I’d like to welcome Gerald Elias to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Things you never want to run out of: Patience, coffee, and Mozart.

Things you wish you’d never bought: My first car, a 1975 Fiat, and my second car, a 1977 Plymouth Volare. After that, I learned my lesson and have driven Subarus ever since.

A few of your favorite things: Parmigiano Reggiano, travel just about anywhere, and those really comfortable jeans that have more holes than fabric.

Things you need to throw out: Those really comfortable jeans that have more holes than fabric; and the anchovies in the back of the fridge that are turning an unnatural shade of green.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Finding a publisher, self-promotion, and the dreaded social media.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Writing

Favorite foods: Umbrian porchetta, Japanese tempura soba, Peruvian ceviche, Southern fried chicken, and a Hebrew National frank with hot sauerkraut and deli mustard.

Things that make you want to gag: Sea cucumbers, Japanese natto, and Vegemite.

Favorite music or song: Mozart’s Symphony No. 38, Schubert’s String Quintet, and Verdi’s Otello.

Music that drives you crazy: Music at restaurants. Why? So unnecessary and distracting! Isn’t good food and good conversation enough?

Things you’d walk a mile for: Good coffee and just the enjoyment of being outdoors.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: People talking about their health issues.

Things you always put in your books: Real-life experiences, multi-dimensional yet quirky characters, and plot twists.

Things you never put in your books: Gore and high-tech nonsense.

Things to say to an author: Have a paying job so that you can write what you want.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “My grandchild in kindergarten can write better than you.”

Favorite places you’ve been: Tokyo, Japan; Umbria, Italy; Cuzco, Peru; Sydney, Australia; East Anglia, England; Lucerne, Switzerland; Iceland. Ah, the list goes on…

Places you never want to go to again: Texas, Florida, fast food chain restaurants.

Favorite books (or genre): Mysteries/thrillers: Anything by Donna Leon, Walter Mosley, John LeCarre, and Dick Francis.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Do Your Own Taxes and The Art of the Deal.

Favorite things to do: Play music, travel, cook, outdoor activities, watch sports, and make sand castles with the grandchildren.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Calling a doctor’s office to try to get an appointment and going to a performance of a Bruckner symphony.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Trying to get my first book, Devil’s Trill, published. (It took 12 years and I had no idea what the hell I was doing.)

Something you chickened out from doing: Climbing ancient cliffside stone steps (no railing) to get to the archeological ruins of the Sun Temple, thousands of feet above Pisac, Peru. No way!

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: The intense, grueling, harrowing pressure of auditioning for a major symphony orchestra I wrote about in Death and Transfiguration.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: My protagonist and amateur sleuth extraordinaire, Daniel Jacobus, is a blind, curmudgeonly, reclusive violin teacher. I once did a book event –– I think it was in Tucson or Albuquerque –– and the bookstore manager said, “So, Jerry, does that mean your books are autobiographical?” (Laughter from the crowd.) Before I had a chance to reply, he added, “Of course not, you’re not blind.” So while I do share a lot of Jacobus’s points of view, I’m not nearly the hardass that he is (I hope).

About Gerald:

Gerald Elias leads a double life as a critically acclaimed author and internationally recognized musician.

His gripping Daniel Jacobus mystery series, debuting with Devil’s Trill (a Barnes & Noble: Discover Great New Writers selection) takes place in the dark corners of the classical music world. Murder at the Royal Albert, the eighth and most recent installment of the series, received high praise from Publisher’s Weekly, which wrote: “The plot skates off in surprising directions and, as always, offers readers fascinating glimpses into the working life of a musician. One needn’t be a classical music aficionado to appreciate this clever, pacey entry.” Murder at the Royal Albert is currently being made into a unique audiobook with spellbinding performances by the Boston Symphony, renowned musicians, and Elias himself woven into the fabric of the narration.

Elias has also penned two standalone novels: Roundtree Days, a 2023 finalist for Killer Nashville’s coveted Silver Falchion Award for best Western; and The Beethoven Sequence, a chilling political thriller.

Elias has published collection of eclectic short mysteries, It’s a Crime! His essays and short stories have also been featured in prestigious journals and anthologies, ranging from The Strad magazine to Coolest American Stories 2023.

His prize-winning essay, “War & Peace. And Music,” excerpted from his self-published musical memoir, Symphonies & Scorpions, was the subject of a compelling 2019 TEDx presentation.

As a performer, conductor, composer, teacher, and former violinist with the Boston Symphony, Elias has performed on five continents and has been the conductor of Salt Lake City’s popular Vivaldi by Candlelight chamber orchestra series since 2004. In 2022, he released the first, highly regarded complete recording of the Opus 1 violin sonatas of the Baroque virtuoso-composer, Pietro Castrucci, on Centaur Records.

A native New Yorker, Elias now divides his time on the shores of Puget Sound in Seattle and the Berkshire hills of Massachusetts, savoring the outdoors and maintaining a vibrant concert career while continuing to expand his literary horizons. He particularly enjoys winter, coffee, cooking, travel, watching sports, and most of all, being a hands-on grandparent.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: https://geraldeliasmanofmystery.wordpress.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gerald.elias

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EliasBooks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geraldelias504/