In this novel, cupcakes are people, too
It’s not often that you see a book with a cupcake on its cover, especially one featuring skull-shaped sprinkles and a stick of dynamite for a candle.
I Murdered the PTA is a humorous mystery about Daphne Lee-Lee, a rock-and-roll mom trying to fit in with her straitlaced suburban neighbors until an elementary school PTA blows up and she becomes the prime suspect.
The book’s explosively delicious cover art reflects the nickname “Cupcakes,” which Daphne calls the PTA ladies, since they’re constantly baking them for school functions.
I Murdered the PTA author Wendy Dager admits to baking her fair share of cupcakes, too, when her children were little.
“I was on the PTA board of my kids’ elementary school for seven years,” said Dager. “I’d sit there at meetings and think ‘what am I doing here?’”
A professional freelance writer who works primarily as a newspaper stringer, she wrote I Murdered the PTA in 2000. Over the next few years, Dager’s book was represented by a series literary agents, including one who, incredibly, wanted her to write a nonfiction version.
“I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to do that,” said Dager. “I blow up eighteen people—but only in my imagination!”
After being dropped by her third and final literary agent, Dager submitted the novel to Court TV’s 2006/2007 Search for the Next Great Crime Writer, where it was a top five finalist out of 900 entries. It also received an Honorable Mention in the 13th Annual Writer’s Network Screenplay & Fiction Competition. In 2009 she signed a contract with Zumaya Publications. I Murdered the PTA was published June 2011 under the Zumaya Enigma mystery imprint.
Dager has received a lot of positive response for its cover, designed by her friend, the artist known as Chillpaw.
“Everyone loves the cupcake as a focal point, with its bright colors and tongue-in-cheek homage to the book’s plot,” said Dager.
Wendy Dager’s first book signing is Saturday, August 13 at Crushcakes & Café, a cupcake bakery in Carpinteria, California.
“I thought it’d be an appropriate place to sign copies of I Murdered the PTA,” said Dager. “And, of course, cupcakes will be served.” —For more about Wendy Dager and I Murdered the PTA, go to http://www.wendydager.com.
