“Behind the Scenes” of Poisoned in Provence
You asked about “Silenced in Salem” and now you know all about how I was on an assignment for a travel magazine and ended up seeing a ghost in an old Salem mansion ..,
So you’re probably saying: Cat, what about Provence? How did that celebrity chef judge “really” get poisoned? How do you know so much about the celebrity chef world?
In addition to being a travel writer, I started out as a restaurant reviewer. I went to a lot of chef conventions and interviewed a lot of celebrity chefs!
What are the “Real Life” Stories in the Scenes of Poisoned in Provence?
Great question! A lot of the book was based on real-life experiences I witnessed firsthand. But to answer your question, the character of Holly represents the funniest of the situations I witnessed.
On. a press trip, you’ll always find “that writer” who’s always asking for “extras” and “freebies.”
Remember how Holly always asked for more Champagne, massages for her dog Jasper (and herself), and more?
That’s very common for some writers to ask for on press trips.
Then there’s ALWAYS the “cute guy” – yes, always. He could be a driver or a chef or the local leader of the group. Flirtations are real, but I only rarely hear of ‘real life’ hookups.
Did you base the main characters of Poisoned in Provence on anyone?
In high school, I had a friend a tiny bit like Holly. She was a ‘larger than life’ character who was bold and brazen. Then again, there’s Jasper, who’s very similar to my own French Bulldog. The other characters just dropped onto the page, seemingly by magic!
I love the scene in Poisoned in Provence when Nina visits Jacques’ “cave” outside his restaurants. Have you been in one in real life?
Yes! You can see it in the photo below.
I was in Italy, where people live in normal-looking neighborhoods with “modern” houses, but all around them are ancient artifacts and wells that have been created centuries ago. In the old days, before modern plumbing, people used to “dig for a water source” and this became their well.
Instead of turning on the faucet in their kitchen, they’d go out to the front yard and lower a pail into the well for water. So this man had an ‘old well’ in his front yard, so he decided to turn it into a ‘party room.’
Well, not exactly a party room. But a small room with a few sofas where he could entertain people. You had to crawl down the well with a ladder leaning up against the stone wall of this old well.
Questions about Poisoned in Provence? Email me at Cat@CatGreenAuthor.com..
