Cathy Wiley is…On the Writing Block!

Sherry Ickes
6 days ago
3 min read

I’m not sure about you, but this next author had me at her series name…"Fatal Food Festival!" Let’s hear more about fellow author Cathy Wiley’s mysteries…

Cathy Wiley is the author of the “Fatal Food Festival” series, featuring a former celebrity chef who’s trying to regain her career. The series includes five novels, along with five short stories published in the Destination Murders anthologies.

She’s also written two other mystery novels set in Baltimore, Maryland, and has placed almost a dozen short stories in anthologies, one of which was a 2015 finalist for a Derringer Award.

She lives near Baltimore with two spoiled cats and an equally spoiled husband. For more information, visit www.cathywileyauthor.com.

How much research do you conduct for your storylines?

I made the mistake in my first series of making my main character—a mystery author—a stickler for research. Due to that, I had to be a stickler for research. I won’t say that I never get things wrong, but I do my best to be accurate. While the main character in the Fatal Food Festival series, Jackie Norwood, isn’t a research guru, she’s a former celebrity chef, so I work hard to make the culinary details authentic. I’ve contacted executive chefs and other subject matter experts, prepared all the recipes in the books, watched hundreds of cooking shows, researched online, and since my series is set in food festivals around the United States, I’ve sadly had to travel around and eat delicious food. I know, everyone feels sorry for me for that last one.

How much is based on real life versus made up?

Each of the food festivals is based on actual food festivals in the U.S. I create a fictional, less polished version of the festival in a fictional town … with more murder, of course. I’ve attended most of the real festivals and will often use things that happen to me to flavor the story. The biggest example of this is when I attended the Key Lime Festival in Key West. I just happened to run into an old high school friend of mine (sorry for calling you old, Lance) who was the musical headliner at Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffett’s restaurant chain. I turned that into the main plot of Lime and Punishment, where Jackie meets her former high school band teacher, who is a Florida Keys musician.

Do you always know who the killer is, or do your characters surprise you in the end?

In general, while writing a novel, I start with the title, then the murder method, the victim(s), the multiple suspects, and decide which of them will be the killer. I have been surprised mid-writing, when I decided that one of my red herring suspects actually had a better, more obscure motive and they ended up the killer.

My victims, however, have never been lucky enough to escape when I changed my mind.

Any advice for other authors?

Connect with other authors. Writing is such a solitary activity. It’s a good idea to join writing organizations, whether they are writing genre specific or just local authors in your area. You will find your people: authors who are familiar with your struggles, can hold you accountable, and will celebrate your victories.

There are also conferences you can attend, either fan-based, where you can connect with potential readers and other authors, or writer conferences, where you attend panels to improve your writing.

What is Lime and Punishment about?

Former celebrity chef Jackie Norwood heads to the Maverick Key Lime Festival in the Florida Keys expecting sunshine, sweets, and maybe a little music—not her former high school band teacher at the center of a murder investigation.

Two local bar owners have already been found dead, and her former teacher is topping the suspect list.

Between judging dessert contests, managing her growing online cooking channel, and finding that not everyone in the Keys is as sweet as Key lime pie, Jackie must tune into the island’s rhythm of lies, rivalries, and retribution.

Fans of culinary cozies and tropical twists will savor Lime and Punishment—a deliciously tart tale of sweet treats, sour motives, and one chef who just can’t seem to stay out of hot water.