I have the pleasure of having a guest post by author R. Scott Mackey today, answering one of the questions I am always curious about.
ELF: What is one of your
hobbies and how has it enriched your writing?
RSM: I like to cook. Oh, I’m not a great cook. You can’t throw me into a kitchen, give me a
dozen ingredients and expect me to whip up something dazzling. Chef Ramsey would burst a blood vessel and
toss my ass out of Hells Kitchen in eight seconds. But I do find the process of preparing a meal
satisfying. And, if it’s dinner time,
preparing a meal gives me an excuse to crack open a beer or pour a glass of
wine.
Cooking and food play a significant role in my Ray Courage
Mystery series. Ray likes to eat. And drink.
When he’s not finding a killer or busting a thief, he’s concocting a
Mexican Bean soup or grilling salmon fillets, usually while downing a pale ale
or a stout. When he’s not cooking he’s
dining out. Sometimes that’s with his
sidekick Rubia, who weighs maybe a hundred pounds but can out-eat the offensive
line for the San Francisco 49ers. Her
appetite and its assault on Ray’s pocketbook (Ray usually pays her for her help
in meals not cash) is a constant source of humorous conflict between the two of
them. Most of the restaurants where Ray
dines are real or based on real restaurants, mainly in Sacramento and a couple
in San Francisco. In an upcoming book he will be eating in Carmel and Monterey.
I’ve received so many inquiries from readers about Ray’s
recipes or the food he orders at restaurants that I’ve actually written a Ray Courage No-Nonsense Cookbook. I’ve taken most of the meals in the first
four books in the series--Courage Matters, Courage Begins, Courage Resurrected,
and Courage Lies Beneath (coming fall 2015)--and created recipes for them. There are something like seventy recipes,
everything from starters like crab cakes, papaya shrimp salad or tomato bisque
to entries filet mignon with red wine reduction sauce, chicken saltimbocca and
eggplant parmesan. I worked with a nutritionist to develop the recipes.
Of course the book includes a list of “no-nonsense
cocktails” and some of Ray’s favorite beers.
These are perfect choices for savoring while reading one of the Ray
Courage mysteries.
(ELF: Wow, what a great idea, sounds like a great accompaniment to the book!)
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BLURB:
Ray Courage’s wife Pam died thirteen years before in a car accident. Or did she? Ray’s world is turned upside down when he receives a series of e-mails from someone claiming to be his dead wife, accusing him of attempting to kill her and vowing revenge. Ray sets out to find the identity of the e-mailer only to discover the circumstances of his wife’s apparent death appear to be all but accidental.
Soon Police Detective Carla Thurber comes to suspect Ray of killing his wife, and of a subsequent murder of Pam’s confidant. Meanwhile, a murderous predator who does not want the facts of Pam’s death to surface aims to stop Ray. In the greatest challenge of his life, Ray must outrun the police and elude those who are out to kill him as he seeks the truth about his wife’s death.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt:
After she left I took out my phone and opened the email from Pam1111, fully intending to delete it after a quick glance. Instead of some offer for an erection booster or the chance to aid a Nigerian princess, the message gave me an immediate chill:
Ray,
How could you have done that to me 13 years ago? Me, the person you said you loved? Well, it didn’t work. I’m not dead and I am going to make you pay after all these years. Better look over your shoulder.
Pam
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Scott Mackey lives in Northern California, where he writes both fiction and non-fiction. His first book, Barbary Baseball, achieved critical acclaim from baseball historians for its quality research and writing. He followed that with two young adult novels. His popular Ray Courage Mystery Series includes Courage Begins
, Courage Matters
, and Courage Resurrected
. The fourth book in the series, Courage Lies Beneath, is scheduled for release later in 2015. Scott's career arc has included stints as a corporate communications manager, college professor, copywriter, bartender, and youth sports coach. In addition to obsessing over punctuation and grammar, he cares about his family (including his dog and cat), the San Francisco Giants, and his rather sad golf game.
Follow him:
Twitter: @smackey17
Goodreads
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GIVEAWAY
R. Scott Mackey will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here
Previous titles in the series:
