posted on June 12, 2013 by Janet Bolin and Krista Davis

The Diva Visits Threadville

threadandburiedKrista Davis and Janet Bolin were online critique partners long before either of them was published. Now they share the same publisher, Berkley Prime Crime, and their most recent mysteries came out on the same day, June 4.  THE DIVA FROSTS THE CUPCAKE is the seventh book in Krista’s Domestic Diva Mystery series. THREAD AND BURIED is the third book in Janet’s Threadville Mystery series.

Like their authors, Krista’s and Janet’s main characters are friends. Here’s a conversation that took place recently between them.

Willow: Sophie, tell me about this cupcakes and pupcakes fundraiser. It sounds like fun!

DivaFrosts.inddSophie: Willow, you and your dogs, Tally-Ho and Sally-Forth, would have loved it. Cupcake bakers and pet stores put up booths on Market Square and part of the proceeds went to animal rescue groups. There truly was something for everyone. Cupcakes for people, pupcakes for dogs, and rainbows of beds, collars, leashes and toys for cats and dogs. The big attraction was a black tie eight-course cupcake dinner! Dog guests had their own eight-course pupcake meal. What fun!

Willow: An eight-course cupcake dinner, and an eight-course pupcake meal? How did you manage all that? Which courses were the most difficult?

Sophie: The bakers were such good sports. We offered a trophy for the most popular cupcake. Each baker was assigned a course. They all had to use the same white cupcake papers so no one would know who had baked them. I think the fish course was the most difficult but the baker pulled it off with a salmon cupcake. We loved the lasagna cupcakes. I’ll have to make those at home!

Willow: Those sound delicious. I want to make them, too. Where can we find recipes?

Sophie: Some of the recipes are in THE DIVA FROSTS THE CUPCAKE. My favorite of all is the Applesauce Spice Cupcake with Caramel Frosting. Oof! I think I gained three pounds just thinking about it!  While I was gaining weight, you were running around digging things up on your property. What did you find?

Willow: A metal box, and there were bags of jewelry inside it!

Sophie: That’s incredible! How old was it?

Willow:  Clay and I guessed it was Snoozy Gallagher’s loot, which had been lost for thirty years.

Sophie: What’s the legend of Snoozy and why did they call him Snoozy?

Willow: Snoozy Gallagher owned the Elderberry Bay Lodge. He was famous for dozing a lot and wearing a belt buckle engraved with Zs. Right before the final banquet of a jewelers’ convention, Snoozy disappeared along with the jewelry he was keeping in the safe for the jewelers’ wives. Can you imagine the faces at the banquet that evening?  I know you’ve come upon some terrible things—so have I. Have you ever found something nice and exciting and hoped it was valuable?

Sophie: I never find anything exciting like that! I did dig up the purse of my boyfriend’s long-missing wife in THE DIVA DIGS UP THE DIRT. That was frightening! Speaking of boyfriends, how are things going with Clay?

Willow: Well, um, I have this machine embroidery boutique, and he has a construction company, and both of us are busier than we ever dreamed. That’s good, but I hardly ever see him. We’re really just friends, but we are actually going on a date! Well, sort of, since Clay has an ulterior motive. Shh, don’t tell Haylee, but Clay’s playing matchmaker with Haylee and the new owner of the Elderberry Bay Lodge. Cross your fingers for two romances! How about you? Have you found someone new yet?

Sophie: Gosh, I know all about dating someone with conflicting hours. As an event planner, I work a lot at night, which makes it hard to date. I do meet someone new in THE DIVA FROSTS A CUPCAKE. He’s too handsome to be true!

Willow: Clay’s kind of like that, too, at least I think so. And how about Humphrey? He’s nice, and deserves someone special!

Sophie: Aww, Humphrey. Would you believe two women are chasing him for a change? He’s put on a little weight from eating a lot of cupcakes, and it looks great on him. The only problem is that one of them might be a murderess.

Willow: Oh, no! I hope he stays safe! He could gain more weight up here in Threadville. There’s this great ice cream stand near the beach. They base their recipes on old recipes, and the results are delicious! Haylee and I go there whenever we can

Sophie: You work long hours. What else do you and Haylee like to do when you’re not working?

Willow: Haylee and I walk Sally-Forth and Tally-Ho most evenings. We’ve been known to walk the dogs wherever we want to snoop. Do you use your walks with Daisy to spend a little extra time near places where you might find an important clue? Do you sometimes go out with Daisy long after you should be in bed?

Sophie: Shh, you’ll give away all my secrets! I use Daisy as an excuse to snoop quite often.

Willow: Too bad you’re way off in Virginia and I’m in the northwest corner of Pennsylvania, or we could join forces. Three dog noses are better than one or two.

Sophie: And you could embroider things for me! It must be wonderful to be able to embroider your own clothes. Do have a favorite item that you wear a lot?

Willow: I use computers, software, and embroidery machines because I can do much more than I could by hand. I’ve embroidered a stylized willow tree on some of my clothes as a sort of name tag. People tell me that the picture is like one on their great-grandmother’s gravestone!

Sophie: What’s next for you, Willow?

Willow:  Janet won’t tell me! But I think it has something to do with the Threadville Get Ready for Halloween Craft Show, and I hope there’s a chance for a little romance, though, of course Clay and I are just friends. How about you, Sophie?

Sophie: I’m a little miffed because Krista is spending half her time with the characters in her Paws & Claws series. It sounds as though I might like Holly Miller, her Jack Russell Terrier, Trixie, and calico kitten, Twinkletoes. We’ll get to meet them on December 3rd when their first book one out, MURDER, SHE BARKED.

Willow: I know I’ll like them, too!

Krista: http://divamysteries.com

Janet: http://ThreadvilleMysteries.com/

Janet Bolin

Janet Bolin

I was about seven, and for years (!), I'd been offering really helpful suggestions about the clothes my mother designed and sewed. Now I was going to make my own skirt.

At the fabric shop, I ran my fingers along each bolt of cloth, probably about sixteen times. My mother didn’t mind. She was doing the same thing. Finally, after much indecision and heavy consultation, I chose a navy blue cotton broadcloth with a red pin stripe.

Back home, under my mother’s close supervision, I cut out a couple of large rectangles and a strip for the waistband. Using my mother’s old black Singer, I carefully stitched the rectangles into a tube, then gathered the tube to the waistband. I made a buttonhole and sewed on a big red button. We folded a deep hem, and my mother, whose ability to stitch a straight line was far superior to mine, sewed the hem with her machine. For the finishing touch, she showed me how to wind red embroidery floss under one machine stitch and over the next.

I had made my own skirt and embroidered it, too. I was hooked.

I also loved reading. I asked where books came from. People wrote them? Wow! I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up.

Whether I grew up or not is debatable, but now I’m writing books in which my main character solves crimes. She also embroiders the way I do now, with sewing and embroidery machines.

What could be better?

http://threadvillemysteries.com

3 thoughts on “The Diva Visits Threadville”

  1. Cynthia Blain says:

    Both ladies are great writers and will have long successful writing careers. Keep up the wonderful stories ladies. Love to read your books!!!

  2. This is Janet… Thank you, Cynthia! Thanks to you and other readers, we can continue writing these books. It’s fun!

  3. Thank you so much, Cynthia! We love to hear that!

    ~Krista

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