Snowed Under Character Interview - Christy's Cozy Corners

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Welcome to the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Snowed Under (A Maggie McDonald Mystery) by Mary Feliz. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, spotlights, reviews and more!

When professional organizer Maggie McDonald finds a body in a snowdrift outside her friend’s ski cabin, she must plow through the clues to find a cold-blooded killer . . .

Snowed Under (A Maggie McDonald Mystery)

by Mary Feliz

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Snowed Under (A Maggie McDonald Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Publisher: Lyrical Press (June 9, 2020)
250 Pages

Lake Tahoe in February is beautiful, but Maggie can’t see a thing as she drives through a blinding blizzard with her friend Tess Olmos and their dogs, golden retriever Belle and German shepherd Mozart.Maggie has offered her professional decluttering skills to help Tess tidy up her late husband’s cabin in preparation to sell. She also plans to get in some skiing when her husband Max and their boys join them later in the week.

What she doesn’t plan on is finding a boot in a snowdrift attached to a corpse. The frozen stiff turns out to be Tess’s neighbor, Dev Bailey, who disappeared two months ago. His widow Leslie expresses grief, but Maggie can’t help but wonder if it’s a snow job. As more suspects start to pile up, things go downhill fast, and Maggie must keep her cool to solve the murder before the killer takes a powder . . .

Character interview

Good morning everyone, this is Maggie McDonald, lead character in Mary Feliz’s new book, Snowed Under. Christy interviewed me a few weeks ago. She’s so sweet. (Aww, thanks, Maggie!) We talked all about the book, my family, and me, touching on how tough it is to curtail clutter. That’s my superpower. I’m a professional organizer and help people clear out closets, organize kitchens, and clean their garages, attics, basements, and other storage. I can’t say I make it easy for my clients, but I do make it faster and more fun.

In any case, listening to the transcript of that interview, we were forever interrupted by Belle, my golden retriever, and by cats, kids, and phones. It didn’t seem that hectic at the time, but listening to it again made me crazy.

To spare you that, I’ve decluttered the interview (superpower, remember?) and left only the most basic stuff.

Christy interviewed me over coffee and fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookies in my kitchen in Orchard View, California, on the outskirts of Silicon Valley. My two teenaged boys were in and out, followed by our dog. My husband, Max, popped in for a bit too.

One of the first things Christy wanted to know was how Tess and I met. I nearly snorted my coffee when she asked me. I met Tess only because she had the misfortune to lock the hem of her form-fitting power suit in her car door and drop the keys out of reach. She was about ready to strip off the skirt when I lent her a hand. After I stopped laughing. I’d seen her before during meetings at the school our boys attend. I’d always thought she was a little too polished with her designer suits and stilettos to be my friend. It turns out we had a lot more in common than I thought, dogs, boys, and a strong sense of community.

Christy also wanted to know whether I was a messy kid or always super organized. It turns out that professional organizers really aren’t that much better at this stuff than anyone else. Mary asked a group of organizers at a national conference whether they’d ever let clients see their homes. They recoiled, shaking their heads. “We don’t get paid to organize our own places,” one said.

I prefer organized surroundings to cluttered ones, but it’s a constant battle. And overwhelming. Luckily, most of us, most of the time, have the freedom to tackle it bit by bit. One drawer a day, touch 10 things in your closet, etc. For big jobs, like clearing out a house for sale or moving, A professional organizer can really help keep you on task and get the job done faster. She can also help dispose of everything for you and let you get on to the parts of the project that only you can do. My sister-in-law hired a friend of mine and was stunned at how much more efficient the process was.

Between running my business, managing my household, and helping out the police, I don’t have much spare time. But running the dogs and spending time with my boys and my husband is precious to me. We’ll be empty nesters soon. That will take some getting used to!

Christy also asked me to share a favorite book and a recipe. Favorite books, hands down, are Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time and Connie Willis’s The Doomesday Book. They’re old friends I’ve read and shared many times.

Here’s my favorite ski-trip indulgence, which becomes even more decadent if served with a hot, gooey cinnamon or pecan roll.

Hot Apple Pie Toddy

1/2 cup Apple cider (heated)
2 oz. Tuaca liqueur (citrus, nut, or vanilla flavors substitute well.)
Garnish with whipped cream and a cinnamon stick.
If serving children or teetotalers, substitute a few drops of vanilla extract for the shot of liqueur.

Thanks so much for your time, Maggie! It was so nice getting to know you.

About Mary Feliz

Mary Feliz writes the Maggie McDonald Mysteries featuring a Silicon Valley professional organizer and her sidekick golden retriever. She’s worked for Fortune 500 firms and mom and pop enterprises, competed in whale boat races and done synchronized swimming. She attends organizing conferences in her character’s stead, but Maggie’s skills leave her in the dust.

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