Tainted
Tea For Two, my best-selling mystery
romance, is my homage to Agatha Christie and the English murder mystery genre.
So, to get started on this insider scoop on my novel, why don’t you prepare a
hot cup of delicious tea--not tainted, of course--and I’ll begin!
One
of the genres that I always wanted to write was an English murder mystery, a
la Ms. Christie. Before I start a project, I like to come up with a working
title. Many of the mysteries I’ve read had menacingly playful titles, so
TAINTED TEA FOR TWO just popped into my head. Naturally, this meant poison had
to play a role in the novel! And not just poison... but injections, and, oddly
enough, potatoes!
For my “What if” scenario, I
proposed: what if having a nice spot of tea took on a sinister meaning? Hard Shell Word Factory
loved the idea, and soon published TAINTED TEA FOR TWO, both electronically and
in print.
While in England, a personal trainer finds
romance... and murder. Can she prove her innocence?
After a few years, TAINTED
TEA FOR TWO was picked up by Uncial Press. Its new cover won an Ariana Award
for Best Contemporary /Suspense /Mystery /Historical Romance.
Someone wants Lord Embrey dead. Will the method of
execution be by poison, or injection, or... potato??
In
addition to winning the Ariana Award, TAINTED TEA FOR TWO has been a
best-seller over the years and has received 5 star reviews with The Romance
Studio and Word on Romance. The book video I created for this mystery earned a
Cameo Awards nomination for the Best Romantic Suspense in the Amateur Division.
As always, there are small
snippets from my life embedded into this novel. The heroine, Ms. Marty Jackson,
is a personal fitness trainer. Her name is Marty because her father--a former
Mr. Universe--wanted a son to carry on his name. Although I’m not a trainer, I
do have a fitness background, having worked for thirteen years for an exercise
program shown on public television.
Marty also has a cherished
possession similar to one that I have... or had, given to me by my daughter.
Marty took out her most prized possession: a
paperweight in the shape of a giant, clear crystal. She held it upside down,
and the colorful pearls suspended inside gently floated to the bottom. A kid's
toy, of course, but she never went anywhere without it. It was the last thing her
father had given her.
She gave it a place of honor on the nightstand...
This isn’t an actual picture
of the paperweight, but it’s close enough. As with Marty’s diamond, mine also
fell to its doom.
"No!"
Marty raced to the window and watched her beloved remembrance of her father
shatter into a zillion pieces. Part of her shattered with it.
For
a classic English murder mystery, I recommend TAINTED TEA FOR TWO. I hope you enjoy Marty and
Gregory’s story.
Happy reading,
Susanne Marie Knight
Read outside the box: award-winning Romance Writing With A Twist!
