We are delighted to welcome author Amy Metz to Omnimystery News today, courtesy of Great Escapes Book Tours, which is coordinating her current book tour. We encourage you to visit all of the participating host sites; you can find her schedule here.
Amy's fourth series mystery is Rogues & Rascals in Goose Pimple Junction (Southern Ink Press; May 2016 trade paperback and ebook formats) and we recently had the chance to catch up with her to talk more about it.
— ♦ —
Omnimystery News: Southern belle Caledonia Culpepper is the lead character in your fourth Goose Pimple Junction mystery. Suppose she were to interview you. What might her first question be?
Photo provided courtesy of
Amy Metz
Amy Metz: Caledonia would probably say, "Did you really send a hit woman to kill me? Really?" My answer would be, "Why yes I did. But she's really nice!"
OMN: Into which genre would you place this series?
AM: My books are cozy mysteries. It's funny, sometimes when someone asks me what is a cozy mystery, and I say, "It has no sex, violence, or swear words," you can see it in their eyes — they immediately lose interest. But cozy mysteries have an amazingly large fan base, and these readers are passionate about cozies. I'm happy to have my books included in that genre.
OMN: How would you tweet a summary of your new book?
AM: Mama said there would be days like this: If it has tires or testicles it's gonna give you trouble. ROGUES & RASCALS IN GOOSE PIMPLE JUNCTION
OMN: What are some of your outside interests? And have any of these found their way into your books?
AM: I love to bake, and that hobby definitely finds its way into my books. Food is at the heart of every Southern family, and so big dinners, pie bake-offs, and baking are always in my books. I think good food is love. Maybe that's why a mother is always trying to get her kids to eat? I used to love to garden, and I gave that hobby to Tess in my first book. Of course reading is in every book because Louetta owns a bookstore. My other hobbies — photography and making digital photograph books — haven't made their way into the GPJ books yet.
OMN: What is the best advice — and harshest criticism — you've received as an author?
AM: There are two pieces of advice that I value: 1) Read your manuscript out loud; and
2) Write the first draft, then set it aside. Go back with fresh eyes, rewrite and set it aside. Go back a final time with fresh eyes and finish writing.
The harshest criticism I ever got was this review: "Southerners may occasionally use regional slang expressions, but no one talks almost exclusively in them as the characters in this book do. The whole book is offensive and sadly idiotic." Ouch! It hurt that she didn't like the book, but I think it hurt more that she thought I was being insulting to Southerners. My books are fictional. In no way do I think Goose Pimple Junction is like any other town in America — Southern or not. No, Southerners do not talk like my characters or use that many "goosepimpleisms." The books are fiction!
OMN: Tell us more about the intriguing cover for this fourth book in the series.
AM: I found the painting I used for my cover online, and the artist, "Emerico" Imre Tóth, kindly allowed me to buy rights to use it. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the one for the Rogues & Rascals cover.
OMN: What kinds of books did you read when you were young?
AM: From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Winnie the Pooh, Pippi Longstocking, Harriet the Spy, and Dr. Seuss were favorites and still are.
OMN: What kinds of books do you read now for pleasure?
AM: I read mostly mysteries. My favorite characters are Robert B. Parker's Spenser, Jesse Stone, or Sunny Randall. I love everything about those series. I also love David Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter. He is so good at combining humor and mystery. All of these characters are witty, fearless, smart, loving, kind … I like the way they think.
OMN: What kinds of television series do you enjoy watching?
AM: I don't watch much network TV now that Boston Legal, Justified, Mad Men, and Gilmore Girls aren't on anymore, although I do watch The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon every night. Right now on Netflix, I'm watching House of Cards, Lie To Me, and Person of Interest. Do you sense a mystery theme?
OMN: Create a Top 5 list for us on any topic.
AM: How about Five Top 5s!
5 favorite authors: Robert B. Parker, David Rosenfelt, Michael Connelly, Nora Roberts, Nelson DeMille.
5 favorite places to visit: Stockbridge, Massachusetts (beautiful area with my favorite library); Kennebunkport, Maine (to stay at The Colony Hotel and sit on the veranda looking at the ocean); Fairhope, Alabama (to visit my dad and walk along the bay at The Grand Hotel); Asheville, North Carolina (to stay at the Inn on Biltmore Estate); Bloomington, Indiana (to visit my son in college).
5 favorite things to do: read; bake; photography; attend my son's concerts; spend time with my sons, daughter-in-law, and cute boyfriend.
5 favorite foods: peaches, cheese, pizza, chocolate, and Joe's Peach Tea. Okay, let's be honest. If you're talking favorite favorite, it would have to be: pie, cupcakes, ice cream, donuts, and brownies.
5 things you always put in your books: the name Lou in some form or other — a nod to the city where I live (Louisville); a dog; diner slang; a quote of some kind at the beginning of the chapters; and good Southern food.
— ♦ —
Amy Metz is a former first grade teacher and the mother of two sons. When not actively engaged in writing, enjoying her family, or surfing Facebook or Pinterest, Amy can usually be found with a mixing spoon, camera, or book in one hand and a glass of sweet tea in the other. Amy lives in Louisville, Kentucky.
For more information about the author, please visit her website at AuthorAmyMetz.com and her author page on Goodreads, or find her on Facebook and Twitter.
— ♦ —
Rogues & Rascals in Goose Pimple Junction by Amy Metz
A Goose Pimple Junction Mystery
Publisher: Southern Ink Press
Like any good Southern belle, Caledonia Culpepper was raised by her mama to be gracious, charming, witty, and above all, a devoted mother and loving wife, so she's baffled when her marriage falls apart.
Wynona Baxter is a master of disguise but is often a ditzy airhead. A hit woman wannabe, when she's hired for her first job in Goose Pimple Junction and things don't go as planned, she's forced to resort to Plan B. She'll also need Plan C and D.
Crooked lawyers, restless husbands, a teenaged hoodlum — it seems there are rogues and rascals everywhere you look in Goose Pimple Junction.
When Caledonia and Wynona's paths cross, they prove there isn't a rogue or a rascal who can keep a good woman down. Mama always said there would be days like this …
— Rogues & Rascals in Goose Pimple Junction by Amy Metz. Click here to take a Look Inside the book.
