A Wicked Welcome to Mindy Quigley! *giveaway*

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by Julie, surfing the seasons in Somerville

I am delighted to welcome Mindy Quigley back to the blog today. Last year I moderated a panel at the Midwest Mystery Conference, and she was on it. I had the great good fortune of reading the first in her Deep Dish Mystery series, and I was hooked. She’s here to celebrate her recent release, Sleep in Heavenly Pizza. Welcome Mindy!

A PIZZA ADVICE

How can a pizza crust be both cardboard-dry and yet somehow also soggy? No, this isn’t the beginning of a riddle. That arid-yet-spongy dough was all too real, and it formed a stepping stone (almost literally, because it was also weirdly hard) on my path to a new way of writing.

For Public Anchovy #1, the third book in my Deep Dish Mysteries series, I decided to feature a gluten-free deep-dish pizza crust. All of the books include recipes, written by the characters, and in this book, the GF pizza forms an important part of the plot. I’d made cauliflower pizza crust before, so I figured I’d just tweak my go-to recipe and make it a deep dish. I blithely went about drafting the entire manuscript and sent it off to my editor, telling her the recipes would soon follow.

But as I got to work testing my go-to GF crust in a deep-dish format, it quickly became clear that I was headed for disaster. Instead of a crisp pizza base, I ended up with a sad, mushy casserole. Panic set in. I couldn’t cut that recipe—too much of the book’s plot hinged on it. I ditched the cauliflower, experimenting with obscure ingredients, but I wasn’t about to make readers hunt down ground hemp seeds and millet to make their own ten-ingredient flour blend. I baked countless variations, each more inedible than the last. So. Many. Gross. Pizzas. As the deadline loomed, I was in full crisis mode.

Finally, with the production editors practically breathing down my neck, I managed to come up with a tasty recipe that uses a readily-available commercial gluten-free flour blend. Crisis averted!

Determined not to repeat my mistake, I changed my approach for the fourth book, Sleep in Heavenly Pizza. Early in the drafting process, I threw a “Chrismukkah in Julymukkah” party to test all the recipes I wanted to feature in the book. Friends gave me real-time feedback, and I perfected my coquito (Puerto Rican eggnog), sufganiyot (Hanukkah jelly donuts), and tear-and-share Christmas bread.

You can check out the party prep here: Instagram Reel

Starting my book with the recipes, and throwing a party with the same theme as the one that kicks off Sleep in Heavenly Pizza not only helped me nail the sensory descriptions, but also got me into the perfect mindset to write a holiday book. I hope you enjoy the book—and the recipes!

I’ll be giving away two copies of SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PIZZA (US and Canada only). Winners will be chosen on Oct. 27, 2024. To enter, just answer this question: What special foods does your family make during the holidays?

About the Book:

Pizza chef Delilah O’Leary and her kitty companion, Butterball, get into the holiday spirit as Geneva Bay, Wisconsin hosts the nation’s premier snow sculpting championship. The annual event transforms the charming resort town into a wonderland of snow castles, ice rinks, and cozy cups of cocoa.

On the eve of the festival though, a too-good-to-be-true Chrismukkah catering gig brings some frosty tidings and heralds an unexpected visit from Delilah’s high-intensity older sister. Suddenly it seems that the holidays may not be the hap-happiest season of all. And when a missing party guest’s frozen corpse turns up inside one of the town’s snowy sculptures, murder threatens to put the celebrations―and Delilah’s crew―on ice for good.

About the Author:

Mindy Quigley is the author of two lighthearted mystery series. Her latest, the Deep Dish Mysteries, was a Woman’s World book club pick and has been featured in Parade magazine. Mindy’s non-writing career took her from the US to the UK, where she worked as the personal assistant to the scientist who cloned Dolly the sheep and as project manager for a research clinic founded by the author J.K. Rowling. She lives in Virginia with her Civil War history professor husband and their children.

If you’d like to stay in touch, you can find Mindy at:
http://www.mindyquigley.com/

Or follow her on:
+ Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/mintyfreshbooks
+ BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mindy-quigley
+ Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7281258
+ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/minty_fresh_books

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Published by J.A. Hennrikus

One woman, three names, many books. As Julia Henry I wrote the Garden Squad series for Kensington. As J.A. Hennrikus I wrote the Theater Cop series, and as Julianne Holmes I wrote the Clock Shop series. I've been an arts administrator for my entire career, mostly in the performing arts. Currently I'm the ED of Sisters in Crime, a wonderful organization that promotes and supports crime writers. www.sistersincrime.org Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram! @JHAuthors

65 Thoughts

  1. Yay, Mindy! I love this series, and need to get my hands on the new book, stat. I always make Christmas cookies from recipes handed down by both my grandmothers, plus gingerbread people and rum balls. Ever since I acquired a Jewish d-i-l and now a grandgirl, I’m also experimenting with the best latke recipe.

