What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write this book?
I was at my local farmers market watching a woman sell homemade dog treats from the most beautiful vintage tins, and her rescue mutt was sprawled under the table, looking absolutely unbothered by the chaos around her. I thought: that’s a character. Someone who’s rebuilt their life on her own terms, surrounded by dogs and baked goods and a community that shows up for each other.
Then I started asking myself the dangerous questions writers ask: What if she had a past she was running from? What if that past came knocking? What if the dog noticed things humans missed?
Maggie Fontaine walked into my imagination fully formed—a former food scientist who blew the whistle on a corporate scandal and lost everything, now making gourmet dog treats in Savannah’s historic district with her rescue mutt, Biscuit, by her side. The mystery came next. The recipes came last. The dog was always the heart of it.
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of your book, what would they be?
Oh, I love this question!
Maggie Fontaine: “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence + The Machine. She’s running toward something good, finally, even if she’s still catching her breath from everything she escaped.
Detective Eli Crawford: “Trouble” by Cage the Elephant. He tries so hard to be by the book, but Maggie keeps complicating his life in ways he secretly doesn’t mind.
Biscuit (the dog): “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles. She’s calm, she’s watchful, she’s the steady presence that makes everything okay.
Ford Darcy: “Smooth Operator” by Sade. Charming, polished, maybe a little too perfect.
What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
Cozy mysteries are absolutely my comfort read. I devour them like Biscuit devours peanut butter treats. There’s something deeply satisfying about a world where justice is served, communities rally together, and there’s usually something delicious being baked.
But I also read across genres voraciously: literary fiction when I want to feel things deeply, thrillers when I want my heart rate elevated, and romance when I need to believe in happy endings. All of it feeds the writing. Cozies let me combine everything I love: puzzles, food, found family, slow-burn romance, and dogs. So many dogs.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
My nightstand is a hazard zone! Currently teetering there are The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren (I need something swoony), Trail Gone Dark by Sophie Lyon (an outdoor mystery with a great sense of place—I’m a sucker for atmospheric settings), Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (atmospheric and creepy—research for future books, I tell myself), A Fatal Fleece by Sally Goldenbaum (fellow cozy lover, fellow crafty setting), and The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict (a historical fiction palate cleanser). And I’m perpetually re-reading Still Life by Louise Penny. Chief Inspector Gamache is the gold standard for detective characters who are genuinely good people.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
There’s a scene late in *Bark & Bite* where Maggie is alone in her bakery at 3 AM, stress-baking because she can’t sleep. Biscuit is sprawled on her bed in the corner, watching with that patient look dogs have when humans are being ridiculous. Maggie talks to her—not in a cutesy way, but the way you actually talk to your dog when no one’s listening.
It’s quiet and vulnerable, and it’s the moment I really understood who Maggie was: someone who’s been knocked down hard but keeps getting up, keeps making things with her hands, keeps believing that building something honest matters even when the world has shown her it might not.
Plus, I got to describe fresh-baked scones at 3 AM, and now I’m hungry just thinking about it.
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
I cannot write without tea. Specifically, I have a rotation of “writing mugs” that are all dog-themed and slightly too large. My current favorite says, “I work hard so my dog can have a better life.”
I also research recipes while I write, which means my browser history is a chaotic mix of “symptoms of rare poisoning,” “best peanut butter dog treat recipes,” and “Savannah historic district architecture.” I’m sure I’m on a list somewhere.
And yes, there’s always a dog nearby—currently a very opinionated beagle mix who sighs dramatically when I don’t give her enough attention. She’s definitely an inspiration for Biscuit.
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
“Be the person your dog thinks you are.”
I know it’s on a thousand coffee mugs, but I genuinely believe it. Dogs see us at our most unguarded, love us anyway, and expect us to be kind. That’s a pretty good standard to aim for.
In writing terms, I also live by Anne Lamott’s advice: “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.” Every book I write starts as a mess. The magic is in the revision and the stubbornness to keep going.
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
That starting over isn’t failure—it’s courage.
Maggie lost her career, her reputation, and nearly her belief that doing the right thing matters. She didn’t “bounce back.” She rebuilt, slowly and imperfectly, with a rescue dog and a dream and absolutely no guarantee it would work.
I want readers to finish Bark & Bite feeling like they’ve visited a place they’d want to live: a community that shows up, a cozy shop full of good smells, a mystery that’s satisfying to solve. But underneath all that, I hope they take away this: it’s never too late to build something honest. And dogs always know who the good people are.
