Is that really a thing? I say it is! If you look at my bio, you’ll see the first of my hobbies listed near the end is…wait for it…cooking! When I was a wee lass, my mother taught me how to bake cookies, pies, and cakes. I got pretty good at it, and before becoming a federal agent, I was making wedding cakes as a side hustle.
True story! Then I got a badge and a gun, and with that, my free weekends to bake triple- and quadruple-layer cakes and bring joy to newlyweds went right out the window. But let’s go back a few years earlier, shall we?
When I was in my early teens, my Aunt Marion, who must have heard from my dad about my proclivity in the kitchen, sent me Betty Crocker’s Cookbook for BOYS & GIRLS for my birthday.
You guessed it. I branched out. No longer limited to creating baked goods that sent my family into a sugar coma, I began cooking appetizers, entrees, and side dishes galore. That made my mom seriously happy, since now she didn’t have to cook dinner every night the second she walked in the door. So how does this all figure into romantic suspense, you ask?
The heroine (Cassie Yates) of my first published romantic suspense novel, Burnout, was on the run from a hired killer and, while hiding out in a quiet little upstate New York town, became a chef at a struggling café. Then, of course, she goes back to fleeing the hired gun, but all whilst creating mouth-watering dishes that earned her the love and respect of the entire town. And the sexy, hunky chief of police.
My second book, Blood Money, kicks off with a dinner date that ends with the hero and heroine feeding each other skewered berries dipped in melted chocolate. You know what we chocolate lovers call that? Fondue Foreplay!
In my most recent release, Honor ’N’ Duty, Federal K-9 book 6, I have a cookout early on with burgers and dogs. Can’t beat a good cheeseburger or dog with mustard. Later in the book, the critical culinary element of the story centers around my absolute, hands-down, number one favorite food on the planet—pizza!
As usual, I stray into the comedic side of the aisle. Maybe I should write rom coms one day. But seriously, I think all of my books, no matter how suspenseful or gritty, usually have fairly detailed descriptions of food, a good bottle of wine, or, my personal fave—an unusual martini.
I guess that’s how authors manage to put a little bit of their own personalities into books. So with each book of mine that you read, you’ll get a smidge of insight into my personal life. Hope you get a kick out of it!
Tee O’Fallon is the author of the Federal K-9 Series and the NYPD Blue & Gold Series. Tee has been a federal agent for twenty-three years and is now a police investigator, giving her hands-on experience in the field of law enforcement that she combines with her love of romantic suspense. When not writing, Tee enjoys cooking, gardening, chocolate, lychee martinis, and spending time with her Belgian Sheepdogs Loki and Kyrie. Tee loves hearing from readers and can be contacted via her website https://teeofallon.com where you can also sign up for Tee’s newsletters.
Two years after his brother’s murder in jail, Department of Homeland Security K-9 Officer Kade Sampson is still haunted by guilt. No man should ever have to arrest his own brother, even if he is laundering money for a drug cartel. Fortunately, Laia Velez—his brother’s gorgeous widow—never learned the truth about Kade’s involvement. But when she asks him for help, he knows that trouble with the cartel is far from over…
Kade is the last person Laia wants to call. But between her house being thoroughly trashed and the uneasy sense that she and her young daughter are being watched, Laia isn’t taking any chances. The cartel wants something from her. And Kade and his K-9 partner, Smoke, are her only chance to survive whatever fresh hell is coming their way…
Now Laia and Kade are trying to stay one step ahead in a game that’s growing more deadly by the minute. But what the cartel wants, the cartel gets. And Kade is running out of time to save the woman he loves from the same fate that killed his brother…
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