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    1. There’s a very funny latke recipe in this book from Ilene Schneider, a Rabbi and mystery writer who you probably know! She’s credited as sous chef Sonya’s “Bubbe Ilene” in the book. Thanks for reading!
      -Mindy Q.

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  2. You certainly have had an interesting career! Dolly the cloned sheep?? Wowza! Congratulations on your new book, I love books with recipes.

    Favorite foods for the holidays mostly involves baking cookies, especially peanut butter blossoms and lots of traditional chocolate chip. My husband isn’t fond of turkey, so I’ll bake a ham, Bakewell biscuits, and several sides.

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  3. Wow – Dolly the cloned sheep. Favorite holiday foods are cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and pumpkin bread.

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      1. My husband smokes our turkey and green bean casserole. I go all out with desserts. Cream cheese pumpkin pie and caramel apple pie is a favorite.

        Thanks for the chance! The book cover is so cute!

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    1. Thank you. I hope that you’ve been able to create your own festive traditions. Part of what I wanted to show in this book is that not everyone has the Hallmark-type holidays that are “expected.”
      -Mindy Q.

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  5. We love pizza! One of our favorites is shrimp pizza where the boiled shrimp is added to the sauce layer before the cheese is added. YUMMY!

    Way back when I was a young child, my Dad decided that Christmas needed to be a fun time for Mom too and not one with her spend closed up in the kitchen fixing a big meal. So Christmas always meant fun food at our house. Mom ahead of time made up several types of dip. There was a wide array of types of chips. Lunchmeat of every kind was available as well as all the trimmings to make a monster sandwich. Then with Dad’s birthday just a week away on New Year’s Eve, we had a “traditional” Christmas dinner. The one thing traditional for us on Christmas was Mom’s Three Day Coconut Cake. Yes, it has to be made 3 days before you can eat it meaning Mom could make it days ahead of time. Where Mom would use a fresh coconut having to crack, peel and grate it, I found fresh frozen coconut and saved me lots of work and time. Mom made a from scratch cake, but now I’ve been using a Duncan Hines butter cake mix which tastes pretty close and is delicious too. Mom made a beautiful 3 layer cake while I make mine in a sheet cake pan and slip the cake into two layers. I still have to make it 3 days ahead of time, but making one isn’t the major event as when Mom made it all those years ago. Making one still brings back happy memories. ❤

    SLEEPING IN HEAVENLY PIZZA sounds like a marvelous read! Love how you come up with the recipe and then plan your story around it. I've added it to my TBR list and can't wait to read and review it. Thank you so much for the amazing chance to win a copy!
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  6. Two of my favorite foods to make during the holidays are walnut bourbon balls and a Swedish coffee bread that has lots of cardamom in it. They are both a hit with co workers! Congratulations on your new release AND on getting the recipes perfected with less stress!

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  7. Looking forward to reading “Sleeping in Heavenly Pizza”. The family loves it when my husband deep fries a turkey for Thanksgiving and on Christmas I love to make a roast with Yorkshire Pudding like my Mom always did.

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    2. Mindy, I have a wheat allergy so I’m on a gluten free diet and am a pizza lover so I know how hard it is to come up with a decent crust. I tip my hat to your diligence and send you my thanks on behalf of all of us who don’t get to enjoy “real” pizza crust.
      Our holiday season isn’t complete without my wife’s Christmas cookies and Chex mix. I do my part by staying out of the way. Cheers!

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      1. Ironically, I just went on a GF diet about three weeks ago to see if it could help with some symptoms I was having. I think it’s working, which sadly means I could soon join you in the ranks of the gluten-free!
        -Mindy Q.

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  10. Congratulations on the new book! We make ham, cheesy potatoes, and green bean casserole. For dessert, a chocolate silk pie. ckmbeg (at) gmail (dot) com

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  12. Breakfast was usually a grab and go meal in our family, but holidays were different. We always gathered and ate together. Egg casserole, cinnamon rolls, poppy seed rolls, fruit platter, lots of coffee and maybe a mimosa or two for the adults along with a juice punch for the junior set.
    Congrats on the new release. It sounds like a fun read! Thanks for the opportunity to win a copy.

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    1. We do something similar. On Christmas morning, my parents cook brunch for all of their “girls” (the youngest of whom is 35!) and our families. We’re not allowed to help. It’s such a sweet tradition, and a pretty big undertaking considering that we now have three significant others and five kids between us!
      -Mindy Q.

