by Devon Delaney

By way of introduction, I am the author of Serving Up Spite, book eight in my cooking competition, cozy, murder mystery series. I live in a quaint town on the coast of Connecticut. I like to think my town is keeping step with the times. In fact, we are relatively modern here. The intersections have talking pedestrian crossing detectors. Our police force has one electric vehicle. On the other hand, our most congested traffic spot has an archaic four-way stop sign that holds up traffic for an unbearable amount of time. Baby steps.

My cozy mystery series is set in a similar coastal town, Augustin. In Serving Up Spite, Augustin is dealing with the pros and cons associated with modernization. If Augustin were a human character, it would personify the traits of a person who has lived his or her life a certain way and isn’t willing to be an old dog that is taught new tricks. Think curmudgeon, and you wouldn’t be far off. On the other hand, in order to survive and thrive, the town must consider modernization, or its population will age out and disappear, never to be replaced by a younger generation who is unwilling to live without adequate cell tower service and safety cameras observing every block.

You can change your clothes, your hair color, and your attitude, but to change a town’s culture after two hundred years is a tall order. And why would it be necessary anyway? If every town were from the cookie cutter mold of what someone dictates modern, we’d only be living someone else’s dream, without a nod to the historic foundation which seemed to work for decades. Food for thought.

Where does the town fit into the book’s cook-off, murder mystery plot? The discussion of how much an established small town should be willing to adapt in order to attract a younger populace, along with cash-wielding tourists, riles up the usually placid Augustin. No spoilers, but I can tell you from experience, cook-offs are as competitive as any sporting event. The event’s atmosphere is intense. Judgements are hotly contested because the consequences are huge. Add a parallel hot-button issue hovering over those involved, and deadly sparks could fly. The problem is so fraught with divisiveness, murder may have been the only resolution. A lesson for the citizens of Augustin to be wary of, perhaps?

Augustin is always a willing character in my books. Why wouldn’t he/she be? I gave the town life. When relevant, I grab the plot reigns and steer through the historic buildings, scenic parkways, and the lapping waves of the Long Island Sound to showcase the hometown of my main characters. I always allude to the fact that a piece of the town lives in the heart of each character. The charm of a historic hometown is an anchor for the readers. The familiarity of Augustin frames the action, lending a note of contentment. That is, until something goes terribly wrong, and the peace is threatened. I can’t reveal how the murder is resolved, but I can say Augustinites bleed history and tradition, and it’s going to take the most extreme of circumstances to change that mindset.

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I am a wife, mother of three, grandmother of two and an accomplished cooking contester. I taught computer education and Lego Robotics for over ten years prior to pursuing writing. Along the way, I have been handsomely rewarded for my recipe innovation. Among the many prizes I have won are a full kitchen of major appliances, six-figure top cash prizes and four trips to Disney World. I have also won the grand prize in a national writing contest for my ‘foodie’ poem “Ode to Pork Passion.” Serving Up Spite is book #8 in my cooking competition murder mystery series.

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