Marla Cooper, author of Terror in Taffeta, the first novel in the Destination Wedding mysteries series, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today.

Welcome, Marla.

Tell us about your novel. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.

Hi! Thanks for having me on the blog. Terror in Taffeta is book one in the Destination Wedding Mysteries starring Kelsey McKenna, destination wedding planner extraordinaire. Part of Kelsey’s job is knowing what to do when something goes wrong — and when you’re traveling to far-away places with people you hardly know, something always goes wrong. Each book takes the reader to a different location, providing lots of fodder for mystery and mayhem.

They were originally published by Saint Martin’s but I got the rights back last year and now I’m relaunching the series!

Where did the idea for the mystery that is central to the story come from?

The same way that one eats an elephant: One piece at a time. First there was the inspiration for the main character. That happened when I ghost wrote a book on destination weddings for an actual wedding planner. Right around that time, someone I know sold a cozy mystery and I realized that a destination wedding planner would make the perfect amateur sleuth! Then I had to choose my location. I picked San Miguel de Allende for the first book because It’s a place I love spending time. It’s a super charming colonial village in central Mexico, very romantic — in fact, it’s where my parents went on their honeymoon! Then it was just a matter of figuring out who died, who the suspects were, and who actually did it.

Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it?

I didn’t set out to write the book with a big capital-T theme in mind. It’s a cozy mystery, so my main goal was to tell a fun story with a destination wedding, a murder, and a lot of chaos along the way. But looking back, one theme that does emerge is justice. Kelsey can’t stand the idea that the bride’s sister might be in jail for something she didn’t do, and her loyalty to her client pushes her to keep digging. As a wedding planner she’s used to fixing problems, and in this case that instinct turns into solving a murder. In many cozies, that sense of personal responsibility is what drives the sleuth to uncover the truth and set things right.

How do you create your characters? Do you have favourite ones? If so, why are you partial to them?

Okay this is controversial but I have a character I enjoyed writing so much because she was loud and outspoken and kind of a diva: Mrs. Abernathy, the mother of the bride. I absolutely loved her. She was the first character I’d ever written who would just pop off and I would hear her lines of dialogue out loud in my head. (One of my favorite lines of hers was one that a Mother of the Bride actually said to a member of my writing group: “Put your shoes on, girls! This is a wedding, not a hoedown.” That still makes me laugh to this day.)

As much as I enjoyed enabling her, though, I think she might have triggered some of my readers. However, the story arc where Kelsey earns her respect by the end of the book actually made me tear up as I wrote it!

How do you bring to life the place you are writing about?

So far I’ve only written about places that I’m deeply connected to. As I mentioned, San Miguel de Allende has a personal meaning for me and my family. My second book is set in Northern California, where I lived for many years. And book three is set in Hawaii, which was my favorite vacation destination when I lived in the Bay Area. I love writing about these places because I get to spend time in them, even when I’m sitting at my desk. In book three, which I’m currently writing, there’s a scene where they go snorkeling and I can feel it in my bones when I reread it.

What research do you do to provide background information to help you write the novel?

The best part of my research is traveling to the places I write about. Other than that, the biggest thing that I needed to know was what it’s like to be a destination wedding planner. Conveniently, when I ghostwrote the nonfiction destination wedding planning guide, it was my job to translate the contents of my client’s brain onto paper, so I did hours and hours of interviews — not realizing that it was actually research for what would become my first novel!

Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about the book?

Please don’t be mad at Mrs. Abernathy! She’s demanding, but she means no harm.

And if you choose to read it, thank you! This book was my way of escaping after a long day of writing things for other people. I just wanted something that would make me laugh. I hope it makes you laugh, too.

Thank you for answering my questions, Marla, and good luck with Terror in Taffeta, the first book in the Destination Wedding mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Marla Cooper by visiting the author’s Facebook, Goodreads, Threads and Instagram pages.

The novel is available online at Amazon.

About Marla Cooper: Marla 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.