My new cozy mystery, The Pepper Peach Murder, has a jam-making heroine. Now most cozy heroines have occupations that remind you of Hallmark movies: bakers, knitters, owners of bookstores or inns. So when I decided I wanted to try a cozy, I had to come up with something for my heroine to do, preferably something that wasn’t common among cozies. But jam? Really?
Jam. Really. I admit I was curious about making jam. I like to cook, but I’d never gotten into jam or pickles or other types of preservation cooking. And there’s a Shaun the Sheep cartoon where the hapless Wallace tries to make strawberry jam and ends up with something like super glue. But I still liked the idea for Roxy Constantine, my heroine. She’s the owner and chief producer of Luscious Delights jam, specializing in raspberry, strawberry, and the aforementioned pepper peach.
I knew I’d have to at least try making some jam myself so that I could have some credibility when writing about my heroine’s favorite pastime. Surprise! After my first, very tentative forays into jam making, I’ve become a real fan. I do refrigerator jam because it’s faster and easier (and, I’d say, tastier) than processed jam. It takes less than an hour to cook up a pint or so, using a couple of cartons of raspberries (my favorite). I’ve got my freezer stocked with raspberry, peach, and apricot jam, and I just made up some red wine jam that will probably feature in a future Luscious Delights book.
I don’t do everything that Roxy does. In The Pepper Peach Murder, Roxy shares some rose petal jam with her new boyfriend, chef Nate Robicheaux. The recipe I found online looked fascinating, but also really labor intensive. I’ve got several rose bushes in my front yard, but they’re Rocky Mountain heritage roses, which means they’ve got thorns like the ones at Sleeping Beauty’s castle. For now I’ll let Roxy do the rose petal stuff, particularly since they lead to a Romantic Moment with Nate.
Life isn’t all jam and roses for Roxy. She’s coming back from some tough experiences as a line cook in Denver, and she has to put up with the obnoxious Brett Holmes, who won’t take no for an answer and pursues her a little too hard. When someone murders Brett in his restaurant kitchen, Roxy finds herself the prime suspect and undertakes her own investigation to clear her name and save her business.
So yes, definitely, jam. And the mountains. And the tasty chef. And the murder that needs to be solved. Roxy definitely has her adventures. And thanks to her, I’ve got a freezer full of really tasty jam.