Hey folks! Today I’m happy to introduce you to Mark Spivak and his story Friend of the Devil!
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Mark Spivak is an award-winning writer specializing in wine, spirits, food, restaurants and culinary travel. He was the wine writer for the Palm Beach Post from 1994-1999, and was honored by the Academy of Wine Communications for excellence in wine coverage “in a graceful and approachable style.” Since 2001 has been the Wine and Spirits Editor for the Palm Beach Media Group; his running commentary on the world of food, wine and spirits is available at the Global Gourmet blog on http://www.palmbeachillustrated.com. He is the holder of the Certificate and Advanced diplomas from the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Mark’s work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Robb Report, Men’s Journal, Art & Antiques, the Continental and Ritz-Carlton magazines, Arizona Highways and Newsmax. He is the author of Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History (Lyons Press, 2012) and Moonshine Nation: The Art of Creating Cornbread in a Bottle (Lyons Press, 2014). His first novel, Friend of the Devil, is published by Black Opal Books.
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Website ## Facebook ## Goodreads
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In 1990 some critics believe that America’s most celebrated chef, Joseph Soderini di Avenzano, cut a deal with the Devil to achieve fame and fortune. Whether he is actually Bocuse or Beelzebub, Avenzano is approaching the 25th anniversary of his glittering Palm Beach restaurant, Chateau de la Mer, patterned after the Michelin-starred palaces of Europe.
Journalist David Fox arrives in Palm Beach to interview the chef for a story on the restaurant’s silver jubilee. He quickly becomes involved with Chateau de la Mer’s hostess, unwittingly transforming himself into a romantic rival of Avenzano. The chef invites Fox to winter in Florida and write his authorized biography. David gradually becomes sucked into the restaurant’s vortex: shipments of cocaine coming up from the Caribbean; the Mafia connections and unexplained murder of the chef’s original partner; the chef’s ravenous ex-wives, swirling in the background like a hidden coven. As his lover plots the demise of the chef, Fox tries to sort out hallucination and reality while Avenzano treats him like a feline’s catnip-stuffed toy.
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Several years after the opening of Chateau de la Mer, the triumvirate of Avenzano, Walsh and Ross appeared to be one big happy family, although there were rumors of strains in the relationship. One night, at the height of the Festival of Champagne, there was an incident. Ross, a notorious womanizer, was sipping Cristal with a redhead at the restaurant’s corner table. His wife slipped through the front door of the mansion, unannounced. Walking slowly through the dining room, past the Medieval memorabilia and dramatic cast-iron griffins, she strolled up to Ross’s table, took a revolver from her evening bag, and calmly shot him through the heart.
The ensuing chaos did more to establish Joseph Soderini di Avenzano in the American imagination than his designer pasta, his Bedouin-stuffed poussin, his recipes transposed from Etruscan or Old Genoese, or his library of 10,000 cookbooks. This was more than a good meal, after all. This was sex and death in Palm Beach. Even more intriguing was the Chef’s refusal to comment on Ross after his death, except for informal and effusive eulogies in his famous baritone.
“Watch that Cristal,” David’s friend Bill Grimaldi told him before he left Manhattan to do an assigned story on the 25th anniversary of Chateau de la Mer. “It’s a killer.”
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Mark Spivak will be giving away a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card via Rafflecopter. CLICK HERE to enter to win! Readers, follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates and places can be found here: Tour Schedule
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Mark Spivak, thank you for stopping by today!
Love & blessings to all! ❤
Jacey
Tagged: Book Spotlight, Culinary, Goddess Fish Promotions, Interview, Mark Spivak, Thriller
Author Jacey Holbrand 
Jacey, many thanks for hosting me today. I look forward to meeting your readers and answering any questions they may have.
Thanks for hosting!
Many writers describe themselves as “character” or “plot” writers. Which are you? What do you find to be the hardest part of writing?
I’m not sure how you could segment character vs. plot, since in the best of cases the two are seamlessly interwoven. I think it would probably be easier for people to make those judgements on a writer from the outside (ask any college literature professor). The hardest part of writing, for me, is what I’m doing now: marketing. Writing the book is actually the fun part.
Your book sounds awesome.
Many thanks, Becky. I’d appreciate your support.
Terrific giveaway and I want to thank you for the opportunity to win it.
Sounds like an interesting story. Thanks for the giveaway chance! What’s been your most favorite place to visit for culinary travel?
France and Italy would obviously be near the top. Believe it or not, I’d have to nail Australia as my all-time favorite. With only 20 million people in a country the size of the U.S., they don’t have an industrial farming system, so virtually everything is organic and farm-fresh—you eat potatoes that were dug out of the ground 20 minutes earlier. If I were younger, I’d give serious thought to pulling up and moving.
Enjoy the excerpt, interesting book.
What a unique sounding story. I really enjoyed the excerpt.
Sounds like a interesting story. Thank you for the excerpt!
Really great excerpt, sounds like a wonderful book! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks to everyone for your kind words. I hope you enjoy reading it.
An interesting bio too.