Diane Mott Davidson
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Diane Mott Davidson (b. March 22, 1949) is an American author of mystery novels that use the theme of food. Several recipes are included in each book, and each novel title is a play on a food or drink word. Mott Davidson studied political science at Wellesley College and lived across the hall from Hillary Clinton.
In a few of her novels (particularly, "The Cereal Murders"), she references a prestigious eastern women's college that her sleuth, Goldy Schulz, attended before transferring to a Colorado state university. In real life, Mott Davidson transferred from Wellesley and eventually graduated from Stanford University.
The main character in Mott Davidson's novels is Goldy Schulz, a small town caterer who also solves murder mysteries in her spare time. At the start of the series, Goldy is a recently divorced mother with a young son trying to make a living as a caterer in the fictional town of Aspen Meadows, CO. As the series progresses, new characters are introduced that change Goldy's professional and personal life. It has been noted that Aspen Meadows, CO, closely resembles a real Colorado town, Evergreen. Evergreen is where Mott Davidson currently resides with her family.
The series has now reached 14 books. The first 12 books interwove recipes with the novel's text. When a dish is first described in the novel, the relevant recipe followed within the next few pages. "Double Shot," the 12th novel, marked a change in the publishing of these recipes. In "Double Shot," all recipes are compiled and printed at the end of the novel. Her 14th novel "Sweet Revenge" was released in August 2007.
[edit] Trivia
- Goldy's favorite flavors are chocolate and mint, especially when these two flavors are combined. Her son, Arch, occasionally treats Goldy with Russell Stover's Mint Dreams.
- Goldy owns a cat called "Scout." In the novel, "Dying for Chocolate," she names a brownie recipe after Scout. She also later gets a former police bloodhound named Jake.
- According to the published recipes, Goldy only uses premium chocolate in her baking. Valrhona or Ghirardelli chocolate are her preferred brands.
- Goldy loves her espresso pure and straight up. When a recurring series character "pollutes" his gourmet espresso with copious amounts of sugar and cream she always cringes inside.
- Goldy and her best friend, Marla Korman, both were once married to John Richard Korman, whom they refer to by his initials JRK, or The Jerk.
- The name of Goldy's catering company is called, "Goldilock's Catering" and she answers her telephone with the jingle, "Goldilock's Catering where everything is just right!" The company name and jingle is a play on Goldy's childhood nickname and her maiden name of "Bear." In the novel "Dying for Chocolate," Goldy is threatened to be sued for trademark infringement by George Pettigrew, a Denver caterer, whose catering company is named "Three Bears Catering."
[edit] Books
- Catering to Nobody (1992)
- Dying for Chocolate (1993)
- The Cereal Murders (1994)
- The Last Suppers (1995)
- Killer Pancake (1996)
- The Main Corpse (1997)
- The Grilling Season (1998)
- Prime Cut (2000)
- Tough Cookie (2001)
- Sticks and Scones (2001)
- Chopping Spree (2003)
- Double Shot (2005)
- Dark Tort (2006)
- Sweet Revenge (2007)
