Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Terror in Taffeta (Destination Wedding Mysteries) by Marla Cooper. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Terror in Taffeta (Destination Wedding Mysteries)
by Marla Cooper
Terror in Taffeta (Destination Wedding Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – San Miguel de Allende – Mexico
Independently Published (March 24, 2026)
Number of Pages: 288
Wedding planner Kelsey McKenna is just a few hours away from wrapping up her latest job: a destination wedding in the charming, colonial Mexican town of San Miguel de Allende—until a bridesmaid collapses during the ceremony and turns the celebration into a crime scene. When the bride’s sister is arrested for murder, the demanding mom insists that Kelsey fix the matter at once. And although Kelsey is pretty sure that’s not in her contract, career-killer. Before she can leave Mexico and get back to planning weddings, Kelsey must deal with stubborn detectives, a rekindled romance, and late-night death threats in this smart, funny cozy mystery debut.
Interview with author Marla Cooper
Thanks for taking the time to share a bit about yourself with my readers and me!
Tell us a little about yourself.
Hi there, thanks for having me on the blog today! I write the Destination Wedding Mysteries. Fun Fact: The series was inspired by a real-life destination wedding planner! I got hired to ghostwrite a non-fiction guide to destination weddings, and I realized that would be the perfect job for an amateur sleuth! Especially since you end up flying off to far-flung locales with people you barely know, and when something goes wrong, everybody looks at you to fix it. I love traveling, family drama, mysteries, and cake, and this series combines all of those things!
How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing in some form or another my entire life: pre-teen journals, yearbook staff, long, chatty essays in school — I’ve always had a lot to say! In college, I was absolutely thrilled to discover that advertising copywriter was an actual job that my pragmatic parents would approve of but would also let me write words all day long.
Did you always want to be an author? What made you choose the cozy mystery genre?
I always wanted to be an author but I didn’t realize it was possible until I was in my thirties. It always seemed like something that other people did! Once I realized you don’t have to write a Very Important Novel and that you can have fun with it, everything changed!
Do you prefer to read cozy mystery books, or do you have another favorite genre? What are you reading now?
I’m a multi-genre reader — basically omnivorous. Cozy mysteries, thrillers, young adult, nonfiction, even an occasional horror novel… I like anything with a little bit of wit or humor to them. I’d love to write a mystery romcom one day, so I just started reading Book Lovers by Emily Henry.
Do you have a favorite place to write?
My absolute favorite place to write is the Rose Reading Room at the New York Public Library. It’s really gorgeous and the bookish vibes are STRONG. The catch is, I don’t live in New York! So when I go there on vacation I always plan an afternoon with my laptop so I can go work. For everyday writing (when I need to just get words down without planning an entire vacation) I have a big fluffy chair that I sit in with a wooden lap desk.
What’s on your desk (if you write at one!)?
It’s funny, I do have a desk and yet here I am in the flowered chair! On my official desk, I have a stack of mysteries that I brought back from Bouchercon that I still need to read. And there’s also usually a cat, especially if I’m in the middle of an important Zoom meeting.
What is the first book you remember reading as a child? What was one of your favorite books you read as a child?
I know it wasn’t the first book I read, but the first book I *remember* reading was Nancy Drew! I loved that series. Basically I loved reading anything I could get my hands on, but anything with a little bit of mystery or intrigue was top of my list. I don’t remember which book it was in, but I remember asking my grandmother what the word “fjord” meant and she didn’t know, so she bluffed by saying it was made-up.
Do you like audiobooks, physical books, or e-books better? Why?
I’m Team “Why Choose?” I love the tactile experience of reading a physical book, but when it comes time to go on vacation, my Kindle lets me take along enough books that I could be stranded on an island for three years and never run out.
If you had the opportunity to live anywhere in the world for a year while writing a book that took place in that same setting, where would you choose?
Ooooh, I love this question! And since my book is about a destination wedding planner, this is super relevant to me, since every book is set in a different location. Based solely on travel, I would probably say Italy, but there’s something about a wedding set in Ireland that really appeals to me. If any of you can score me an invitation to an Irish wedding, let me know!
What or who has influenced you the most as a writer?
This might be kind of surprising because it has nothing to do with mysteries, but when I read Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City, a lightbulb went off. His voice was so fresh, so conversational, so fun! He clearly loves storytelling, and his characters all feel like people you know. It was the first time I thought, “Hmmm, maybe I *could* write a novel!”
Do you have any author friends who support you while you’re writing? Do you belong to any writing groups?
Absolutely! Terror in Taffeta was written almost exclusively under the deadline of having pages due to my writing group every Friday. I literally couldn’t have done it without them! I’m also on a multi-author blog called Chicks on the Case and it’s an incredible group of awesome cozy mystery authors. Some writers are introverts, but I can’t imagine doing all this without having my flock by my side!
Finally, what are you working on now? Can you tell us a bit about it?
I just finished a novella called “Welcome to Cozy Town” that’s a parody of cozy mysteries and I had so much fun writing it! It’s available on Amazon, but you can get a copy for free if you sign up for my newsletter at www.marlacooper.com. It’s basically an entire cozy mystery that you can read in 30-40 minutes and it has every cozy trope I could think of! My tagline is, “Come for a visit. You’ll probably be fine.”
In the meantime, I’m also working on book 3 in the Destination Wedding Mysteries, which will be set in Hawaii —which is another place I wouldn’t mind spending an entire year!
Thanks so much for having me on the blog!
Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions!
About Marla Cooper
MARLA COOPER is the author of the Kelsey McKenna Destination Wedding Mysteries. As a freelance writer, Marla has written all sorts of things, from advertising copy to travel guidebooks to the occasional haiku, and it was while ghostwriting a guide to destination weddings that she found inspiration for her series. She currently lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and a few too many cats. She is the Vice President of Sisters in Crime, Heart of Texas chapter.
Author Links
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/marla.cooper.author/
Threads https://www.threads.com/@marla.cooper.author
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Marla.Cooper.Author
Purchase Links – Amazon
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Terror in Taffeta TOUR PARTICIPANTS
March 19 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
March 19 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 20 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW
March 21 – Sarandipity’s – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
March 22 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 23 – Reading Is My SuperPower – AUTHOR GUEST POST
March 24 – deal sharing aunt – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 25 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW
March 26 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
March 27 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST
March 28 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
March 28 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
March 29 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – CHARACTER GUEST POST
March 30 – @bibliophile_foodie – REVIEW
March 31 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
April 1 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW
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