Sandra Balzo: September 2009 Archives

Wendy Lyn Watson's I Scream, You Scream: A Mystery a la Mode, may make you shriek, but it will also get you hungry.  The book is out in October and Wendy took some time to give us the scoop. (Sorry, couldn't resist.  Should have, but didn't....) 

I love your title, "I Scream, You Scream: A Mystery a la Mode." What came first, the title or the idea of setting a book in an ice cream shop?

This series is all about the ice cream.  My agent and I were brainstorming about possible series concepts, and she asked me what I knew about, what I was passionate about.  This girl is passionate about food.  All kinds of food, really, but ice cream's the best.  Once I decided to set a book against the backdrop of ice cream, the title was a no-brainer.

Tell us about the book.

Tallulah Jones, proprietor of Remember the A-la-mode, has a struggling business, a crumbling house, a failed marriage, and debt up to her eyeballs.  When her two-timing ex, Wayne, and his arm-candy girlfriend, Brittanie, hire Tally to provide dessert at a company picnic, Tally swallows her pride and rolls up her sleeves.  But then Brittanie drops dead, and the town's taking bets on whether the killer is Tally or Wayne.