We are delighted to welcome author Cindy Sample to Omnimystery News today.
The latest mystery in Cindy's popular Laurel McKay series is Dying for a Donut (Cindy Sample; November 2015 trade paperback and ebook formats) and we asked her to give us the backstory to the book.
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Photo provided courtesy of
Cindy Sample
One would think that researching a book titled Dying for a Donut would be a piece of cake. But the fifth book in my Laurel McKay mystery series led to my most dangerous research yet!
Laurel McKay, my soccer mom protagonist, and I live near an area called Apple Hill, located fifty miles east of Sacramento in the middle of the California Gold Country. Pastoral farms and ranches dot the hills and valleys, set against a backdrop of the Sierra Mountain Range. During the fall season, which goes from Labor Day to Christmas Eve, over a million tourists bring their families to this area to pick fresh apples off the plentiful trees.
At least, that's what they tell themselves. They really visit Apple Hill for the pastries. Over fifty apple farms offer delicious melt-in-your-mouth glazed apple and cinnamon donuts, turnovers so flaky your clothing becomes covered with evidence of your indulgence, and foot-high apple pies. Not to mention fifty shades of fudge and apples covered with gooey caramel, thick chocolate, nuts, or marshmallows. Or all of the above.
A day spent in Apple Hill supplies enough sugar-infused energy to plot an entire book. After touring the kitchen of one of the largest farms and learning that they sell over 50,000 donuts a month, my story came to life.
My protagonist is thrilled when her daughter lands a job in the bakery of Apple Tree Farm. But mother and daughter soon discover that life on the farm isn't as bucolic as one would think. Especially after Laurel stumbles over the body of farm owner Axel Thorson, AKA the Donut King, covered from head to toe in powdered sugar.
Who tried to sweeten him up?
Was it Axel's business partner? Family members? Competitive farm owners? Or maybe it was that deranged anti-powdered sugar advocate.
Despite Laurel's efforts to stay out of the investigation, she ends up discovering first-hand that sugar really can kill you.
And after my meticulous research, I discovered that writing a book titled Dying for a Donut better lead to a sixth book fast — Dying for a Diet!
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Cindy Sample is a former corporate CEO who decided plotting murder was more entertaining than plodding through paperwork. Cindy is a three-time LEFTY Award nominee for Best Humorous Mystery, a 2014 Silver Falchion Finalist and a 2015 Next Generation Indie Award Finalist for her Laurel McKay mysteries.
For more information about the author, please visit her website at CindySampleBooks.com and her author page on Goodreads, or find her on Facebook and Twitter.
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Dying for a Donut by Cindy Sample
A Laurel McKay Mystery
Publisher: Cindy Sample
To Laurel McKay, there is nothing better than spending an autumn afternoon munching on caramel apples and cinnamon donuts. It's a good thing her daughter Jenna has landed a seasonal job at Apple Tree Farm and Bakery. Then Laurel stumbles over the bakery owner coated in powdered sugar. Axel Thorson was a well-respected member of the community. Who wanted to sweeten him up?
When the police arrest the heartthrob grandson of the bakery manager, Jenna decides to help him by solving the case herself, a move that lands her in jail. With Laurel's detective honey in another state, and her octogenarian grandmother threatening to chase down the culprit, what's a soccer mom with a sweet tooth to do but go undercover.
Detecting among donuts should be a piece of cake, but not if Laurel discovers first-hand that sugar can kill you.
— Dying for a Donut by Cindy Sample
