Death at a beauty pageant turns Tita Rosie’s Kitchen upside down in the latest entry of this witty and humorous cosy mystery series by Mia P. Manansala.
We chat with Mia all about her new release Homicide and Halo-Halo, along with writing, 2022 book recommendations, and more!
Hi, Mia! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi, everyone! I’m Filipino American, born and raised in Chicago, and a huge geek. My interests outside of books/writing are food and video games. I enjoy baking, love eating, and appreciate a good JRPG and dating or farming sim. I’m also a relatively new DnD player (level 7 half-elf Paladin) and would love to be a plant mom, but they keep dying and that makes me sad.
How has the first month of 2022 been for you?
An absolute rollercoaster! I spent the beginning of January recovering from Omicron, the middle of the month celebrating the fact my publisher bought the next three books in my series, and the end of it shocked and amazed by Arsenic and Adobo receiving several award nominations. And through it all, I was on deadline! I turned in my edits for Book 3: Blackmail and Bibingka on February 1st and can sorta breathe a little, but not really because now Homicide and Halo-Halo is out!
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I’ve loved writing since I was a kid. The first story I remember writing was in maybe 5th grade where we had to do a retelling of the Three Little Pigs for class. My version had the Big Bad Wolf as a drug dealer that the pigs were trying to take down, so maybe I was always meant to be a crime fiction writer.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
- Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Cake
- Ooh, I’m not sure. Possibly A Wrinkle in Time
- Not one particular book, but every time I finish the latest in the Sherry Thomas Lady Sherlock series, I wonder how she manages to write hit after hit. It’s been six books so far and not a single one has missed.
Homicide and Halo-Halo, which is the follow up to Arsenic and Adobo, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Beauty pageants, family drama, and murder (“and” doesn’t count, right?)
What can readers expect?
A slightly heavier tone than Arsenic and Adobo, since the book has Lila dealing not just with the aftermath of the previous book’s events, but also the unresolved grief that the return of the Miss Teen Shady Palms beauty pageant brings up in her. However, it’s still a cozy mystery, which means there’s light surrounding that darkness, plenty of humor, and LOTS of delicious food.
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced whilst writing the sequel and how you were able to overcome them?
Second Book Syndrome hit me hard. I already had to deal with the usual issues of writing a book under contract for the first time (much less time and way more pressure) but I drafted this book in 2020–a global pandemic, massive social unrest, plus job insecurity (my previous employer shut down at the beginning of the pandemic and everyone was laid off) made writing darn near impossible for me.
I made it through 2020 (and that first draft) through the power of my extremely supportive social circle (particular shout out to the Berkletes!), the uplifting effects of BIPOC romance novels, and the knowledge that there were people out there waiting for my books, who were so hungry for representation and lightness and fun.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?
I liked getting to expand the roles for Lila’s best friends, Adeena and Elena, since the three of them are opening a business together, the Brew-ha Cafe. They all bring such different things to the table and have a great dynamic that I’m looking forward to building upon with each book. I also really enjoyed exploring Lila’s relationship with her deceased beauty queen mother. There’s a lot of pain and grief inside of Lila that she’s pushed down most of her life, and getting involved with the town beauty pageant is bringing it all to the forefront so now she has to deal with them. It wasn’t easy to write those scenes, but I loved how each one peeled back another layer that Lila tried to keep hidden. Discovering new things about my characters is one of the best parts of writing.
Can you give us a tease about Blackmail and Bibingka, which is currently set to release in October?
Sure! It’s set at Christmastime (bibingka is a rice cake traditionally served at Christmas) and Lila’s cousin, Ronnie, who ghosted the family fifteen years ago, has returned to Shady Palms to open up a winery specializing in Filipino fruit wines, particularly lambanog (a coconut liquor). Tita Rosie is overjoyed to see her only child again, but Lila knows that where Ronnie goes, trouble follows. She’s proven right (which she loves, but also ugh) when Tita Rosie starts receiving blackmail letters, and then one of his investors is murdered, leaving him one of the main suspects. For the sake of her beloved aunt, Lila gets involved in the investigation to clear her cousin.
What’s next for you?
As I mentioned above, my publisher bought the next three books in the series, so Book 4 comes out sometime in 2023. I’ve also got several projects I’m working on that I’d love to get picked up, but they’re still in development so I can’t say anything yet.
Lastly, do you have any 2022 book recommendations for our readers?
Haha how much space do you have? For my crime fiction fans, these are the books I’ve been screaming about:
- LIKE A SISTER by Kellye Garrett (March 8)
- SECRET IDENTITY by Alex Segura (March 15)
- UNDER LOCK AND SKELETON KEY by Gigi Pandian (March 15)
- HARLEM SUNSET by Nekesa Afia (June 28)
- KISMET by Amina Akhtar (August 1)
- TWO PARTS SUGAR, ONE PART MURDER by Valerie Burns (August 30)
- CALYPSO, CORPSES, AND COOKING by Raquel V. Reyes (November 2022)
