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QUESTIONS FROM READERS

Joanne Fluke answers readers' questions about story ideas, testing recipes, and her protagonist Hannah Swensen's love life.

Carla from Plano, TX: Where do you get your recipes? I wondered if they were passed down in your family.

Joanne Fluke: A lot of my recipes are from my family. My mother, grandmother and mother-in-law were wonderful bakers. Some of them I tinker up myself. My husband helps by taste-testing every experimental batch. He never complains about this arduous chore. Sometimes, I'll also get a recipe from a reader. When that happens, Hannah always says she got it from her friend's cousin or something like that (using the real first name of the source.)

Diane from Ellicott City, MD: How much work does it take to get the recipes for all the books? Do you create them yourself, or borrow from others? I have tried lots of them and love them, as much as I love your writing.

Joanne Fluke: It doesn't take any work at all --- it's just fun. It does take a lot of time, though, because I test each recipe at least four times (even if it's an old one I've made before). See the answer above for the rest.

Heather from Sylvan Lake, AB: How do you pronounce Moishe?

Joanne Fluke: Moishe is pronounced MOY (like toy) Sha (like shut without the T.)

Janice from Apple Valley, MN: How much fun is it to be a writer? Do these stories come to you, or do you have to work really hard to think them up?

Joanne Fluke: I always wanted to be a writer and I love my work. When I wrote thrillers, I used to scare myself. Now I laugh out loud, sometimes, as I'm writing. Coming up with the stories is hard work but also a lot of fun. My husband helps. He used to be a TV story editor so we "take a meeting" (as they say in show biz). He asks, "Who are we going to kill this time?" and we toss ideas around until I feel I have enough to outline the plot. We used to do that in restaurants, but the waiters would sometimes overhear us planning a murder and we'd never get that second cup of coffee.

Linda from Corydon, IN: Do you do a lot of cooking yourself, or just baking?

Joanne Fluke: I do a lot of cooking. In SUGAR COOKIE MURDER, there are over 80 recipes, and most of them are not desserts. In fact, you'll find my whole Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween and Independence Day repertoire in that book.

Marion from Temecula, CA: Do you try out Hannah's recipes on family and friends, or your editors?

Joanne Fluke: I try out all of Hannah's recipes on my family, friends and neighbors. On my editor…only if he's very nice to me! 

Melissa from Hogansville, GA: Which one of the two men in Hannah's life do you prefer?

Joanne Fluke: I know better than to give Hannah romantic advice. She wouldn't take it anyway. That lady has a mind of her own. People think I'm crazy when I say that, but it's true. I've sometimes tried to make her do something that didn't fit her character. It always came out flat, and I had to go back and rewrite it her way.

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