Felicity Koerber sits down for a question-and-answer session with dru’s book musings so that we, the readers, can get to know her better. Are you ready? Felicity, take it away!

What is your full name?
Felicity Aria Koerber.

How old are you?
32

What is your profession?
I am a craft chocolate maker. Before I became a craft chocolate maker, I was a physical therapist.

Do you have a significant other?
I am a relatively recent widow. Kevin was the love of my life, and losing him was the reason I quit my practice and decided to start making chocolate. It had been a dream of ours to travel to origin and make craft chocolate together, after he retired. But that never happened.

What is their name and profession?
Since I’ve moved home to Galveston to start my chocolate business, I’ve come back into contact with Arlo Romero, a boyfriend from high school – who is now a cop. And I’ve also gotten to know Logan Hanlon, a rugged pilot who is a newcomer to the island. While I’ve been grieving too much to be looking for a new relationship, I still find myself sparking with both of them. To bad Arlo’s taken. And that when I first met Logan, I told him I just wanted to be friends. I seem to stink when it comes to romantic timing. But who knows what the future will bring, when I am ready.

Do you have any children?
No.

Do you have any siblings?
No, I am an only child.

Are your parents nearby?
Relatively. I live on an island, and they moved to the mainland after a recent hurricane. I see them from time to time. They came to the grand opening party for my chocolate business. It was the make-up grand opening, after I solved the murder at my original grand opening party.

Who is your best friend?
Autumn Ellis. We have been best friends since middle school, and I can show you the embarrassing mid-90s pictures to prove it. She has been there for me during some really rough times. But I think that’s how you know who your true friends are, you know? Autumn used to be a mystery writer, and she still has all kinds of theories about mysteries. But she makes her living now selling vintage jewelry on Etsy.

Do you have any pets?
I have an adorable lop-eared bunny named Knightley. Kevin and I got him from a rescue center, after we had moved to Seattle. Rabbits don’t like travel, so driving cross country with me – alone – when I moved back to Texas had to be really hard on him. But he bounced back, and he’s found ways to be really happy again. I guess I have too.

I am also currently pet-sitting Mateo’s octopus. Mateo is a temporary employee of mine, on the island as part of a marine biology research project. He was working with a group researching the genetics of cacao trees before that, which makes for an unusual switch in direction, but perhaps the group needed someone who knows botany to add context to their experiments. I just know Mateo is a good worker, who wants to learn all he can about processing chocolate. Which is one of my favorite things to talk about.

What town do you live in?
I live on Galveston Island, which is a barrier island on the Gulf Coast. I’ve always lived near the water, and I used to really like sailing and boats in general – until Kevin’s accident. I still love the sound of the ocean, and the beach. It’s calming – and healing.

Do you live in a small town or a big city?
Somewhere in between? Galveston has a population of roughly 50,000 people. But it feels more like a small town, especially when you’re in the Historic District. My shop is on the Strand, which has buildings that survived the 1900 Hurricane, some of them now filled with kitschy touristy things, because the island is a big tourist draw – especially with the cruise ship terminal right there, and a major airport nearby in Houston.

Type of dwelling and do you own or rent?
My aunt is a house flipper. (She’s also a matchmaker, but that’s another story!) I’ve been staying with her, since her husband works offshore, and she has plenty of extra room. I think it is good that we can keep each other from being lonely. Right now, we’re in one of the big Victorian homes in the Historic District. But I’ve chipped in to help her buy an historic hotel that came up for sale on the Bay side of the island. We’ll be moving in there as soon as the place we’re in now sells. I’m kind of excited to be living in a hotel – even if it is going to need a serious amount of work.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
I really like the kitchen. Aunt Naomi has updated it with modern appliances, while respecting the Victorian home’s architecture and original style. It’s a welcoming space. I love going in there to cook, especially when my friends are coming over, or when Uncle Greg will be home. There’s enough room for everyone to be comfortable and hang out and share their lives. It is kind of what I hope my shop – Greetings and Felicitations – can be on a larger scale, for the island.

Favorite meal and dessert?
I love to travel and try new foods (have you ever had Peruvian Lomo Saltado? It’s amazing), but of course the foods I grew up with as a kid have a special place in my heart. So give me some gumbo, with a side of sweet potatoes or potato salad, any time it’s raining or the weather is cold or there’s a reason for family to come together.

My favorite dessert is bread pudding. Once, for our anniversary, Kevin and I had it at a seafood place in Louisiana, and it had a boozy chocolate sauce. I went home and re-created it. Later, when I first started making chocolate, I developed a single-origin version of it. And then, when I realized that I needed to offer something in my shop for people who wanted something other than a 2-ingredient chocolate bar, I decided to make a truffle that had the flavors of that bread pudding – and then I made truffles from all the desserts of my childhood.

Here is a sampling of some of my favorite recipes. Bean to Bar Mysteries Bonus Recipes

Do you have any hobbies?
I collect maps. Places I’ve been. Places I want to go. It’s the whole world, and a world of possibilities, all in a wooden box in my room. I also read a lot, and I love to cook.

