Guest Post from Michael Lee West author of Gone with a Handsomer Man

I do have a special treat for you today! A guest post from Michael Lee West, the author of the new book - Gone with a Handsomer Man.  Here are some details about the book 

T

ake one out-of-work pastry chef . . .

Teeny Templeton believes that her life is finally on track. She’s getting married, she’s baking her own wedding cake, and she’s leaving her troubled past behind. And then? She finds her fiancé playing naked badminton with a couple of gorgeous, skanky chicks.

Add a whole lot of trouble . . .

Needless to say, the wedding is off. Adding insult to injury, her fiancé slaps a restraining order on her. When he’s found dead a few days later, all fingers point to Teeny.

And stir like crazy!

Her only hope is through an old boyfriend-turned-lawyer, the guy who broke her heart a decade ago. But dredging up the past brings more than skeletons out of the closet, and Teeny doesn’t know who she can trust. With evidence mounting and the heat turning up, Teeny must also figure out where to live, how to support herself, how to clear her name, and how to protect her heart.

So without further ado I give you, Ms. West:

A few summers ago, I began searching for the perfect recipe for Red Velvet Cake.  I measured, baked and consumed until I couldn't fit into my clothes and my fingers were permanently stained by food coloring. But the recipe eluded me.

I was born into a family of dedicated Southern foodies, people who think nothing of driving hours for spiced Alabama sausage, shrimp etouffee in New Orleans, or Carolina barbecue.

My oldest son is a professional chef, and he was lucky to attend Johnson & Wales when the school was still in Charleston. Trey advised me to visit the Low Country. I was just about to start a novel about wacky Tennessee sisters, and normally I like to stay home and eat Twizzlers while thinking about my characters-to-be. But off we went to Charleston.

That night, tucked into my rented bed by the sea, a character named Teeny Templeton wandered into my dreams. She was a sassy,brown-eyed blonde with a penchant for throwing fruit at wayward boyfriends.

The whole time I was in the Low Country, Teeny talked non-stop. "Let me tell you about my bulldog," she said. The she wanted to exchange recipes. When she promised to help me with my quest for Red Velvet Cake, I gave in.

"Okay," I told her. "You can stay. But I won't write about you."

"Thank goodness," she said. "I'm a backsliding Baptist. And I can eat my way through a bag o Twizzlers. Plus, I don't have  a drop of regret."

My first novel, Crazy Ladies, came to me in a dream. Ever since, I'd been waiting for a character to pay me a nocturnal visit. Writers pay attention to their dreams because the subconscious is a collaborator. We wait for the moment when a dialogue begins with the book - because that means a dialogue with the main character can't be far behind.

I thought Teeny would tell me a story about her quirky aunts or offer a Red Velvet recipe that somehow incorporated peaches, but she had other plans. Her boyfriend had turned up dead and all fingers pointed at Teeny. Plus, the body count was rising.

you've got to get me out of this," she said. "And you'll need mor than red food coloring."

I brought Teeny home, then I made her aunt's Red Velvet cake. I cut a huge slice, then opened a notebook and wrote Gone with a Handsomer Man on the first page. I held on for dear life while she whirled through adventures and unusual recipes. I hope you will join Teeny as she cooks her way through love, death and Red Velvet Cakes.

Sweet dreams,

Michael Lee West

Gone With a Handomser Man

In Stores, April 12, 2011

M

ichael Lee West is the author of six novels, including Crazy Ladies, Mad Girls in Love, American Pie, and She Flew the Coop, as well as a food memoir, Consuming Passions. She lives with her husband on a farm in Lebanon, Tennessee, with three bratty Yorkshire terriers, a Chinese crested, assorted donkeys, chickens, sheep, and African Pygmy goats. Her faithful dog Zap was the inspiration of a character in Mermaids in the Basement. 

You know I am down with the goats! I thank Ms. West for providing this fun post. Although I still don't get the Red Velvet Cake and don't think I ever will....maybe she can explain it to me :)

Gone with a Handsomer Man is available at Amazon.com