Tart Words: Writers read. Readers bake. Bakers write.

 What do writers need to consider about Setting for their story? 

 What are the two ingredients for a tasty treat? 

Linda Hengerer talks with author Barbara Barrett. To avoid a midlife crisis, Barbara Barrett wrote fiction at night while still employed in human resources for Iowa State Government. After releasing eleven full-length romance novels and two novellas, she turned to the cozy mystery genre, having discovered it years before when pregnant with her first child. She used one of her retirement pastimes,...

 What is a set piece and where can I get one? How do I use it in a story?

 How can television reporter Lily Atwood keep a secret private when she's in the public's eye? Find out in Her Perfect Life . Hank Phillippi Ryan speaks from personal experience as an investigative reporter about always being on when out in public, exploring standalone books versus series books, and her pandemic-inspired platform for authors, The Back Room . HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN is the US...

 What makes the eggy custard climb the sides of the baking dish? Can it be...magic? 

 Sweet cherries and a cherry liqueur-infused custard make a summery dish. 

What jobs has Hannah Dennison had that inspired cozy mystery series? British-born, Hannah Dennison originally moved to Los Angeles to pursue screenwriting. She has been an obituary reporter, antique dealer, private jet flight attendant, and Hollywood story analyst. Hannah has served on numerous judging committees for Mystery Writers of America and teaches mystery writing workshops for the UCLA Ext...

 Settle in for a good read, a hot cuppa, and these delicious Russian spice cookies! 

In this episode, Linda Hengerer talks with Amy Vansant about her two upcoming releases. Find out what "Meat Bingo" is and what it has to do with Pineapple Cruise , and how Pineapple Circus came to have a circus setting. USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Amy Vansant has written over 20 books, including the fun, thrilling Shee McQueen series, the rollicking, twisty Pinea...

In this episode of Tart Words, Suzanne Fox and Linda Hengerer are discussing Mary Stewart’s book The Ivy Tree and how she uses Brat Farrar , Josephine Tey’s fictional take on a real-life situation, to guide the reader in one direction before taking them somewhere else.    It was first published in 1961 by Hodder & Stoughton and is now available in ebook editions.   Description from Amazon: Whi...

 Have you seen a jar of Honey for Cheese and wondered whether it would be tasty? Wonder no more. 

Join me for the first themed Tart Words podcast week. It begins Monday with an encore presentation of Emilya Naymark's episode.  Wednesday's Tart Thoughts are about Trial Run, Dick Francis's novel set mainly in Moscow. End the week on Friday with a recipe for Pryaniki, Russian spice cookies, which are easy and delicious. Emilya Naymark’s debut novel is “Hide In Place” from Crooked L...

In this episode of Tart Words, Linda Hengerer talks about Dick Francis’s book Trial Run , and how he uses setting to emphasize the story, shows how societal expectations affect actions, and how to build characters for story.    It was first published in the United States in 1978 by Berkley Books and is now available in ebook editions.   Description from Amazon: The last place veteran horseman Rand...

In this episode, Linda Hengerer talks with Tracee de Hahn. Tracee de Hahn is the author of classic tales of intrigue and suspense published by Minotaur Books. Swiss Vendetta was inspired by her years in Switzerland. A Well-Timed Murder probed the heart of the Swiss watch industry. She is National Membership Liaison for Sisters in Crime . Find her at TraceedeHahn.com to sign up for her newsletter a...

Linda Hengerer talks with Alan Orloff, whose latest YA thriller I Play One on TV came out from Down & Out Books on July 19, 2021. Alan Orloff won an ITW Thriller Award for his novel, PRAY FOR THE INNOCENT , and he won a Derringer Award for his short story, “Dying in Dokesville.” He’s also had novels shortlisted for the Agatha Award and Shamus Award, and a story selected for THE BEST AMERICAN M...

In this episode of Tart Words, Suzanne Fox and Linda Hengerer are discussing Mary Stewart’s book Thunder on the Right and how she uses omniscient point of view, how her protagonist differs from her usual protagonist, and why we think this might have been the first book Mary Stewart wrote. It was first published in 1957 by Hodder & Stoughton and is now available in ebook editions.   Description...

 How do you make S'mores without a grill? S'mores are the iconic campfire or grilling dessert. Toasted marshmallows are sandwiched with chocolate bars between graham crackers. Does summer get any better than that? 

In this episode, Linda Hengerer talks with Neil Plakcy. Neil S. Plakcy is the author of over fifty gay romance, gay mystery and adventure, and cozy mystery novels. His eclectic work career includes stints in shopping mall construction, web development, and computer game producing. He grew up in suburban Pennsylvania where the golden retriever mysteries are set, and spent many childhood hours in hi...

In this episode, Linda Hengerer talks with Mia P. Manansala about her debut novel Arsenic and Adobo, Filipino cooking - lumpia! - and how the pandemic affected her routine. Mia P. Manansala (she/her) is a writer and certified book coach from Chicago who loves books, baking, and bad-ass women. She uses humor (and murder) to explore aspects of the Filipino diaspora, queerness, and her millennial lov...

In this episode, Linda Hengerer talks with Diane A.S. Stuckart.  Diane A.S. Stuckart began her writing career in the 1990s as the critically acclaimed author of historical romance under the names Alexa Smart and Anna Gerard. She later switched to the mystery genre and is the NYT bestselling author of the Black Cat Bookshop Mysteries (written as Ali Brandon) and the award-winning Leonardo da Vinci...

In this episode, Linda Hengerer talks with Vincent H. O'Neil. Vincent H. O’Neil is the Malice Award-winning author of the Exile murder mysteries from St. Martin’s Press and the military science fiction Sim War series (written as Henry V. O’Neil) from HarperCollins. He has also authored several short stories in Mystery Tribune, Bourbon Penn, Mystery Weekly, Hypnos, and Lovecraftiana magazines....

In this episode of Tart Words, Linda Hengerer talks with Tara Lush.  Tara Lush is a Rita Award finalist, an Amtrak writing fellow, and a George C. Polk Award-winning journalist. For the past decade, she's been a reporter with the Associated Press, covering crime, alligators, natural disasters, and politics. She also writes contemporary romance set in tropical locations. A fan of vintage pulp-...

In this episode, Linda Hengerer talks with Shawn Reilly Simmons about culinary cozy mysteries, Malice Domestic and 2021's More Than Malice, and writing. Shawn Reilly Simmons is the Agatha and Anthony Award-winning author and editor of The Red Carpet Catering Mysteries and of twenty short stories appearing in various anthologies. She serves on the Board of Malice Domestic, is an editor at Leve...

In this episode, Linda Hengerer talks with Emilya Naymark. Emilya Naymark’s debut novel is “Hide In Place” from Crooked Lane Books. Her short stories appear in the Harper Collins anthology A Stranger Comes to Town,  Secrets in the Water, After Midnight: Tales from the Graveyard Shift, River River Journal, Snowbound: Best New England Crime Stories 2017, and 1+30: THE BEST OF MYSTORY. She has a degr...