Something’s Cooking by Meg Lacey ~ Goddess Fish Blog Tour ~ Giveaway ~ Interview ~

Something’s Cooking

by Meg Lacey

Meg will be awarding a Jamberry Nails set (with a watermelon motif) and a colorful watermelon knife to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour so please be sure to leave a comment below as well as your email address so you may be contacted if you are the lucky winner. Don't forget to increase your chances of winning by visting the other stops on the tour. You may find the other tour locations here...  http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/07/virtual-nbtm-tour-somethings-cooking-by.html


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Crystal: Today as part of the Goddess Fish Virtual Book tour, I have the opportunity to interview Meg Lacey. Would you share a little bit about yourself with us today?

Meg Lacey: I am now a full-time fiction writer for the first time since I started writing ages ago.  I have a BFA and MA in theatre, specifically acting and directing, and a minor in Fine Arts and Promotion.

I’ve played a lot of employment roles over the years before I created my first of two ‘established two creative marketing/media companies,.’  Over the years, I’ve been an actress, director, producer, creative director, CEO, copywriter, creative dramatics teacher, mime, mom, college instructor, and a school bus driver.—and boy are there some terrific stories as a driver I can tell.  I’m published with Harlequin, Imajinn Books, Samhain Publishing and now Entangled Publishing.
Go to my website or at any online bookstore to learn more about me.  www.meglacey.com

Crystal:  Where did you come up with the idea for “Something’s Cooking”?

Meg Lacey: I had turned on the TV one day and happened to see a program featuring Martha Stewart. She was cooking something that she said was easy but to me had more complications than the theory of relativity.  She finished up the cooking segment by talking about how she grew the ingredients in her garden and oh, by the way, did you know you can make your own garden lights out of plastic cups, etc.  She proceeded to show her craft project as I watched open mouthed.  That’s when it hit me—this woman is too damn perfect to be real.

So I wondered what would happen if a woman, Tess Banyon, was a brilliant idea person and marketer, but couldn’t cook worth a damn, and kept gluing herself to her grapevine wreath with her glue gun.  She would have to have help to pull it off-enter her mother and sister oh a reporter thinks she is too good to be true and investigates her when she gets her own TV show.

So I was off and running. I had a blast writing this story.

Crystal: What are you currently working on?

Meg Lacey: I am currently working on Book Two of my Million Dollar Men series at Samhain, ‘Million Dollar Rock.’  I just finished book two for my Tales of the Sparrow series with Imajinn Books, “The Sparrow and the Vixen’s Three,” featuring kitsunes (Japanese werefoxes.)  I’m also working on a number of proposals for Entangled.

Crystal: Do you have any special routine that you follow when you are writing?

Meg Lacey: I try to get to my desk early in the am to do some routine work and then I start writing.  I always reread what I’d done the day or evening before to get me started, and am always surprised to see that the work is not as bad as I thought it was when I saved it the day before.  I tend to work as needed to accomplish a project, and that might be anytime day or night.

Crystal: Did you have to do a lot of research for this book or any other? If so do you have a fascinating fact that you have learned you would like to share with us?

Meg Lacey: I have been a producer/writer and art director on various how to cooking shows running on national cable networks, so I know exactly how programs operate behind the scenes and those experiences were invaluable research for this book.  In addition I researched various recipe books for ideas that would work best within my story framework.  I have recipes at the back of the book that I received from friends and relatives.  One of my favorite is for ‘Slumgullion.” Slumgullion is an Irish word for an ‘everyday dinner’. Basically it’s a thrown together mash of meat, vegetables, etc.  So, basically, any old mess of something can actually be a good meal.  That’s my type of cooking.  LOL

Crystal: Who are some of your favorite authors that you like to read?

Meg Lacey: I like to read: James Herriott, Susan Elizabeth Philips, Laura Resnick, Amanda Usen, Annie Seaton, Dean Koonz, Phillipa Gregory, Simone St. James, Kate Morton, JD Robb, Karen Robards, Jeffrey Deaver, James Rollins, Preston and Childs.

Crystal: Is there any genre you haven't written that you would like to try?

Meg Lacey: I want to do a thriller.  I have an idea about a family of serial killers, the mother is the one who keeps the families murdering tradition alive.

Crystal: Do you have a favorite scene you would like to share with us?

Meg Lacey: First let me give you a bit of background about “Something’s Cooking:”

The queen of gracious living, Tess Banyon, has a secret—she’s a total klutz in the kitchen, and if anyone finds out her career is at risk.  News reporter, Josh Farraday’s, job is discovering secrets, and he’s focused on Tess. When these two passionate determined people collide, something’s cooking in more than just the kitchen.

