Spotlight & Giveaway: Guilt and Ginataan by Mia P. Manansala

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Mia P. Manansala to HJ!

Hi Mia and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, GUILT AND GINATAAN!

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

GUILT AND GINATAAN is a light, humorous mystery set at a small town corn festival. A dead body is found in the corn maze (you know, the usual) and my protagonist’s best friend and business partner is the main suspect in the murder. On top of the general murder mystery plot is a ton of delicious food, nosy aunties, and the type of ride-or-die loyalty that shows how beautiful (and twisted) female friendships can be.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

“Of all the terrible things that have happened in this town, me meeting my end at the hands of a child cult member was not on my Shady Palms Bingo Card.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

This book underwent several title changes. It was originally MALICE AND MAIS KON YELO (mais kon yelo literally translates to corn with ice, a common Filipino snack/dessert) but the previous book in the series also had a title that started with the letter M and the sales team didn’t want two M titles back-to-back.
So then it became GUILT AND GINATAANG MAIS (since the book is set around the Shady Palms Corn Festival, I wanted to keep a corn-themed food in the title) but the sales team said it was too long.
Finally, I shortened it to GUILT AND GINATAAN, ginataan referring to any food cooked in coconut milk, both sweet and savory.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

The scene:

Once they were all finally gone, I turned around and noticed Adeena and Elena looking like the “Jessica Fletcher eating popcorn” gif as they shared a bucket of popcorn while enjoying the drama.
“OK, I get that we’re at a corn festival, but how did you get the popcorn so fast? Do you travel with props for moments like this?”
Adeena winked. “You know how dedicated I am when it comes to a bit. But no, your sweet boyfriend left when things started getting heated and returned with snacks for us.”

Why I found it so funny:

I’m probably the only person who’d actually laugh out loud at that moment, but when I was writing it, I remembered a scene from the foosball episode of the show Community where guest star Nick Kroll taunts Jeff and Shirley using a soccer ball he’s carrying around to mimic a foosball move. After Nick Kroll and his cronies walk away, Jeff is like, “Were you guys carrying around a soccer ball just so you can do that?” I don’t know, I just find the idea of someone traveling around with props for a one-joke setup hilarious.
Plus I’m not really a visual person, but I enjoy how the scene works as a sight gag, with my protagonist witnessing a bunch of drama then turning around to see her besties literally shoving popcorn in their mouths as they enjoy the show unfolding in front of them.

Readers should read this book….

If they’re looking for cozy, Fall vibes, yummy food, friend drama, and/or a murder mystery that never gets too dark

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m working on the next book in the series, titled DEATH AND DINUGUAN which comes out Fall 2025. I also have my YA debut coming out May 13, 2025, titled DEATH IN THE CARDS. It follows a queer Filipino American teen tarot reader with a private investigator for a mom and a mystery author for a dad. When one of her tarot clients goes missing shortly after an ominous reading, it’s time for her to take on a case of her own. It also includes a love triangle with a black cat-type female love interest (the sister of the missing girl) and a golden retriever male love interest (a possible suspect).
 
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway:  A print copy of GUILT AND GINATAAN by Mia P. Manansala  

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What are your favorite books about female friendships?

 
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Book Info:

Autumn is in full swing for the town of Shady Palms—the perfect time for warm drinks, cozy cardigans, and…dead bodies?

The annual Shady Palms Corn Festival is one of the town’s biggest moneymakers, drawing crowds from all over the Midwest looking to partake in delicious treats, local crafts, and of course, the second largest corn maze in Illinois. Lila Macapagal and her Brew-ha Cafe crew, Adeena Awan and Elena Torres, are all too happy to participate in the event and even make a little wager on who can make it through the corn maze the fastest—but their fun is suddenly cut short when a dead body is found in the middle of the maze…and an unconscious Adeena lies next to it, clutching a bloody knife.

The body is discovered to be a local politician’s wife, and all signs—murder weapon included—point to Adeena as the culprit. But Lila knows her best friend couldn’t have done this, so she and her crew put on their sleuthing caps yet again to find the killer who framed Adeena and show them what happens when they mess with a Brew-ha…
 
 

Meet the Author:

Mia P. Manansala (she/her) is an award-winning writer and book coach from Chicago who loves books, baking, and badass women. She uses humor (and murder) to explore aspects of the Filipino diaspora, queerness, and her millennial love for pop culture. A lover of all things geeky, Mia spends her days procrastibaking, playing JRPGs and dating sims, reading cozy mysteries and diverse romance, and cuddling her dogs, Gumiho and Max Power.