Today we have Belfast McGrath (Bel for short) Inside the Author’s Studio. Bel is the main character in Bel of the Brawl, new from Maggie McConnon, as well as Wedding Bel Blues, the first book in the series. Met Be today and stay tuned for a review of Bel of the Brawl next week!
What is your favorite word? Food- What is your least favorite word? Hunger
- What turns you on creatively, spiritually, or emotionally? A hot pan, butter sizzling in the center, a piece of meat at the ready to be seared.
- What turns you off? Gossip
- What is your favorite curse word? It’s a hyphenate and one that I rarely say out loud for fear of . . . well, my mother. And Hell.
- What sound or noise do you love? The sound of thunder, rumbling in the distance. That means rain is coming and the sound of that hitting the roof of my apartment is my second-favorite sound.
- What sound or noise do you hate? Crying
- What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Sommelier (or really, if I’m being honest, a professional wine taster)
- What profession would you not like to do? Accountant. All those numbers. And Math.
- If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? I’ve been waiting for you; no one up here can make a decent coq au vin.
About the book
When Belfast McGrath was in high school, her best friend went missing after a party on the river. The investigation was long and intense, but Amy Mitchell was never found.
Now, many years later, after a scandalous mistake ended her career as a New York City chef, Bel is working as a caterer at her parents’ wedding hall back in her hometown. But Bel’s new life is turned upside down when some of Amy’s belongings surface in the river, and the investigation into her disappearance is reopened. Bel knows just who to ask for help finding Amy after all this time—the groom in the wedding she’s currently planning is a private detective. But when he mysteriously dies at his own wedding, Bel realizes that if she’s ever going to find the truth, she’ll have to do it herself.
About the author
MAGGIE MCCONNON grew up in New York immersed in Irish culture and tradition. A former Irish stepdancer, she was surrounded by a family of Irish musicians who still play at family gatherings. She credits her Irish grandparents with providing the stories of their homeland and their extended families as the basis for the stories she tells in her Belfast McGrath novels. Maggie McConnon is a pseudonym for Maggie Barbieri, who is the author of ten other mystery and suspense novels including The Murder 101 series and Once Upon a Lie, Lies That Bind, and Lie in Plain Sight.
The Girl with Book Lungs 