Q&A with ‘Death by Chocolate’ author Anna Brooke

Welcome to My Book Corner’s Q&A!

Today we welcome author Anna Brooke to chat about her deliciously ghostly book, ‘Death By Chocolate.’

1. What inspired you to write Death by Chocolate?

Goodness me. So many things! My previous mini-series, Monster Bogey and Monster Stink, were laugh-out-loud, gross-out books, involving snot monsters, and bogey-themed comedy songs to download. I love bold, irreverent humour, but I also like more subtle laughs – comedy that’s like the sugar on top, rather than whole cake.

So, I decided to explore this ‘sweeter’ side with Death by Chocolate. As for the subject matter. Well, who doesn’t like chocolate? The French hotel setting came because I live in France (Paris), but also because as a travel journalist (my other day job), I stay in lots of hotels. I find them fascinating – like little working cities all under one roof. The ‘doer-upper’ part was inspired by my dad, who—like Coco Bean’s parents—always dreamed of buying an old French property to renovate. He once, also, mistakenly said that he was a baguette rather than that he wanted one (like Coco).

As for Monsieur Framboise, the ghost chocolatier, would you believe me if I said it was because our Parisian apartment was haunted? I’d need an entire book to recount it all (it was a slow escalation of activity over about six years), but it involved footsteps running down our corridor, dining chairs moving of their own accord, a jar lid (from a pot of my favourite crispy chili) whizzing across the room as we ate. And the extraordinary appearance of a man’s flat cap falling to the floor in our hall as if out of thin air.

Were these real ghostly happenings? One thing’s for sure: they gave me the idea for Monsieur Framboise, a poltergeist in a hat (a chef’s hat in his case), who paces around, who can make objects appear and disappear, and who loves flavour (though perhaps not crispy chili) in his chocolate, even though he can’t taste food anymore.

2. Coco moves from Burton-on-the Bush in England to live in Mont-Lavande in France. Is there a reason you chose to write about the upheaval of moving from one country to another?

Age ten, I moved from inner city Birmingham to semi-rural Yorkshire, which felt rather like changing countries. New school, new friends, new surroundings, new social codes, new accent. Even new vocab. The first time I asked directions, I was told to go down the ‘ginnel’. I had no idea what that meant. (A ginnel is actually an ‘alley’; in Birmingham it’s called a ‘gully’). Then, I studied French at university and came to Paris, where I had to assimilate a real new language and culture. I thought it would be fun for Coco Bean (who has a lot of myself in her) to have a similar experience.

3. Making friends in a new country when you speak different languages can be tricky at first. Do you have any advice for anyone who finds themselves in the same situation?

Don’t be afraid of making silly mistakes when you speak. I made a lot – even after studying French. Like when I asked a waiter to bring me a steak à poil (naked) instead of à point (medium done). That was embarrassing. And when I accidentally asked a colleague how her bottom (cul, pron. Cu – which is a bit of a rude word in French) was doing after she’d walked out of the toilets! I’d meant to ask about her neck (cou, pron. coo), which she’d hurt in an accident, but the ‘oo’ sound came out wrong and changed the meaning. We had a good laugh about that one. And it goes both ways. I remember hearing French people ordering ‘chicken diapers’ in an English pub once (they’d meant to say ‘chicken dippers’). Mistakes can be funny, and they often endear you to the locals, making it easier to make friends. So, my advice would be don’t think too much, before you speak!

4. You have included a recipe for Baisers au Chocolat (Chocolate Kisses) at the end of the book. Is this your favourite recipe to make?

All the chocolates in the book are yummy (especially when made with love – hand on heart, stirred to the rhythm of your heart beat, as per Monsieur Framboise’s instructions). But with their sweet, sticky jam and creamy milk chocolate shell, Baisers au Chocolat are particularly scrumptious. Another good recipe from the book is Éternité (milk chocolate, sprinkled with lavender flowers). If you fancy making it, here you go:

Let me know how it goes.

5. Do you have any advice for budding authors?

Write, write and write. And keep going, all the way to the end of your story (the hardest part). It’s much easier to rework words than blank space. Also, don’t judge the quality of your writing as you go. The first version of a book is called a vomit draft because it’s rarely any good. Accepting this takes the pressure off. The time for turning all that spilled milk into lovely literary ice-cream, comes after that first draft, in the re-writing and editing process.

6. Did you have a particular writing routine you followed when writing Death by Chocolate? Was there chocolate in there perhaps?

Ha! Yes. Lots of chocolate – 85% dark, usually eaten in front of my computer, after my second morning coffee. I also did a lot of my writing in cafés, notably in one called Le Sully, which is right by the Seine in the Marais, just opposite one of last remaining chunks of the old Bastille prison (of French Revolution fame). I love writing in cafés; I find the hum of the chitter-chatter and the clinking of coffee cups conducive to finding my ‘creative flow’ – that precious moment when you’re so immersed in the story that you can see the characters’ lives playing out as clearly as if you’re watching them in a film. At least that’s what it’s like for me.

7. Can you give us a sneak peek into Book Two of Coco Bean Investigates?

Well, I live right by where the world’s first manned hot air balloon took flight in 1783 (today, a pretty park called Jardin de la Folie Titon) and seeing those Bastille prison vestiges by the Sully probably gave me some ideas too, because in Book Two, Coco, Louis and Belle (who is my dog in real life) will discover a ghostly hot air balloon and a revenge plot dating all the way back to the French Revolution. There will also be a baking competition, and (of course) chocolate. Oh yes, lots of that!

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DEATH BY CHOCOLATE by Anna Brooke, illustrated by Emily Jones is out now in paperback (£7.99, Chicken House)

Read our review here!

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