you met your husband more or the story reference of your names. Would you mind sharing hubby’s name and how you met?
WENDY’S GOTTA ANSWER: Aw, shucks. Mr. Wendy's real name is Peter, so we're Peter and Wendy -- just like Peter Pan. Adorable, huh?
ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: So, Wendy... I’m not certain if I love the story of how you met your husband more or the story reference of your names. Would you mind sharing hubby’s name and how you met?
WENDY’S GOTTA ANSWER: Aw, shucks. Mr. Wendy's real name is Peter, so we're Peter and Wendy -- just like Peter Pan. Adorable, huh?
We met online, through a matchmaking service (which shall remain nameless, lest they come after me for money). See, I signed up for the free trial week, entered all my info, and hit "submit." One person came up as a 99% match. I sent him a message and gave him my real e-mail address, confessing that I wasn't planning to pay to continue. Turns out he, too, was doing the free week and wasn't going to pay. We exchanged e-mails, phone cal
ls, met, and three years later we were married. And neither one of us ever paid that service a dime.
WENDY NEEDS TO KNOW: In "Scoop to Kill," I left my readers with a romantic cliffhanger … wondering whether Tally would choose the Boy Scout or the bad boy. The answer's coming out next week, so I can't change it … but I'd still like to know: do you prefer your heroes diligent or devilish?
Wendy will send one (North American) commenter a copy of A Parfa
it Murder. Check back here and on our WINNERS CIRCLE PAGE.
Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only. If an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) is available, the author may utilize that option for International participants. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.
You can find Wendy on the Internet at www.wendylynwatson on Fac
ebook: www.facebook.com/iscreamyouscream and her two Blogs: www.mysteryloverskitchen.com & www.killercharacters.com 
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