Muddled Matrimonial Murder by Kim Davis
About Muddled Matrimonial Murder
With only two weeks left to finalize the nuptial ceremony and reception for her best friend, Brad, and a Thanksgiving feast to plan, Emory Martinez has enough to keep her busy. But when Emory and Brad stumble across the body of his former stalker, with a wedding gift marble muddler lying next to the body, it soon becomes apparent someone is intent on framing the groom before vows can be exchanged.
How did the victim locate Brad and how did she end up murdered at the scene of the impending nuptials? Was someone so desperate to stop the wedding that they’d resort to murder? Or was she killed for revenge? As the countdown to the wedding speeds by, it’ll take Emory and her family and friends to pull together to pick through the muddled clues to clear the groom’s name.
Includes recipes.
About the Author Interview
We have a special guest in the Jane Reads Studio today. Please help me welcome Kim Davis!
When did you catch the writing bug? I was one of those obnoxious students who loved having to write essays and term papers and if the assignment called for 5 pages, mine often ran to 10 pages. As far as writing books, my husband retired at an early age so I did too. It didn’t take long to decide I needed to keep myself busy and started writing a suspense novel. I noodled with it off and on, took some online writing courses, wrote some children’s nature articles that got published, then finally published my suspense, A Game of Deceit, in 2017. Since then, I’ve published 7 more books.
Besides Author, what other job titles have you held? I’ve worked as a preschool teacher’s aide, but mostly I’ve worked as an administrative assistant and executive assistant for a variety of companies. My ex transferred every year with his company so it was difficult to settle down and find a career. The last paid position I held was as an executive assistant for a local notable philanthropist and I worked in his home. I loosely based my protagonist’s part-time job on my own experiences in the Cupcake Catering Mystery series.
When you’re not working, what fills your time? When I’m not creating new recipes, working on dishes for my blog, or cooking for my family, you’ll find me walking Missy, my 2-year-old mini Goldendoodle… often several times a day. I also care for my special needs granddaughter at least 3 times a week. She loves Disneyland, so I try to take her once a month. I actually have so much going on that it’s hard to find time to write on my own projects and I often have to set my alarm clock at least an hour earlier than I’d normally get up to at least get some words done for the day. But I almost always find time to sit and read about an hour before bedtime every night, generally books that I need to review for my blog. At least it’s cozy mysteries so I’d be reading them whether or not I featured them on my blog.
If your life were made into a movie, is it a comedy or drama? Who plays you? Gosh, is there such a thing as a dramatic comedy? Having a special needs, non-verbal granddaughter in our life makes things challenging since she requires 24/7 care. But, she’s also my buddy and we often find silly things to laugh about. Her new favorite thing to do is take pics with Snapchat filters and some of them are hilarious! My grandmother was one of those women who could always find something (generally herself) to laugh about and she passed that trait on to me, which helps create comedy. As far as which actress would play me, I really can’t say. As busy as I am, I almost never watch tv or movies (unless they are my granddaughter’s movies like Dora or Blues Clues, lol!) and when I have a spare moment, I pick up a book to read.
What is your favorite childhood memory? My mom had 6 siblings and we all lived in the same vicinity, which meant I had a ton of cousins to hang out with. In fact, 2 aunts and their families lived on the same street. This meant that birthdays, holidays, and whenever anyone felt like putting together a party, there was always a crowd. I loved being surrounded by so many family members and always feeling loved. However, by my early teen years, everyone started moving away and it became harder and harder to get together in person.
What advice would you give to your younger self? Believe in yourself and your abilities and don’t listen to that first guy you married. In fact, don’t even marry him 😊
What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you? When I get embarrassed or excited, I tend to get mouth dyslexia and switch up letters between words. One of my employers wanted me to become a notary public and once I passed the test I had to go before a notary public and give an oath. When I appeared before her, I said, “I’m here to take my Otary Noath.” And then I giggled because I knew I’d messed up the words. She gave me a stern talking to about how serious I needed to take the position, in front of a lot of other people.
What is your greatest achievement? Writing and publishing more than one book… which I never thought I’d do! Muddled Matrimonial Murder will make the eighth book I’ve published so far and I have four more manuscripts completed that will eventually be released.
What makes you laugh? My dog, my granddaughters, but mostly myself when I do kind of stupid things accidentally… like my mouth dyslexia kicking in at unfortunate moments.
What is your greatest extravagance? I’m a firm believer that life’s too short to not drink champagne! So, I regularly stock up on Trader Joe’s half bottles of champagne (which is actually quite good) and find reasons to celebrate those little things in life.
What are your pet peeves? People who don’t respect handicap parking spaces. And if those aren’t available when I have my granddaughter, people who park so close to my vehicle, it’s nearly impossible to open the door to help her into the seat. One of my other pet peeves is people either staring at her or trying to give me treatment advice when they don’t have any idea what her diagnosis is (trust me, it happens more often than you’d think!) I’m more than happy to talk with people about Rett Syndrome if they’re kind when asking.
Tell us something about yourself that no one else knows. Well if I told you then it wouldn’t be a secret any more 😊
What is always in your fridge? At least 3 kinds of cheese, champagne, chunky peanut butter, homemade blackberry jam, salad fixings, and avocados.
What is your most treasured possession? My laptop.
What is your favorite song, and why? I’m SOOOO boring… I don’t have a favorite. If I’m not listening to my granddaughters’ music while driving them around, I’m listening to audiobooks, not music. Once in a while I’ll play instrumental jazz or classical while I write, but it’s mostly in the background.
What did you eat for breakfast? Did you make it yourself? I almost always drink a smoothie for breakfast that I make myself. It’s a combination of whatever fruit I have on hand (bananas, apples, pears, peaches, etc.) with some type of vegetable (spinach, chard, red cabbage, squash, etc.) with nonfat plain yogurt and chia seeds or tofu for protein.
Describe your perfect day. A long walk with my dog, Missy, then sit and read through a cooking magazine over breakfast without thinking about all the things I need to accomplish that day. Then putter around the kitchen and bake up a batch of a new cookie recipe while listening to a new release suspense novel. Definitely lunch with my two granddaughters would be a bonus followed by some shopping with them. A late afternoon massage would be heavenly to work out those writer’s knots! Then relaxing at home in the early evening, sipping on champagne and nibbling on cheese while reading a cozy mystery with Missy snuggled on my lap. And most perfect would be someone to cook dinner for me and clean up afterwards, lol!
Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Jane! It’s been an honor getting to share a peek at my life and getting to share a bit about my new release!
About Kim Davis
Kim Davis lives in Southern California with her husband. When she's not chasing her puppy or spending time with her granddaughters she can be found either writing stories or working on her blog, Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder, or in the kitchen baking up yummy treats. She has published the suspense novel, A Game of Deceit, the Cupcake Catering Mystery series, and the Aromatherapy Mystery series. She also has had several children’s articles published in Cricket, Nature Friend, Skipping Stones, and the Seed of Truth magazines. Kim Davis is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.
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