Kate McKay first appeared in Murder with a Cherry on Top and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Kate.

What is your name? How old are you?
I’m Kate McKay. Some people call me Katy, while my grandmother still calls me Katydid, just like she did when I was little. I’m 33 when the Lickety Splits Ice Cream Shoppe mystery series begins and I launch my two new careers – sleuth and, well, that takes us to the next question.

What is your profession?
I’m tickled to have recently opened my own ice cream shop in my home town in New York’s Hudson Valley, the Lickety Splits Ice Cream Shoppe. I create delightful versions of all the classic flavors, but I also love dreaming up fun new flavors like Peanut Butter on the Playground, which is peanut butter ice cream infused with generous globs of luscious grape jelly. If that doesn’t make you a kid again, I don’t know what will. (Before that, I worked in New York City in Public Relations, putting on glitzy events and pitching stories to journalists, but that seems like a lifetime ago.)

Do you have a significant other?
Tricky question! I’ve started seeing my former high school beau, Jake Pratt, the blue-eyed cutie who was our school’s star baseball player. But I’m still not sure how I feel about reconnecting with him, given what went on between us between then and now. . .

What is his name and profession?
Jake started out as a criminal defense lawyer. But these days he runs his family’s business here in the Hudson Valley, the Juniper Hill Organic Dairy.

Any children?
Nope. But my 18-year-old niece moved in with Grams and me a few months ago, so I’ve kind of taking on a mothering role. (At least, at times.) Then again, sometimes Emma ends up playing a mothering role to me!

Do you have any sibling(s)?
I have two older sisters, Julie and Nina. They’re a few years older, so I’ve always played the role of the baby of the family. (That means I got bossed around a lot. Still do, at times.)

Do your parents live near you?
My parents both passed away when I was a child. From the age of ten, I was raised by my grandmother, Grams, who I’m living with once again. When she started experiencing health problems, I didn’t hesitate to leave behind my life in New York City to move back home and take over the role she once played with me.

Who is your best friend?
My best friend is Willow Baines, who has been my best friend since middle school. She still lives in our home town of Wolfert’s Roost, where she runs a yoga studio. She’s great at calming me down, usually by reminding me to take deep breaths. She’s also a terrific artist. In fact, she made the whimsical cartoonish paintings of ice cream concoctions that hang on the walls of my ice cream shop.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
Our household includes a spirited terrier named Digger and a considerably more serene pussycat named Chloe. Digger has taught Chloe to act more like a dog but interestingly he hasn’t picked up any feline trains from her.

What town do you live in?
I live in my home town of Wolfert’s Roost, a charming village on the Hudson River north of New York City. Autumn, when the leaves explode with fiery color, is the best time to see it, but it’s beautiful every season. It’s filled with history, too, since people have lived there since colonial days. There’s a lot of Dutch influence here, including my town’s former name: Modderplaatz, which means “muddy place.” (Not surprising that someone finally decided to change it!)

House or building complex? Own or Rent?
Home is the somewhat dilapidated but wonderful old Victorian I grew up in. It has an old-fashioned front porch, complete with rocking chairs. The exterior is painted a somewhat jarring shade of yellow that makes it hard to miss.

What is your favorite spot in your house?
The front porch. When I was a kid, I used to sit on it for hours, reading. Or plotting adventures with my sisters. I only wish I had more time for daydreaming on it now that I’m grown up!

Favorite meal? Favorite dessert?
You asked the right question! Meals are only prelude to dessert, as far as I’m concerned. And dessert has to be ice cream! It can be as elaborate as Baked Alaska or as simple as a scoop or two (or three) of classic vanilla. Of course, even if it’s something like pie or a brownie, ice cream is guaranteed to elevate it to an entirely new level.

Favorite hobby?
I’m one of those lucky people who has been able to turn my passion (ice cream) into my career. So ice cream is pretty much the center of my universe, at least at this point in my life.

Favorite color?
I suppose I should say something clever like Chocolate Brown, but I think it’s pink. Which is why my Lickety Splits Ice Cream Shop is decorated with pink and white stripes. It just screams “old fashioned ice cream parlour,” don’t you think?

