Please help me welcome today’s guest, Meg Benjamin…
Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live now? Family? Pets?
I grew up in the Midwest, but I’ve lived all over the country, from Seattle to Amherst, MA, to Lawton, OK. Hubs and I spent over twenty-five years in San Antonio, TX, before moving to Colorado. We live in the foothill suburbs outside Denver, but we go back to Texas often to visit kids (two sons) and grandkids (twins).
Tell us a little about how this book came about and how you came up with the title.
I wrote lots of romance novels before I tried my first cozy, The Pepper Peach Murder. I love the genre because it combines elements of romance (usually a love story is involved) and a mystery to be solved. The Carrot Marmalade Murder is number seven in the series, called Luscious Delights after my heroine’s jam making business, but like all the books in the series, it can be read on its own. My heroine, Roxy Constantine, has been working up to marrying her significant other, Nate Robicheaux, for a long time and this is the book where it all happens. Although not without a lot of bumps in the road. All the books in the series are named after a jam Roxy is working on. Carrot marmalade is actually a recipe developed in the Depression because carrots were cheaper to cook jam with than oranges. I actually made it (I make most of the jams that show up in my books), and it’s very good. Surprisingly enough, there are a lot of recipes out there, but I prefer the simple ones that feature just carrots, sugar, lemon juice, and maybe a little lemon zest.
Are there any tricks, habits or superstitions you have when creating a story?
I’ve gotten into the habit of doing business in the morning (emails, promo, etc.) and writing in the afternoon, usually while sitting in a comfortable chair with my iPad and my lap desk. There’s a great view from our family room; I can watch people and dogs walk by and grab a glass of tea from the kitchen when I want it. There are drawbacks: the iPad version of Word doesn’t always work and play well with the version on my computer. But I can usually wrestle it into shape, and I’m much happier writing in comfort.
What book have you read that you wish you had written?
Just about anything by Nora Roberts. I don’t know how she does it—around four full-length novels a year (counting the ones she does as JD Robb), and they’re all meticulously plotted and beautifully written. The woman’s a marvel, and I’m in awe.
Do you have another occupation, other than writer? If so, what is it and do you like it?
Now I’m retired, but I taught college English and Communication for a lot of years. I enjoyed it, mostly. I taught in a professional writing program at a large state university, which meant I learned editing and document design (I actually was a copy editor in my spare time). I still know more about punctuation than is healthy for any one person, but I no longer can quote the Chicago Manual of Style from memory, which is a very good thing.
What’s your favorite book of all time and why? What’s your favorite childhood book?
It’s so hard to choose just one book, but I’ll try to narrow it down. I love Sarah Smith’s The Vanished Child, because it’s a nearly perfect mystery romance that you can’t put down. All the way through the book, I kept asking myself what the solution to the mystery was, but I couldn’t quite figure it out and I was fascinated. I also love Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh—I reread it every year or so. It’s a well-nigh perfect enemies to lovers romance with a wonderful heroine and a hero who grows on you throughout Balogh’s Slightly series. My favorite childhood book is probably The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe because I was always a fan of fantasy and fairy tales.
What do you want readers to come away with after they read The Carrot Marmalade Murder?
I really hope you’ll all love Roxy and Nate the way I do. I enjoyed created Roxy and her world, and I wanted her to have a love who was worthy of her. I hope Nate fills the bill. I put them through a lot in this one, but I think they make it to the wedding in good shape. And they’re still friends with my favorite secondary characters, Susa Sondergaard and Ethan Fowler, although in the case of Ethan it’s a near thing.
What genre have you never written that you’d like to write?
I love regency romances (see Slightly Dangerous, above), and I’ve read so many of them that I recognize most of the period details that regency authors use—although why do characters use “stuck his spoon into the wall” to say someone died? I don’t have the patience to actually write one myself, though. The characters are necessarily hemmed in by lots of social conventions that they have to find a way to work around. That’s usually fun to read, but I imagine it’s a real chore to write.
What is your favorite quote?
Probably “Don’t look back; something might be gaining on you” from Satchel Paige.
Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
My characters are all imaginary, although they have elements of people I know. I don’t think you can ever create a character out of thin air (although I guess you could create one based on clichés, but it wouldn’t necessarily be a good one). A friend of mine once gave a copy of my Venus In Blue Jeans to an acquaintance, who told her “Oh, this is based on people living in Fredericksburg. We all know the backstory.” I found that fascinating, since I didn’t and don’t know anyone in Fredericksburg, TX, or any Fredericksburg stories.
Roxy’s getting married, but murder may send the wedding off the rails.
Roxy and Nate are finally getting married, but murder wasn’t on the program. In the midst of her wedding prep, Roxy has to deal with Nate’s trouble-making ex who thinks she can rekindle their romance. But things get serious when the ex ends up dead in a Shavano back alley. Now Roxy needs to clear Nate’s name, sell her customers on her carrot marmalade, and find herself a wedding dress. All before it’s time to take a deep breath and confront her own wedding jitters.
Excerpt:
I headed back to the kitchen to get the next bunch of trays and platters ready to go.
Nate and Kevin picked up the hotel pans with meatballs and filo packets to place on the hot trays they already had in place. I followed with the artichoke dip and crostini. We were making good time, and the waitress for the night, Evie, had just arrived. Everything seemed to be falling into place. I felt like patting someone on the back.
“Nathan?”
I heard the woman’s voice as I stepped through the door behind Kevin. Ahead of us, Nate stopped dead in his tracks, which made it sort of difficult for Kevin and me to get around him and put our food on the table.
“Nathan? That is you, isn’t it?”
I turned toward the woman’s voice, noticing that Nate was staring rigidly toward the side of the room near the posters. As I watched, a tall blonde stepped forward with a brilliant smile.
Calling her a tall blonde doesn’t really do her justice, though. In her stocking feet, she was probably about my height, but she wasn’t in stocking feet at all. She wore bright green three-inch spike heels with open toes that showed purple toenails. The skirt of her vividly green minidress ended a good two inches above her knees, while the neckline dipped low across her considerable cleavage. Her tumble of curly hair was a kind of honey gold that I doubted very much was natural but looked terrific.
She was spectacular, and apparently, she knew Nate.
Buy links:
About the Author:
Meg Benjamin is an award-winning author of romance and cozy mysteries. Meg’s cozy mystery series, Luscious Delights from Wild Rose Press, concerns a jam-making sleuth based in the mythical small town of Shavano, Colorado. Her contemporary romance Konigsburg series is set in the Texas Hill Country and her Salt Box and Brewing Love trilogies are set in the Colorado Rockies (all are available from Entangled Publishing and from Meg’s indie line). Along with romance and cozies, Meg is also the author of the paranormal Ramos Family trilogy from Berkley InterMix and the Folk trilogy from Meg’s indie line. Meg’s books have won numerous awards, including an EPIC Award, a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Holt Medallion from Virginia Romance Writers, the Beanpot Award from the New England Romance Writers, the Carly Crown Jewel of Books from the Mid-America Romance Authors, and the Award of Excellence from Colorado Romance Writers.
Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meg.benjamin1/ (personal)
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063609878239 (author)
Instagram: @meg_benjamin
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@meg_benjamin
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/meg-benjamin.bsky.social
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2869971.Meg_Benjamin
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/meg-benjamin
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@megbenjamin1396
Website: http://www.MegBenjamin.com/
Author Alicia Dean 