Rosetta Sugarbaker Calloway first appeared in Game Of Scones and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Sugar.

What is your name?
Rosetta Sugarbaker Calloway aka “Sugar” to friends

How old are you?
Thirty-two

What is your profession?
I used to be an editor at a big glossy magazine, but when I was down-sized I took the opportunity to start my own business along with blue-ribbon baker, Dixie Spicer. At Sugar & Spice we publish community cookbooks – the kind your church or your kid’s soccer team puts together, usually using the sale of the books as a fund raiser. So far, I’m loving it!

Do you have a significant other?
No, I don’t.

Do you have any sibling(s)?
No, siblings. Though I’ve often wished I had some.

Do your parents live near you?
My father has been gone for several years. My mother lives in Georgia. I love her to pieces, but believe me, it’s best my mama and I live several thousand miles apart.

Who is your best friend?
My best friend is my business partner, Dixie. Some people in town call her, Spicy. She says she got the nickname because of her red hair, but I think it might have something to do with her personality.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
I have a cat – a six-toed tabby, named Ernest.

What town do you live in?
I live in St. Ignatius, Iowa. It’s one of those small towns where everyone knows everyone else. Most of the time that’s a good thing.

House or building complex? Own or Rent?
I rent a wonderful Queen Anne Victorian from a very nice lady named, Greer, who decided it was time to move to a retirement complex. She’s not ready to sell, but when she is, I hope to be in a position to purchase the house

What is your favorite spot in your house?
My comfy chair in the living room. It’s the perfect place to cuddle up with a coffee or tea and a good book.

Favorite meal? Favorite dessert?
My new favorite dessert is Better-Than-Robert-Redford-Cake. I got the recipe from my landlady and I’m pretty sure it’s about a million calories, but let me tell you, it is worth it!

Favorite hobby?
I love to read and lately I’ve also developed an interest in genealogy, but I’m just learning.

Favorite color?
I really love yellow – it’s bright and upbeat.

Favorite author?
So hard to choose one favorite author. I mostly read mysteries so I’ll go with Agatha Christie, but I’m also a big M.C. Beaton fan.

Favorite vacation spot?
I don’t know that I have a favorite spot, but I love to find out-of-the-way places where you can just relax and learn a bit about the place from the locals. I like to avoid chain restaurants and instead find a local eatery and try something new.

Favorite sports team?
Though I’ve embraced living in the Midwest, I’m still an Atlanta Braves fan.

Movies or Broadway?
Though I do enjoy a Broadway show, I’m mostly a movies person. I especially enjoy old classics and love Doris Day movies. One of my favorites is Pillow Talk.

Are you a morning or a night person?
Oh, definitely a night person. I don’t do mornings at all until I’ve had my coffee.

Amateur sleuth or professional?
Amateur

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
Dixie, my friend and business partner, is the perfect cohort when trying to figure things out.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
My day almost always begins with coffee and my cat. Once I’ve had my caffeine and a little time to wake-up, I shower and dress, and then head to the Sugar & Spice office which is on the square. If I’ve not had time for breakfast at home, I sometimes run by the Red Hen Diner which is just across the way from us. Toy George, the owner, makes the best blueberry muffins! Once at work, Dixie and I get busy on the latest cookbook project. On a typical day, we’re interrupted a few times by visits from others who also have businesses on the square. And sometimes, by Sheriff Griffin, who may or may not be there to remind us that he is law enforcement and we are not. And that we should not interfere in his case. Sheesh! Like we would do that. . .

You can read about Sugar in Risky Biscuits, the second book in the “Sugar & Spice” cozy culinary mystery series, released July 9, 2019.

Former magazine editor “Sugar” Calloway’s life has taken a delicious twist since she launched a community cookbook publishing business with blue-ribbon baker Dixie Spicer. Now these amateur sleuths must solve a small-town murder—without getting burned . . .

Sugar and Spice Cookbooks’ newest project is a fundraiser organized by the St. Ignatius Crack of Dawn Breakfast Club, famous for their all-you-can-eat biscuits and gravy events. But when a group member is found dead, Sugar and Spice’s priorities change from raising dough to figuring out who put murder on the menu.

The return of former badboy Nick Marchant has stirred the town’s gossips too. Add a few grudges and some old-fashioned greed over a land deal into the mix, and it’s a recipe for mayhem. And when someone serves up a second helping of murder, Sugar and Spice need to sift the guilty from the blameless, or their next breakfast may be their last . . .

* Includes delicious recipes! *

Purchase Link
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About the author
Mary Lee Ashford is a lifelong bibliophile, an avid reader, and supporter of public libraries. In addition to writing the Sugar & Spice mystery series for Kensington Books, Mary Lee also writes as half of the writing team of Sparkle Abbey, authors of the national bestselling Pampered Pets mystery series. She is the founding president of Sisters in Crime-Iowa and a member of MWA, as well as Novelists, Inc., RWA, Kiss of Death, the RWA Mystery Suspense chapter, Sisters in Crime, and the Guppies. Her delights are encouraging other writers, reading, and enjoying her family and especially her six grandchildren.

To learn more about Mary Lee, visit her website at maryleeashford.com.

All comments are welcomed.