Sometimes the best way to know a person is by asking questions, where you can learn more about what makes them tick.

Let’s see what Josie has to say today.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
What is your name?
– – Josie Callahan

How old are you?
– – Just short of 30.

What is your profession?
– – My profession is a moving target. After college, I worked as a section editor for the Austin Gazette. Can you say downsized? Since arriving home with my tail between my legs, I’ve worked as a waitress and hostess at Milagro, a Tex-Mex restaurant owned and operated by my family. I also write stories and articles for the local paper, the Broken Boot Bugle. I’m working my way up from weddings to burglaries and the occasional murder.

Do you have a significant other?
– – Nope. Tried one of those and didn’t much care for it. My significant other left me tapping my toe at the altar while he headed out for the Great Barrier Reef. However, if I was tempted to give love a second chance, he would be someone from a small town like Broken Boot.

Any children?
– – Heck, no.

Do you have any sibling(s)?
– – No ma’am.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
– – My sidekick is Lenny, my long-haired chihuahua. He’s a bit territorial. Enough said.

What town do you live in?
– – Hold on to your hat. I live in Broken Boot, Texas–and yes, it really does exist even if it is the cheesiest name ever.

Do you rent or own?
– – Neither. I live in the loft above our restaurant. I guess you could say that Lenny and I are live-in security guards.

What is your favorite spot in your house?
– – I love the cozy living room the best. It has a great view of the quaint storefronts and wooden sidewalks of Main Street. Lenny and I love to wrap up in a quilt while we write. Actually, I write his blog and my articles for the Bugle while he licks my arm and begs for doggie bagels.

Who is your best friend?
– – Goth Girl–Patti Perez to most folks–has been my best friend since I moved to Broken Boot at the age of twelve. I moved in with my Aunt Linda, Uncle Eddie, and Senora Mari after my parents died. Patti could always distract me with her unique wardrobe and edgy humor.

Amateur sleuth or professional?
– – Amateur, I guess. Lord knows, I’m not getting paid for it.

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
– – When he’s in a good mood, I work with Deputy Quint Lightfoot of the Big Bend County Sheriff’s Office. When he thinks I’m overstepping, I work alone or with Lenny.

Favorite meal?
– – Depends on the day. Chile rellenos in the summer. Chicken-fried chicken in the winter. I’m thinking your readers from outside the Southwest might think that ‘chicken-fried chicken’ is a bit redundant. That may be true; but it’s to die for. It’s not just fried chicken. It’s a huge boneless chicken filet that’s battered, fried, and served with delicious peppery white gravy.

Favorite dessert?
– – Sopapillas and honey. Sopapilla cheesecake ain’t bad either.

Favorite hobby?
– – I keep pretty busy between the restaurant and the paper, but since Senora Mari dragged Aunt Linda, Patti, and I into joining her Ballet Folklorico troupe, I’ve had a lot of fun. Just don’t tell her that. I already get enough ‘I told you so’s’ from my abuela.

Favorite vacation spot?
– – Camping in Big Bend National Park is my favorite. Even though my camping spot in the Chisos Mountains is only about an hour away, it’s 6,000 feet higher in elevation and fifty degrees cooler than the streets of Broken Boot on a sizzling summer day.

Favorite color?
– – Turquoise

Favorite author?
– – Jodi Thomas. I may be jaded, but I enjoy Jodi’s cowboy heroes.

Favorite sports team?
– – West Texas University Tornadoes

Movies or Broadway?
– – Movies. Maybe I’ll get to Broadway one day.

Are you a morning or a night person?
– – I’m an early bird person. I love being out early for a walk or a bike ride. Unfortunately, my job requires I be at my best until ten o’clock in the evening. Ugh.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
– – Lenny licks my face. We go for a walk. We eat downstairs in the bar while Carlos and the rest of the prep crew prepare for lunch service. When Senora Mari arrives Lenny takes a nap upstairs and I don my waitress getup: Wranglers, peasant blouse, low bun, and flower behind my ear. Between lunch and dinner, I slip upstairs to write or take a nap. Repeat for dinner service.

On non-typical days-which seem to crop up more and more–I help Uncle Eddie at our other family establishment, Two Boots Dance Hall. Then there’s the Homestead Days Festival, the Charity Chili Cook-off, or the Cinco de Mayo Parade. Uncle Eddie’s always coming up with an event to entice the tourists to visit Broken Boot and sample our family recipes at Milagro.

You can read about Josie in Cinco de Murder, the third book in the “Taste of Texas” mystery series. The first book in the series is Here Today, Gone Tamale.

Tex-Mex waitress and part-time reporter Josie Callahan serves up more Lone Star justice in this spicy mystery from the author of The Good, the Bad, and the Guacamole.

It’s fiesta time in Broken Boot, Texas, and tourists are pouring into town faster than free beer at a bull roping for the mouthwatering Cinco de Mayo festivities. Tex-Mex waitress Josie Callahan, her feisty abuela, and even her spunky Chihuahua Lenny are polishing their folklórico dances for Saturday’s big parade, while Uncle Eddie is adding his own spicy event to the fiesta menu: Broken Boot’s First Annual Charity Chili Cook-off.

But Uncle Eddie’s hopes of impressing the town council go up in smoke when cantankerous chili cook Lucky Straw is found dead in his tent. And when Josie’s beloved uncle is accused of fatal negligence, she, Lenny, and the steadfast Detective Lightfoot must uncover who ended the ambitious chilihead’s life–before another cook kicks the bucket.

Purchase Link
# # # # # # # # # # #

About the author
Rebecca Adler grew up on the sugar beaches of the Florida Gulf Coast. Drawn to the Big Apple by the sweet smell of wishful thinking, she studied acting on Broadway until a dark-eyed cowboy flung her over his saddle and hightailed it to the Southwest.

She’s currently content to pour her melodramatic tendencies into writing the Taste of Texas culinary mysteries from Berkley Prime Crime: Here Today, Gone Tamale; The Good, the Bad, and the Guacamole; and Cinco de Murder. Set in far West Texas, her humorous stories are filled with delicious suspense and scrumptious Tex-Mex recipes. Her alter ego, Gina Lee Nelson, writes contemporary romance with a sweet, Southern-fried flavor. Visit Rebecca at AuthorRebeccaAdler.com.

A former president of North Texas Romance Writers, Rebecca is currently a member of Sisters in Crime and Romance Writers of America. When not writing, she spends a great deal of time on her other favorite pastime, directing high school theatre.

All comments are welcomed.