We chat with author Terri-Lynne DeFino about Didn’t You Use to Be Queenie B?, which is an utterly winning, crowd-pleaser of a novel about a disgraced celebrity chef, her striving protégé, and their path through the kitchen to redemption.
Hi, Terri-Lynne! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Well, THAT is a loaded question. Let’s see…I have green hair, am heavily tattooed, have been married for going on 37 years, birthed four children and inherited one, and I have four grandchildren, two who call me Nonnie and two who call me Terri. I’ve been a writer all my life, though didn’t publish until 2010, a fantasy novel—Finder—with Hadley Rille Books, a small press out in Kansas. After three books with HRB, I moved on to three romance/women’s fiction novels—The Bitterly Suite—with Kensington Press (Lyrical) in New York. Didn’t You Use To Be Queenie B? is my third novel with William Morrow, part of the HarperCollins family. My first was The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers (And Their Muses), followed by Varina Palladino’s Jersey Italian Love Story. As you can see, I like long titles.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
My little sister was often sick when she was really little. I used to tell her stories to help her get to sleep. When did that start? I honestly can’t say, but maybe around five years old. What I remember specifically was my first novel—The Fire Breathing Dragon, written and illustrated by my seven-year-old self. In blue ballpoint pen. Stapled together. It was a masterpiece.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Sammy The Seal by Syd Hoff
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Once And Future King by TH White
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Cloud Cuckooland by Anthony Doer
Your latest novel, Didn’t You Use to Be Queenie B?, is out April 15th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Reluctant redemption after heartbreaking falls.
What can readers expect?
Food, flawed characters, epic falls, and hard-won redemption that comes at great cost. And some tears, I hope, because if you don’t feel the triumphs and tragedies of these characters, I haven’t done my job.
Where did the inspiration for Didn’t You Use to Be Queenie B? come from?
This story was born way back in 2015, when my youngest son died from an opiate overdose. This was during a time when it was such an epidemic in my little part of Connecticut that we didn’t get a week without it happening to family after family. My way to process grief has always been writing. I thought about his friends, all still struggling, and my son became the fictional voice in their heads, trying to get them to live better lives. I wasn’t ready to write this story. It just hurt too much. But the ghost kept whispering.
A year later, my middle son, grieving for his brother and trying to find his way forward, headed out to Portland, OR. He got a temporary job in a food cart and found his peace in cooking.
Skip to 2021—I finally started writing Queenie B. The ghost, the chef, and my own obsession with food and cooking came together as it couldn’t have five years before. By then, the grief was a familiar hole—a “new normal.” I became so focused on writing the story, the events integrated into it didn’t hurt the way I feared. All the waves of hurt and personal experience stayed out to sea until my editors and I were in final edits. Then—CRASH!! I cried through most of the final edit. But, damn, I’m so proud of this story.
With Queenie B being a culinary goddess, do you have any infamous dishes you whip up in the kitchen?
Oh, so, so many. I’m a Jersey Italian for whom cooking is love. I don’t use recipes but, like Queenie, I smell and taste my way to what I want the dish to become. The ingredients are informed by what looked good at the grocery story, farmer’s market, or the spice section at TJ MAXX. If there’s one thing I do consistently well it’s a pork tomato sauce. Ugh, my stomach just cramped, writing that—it’s gravy, and I will die on that hill! Also—roasted tomato sauce. No meat, so it’s sauce. Chef’s kiss!
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
If I had to choose one favorite moment, it’s the scene between Regina and Gale after his second appearance on Cut! Without spoilers, it’s one I lived many times over the course of the five years my son struggled with addiction. It hurts like pressing on a canker-sore hurts—so good and so bad at once.
I also really love The Burger Queen. Gladys was inspired by a real person.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Once I started writing? No challenges. It was getting there that took a while, and overcoming that took time, distance, and lots of reflection.
But I do have to give a HUGE shout-out to my agent, Elaine Spencer (The Knight Agency). Once my editor at WilliamMorrow—the ever-glorious Rachel Kahan—said she wanted to read this manuscript, Elaine helped me whip it into the right shape. The entire last third of the book went from meh to huzzah because of her.
What’s next for you?
I’ve already got one book—Ethyl Peabody’s Antiques and Chainsaw Repair—done and ready for consideration. I just started a new project, still in its infancy. But my hope of hopes is to sell a super-weird sort of modern fantasy titled Death And The Mason Jar. The whole book takes place after everyone is dead. Fun read!
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
- My Friends by Fredrik Backman
- Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey
- The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight
- Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
