Dead Over Heels: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery #sleuthers @hallmarkchannel

Tonight all the cooks in our kitchen will be busy watching DEAD OVER HEELS: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery by Charlaine Harris on the Hallmark Channel! Her True Blood series was wildly successful on HBO, now Aurora Teagarden is appearing in Hallmark movies. And we're thrilled and honored to have her in our kitchen today!

CHARLAINE: I know how lucky I’ve been to have such good experiences with having my work adapted to the small screen. After the first time (“True Blood”), which was a huge learning curve, my expectations became more realistic, and I learned to enjoy what before me, rather than having a peek through rose-covered glasses. Or camera lenses.

Of course, Hallmark is the direct opposite of HBO, and it’s been a very different project for me. I was terrified when “True Blood” came on the air. Now I am much calmer, and I understand it’s not personal if people don’t care for the filmed version; or if people like the television show better than the books. Viewers come to sit in front of their television sets with different expectations, just as readers open a new book with some preconceived notions about what they’re going to find.

What you won’t find is a duplicate of the book. Even very faithful adaptations  (“Game of Thrones” for example) veer away from the writer’s timeline for all kinds of considerations that don’t matter at all to the writer.

I have enjoyed watching the Hallmark productions because I find in many ways, they’re very true to the Aurora Teagarden books. I have a very soft spot in my heart for Aurora, my first series protagonist, and I always will. It’s been a joy writing two more books about her life and mystery-solving.

I know a lot of people (like me!) enjoy having a snack while they’re watching their favorite show, and maybe enjoying a little social media at the same time. So here’s a favorite recipe of mine, given to me by Anne Veach many years ago. It’s the hint of curry that gives this great dip its distinction. Just serve it with your favorite cracker (Ritz Crackers, the classic, are a favorite here).

ChaCha Chicken

1 8-oz. package cream cheese

1 c mayonnaise

2 t curry powder

1 t salt

6 cups chopped chicken

1 8-oz. can crushed pineapple, drained

2/3 c sweetened dried cranberries

1 c salted almond slivers

Whisk together cream cheese and next three ingredients. Stir in chicken (I minced mine in the food processor), pineapple, and cranberries. Spoon into a plastic wrap-lined round cake pan; cover and chill at least 8 hours. Invert and remove wrap. Gently press chopped almonds onto sides of salad, a step I forgot for the shower!

And here’s a sneak peek at the new cover for October’s Aurora book, SLEEP LIKE A BABY. I hope you enjoy it; it’s been so much fun to get back to my writing roots with conventional mysteries.

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Enjoy the show!

Thanks so very much for visiting Charlaine! We'll be tweeting throughout the movie--and there will be prizes! Will you join the fun?  Today, Sunday March19 9est/8c! #SLEUTHERS 

And leave your email in a comment to be included in a giveaway for a $25 Visa gift certificate to celebrate the movie, the blog, the author! Hooray!