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 who is visiting us today.
What is your name?
– – Tallulah Jones (but everybody and his billy goat calls me Tally)
How old are you?
– – Just the south side of 40, if we’re being perfectly honest.
What is your profession?
– – I own and operate–if you can call it that–the Remember the a la Mode, an ice cream parlor in Dalliance, Texas. My niece Alice informs me I should be calling it “artisanal ice cream” but it’s just really damn fine.
Do you have a significant other?
– – Sigh. No. I just got out of a pretty mortifying divorce, so I’m still licking my wounds.
What is their name?
– – Chocolate fudge almond? He’s always faithful.
What is their profession?
– – You’re going to rub this in, aren’t you?
Any children?
– – No. Seriously, can we change the subject?
Do you have any sibling(s)?
– – Another complicated question. As far as I know, I don’t have any real, honest siblings. But I have something better. I have my cousin, Bree, and we’re closer than any two sisters could possibly be. She, her daughter Alice, and my Grandma Peachy are all the family I need.
Cats, dogs or other pets?
– – No. My ex was allergic to both cats and dogs (or at least that’s what he said) and I haven’t had a chance to sneeze funny since the divorce, so no pets.
What town do you live in?
– – I live in Dalliance, Texas, the Little D to the Big D of Dallas. We’ve got the big city creeping up on us, but we’re still a little town, complete with a courthouse square and Saturday night bluegrass bands on the lawn.
House or building complex?
– – I live in a crumbling historic house–a 1920s Arts and Crafts bungalow–just a stone’s throw from the town square.
Do you rent or own?
– – I own it. I scraped together the cash to buy it from the money my ex gave me when we split. If I’d been smart, I would have set aside a little money for upkeep.
What is your favorite spot in your house?
– – During the day, the kitchen. I like spending time with my cousin and her daughter, cooking, laughing, and just generally hanging out. My hell-raising cousin actually likes to do embroidery and my brilliant neice regales us with crazy stories from her classes at school. I swear she’s going to make us all smarter before long. At night, though, I like to cuddle up on my couch beneath one of the quilts my Grandma Peachy made. It’s like coming home.
Who is your best friend?
– – My cousin Bree. She burns my britches, but no one makes me laugh more than she does, and if I were ever in a bar fight (hand to god, I can’t imagine being in a bar fight), I’d want her by my side.
Amateur sleuth or professional?
– – I’m not a sleuth. I just do what I have to do to protect the people I love. And maybe I’m a little curious.
Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
– – When I do go looking for trouble, Bree is at my side. It’s that bar fight thing.
Favorite meal?
– – Tex/Mex! Guac, enchiladas, margaritas. It’s cliche, but it’s also delicious.
Favorite dessert?
– – Um, ice cream.
Favorite hobby?
– – Who has time for hobbies?
Favorite vacation spot?
– – Wayne and I didn’t vacation much, but when I was a little girl my mama and I went to the Ozarks once. I’d never seen trees so green or hills so tall. It was magical.
Favorite color?
– – I’m partial to purple.
Favorite author?
– – Don’ts judge me, but I’m not really a reader. Alice, she’s the brainiac in the family. When I married Wayne, I started reading historical romance novels, but I didn’t follow any particular author. I just liked stories where the hero and heroine were ripped apart and then somehow found their way back together. Those stories always made me happy. I don’t really know why.
Favorite sports team?
– – I’m from North Texas. If I say anything other than “the Cowboys” someone will come and TP my house.
Movies or Broadway?
– – Movies. We don’t get much Broadway up here. But I do like the occasional show tune. My Grandma Peachy likes to sing them when she cooks.
Are you a morning or a night person?
– – Wait, I get a choice? I’m up at the crack of dawn and don’t get to stop all day. But if I really got to choose, I love the night. I love the stars. Makes me think of bigger things.
In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
– – I get up early to go make the ice cream in my custom made French pots. Bree helps with the fudge sauce, the caramel, the brandied cherries . . . Then we open and pray for customers. The rest of the day is spent smiling till our lips fall off and making people happy (which makes it all worth while). Eventually Bree’s daughter Alice and our other employee–a minor juvenile delinquent named Kyle–come in to help with clean-up. We usually crank up some music (something that makes Alice and Kyle cringe) and maybe have some family dinner in the shop. And then it’s home, rinse, and repeat.
You can read about Tally in I Scream, You Scream, the first book in the “Mystery-A-La-Mode” mystery series. Henery Press is re-releasing the first three books in the delectably entertaining series.
Tallulah Jones’s whole world is melting. Her ice cream parlor, Remember the A-la-mode, is struggling, and she’s stooped to catering a party for her sleezeball ex-husband Wayne and his arm candy girlfriend Brittany.
Worst of all? Her dreamy high school sweetheart shows up on her front porch, swirling up feelings Tally doesn’t have time to deal with.
Things go from ugly to plain old awful when Brittany turns up dead and all eyes turn to Tally as the murderer.
