T.C. (Toni) LoTempio joins us for this week’s The Cozy 52 interview. I’m so excited to get to know Toni better – read on to learn more about all her books, what inspires her, and who her favourite writers are.
Who or What is The Cozy 52? Each week I will be sharing an interview with someone involved with Cozy Mysteries – an author, blogger, Facebook Group host, podcaster, cover designer – so that we can showcase this amazing community! I hope you’ll discover some new authors, plus learn more about what goes on behind the scenes with the people who write, publish and promote cozy mysteries!
Introducing Toni LoTempio
NAME: Toni LoTempio (aka T.C. LoTempio)
LIST ALL YOUR COZY MYSTERY SERIES:
- Nick and Nora Mysteries – first three by Berkley Prime Crime, four, five and subsequent by Beyond the Page
- Pet Rescue Mysteries – Both titles were published by Crooked Lane –series discontinued in 2018
- Pet Shop Mysteries – first originally published by Midnight Ink; re-issue of one, two and subsequent by Beyond the Page
- Tiffany Austin Food Blogger Mysteries – debuting April 2023; Severn House
HOW ARE YOUR COZY MYSTERIES PUBLISHED? All are published by established houses. Beyond the Page is a digital publisher. I self-published some paranormal suspense before I acquired my agent.
The Q&A
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF
I was born and raised in New York City near Greenwich Village and moved to New Jersey when I was 13. I was always interested in writing at a young age and often made up my own stories when I didn’t like the ones in the books. Life got in the way and I didn’t resume writing until years afterward. I self-published a few paranormal thrillers and acquired my agent in 2011. In 2013 we sold my first Nick and Nora mystery, MEOW IF IT’S MURDER, to Penguin – and thus it began!
LIST THREE FUN FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF THAT WE WOULDN’T READ IN YOUR ‘OFFICIAL’ BIO.
- I love to read comic books – Superman is my favorite;
- I studied ballet until I was 13;
- I have a huge series book collection that includes first editions of Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton and Dana Girls among others (five bankers bookcases full and growing)
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START WRITING? WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO WRITE COZY MYSTERIES?
I always loved to make up stories, especially when I didn’t like the way the ones I was reading ended LOL. I’ve always been a big mystery fan, started with Nancy Drew, then graduated to Agatha Christie and Erle Stanley Gardner (I’ve read ALL the Perry Masons). I liked the cozy formula and since I was also a big Murder, She Wrote fan it just seemed like a natural progression.
WHAT SUBGENRE(S) OR THEMES OF COZY MYSTERIES DO YOU WRITE?
Ah, pets of course. Nick in the Nick and Nora mystery series is a fat, sassy tuxedo modelled after my cat ROCCO. I am branching out a bit with my new Tiffany Austin series. The main character is an ex-chef who writes a food column for a magazine, so I guess that would be considered a culinary mystery (although there are pets in it, but neither are sleuths like Nick in Nick and Nora or Purrday in the Pet Shop mysteries).
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR COZY MYSTERY SERIES. WHAT INSPIRES YOUR SERIES?
The Nick and Nora mysteries are about an ex-true crime reporter, Nora Charles, who returned to her hometown of Cruz, California to take over her late mother’s sandwich shop. She also writes part time for an online crime magazine. Along the way she adopts a fat, sassy tuxedo cat (or is it the other way around?) and together the two of them get embroiled in solving mysteries. Nick’s former owner is a missing PI (who might or might not be a spy) who taught him how to play Scrabble, and Nick manages to spell out some pretty important clues for Nora in the books.
The Pet Shop mysteries center around Shell McMillan, an actress who inherits her aunt’s pet shop. Shell moves from California to Fox Hollow Connecticut and becomes a murder suspect right off the bat. With the help of her former co-star, Gary Presser, and her aunt Tillie’s one eyed Persian cat, she manages to find out who really dunnit and get herself out of hot water.
The Tiffany Austin Food Blogger mysteries center around Tiffany Austin, an ex-chef who returns to her hometown of Branson, Georgia after a bad relationship. Right of the bat she becomes a suspect in the murder of a colleague at the magazine she works for.
What inspires my series? Well, all of them with the exception of the latest one have been inspired by animals: Nick and Nora was inspired by my cat ROCCO, Pet Rescue by my cat Maxx, and the Pet Shop mysteries were written because a friend of mine wanted a mystery with a one-eyed Persian cat in it!!!!! The latest series, Tiffany Austin Food Blogger, was inspired by my own love of food and the Food Channel (I just love Guy’s Grocery Games and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, among other shows!)
WHY DO YOU THINK PEOPLE LOVE TO READ COZY MYSTERIES?
I think everyone fancies themselves an amateur detective in one way or another, and love to solve the mysteries alongside the main sleuth. I know I do! I usually end up guessing the killer halfway through either the book or the tv show and I’m usually right 90% of the time!
ASIDE FROM BEING AN AUTHOR, ARE YOU INVOLVED IN THE COZY COMMUNITY IN ANY OTHER WAY?
I and my cat ROCCO have a blog, Cats, Books and More Cats, where we interview writers, host giveaways and review the latest cozies. You can check us out at: www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com
WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE WRITERS?
Gee, I have way too many to mention, but some of my favorites are Laura Childs, Anna Gerard aka Diane A.S. Stuckart, E.J. Copperman, Miranda James, Sofie Kelly, Lorna Barrett, Krista Davis, Kate Carlisle, Jenn McKinlay…I could go on and on. I’m also fond of the JD Robb “In Death” series although that’s not considered a cozy. And let’s not forget Erle Stanley Gardner. I also love horror – Stephen King and John Saul are among my favorites in that genre. Thrillers, Alex Kava…like I said, I could go on and on. I’m a voracious reader.
IF YOU WERE MAROONED ON A DESERTED ISLAND, WHAT 3 BOOKS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU?
These answers might surprise you: Gone With the Wind, The Thorn Birds, and Little Women. Gotta love the classics!!!!!
DO YOU HAVE ANY PROJECTS COMING UP THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?
Absolutely!!!!!!
The sixth Nick and Nora mystery, A PURR BEFORE DYING, will be out February 21, 2023 from Beyond the Page. The first in my new Tiffany Austin series, EAT DRINK AND BE DEAD, will be out in hardcover from Severn House April 4, 2023. The third Pet Shop Mystery will be out from Beyond the Page sometime in late June. Still debating about a title for that one! The Pet Rescue series was discontinued by Crooked Lane in 2018, but the first two in the short lived series, PURR M FOR MURDER and DEATH BY A WHISKER, can still be purchased online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
The Quickie 5
- FAVOURITE FOOD: Anything Japanese!!!!!!
- BEVERAGE OF CHOICE: Iced Tea
- MOST PRIZED POSSESSION: My Nancy Drew collection
- SUMMER OR WINTER? Fall!
- FAVOURITE VACATION SPOT? A tie between Maui and Disneyland
To keep up to date with Toni LoTempio online, you can connect with her on:
Thank you for a lovely interview~ Toni (TC) and ROCCO
And thanks so much for your time and support Toni!
Your books look good I cannot wait to read them. Thank you for the article Deborah deborahortega229@yahoo.com