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Authors Favorite Scene Excerpt: 

Tess stood frozen for a minute before she said faintly, “What do you
think you’re doing?”

At the same time, Josh jerked back the curtain that encircled
the claw-footed antique bathtub. Hands clenched on the divided
curtain, his eyes widened to the size of half-dollars, and his jaw
practically dropped to his chest as he stared at her for a long
moment.

“Am I missing something here?”

Tess studied the length of his body, coming to rest on his
most volatile piece of male equipment. “Nope, all there,” she said,
“every inch.”

He laughed. “That’s a relief.”

Her heart was pounding with a staccato fury, and for a
moment she felt like she’d melt. He was gorgeous. “What are you
doing in my bathroom?”

Josh swiped his hands down his body to shed the excess water,
then stepped out of the tub onto the bathmat. He reached for the
towel hanging on a rack. Lazily, he wrapped the terrycloth around
his waist, tucking the end in. He smiled. “You said the door right
at the top of the stairs.”

“I said turn right at the top of the stairs.”

“Oh, turn right.” He grinned. “I thought you were being a bit
forward.”

“Were you snooping in my bedroom?” she asked, amazed at
the thought.

He nodded toward the door. “Are you sure that’s your room?
It looks like a stage set. There’s nothing personal to identify
you in there. No mementos, nothing. I found that disappointing,
considering your skills.”

“You admit it? You were looking through my room?”

“Only on the way to the bathroom.”

“I don’t believe you,” she said, punctuating her words by
poking her finger into his chest. “You’re a low-down snoop, that’s
what you are.”

“A snoop? A reporter being called a snoop? Surely not.”

His chuckle was infectious, but Tess wasn’t buying it. She was
red-faced and perspiring, although that could have been from
the heat and moisture in the room, not because she was more
embarrassed than she’d ever been in her entire life, or wanted to
rip the towel from his hips.

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BLURB:

"Something’s cooking in more than the kitchen…

Tess Banyon is a ‘Martha Stewart’ type of homemaker-guru-marketing-entrepreneur-extraordinaire.  Investigative journalist, Josh Farraday is determined to convince the women of America that Tess is too good to be true.

He’s right.

Tess is a marvelous marketer with tons of ideas, but she can’t really cook and has been known to attach herself to a grapevine wreath with her glue gun.  Now she’s doing her own TV show, and Josh has been assigned to do a behind-the-scenes story."

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EXCERPT:

“You’re not going to disappoint your admiring public are you?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t have any public here.”

 “What about me? I’m here. And I’m certainly admiring.”

His gaze was so hot she shivered. She could feel the path his eyes were taking as they roamed over her, starting at her mouth and continuing to make a leisurely journey around the world. Her nerves jumped.

She backed closer to the charcoal grill. The ribs were already cooking, but needed an application of her bottled barbecue sauce. She reached to the small table by the side of the grill and grabbed the first thing that came to hand. Turning toward the grill, she aimed at the ribs and squeezed. The entire grill burst into flame as the lighter fluid hit the coals, the fire leaping high into the air to char the poor little ribs sitting in the midst of the conflagration.

“Oh my God!” Tess backed up from the flames and reached for a spatula. At the same time, Josh lurched forward to grab a long fork that hung on the grill handle. “Don’t worry, I’ll rescue them.”

He speared the ribs, lifting them up from the grill and backed up, only to bump into Tess who was stepping forward to slip the spatula underneath. As they collided, Tess jerked her arm up and accidentally smacked him in the forehead with the spatula. He twisted to get away from her, raising his hand to his forehead. As he did so, the ribs flew over his head.

Mouth wide open, Tess watched what looked like half a side of beef arc into the stratosphere and then land on the patio tiles with a splat.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Meg has a BFA and MA in theatre, acting and directing, and a minor in Fine Arts and Promotion.  Over the years, Meg has been an actress, director, producer, creative director, CEO, copywriter, creative dramatics teacher, mime, mom, college instructor, and a school bus driver.  She’s established two creative marketing/media companies, working as a V.P. and as CEO, creating projects in all media: network cable programming to corporate initiatives; to video, games and interactive websites. Meg is published with Harlequin, Imajinn Books, Samhain Publishing and now Entangled Publishing. Learn more about Meg and her books on her website or at any online bookstore.  Look for her new books, Something’s Cooking from Entangled Publishing, 8/13; The Sparrow and the Hawk, out now.  The Sparrow and the Vixens Three, 11/13, and Million Dollar Mistake, 9/13.

Website: www.meglacey.com

Email:  meg@meglacey.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/meglaceybooks

Twitter: @MegLaceyBooks

Good Reads:  http://www.goodreads.com/meglacey

Amazon Buy Link Something's Cooking