With the help of her hell-raising cousin Bree, her precocious niece Alice, and her long-lost-super-confusing love Finn, Tally has to dip into the heart of Dalliance, Texas’s most scandalous secrets to catch a murderer. . .before someone puts Tally and her dreams on ice for good.
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Giveaway: Wendy is giving away five kindle copies of I Scream, You Scream. Leave a comment below with your favorite ice cream flavor for a chance to win one of the five copies. The giveaway ends May 8, 2018. Good luck everyone!
About the author
Wendy Lyn Watson hasn’t knocked off an actual person, but she can kill a pint of ice cream in nothing flat. She lives in North Texas in a town just a wee bit like Dalliance in a crumbling historic home. Her day job is teaching American government and constitutional law to college kids. It’s not all work, though. In her spare time, Wendy creates theatrical costumes for a cabaret troupe, works with a charitable organization that raises money for a variety of causes around the Dallas Fort Worth Area, and watches as many horror movies as she can. In addition, she gets to spend quality time with her insanely patient husband and three spoiled felines (the Tabby Congress). Her life is good.
All comments are welcomed.
Favorite? It’s a tossup between strawberry, pecan praline, and dulce de leche.
Dulce de leche is a favorite at the A-la-mode. With the large Latino population in Texas, it’s a natural.
I love chocolate the most.
I love ginger ice cream.
Yum! I love offbeat flavors, too. And Tally specializes in them. It’s one of my favorite things about writing the books: coming up with interesting ice cream flavors. 🙂
My fav flavor is vanilla, as long as it contains cookie dough or caramel, or fudge brownie…
Oh this sounds like a delicious series—I love ice cream and reading-especially cozy mysteries! A perfect combination. Speaking of perfect combinations, I love nutty coconut ice cream with chocolate almond coming in at a close second. Or better still, a little of both! But honestly, is there a bad flavor of ice cream?
Thanks for today’s post, Dru Ann. Thanks to Wendy for the chance to win a copy of I SCREAM. YOU SCREAM! 🍨❤
Thanks, Barbara! Happy to offer the giveaway, and if you read the series, I hope you enjoy! Also, an “Almond Joy” ice cream is, well, yum …..
Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream is my favorite.
Are you a Michigander? I live in Texas now, but I spent half my life (most of my childhood) in Michigan. Fudge, cherries, cider … hmmm, I sense a theme for an ice creme season.
It’s a toss up between mint chocolate chip and pistachio
My favorite ice cream is strawberry. this books sounds like a great read.
The book sounds like a great read. My favorite ice cream is lemon.
I can’t wait to read I Scream, You Scream and love the cover. I don’t know if Baskin-Robbins still makes my favorite ice cream flavor — German Chocolate Cake — but it was amazing (unfortunately, I don’t live near a Baskin-Robbins anymore!). I also like Ben & Jerry’s The Tonight Dough ~
Mint chocolate chip. I wonder if Remember the a la Mode has it? I bet their’s is really good.
Of course! The A-la-mode has a lot of boutique flavors, but the classics, too. We infuse cream with fresh mint (no green color here). Then, when the ice cream is almost all done spinning, the melted and tempered chocolate is poured in. When it hits the cold ice cream it hardens *just* enough, and the blades of the machine crack it up … and voila! Mint “chip” (which is really mint chunk).
My favourite ice-cream is vanilla. X
This character sounds great. Looking forward to it. My favorite ice cream flavor is Jamocha Almond Fudge. I have to limit myself because I could sit down and eat a pint of this without any trouble at all.
Chocolate
My favorite — Blue Bell Mint Chocolate Chip.
My favorite I’ve cream is maple walnut with hot fudge- decadent and delicious. Thanks for the opportunity to win I Scream, You Scream.📚
My favorite ice cream is boysenberry…seems to be only found in California…and I’d love a tangerine sherbet or sorbet…..dreams!
My favorite flavor is Mocha Almond Fudge!!!
I love Homemade Vanilla
My favorite ice cream flavor is Sea Salt Caramel. Thank you for this chance.
My favorite flavor of ice cream is orange chocolate from Sweet Jenny’s in the Village of Williamsville, New York. It homemade and absolutely delicious!! Thanks for the chance to win..
Thank you so much to Dru for having me and Tally here! And you guys have made me so hungry–and given Tally so many ideas! Can’t wait for some of you to win copies of I Scream, You Scream, and I hope of the rest of you will give the books a try (and enjoy them!)
I absolutely love banana ice cream. It isn’t that easy to find but it’s super delicious!
I like mint chocolate chip ice cream! So excited to hear this series is returning!
Chocolate chip! But with the little pieces of chocolate, not the chunks.
Chocolate Chip! But the kind with small pieces of chocolate, not chunks.
**** WINNERS ****
I Scream, You Scream are Barbara Hackel, Celia Fowler, Rochelle F, Amy Freedman,Lois Rotella
Congratulations!