Pralines and Creamed - Interview with Elizabeth Maria Naranjo (and Join our Reader Review Event)

Today, I'm thrilled to interview Elizabeth Maria Naranjo about her vibrant and beautifully haunting new book, Pralines and Creamed. This is a lovely new book in her Sweet Dreams Mystery Series and is book 2 of the series. This book is just as delightful as a standalone (although readers are already begging for a book 3). 

We're also inviting readers to participate in our Reader Review event. You can sign up by emailing: crystal@wow-womenonwriting.com and she will get you a copy of the book! You don't need to be a blogger to join in on this event; anyone who can leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon can participate and receive a copy of Pralines and Creamed. By leaving a review, you'll also be entered in a drawing to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

About the book:

 

ASIN: B0D97GM9CJ

ISBN: B0DHHB3HWT

Publication date: October 1, 2024

Print Length: 234 pages

Genre: Young Adult Cozy Mystery

 

Pralines and Creamed; A Sweet Dreams Mystery (Sweet Dreams Mysteries Book 2) is available in print and as an ebook at Amazon. Add it to your Goodreads list.

About the author, Elizabeth Maria Naranjo:

Elizabeth Maria Naranjo is the author of The Fourth Wall, The House on Linden Way, and What Was Never There. Her stories and essays have been widely published and nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best American Essays, and Best of the Net, and her short story, “Windows,” was selected for Best Microfiction 2023. She lives in Tempe, Arizona, with her husband and two children.

Visit her website at www.elizabethmarianaranjo.com.

Twitter/X: @emarianaranjo

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/elizabethmarianaranjo

----- Interview by Crystal J. Casavant-Otto

WOW: I'm absolutely giddy to have you back - seriously! Your first three books were standalones; what was different about writing your first sequel, Pralines and Creamed? 

Elizabeth: Great question! Honestly, writing a book is never easy, but you’d think writing books in a series would be easier. I’d already done the hard work of creating the settings and the characters from scratch when I wrote my debut YA cozy mystery, Murder by Milkshake. Now I figured I could just whip up a new murder plot and everything would fall into place around it. 

But what I found when writing Pralines and Creamed was that having an existing foundation made things harder. The issue for me was writing recaps, a skill I’d never had to hone and certainly failed to appreciate in series that I read. It’s much more difficult than it looks! 

For example, in the first few chapters of each Sweet Dreams book I need to describe my main character, Genevieve, her best friend, Brandon, the history of their friendship, the history of their families’ downtown shops, the description of those shops, and so on, as well as giving context to any plot point that’s referenced from the book before. That’s a lot of information! And while it’s fun to write the first time, it becomes cumbersome finding new ways of saying the same thing. Knowing that going into the third book did make it a little bit easier though. I was much better prepared for the challenge! 

WOW: I know I've asked this before and you've already given us some - but do you have anymore tips for writing cozy mysteries?  

Elizabeth: I researched for months before writing my first cozy; it was important to me to honor the cozy community and do justice to the specific genre norms. Two cozy mystery writers were instrumental in helping me learn to craft these cute and quirky books. The first is Elizabeth Spann Craig, who writes the Village Library Mystery series and runs a fantastic blog. From her series of posts on Writing the Cozy Mystery, I learned to write the back cover copy before the book and draft the murderer’s confession, even if it’s never used, to consolidate the clues and help me keep track of them.

Another great tip I learned from Craig is to have each suspect tell one lie and one truth when being interviewed by the amateur sleuth. This is brilliant, because it makes each innocent suspect as suspicious as the guilty one since they’re all hiding something, even if the secret is innocuous. 

The other cozy mystery writer to which I owe a debt of gratitude is Nancy J. Cohen. Cohen writes the Bad Hair Day Mystery series, which you should definitely check out, but she also wrote this how-to book on writing cozies, which includes chapters on world building, heightening suspense, and dealing with that muddy middle. The book is short, succinct, and essential reading for any wannabe cozy mystery writers out there! 

WOW: Speaking of genre norms, one of the cozy mystery rules you’ve mentioned before is needing a theme that centers around the protagonist’s job or hobby. For the Sweet Dreams series, what made you choose ice cream? 

Elizabeth: This is a fun detail! When I first started scribbling down ideas for a YA cozy mystery series, I knew my teenage heroine would be spirited, cheerful, and energetic. I’m naturally drawn to cozy mysteries that take place in bookstores and cafes, but this didn’t fit my main character’s personality. I thought about a 50s diner, or maybe a quirky antique store. But then my daughter, who was 16 at the time, landed her first job, at Baskin Robbins. She always came home smelling like ice cream and waffle cones, and she just looked adorable in her pink uniform hat. So I decided my MC would work in an ice cream shop, and I named it Sweet Dreams. 

WOW: For your last interview we covered your favorite Sweet Dreams character. And now for the more important question… What's your favorite Sweet Dreams dessert? 

Elizabeth: Oh, that’s a tough one. Let’s see… one of Genevieve’s first original creations is the Buttercream Dream layered sundae, and that would probably be my first choice. It’s two scoops of yellow cake batter ice cream with a layer of buttercream frosting between, topped with a generous helping of hot fudge, a swirl of whipped cream sprinkled with chocolate shavings, and a cherry on top of an edible candle. Sounds dreamy, right? Then again, you can never go wrong with a butterscotch malt! 

 

WOW: Oh Elizabeth, we could chat all day but I've got to go get some dessert! It's no wonder why I love your writing; I feel like if you lived next door, we'd be besties! I'm happy to let readers know that you'll be back with yet another tour very soon for book three, _______________________, which means another longer interview! When can we expect book 3?

Elizabeth: I'm so glad you asked! Book three in the Sweet Dreams series will be out by next Christmas, and WOW! readers can expect a giveaway to go with it!

Join the Reader Review Event!

Readers, if you'd like to receive a copy of Pralines and Creamed by Elizabeth Maria Naranjo for review, please email: crystal@wow-womenonwriting.com. Book reviews need to be posted by December 12, 2024 on Goodreads and Amazon. We'll be sharing all the reviews in a Reader Review Event and Giveaway post here on The Muffin on December 20! Besides receiving the book, you'll also be entered to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!