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  13. We like to make lots of cookies and candy. Any holiday requires the vegetable to be green beans with bacon and eggs. One year my sister wanted to see what the big deal was about green bean casserole and insisted we try that instead. Nobody was impressed and we went back to the usual. Macaroni corn casserole has also become a favorite. Not necessarily a holiday food, but once the cabbage is ready in the fall we make dad’s family holubchi recipe.

    Congrats on the newest book! Not entering- I preordered and my copy is hopefully arriving today.

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      1. It’s one my grandma always made. Use canned or frozen beans- for whatever reason fresh doesn’t work as well for this one.

        2 cans beans, cook normally then drain.
        Add 2-3 eggs (figure about 1 egg per can of beans, depending on egg size and personal preference)
        Stir constantly to avoid sticking till egg is cooked (scrambled egg consistency).
        Add a couple slices of crumbled bacon (or pick up a bag of bacon bits), again to preference.
        Can also add some diced onion if desired.

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  14. Congrats on SLEEPING IN HEAVENLY PIZZA – as a pizza aficionado, I’m looking forward to a fun read.

    Holiday traditions? Yep. I make my grandmother’s butter cutout cookies every year. Yum

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  16. Your new book sounds fun! Christmas foods at my house include my mother-in-law’s Swiss Christmas cookies (she’s 89, but we still get two kinds each year, down from seven different kinds until 20 years ago!), pecan pie, and homemade caramelized almonds.

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    1. My grandmother baked Christmas cookies until she was 99! She would do it from muscle memory even after her vision was too poor to read recipes. I hope your mother has a similar long run of good health.
      -Mindy Q.

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  17. Nothing exotic, just the best homemade pumpkin pie in the world. No need to enter me in the drawing. I picked up the latest from my indie bookstore a couple of days ago. Love this series and your dedication to perfecting your recipes.

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  18. The book sounds wonderful! I love your party prep reel.

    My sister is the holiday cook in the family. For Chanukah, it’s brisket and latkes. She also makes Christmas cookies for friends & family.

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  19. Of course, my family enjoys a traditional turkey dinner at Thanksgiving. We have turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, orange squash, stuffing, cranberry sauce. We also have apple pie or chocolate pie for dessert. For Christmas dinner, it varies. We may have another turkey dinner, but sometimes it’s roast beef. In any case, it’s something that we do not normally make during the course of the year.

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  21. Looking forward to the new book and recipe. We love pizza. I used to help my grandma make candy and bake cookies for the holidays. I still make her fudge and divinity recipes every year. Mmm. Now that it’s just two of us, I scale down the dinners. Turkey breast, grandmas cranberry salad and broccoli and corn casserole. And of course mashed potatoes and pecan pie for hubby.

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  24. Sounds like a great book. Congratulations. At the holidays we make German Springerle Cookies using the cookie molds, we’ve also made the old fashioned Figgy Pudding.

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  26. Congratulations on the new book! No need to enter me as I am on the wait list at the library. My mom always made lots of different cookies when we were kids and we all continue the tradition. Another tradition that my parents started is that when we all became adults we added a champagne toast to our vegetable tray snacking that we always did mid afternoon while enjoying the delicious scent of roasting turkey. Now the toast is to the memory of mom and dad.

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    1. Oh, wow, I love that tradition. I’m going to suggest that for our family this year, since it’ll be the first since my grandmother passed away at the age of 102. She loved a good toast!
      -Mindy Q.

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  27. Congratulations on the new release. Can’t wait to read this. For Christmas I make homemade peanut brittle, fudge and caramels. Savory foods include oyster stew and breakfast casserole

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  28. We enjoy pumpkin bread, seven layer cookies, butterscotch scotchies, M & M cookies. On Christmas Eve, we have kielbasa. Thank you so much for the opportunity. God bless you.

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    1. Mmmm, I love seven-layer cookies. We call them 7-layer bars. I wonder if that’s a Midwest-ism? Might have to explore the cookie vs. bar thing in a future book!
      -Mindy Q.

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  29. For Thanksgiving it is usually turkey with all the sides. Dessert is a traditional German dessert passed down in my hubby’s family called cherry torte. For Christmas I make a sirloin tip roast, mashed potatoes, yeast rolls, veggie sides. I also make a cheesecake, Christmas cookies and cookies and cream fudge for dessert.

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  31. Congrats on the new release! This sounds like such a unique series. At Christmas my uncle’s mother used to make us chichilites, tiny dough balls covered in honey and dipped in dark chocolate chips. She’s been gone for some time now but I can still remember how those honey balls smelled and tasted.

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