JOIN OUR 10TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY! - Enter Our 10-Book #Giveaway + Tote Bag

Time Machine - Date: July 2009

MLK's first official post: July 2009
(Posted by Krista!) To read it, click here.

CLEO COYLE: A little over ten years ago, I opened up my email to find a lovely note from author Krista Davis. She asked if I would like to join a group blog. As she and her friend Daryl Wood Gerber envisioned it, this blog would feature posts by culinary mystery authors. We would share recipes and book news with our community of readers. I loved the idea. My answer was an enthusiastic YES, and soon Mystery Lovers' Kitchen was live in July 2009 with its first official post. (Click here or on the image above to see it.)

Ten years later, Krista, Daryl, and I are still here, as the original founding members, with a fantastic group of mystery writing cooks whose enthusiasm and dedication keep the Kitchen going strong. Over the years, the authors of Mystery Lovers' Kitchen have cooked up nearly 4,000 recipes, hosted hundreds of guests, and clocked close to 6 million pageviews (and counting)!

And counting, thanks to all of you!

Now I'm throwing it to Krista and Daryl
(and the rest of our stellar crew)! 

Can you believe we've been
blogging for ten years?!

KRISTA DAVIS: It seems like yesterday that Daryl and I were at Malice Domestic and cooked up the idea of this blog. We invited Julie Hyzy to join us on the spot. We barely even knew one another! But we all had one thing in common—culinary cozy mysteries.

A few authors have joined us and others have left. Of course, I have to recognize our dear friends who are still around and writing, but aren't blogging with us anymore: Julie Hyzy; Wendy Lyn Watson; Elizabeth Craig; Jenn McKinlay; Ellery Adams; and Victoria Abbott (aka Mary Jane Maffini and Victoria Maffini). And then there are the hundreds of authors who have joined us as guests on Sundays and let us peek into their kitchens and their lives.

I'm so proud of Mystery Lovers Kitchen and all the authors who have contributed and made it so special. We love our readers, too, and have made so many new friends here. Thank you all for being such a big part of Mystery Lovers Kitchen and for enriching my life with joy, friends, and great food!

DARYL WOOD GERBER:  Wow, how time flies! I can't believe it's been ten years.  I wasn't even published when we started, though my first book, The Long Quiche Goodbye, the first Cheese Shop Mystery by Avery Aames, was in the works. (It came out in July 2010).  I remember having to "be" Avery for much of my first few years on Mystery Lovers Kitchen. I barely knew my way around social media, but Krista assured me I could do this.  Most of my recipes involved cheese during those first years. Over the course of writing that series, I tasted 1,000 + cheeses and I felt it was important to share that knowledge with all of you. I was "the cheese lady." Branding is everything.  LOL  But now, as Daryl (the real me), I look back and smile at the memories. I've made so many lovely friends thanks to Mystery Lovers Kitchen, both with our regular contributors as well as guests. Thank you, Krista, for your inspiration, and thank you, Cleo, for being such a major contributor to this blog and for all your tips about photographing food. Who knew when I became an author I'd have to cook and take pictures of food? Ha!

DENISE SWANSON: Happy Anniversary!

As one of the newest members of the group, I want to thank the founders for their brilliant idea and for including me in it. I've only been blogging here about a year and a half, but I love how it pushes me out of my comfort zone and forces me to try new recipes.

PS My husband is thankful for that too!

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: A brilliant idea, indeed! I joined the blog in January 2015, shortly before the release of Assault & Pepper, my first Spice Shop mystery, although I first visited the blog as a guest in August 2013, when Death al Dente, the first Food Lovers' Village mystery, came out. (I'll be sharing an update of my first post tomorrow, as many of us will be doing this week.) When Krista invited me to join, I was delighted---my blog sisters are some of my favorite authors and I count them all as friends. Posting here is always a treat, never a chore, in part because of how enthusiastic you readers are. I love when you make our recipes and tell us how they turn out---and I've found a few new family faves on these pages, as well!

VICKI DELANY: Happy Anniversary! I'm thrilled to be the newest cook in the kitchen. I've loved MLK for so long that I almost feel as though I am a long-time member. Since I was asked by Leslie and Daryl to join back in May, I've been thoroughly impressed by how hard these women work to make this blog the huge success that it is. My first guest post for the blog was Blueberry Pudding Cake back in August 2010. I wasn't writing cozy mysteries then, but a historical series set in the Klondike Gold Rush and a modern police procedural. Since then, I've switched to cozies and am loving writing them, and most of all I'm loving the wonderful cozy community.

PEG COCHRAN: I've lost track of how long I've been blogging here at MLK! it's been a wonderful experience. One thing--it's forced me to become a better picture-taker! I'll never be a prize winning photographer but my photos have definitely improved! I've really enjoyed trying and/or creating new recipes for this blog and every time I serve hubby a new dish, the question is always "is this for the blog?"

LINDA WIKEN/ESSIE LANG: I think I joined the party two years, perhaps closer to three years ago. Lucy may remember better than I because I take turns with her day, Thursdays. I had been a guest several years and names, before that though, usually invited by Mary Jane Maffini. I think my first post was as Erika Chase and now I'm up to Essie Lang! But having just as much fun. What a great group of writers, cooks, and friends to be a part of! It's moved me out of my cooking comfort zone, and that's an added benefit. I also love all the readers and their comments! Thank you all for making this such a delight.

LUCY BURDETTE: I was a later addition to Mystery Lovers Kitchen, appearing first as a guest in 2011 with one of my favorite summer dishes, the leaning tower of eggplant. I was thrilled to be invited as a full-timer. It's a lot of work, of course, but I love this community so much. And I've become a more inventive, accomplished cook, besides writing all the foodie mysteries. And by the way, Hayley Snow seems to have evolved as a cook too, with nine Key West food critic mysteries out!

SHEILA CONNOLLY: Happy anniversary to all!. As I may have whined lately, I'm packing up to change houses soon, and the largest part of that packing is books and files, mostly related to writing. Doing this (which is a pain, though it might be less so if I had time to read every article or email or piece of research I've saved) brings home how much things have changed over the past ten years. Both we at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen and the world of blogs have changed a lot in that time. This has been a great gang to work with, and some of the members' recipes have become staples at my house. And now I find it hard to cook anything new without taking pictures as I go. It has been a pleasure to share recipes with all our reader friends and with each other, to discover new foods and new ways to prepare old favorites--but it's the sharing that matters.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN!

JOIN US IN THE COMMENTS...

HOW ARE WE DOING?

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Would you like to see anything new or different in the future? 

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(or even from the beginning)? 

We'd love to know!

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2-WEEKS OF FAVORITE RETRO POSTS!

We're throwing a two-week party to celebrate a decade of blogging at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen. Starting today, through Saturday, July 13, each of us will feature a favorite "anniversary" recipe from our blogging past. Stop back each day to see what we post. Each time you leave a comment, you'll earn an extra entry in our drawing and increase your chances of winning our grand prize package. It starts today, so be sure to use the entry form above to enter, and leave a comment below (you must do both to be entered).


OUR 10th ANNIVERSARY

10-BOOK GIVEAWAY!

And you can carry your books in this clever
tote bag with a special crossword puzzle 

featuring Mystery Lovers' Kitchen authors!

GOOD LUCK and...


HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY,

MYSTERY LOVERS' KITCHEN!


NOTE ON COMMENTS:
If you don't see your comment appear, hit the words "LOAD MORE" at the end of the list of comment. More comments will load, and yours will appear at the end.