Favorite author?
Jane Austen. All those intrigues! Isn’t it amazing that nothing much has changed in the past two hundred years?

Favorite vacation spot?
I’ve travelled quite a bit, and I adore the world capitals like London and Paris. But when it comes to making the most of down time, there’s no place like Hawaii. (In fact, I’ve thought of suggesting a romantic Hawaiian getaway to Jake. . .)

Favorite sports team?
The New York Yankees! The Hudson Valley is a close neighbor to New York City, after all.

Movies or Broadway?
A tough one, since I love both. But being a New Yorker makes going to Broadway shows a way of life. So I guess I’ll go with Broadway.

Are you a morning or a night person?
I’ve had to become a morning person, since early morning is when the day’s fresh ice cream gets made.

Amateur sleuth or professional?
Amateur! Believe me, I was never looking to get involved in anything like investigating murders! But somehow, one instance after another keeps coming up and for some reason I really have no choice but to start poking around . . .

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
My niece, Emma, has turned out to be invaluable. She’s a star when it comes to computers. That girl can find out anything just by clicking a few keys. People’s addresses, their history, their past entanglements and scandals . . . She’s also a topnotch artist, which has come in handy more than once.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
I’m up at the crack of dawn—and that’s on days when I’ve decided to sleep in. After a few shots of caffeine, I’m off to my shop, sometimes walking the few blocks and sometimes driving my shiny red pickup truck. I whip up a few batches of ice cream, make sure everything is in order to open my doors, and spend the rest of the day sharing my passion with my customers. I do get help running my shop from Emma, Willow, and Emma’s boyfriend, Ethan, which frees me up to follow other pursuits—like getting involved in the occasional murder investigation. I try to have dinner with Grams and Emma whenever possible. Then there’s Jake. Since we’re still getting our renewed relationship off the ground, I need to squeeze in a few hours for him here and there, too. I’m insanely busy. But I can honestly say that I’ve never been happier. I feel as if I’m finally living the life I was meant to live all along!

You can read more about Kate in Last Licks, the third book in the “Lickety Splits” cozy mystery series, coming December 31, 2019.

It’s autumn in the Hudson Valley, and Kate McKay has some tricks up her sleeve for a deliciously spooky season at her Lickety Splits Ice Cream Shoppe. But with a cold-blooded murderer thrown into the mix, the scares are about to become a little too real . . .

Kate receives the shock of a lifetime when she’s blindsided by an offer she can’t refuse. An assistant movie director desperately wants to shoot a key scene at Lickety Splits and she’s willing to pay big bucks to sweeten the last-minute deal. All Kate has to do is tolerate a bustling film crew for a few hours and provide one important prop—a scoop of handmade ice cream . . .

But when up-and-coming actress Savannah Crane drops dead after spooning down some chocolate almond fudge, Kate’s first taste of Hollywood might be her last. Someone poisoned the leading lady, and with Lickety Splits draped in yellow crime scene tape, detectives are ready to cast Kate as the leading suspect . . .

Determined to clear her name, Kate finds herself churning through a long list of unsavory characters to catch the real killer lurking around town. As she uncovers the truth about the jealous rivals and obsessive stalkers who haunted Savannah’s life, Kate soon realizes that tangling with the late starlet’s “fans” could make this her most terrifying fall yet . . .

Includes mouthwatering ice cream recipes from the Lickety Splits Ice Cream Shoppe!

Purchase Link
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About the author
Cynthia Baxter is the author of three mystery series. Her current series, The Lickety Splits Ice Cream Shoppe Mysteries, features Kate McKay, who owns and operates an ice cream parlor in upstate New York’s scenic Hudson Valley. The first two books are Murder With A Cherry On Top and Hot Fudge Murder. The third and most recent book is Last Licks.

Baxter’s previous series were the Reigning Cats & Dogs mysteries, featuring Long Island veterinarian Jessica Popper and her entourage of animals, including her own pets. Books include Dead Canaries Don’t Sing and Putting On The Dog. The Travel Packs a Suitcase series centers around Mallory Marlowe, a travel writer who is drawn into murder investigations as she researches the intriguing destinations she writes about.

To learn more about Cynthia, visit her website at cynthiabaxter.com.

All comments are welcomed.