Welcome Victoria Rienzi (and Rosie Genova)

MEOW!  Today my guest is Victoria Rienzi, the main character from Rosie Genova’s Italian Kitchen mysteries!

Victoria Rienzi is a former mystery writer turned Italian chef! When she’s not cooking up fantastic dishes at the Casa Lido in South Jersey, she’s busy stumbling over dead bodies and solving mysteries!  Oh, and getting involved in romantic triangles, too……Her latest adventure, A DISH BEST SERVED COLD, debuts today!

 And now...I interview Victoria!

Welcome, Victoria!  Tell us a little about your background – how did you make the transition from mystery writer to real life gumshoe?

Thanks ROCCO!  Purely by accident! I happened to uh, stumble over, the corpse of a certain TV producer in the restaurant’s back garden. When the Casa Lido came under suspicion, I reluctantly got involved in the case.

Tell us a bit about your mystery series.  Who inspired your main character?

That’s an easy one—my guy, Bernardo Vitali, is the Italian version of Hercule  Poirot. Rosie and I are both Agatha Christie fan girls!

What are you working on now and what are your future writing plans?

Well, I’m attempting to work on a historical novel based upon my family’s history, but these pesky murders keep getting in the way.

How different is it working in the family restaurant than writing mysteries?

It’s hard work, physically. Setting up, prepping food, taking orders, and serving all take a lot out of you. But those mysteries somehow keep sneaking into my work at the Casa Lido. . .

Do you have a favorite recipe?

My nonna’s Bolognese sauce.

OK, everyone wants to know – what’s going on with your love life!  Will there be a Victoria-Tim reunion in the future?

Speaking of my nonna’s Bolognese, there’s a scene in A Dish Best Served Cold in which Chef Tim serves some up to Victoria as a surprise. Can meat sauce be sexy? You’ll have to read it to find out! (And to get an answer to your original question.)

 Do you think that Rosie Genova does a good job of accurately recounting your adventures?

For the most part, she gets it right. But I will say that she tries to be a little too clever sometimes; after all, I’m supposed to be the one with the best lines!

Any chance of you getting a feline or a canine sidekick anytime soon?

I sure hope so. I know that Rosie recently fell in love with a terrier/beagle mix at a pet shelter, but she wasn’t able to adopt him. He reminded her of Uggie, the adorable dog in The Artist—so I won’t be surprised if I end up with a floppy-eared black and white pal named Uggie at some point.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

Hmmm—one girl’s crazy might be another girl’s stupid. But in The Wedding Soup Murder (Book 2 in the series) my sister-in-law Sofia and I snooped around a suspect’s garage in the middle of the night. We nearly got caught, but we did find an important clue!

Where can we learn more about you and Rosie Genova and your adventures?

You can check out Rosie’s website at www.rosiegenova.com or her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RosieGenova. She is also active on Goodreads.

   Thanks, Victoria!

Here’s a little bit about Victoria’s creator…..

 

A Jersey girl born and bred, national bestselling author Rosie Genova left her heart at the shore, which serves as the setting for much of her work. Her series, the Italian Kitchen Mysteries, is informed by her appreciation for good food and her love of classic mysteries from Nancy Drew to Miss Marple. Her debut novel, Murder and Marinara, was named a 2013 Best Cozy by Suspense Magazine and was a finalist for a 2014 Daphne Award.  Book 3 in the series, A Dish Best Served Cold, releases August 4. Rosie still lives in her home state with her husband and the youngest of her three Jersey boys.

 

Rosie will give away ALL THREE BOOKS in the Italian Kitchen series to one lucky commenter! (Signed, of course!)

To enter, leave a comment on this blog post with your name and email address (entries without email will be disqualified). For extra entries, you can do any or all of the below:

* Follow my blog Cats, Books and More Cats(+ 1 point)
* Follow me on Twitter (+ 1 point) (Link: https://twitter.com/RoccoBlogger)
* Tweet about the contest (+ 1 point)
* Friend me on Facebook (+ 1 point) (Link: https://www.facebook.com/ToniLotempio)#!/

* Mention the contest on Facebook (+ 1 point)
* Mention the contest on your blog (+ 1 point)

 Winner will be chosen at random using random.org.  Don’t forget to mention all you’ve done in your comment. Good luck! Contest ends midnight, August 9!