Henny sits down for a question-and-answer session with dru’s book musings so that we, the readers, can get to know her better.

What is your full name?
Henrietta James, but everyone except Irene calls me Henny. I can’t imagine where my Mom got that nickname.

How old are you?
Getting close to thirty.

What is your profession?
I have a TV cooking show, even though I’m not a trained chef. I began my career as an assistant to Irene Foxglove, a diva chef who had a French cooking show, and who is always getting in dangerous trouble, even now that she’s gone back to France.

Do you have a significant other?
I sure do! I’ve been deliriously happily married to Patrick O’Malley for a year now.

What is his profession?
He’s an astronomy professor at the university. He looks at stars. I read recipes.

Do you have any children?
Not yet.

Do you have any siblings?
Two younger sisters, Beth and Jenna.

Are your parents nearby?
No. I’m in Chicago and my family is in Texas—too far away. I miss them.

Who is your best friend?
Patrick. Irene Foxglove might think she is, but that’s a stretch.

Do you have any pets?
We have a goofy, loveable lab mix named Beau. Irene despises him.

What town do you live in?
Chicago.

Do you live in a small town or a big city?
Right in the heart of the city, in the Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. It’s like a small town in a lot of ways.

What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
We are proud new homeowners. We bought a house built in the 1890s for the Columbian Exposition. We want to do a lot to it, a bit at a time.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
The kitchen because that’s where I spend my time. It’s been updated, but it’s still terribly out of date. My work surface is a chrome and Formica table. But the room has wonderful dark wood wainscoting and high windows that let lots of light flood the room on good days. There’s a good feel to the room, as though several women have happily cooked there before me.

What is your favorite meal and dessert?
What we had for our wedding supper—Lobster Thermidor with haricot vert bundles and a chocolate mousse cake for dessert.

Do you have any hobbies?
Patrick would tell you my hobby is saving Irene Foxglove from herself, but I think cooking is my hobby and my business.

What is your favorite vacation spot?
Oh, gosh, Patrick and I have never been on vacation together. But I guess now I’d say Texas, since I don’t live there anymore. We’re going for Christmas.

What is your idea of a really fun time?
A fancy meal at home with Patrick, a good glass of wine, and Beau lying by us but not begging.

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
Dealing with the Diva. That would be Irene, of course.

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
Amateur, definitely. I wouldn’t say I work with Irene, but she’s always the reason I get involved. Now her mysterious new love, the billionaire Chance Charpentier, helps me keep Irene in some sort of safety.

What is a typical day in your life like in general and when you are on a case?
I get up early to fix Patrick’s breakfast and see him off to the university. By the time I get his eggs scrambled, when Irene is in town, she usually calls with whatever scheme she has thought up for the day. As often as I can I remind her I have shows to plan and tape, but some days she drags me away from my work, like the day we went to Florence Sherman’s apartment and found out that not only had Florence mysteriously died in bed, now her body was missing.

Finding Florence, An Irene in Chicago Mystery #3
Genre: Culinary Cozy
Release: July 2022
Purchase Link

Irene is back in town. And Henny’s life is a mess.

Irene’s “voices” have told her that something is horribly amiss with a person dear to her. When she arrives, she learns that a death notice for Florence Sherman, her sometime friend, been published in the Sun-Times. Once Irene discovers her friend’s body is missing, the diva chef refuses to leave Chicago until she solves the mysterious disappearance. But, with Irene in Chicago, Henny’s successful “From My Mother’s Kitchen” TV cooking show and her precious time with Patrick, husband of her dreams, are seriously compromised by Irene’s insistence that finding Florence trumps any other concerns.

There’s a nice bit of Chicago history and lots of food talk. An appendix of recipes is attached.

About the author
Judy Alter is the author of four series—Kelly O’Connell Mysteries, Blue Plate Café Mysteries, Oak Grove Mysteries, and Irene in Chicago Culinary Mysteries. Finding Florence is third in the Irene in Chicago series, following Saving Irene and Irene In Danger.

Alter is retired as director of a small academic press and lives in a cottage in Fort Worth with her dog, Sophie. She is the mother of four and grandmother of seven and is an avid cook. She’s even written a book about cooking in her cottage, Gourmet on a Hot Plate.

All comments are welcomed.