What is your favorite vacation spot?
Maui, hands down. Kevin and I went there for our honeymoon, and I didn’t want to go home. The fresh pineapple everywhere, the beaches, even the drive to see the waterfalls – I just fell in love with the place. And it reminds me of when everything was perfect in my life. I knew what kind of life I wanted, and how to get there. I’d love to go back – but it would be kind of hard, too.

What music do you listen to?
I like a lot of different kinds of music. Of course, there’s Cajun music, which reminds me of that whole side of the family, and parties with dancing. The other side of my family’s not that into music – except for my grandfather (my dad’s dad). He had this thing for opera, and when I was a kid, I got to visit him for a week or two most summers, in Chicago, and he’d take me and my cousin to the opera house. I never did enjoy the opera – but I did like getting to dress like a princess and have coffee during intermission. I just wished we could do that during pop music concerts instead. But can you imagine my grandfather at a 90s era pop concert? I still like that kind of 90s music. I also like jazz. I used to go with Autumn and her mom to live performances at a coffee house in Houston, right up until I moved to Seattle.

Do you have a favorite book?
I’m a huge Jane Austen fan. As you may have read in the newspaper – or on Ash Diaz’s oh-so-annoying blog – I had a lot of trouble with the volumes of Emma I found at that garage sale. But that doesn’t mean I don’t still love the story.

What is your idea of a really fun time?
I love cooking and making people happy. I love throwing parties, or just having people over to watch movies and eat fun snacks I’ve made. If you can get the guests to help barbecue it, fondue it, or decorate it, I’m in.

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
Bean to Trouble. (It’s a play on bean to truffle, which is when you process chocolate from dried cacao beans to a finished project. Because my life has been crazy since I started working with chocolate.)

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
Oh, I’m not really a sleuth. I just happened to solve that murder that one time. I know why you’re thinking that – because of the unfortunate incident outside my shop last night. But just because that young man got himself shot on my doorstep, that doesn’t mean I’m going to be able to solve his murder. Even if Logan is already asking me if I want to look into it. And if Ash is telling everyone I’m the next Nancy Drew. Logan helped me get information I needed the last time, and he’s promised he’s got some intriguing information about what might have happened to the dead guy, but I’m not getting involved. Even if it would be nice to work with Logan again. And it would frustrate Arlo.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
I usually have breakfast with my aunt and then head to my shop, where I help get everything ready for opening. I promoted Carmen to pastry chef – which is partly what she was doing anyway – so I get to sample whatever amazing thing she’s made out of my chocolate, and then I get to work, roasting cacao beans or doing the accounting, or talking with shop customers and corporate clients. When work’s done, I hang out with my aunt, or with friends – or sometimes it’s just me and my bunny Knightley, reading.

What does a typical day look like when you are on a case?
I wind up running around like a crazy person, leaving my employees to run the business while Logan and I chase clues, and Arlo tries to get me to stop putting myself in danger. Which is why this time, I’m minding my own business. Well, I hope I can stay out of it. Because Mateo didn’t come in for his shift this morning. He doesn’t have any family here or anyone to look out for him. So if he really has disappeared, and it has something to do with what happened to the guy who died on my doorstep – how can I not try to help?

70% Dark Intentions, A Bean to Bar Mystery #2
Genre: Cozy
Release: July 2021
Purchase Link

Felicity Koerber’s bean to bar chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand is bringing in plenty of customers – in part due to the notoriety of the recent murder of one of her assistants, which she managed to solve. Things seem to be taking a turn for the better. Her new assistant, Mateo, even gets along with Carmen, the shop’s barista turned pastry chef. Felicity thinks she’s learning to cope with change – right up until one of her friends gets engaged. Everyone’s expecting her to ask Logan, her former bodyguard, to be her plus one. But even the thought of asking out someone else still makes her feel disloyal to her late husband’s memory — so maybe she hasn’t moved on from her husband’s death as much as she thought.

Felicity isn’t planning to contact Logan any time soon. Only, Felicity finds ANOTHER body right outside her shop – making it two murders at Greetings and Felicitations in as many months. That night, Mateo disappears, leaving Felicity to take care of his pet octopus. The police believe that Mateo committed the murder, but Felicity is convinced that, despite the mounting evidence, something more is going on, and Mateo may actually be in trouble.

When Logan assumes that he’s going to help Felicity investigate, she realizes she’s going to have to spend time with him – whether she’s ready to really talk to him or not. Can Felicity find out what happened to Mateo, unmask a killer, and throw an engagement party all at the same time?

About the author
Amber Royer writes the Chocoverse comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series and the Bean To Bar Mysteries. She is also co-author of the cookbook There Are Herbs In My Chocolate, which combines culinary herbs and chocolate in over 60 sweet and savory recipes, and had a long-running column for Dave’s Garden, where she covered gardening and crafting. She is also the author of Story Like A Journalist, a textbook/workbook for novelists. She blogs about creative writing technique and all things chocolate related over at amberroyer.com. Amber has been teaching creative writing to writers of all genres for over a decade in North Texas for UT Arlington Continuing Education and Writing Workshops Dallas. If you are very nice to her, she might make you cupcakes.

All comments are welcomed.