I told the caterer I'd work for nothing if he'd teach me about catering. I lasted one week full-time. It was exhausting.

In a mystery, the sleuth must be believably involved and emotionally invested in solving the crime.

One thing that improved my cooking skills was being a poor student in California... If you don't have much money, you have to learn to cook.

When I started to write culinary mysteries, I did it because nobody was doing it anymore.

After I outlined 'Catering to Nobody,' I went and worked for a caterer. And the other thing I had to do was to talk to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department about how they investigated a crime.

Writing is work and cooking is relaxing.

Catering is extremely demanding financially and physically. It's a business.