Pushing Up Daisies with Rosemary Harris

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Rosemary Harris, author of gardening mysteries and an Anthony and Agatha Nominee for Best First Novel. I had read her first book in her “Dirty Business” series, Pushing Up Daisies, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Her lead character is Paula Holliday, a cheeky 40-something woman, newly single and launching a landscaping business in a small town in Connecticut after being downsized from her big city career in video production.

We met at the coffee shop that Rosemary says was the inspiration for Paradise Diner in the book. I looked around for the proprietor Babe, who is a colorful personality and figures large in the series, but quickly realized that she is an invention of Rosemary’s. Here’s a description of Babe in Pushing Up Daisies: “Though only the boldest of the soccer moms ventured in, the Paradise is a magnet for every male in town between the ages of 12 and 80…They come in to see what color [Babe’s] hair is this week or what sexy, tattoo-revealing getup she’ll be wearing…Despite our glaring differences, Babe and I had hit it off immediately. ‘Top you off, Paula?’ she asked. I threw caution to the wind and held out my cup for more.”