#WriterWednesday Interview with Sarah E. Burr

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I’d like to welcome my friend and talented author, Sarah E. Burr, back to the blog for #WriterWednesday.

Favorite thing to do when you have free time: I enjoy reading manga, watching true crime shows, listening to true crime podcasts, and video gaming.

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to-do list: I really despise grocery shopping for some reason. It’s such a chore for me.

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: For a productive day of writing, I require a beverage, a candle, my dog, Eevee, and my computer.

Things that distract you from writing: I always get sidetracked by social media (YouTube videos, especially) and laundry.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Writing the first three chapters of a new book is the hardest part of any writing project.

Easiest thing about being a writer: I have no trouble coming up with people to kill off!

The coolest thing you’ve bought online: I am obsessed with my new wax warmer.

The thing you wished you’d never bought: I have no shopping regrets! Everything has its purpose.

Something you’re really good at: I’m great at designing book-related content for social media.

Something you’re really bad at: I’m terrible at anything remotely athletic.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: I wanted to be a detective or FBI agent.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: I never dreamed I would actually get to write amateur detective stories for a living.

Something you wish you could do: I wish I could speak more than one basic language.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: I wish I had never learned to suck on my teeth—it’s a horrible habit that I can’t stop after doing the Invisalign treatment.

Favorite places you’ve been: I loved my adventures in London, England, on a Nile cruise, and in Athens, Greece.

Places you never want to go to again: I mean, I hate going to the dentist, but we do what we must!

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I did a massive zip-lining course in Jamacia.

Something you chickened out from doing: I refused to drive a convertible along California’s coastal highway (I ended up just being the passenger).

The most exciting thing about your writing life: I get to visit so many incredible places and people with all the different series I write.

The one thing you wish you could do over in your writing life: I would have used more pen names for all my different series!

Best piece of advice you received from another writer: A guest on The Bookish Hour told us that even if you aren’t actively writing, you are still “writing” because you are always thinking about your work. That advice has helped me to cut myself some slack and take more restful breaks.

Something you would tell a younger you about your writing: Be kind to yourself. You’re doing the best you can.

About Sarah:

Sarah E. Burr is the award-winning author of the Glenmyre Whim Mysteries, Trending Topic Mysteries, the Book Blogger Mysteries, and the Court of Mystery series. She currently serves as the social media manager for the New York chapter of Sisters in Crime and is the creative mind behind BookstaBundles, a content creation service for authors. Sarah is the co-host of The Bookish Hour, a live-streamed YouTube series featuring author interviews and book discussions. When she's not spinning up stories, Sarah is binging true crime podcasts and enjoying walks with her dog, Eevee. Stay connected with Sarah via her newsletter: https://bit.ly/saraheburrsignup.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: http://saraheburr.com

Socials: https://bit.ly/sarahsocialmediahub

#WriterWednesday Interview with Gerald Elias

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I’d like to welcome author and musician, Gerald Elias, to the blog!

Things you need for your writing sessions: Imagination, something to write with, coffee, and a window to stare out of when my brain goes blank.

Things that hamper your writing: Distractions, lack of ideas, no coffee, and thoughts of pastrami.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Promotion, marketing, learning how to brag about my work without sounding like I’m bragging.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Conjuring up the words –– sometimes even the right ones –– to create entertaining, occasionally thought-provoking stories.

Words that describe you: Willing to dive in, ethical, organized, hardworking.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Rash, insistent, too goal oriented.

Favorite music or song: A Mozart piano concerto, Schubert string quintet, or a Bach violin sonata.

Music that drives you crazy: Bad Christmas music arrangements (which means just about all of the new ones), and just about anything by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Something you’re really good at: Playing music, talking at public events about music and writing, cooking (especially Italian).

Something you’re really bad at: Mountain climbing. I get dizzy too easily, and it scares the crap out of me when I look down and feel like I'm going over the edge. (Gulp.)

Last best thing you ate: I slow-cooked a brisket in the oven for 6 hours. It was so tender you could cut it with a fork. I’m drooling as I write. (Let me know if you want the recipe. It's amazingly easy.)

Last thing you regret eating: That last bite of brisket, leaving my plate with nothing left on it.

Things you’d walk a mile for: Exercise, fresh air, relaxation, a nice view, and especially if there’s a beer or coffee at the end of the mile.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: People talking nonstop about their health issues, i.e. “the organ recital.” Also, loud music, but that would be okay if it covered up the “organ recital.”

Things you always put in your books: Quirky and engaging characters, plot twists, and humor.

Things you never put in your books: One-dimensional characters, gore, gratuitous sex, or endless details about weapons of mass destruction.

Things to say to an author: Go for it! Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite! Enjoy the journey, whatever the destination.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Let me at least put up a good fight while saving a damsel in distress, and then leave a nice epitaph.

Favorite books (or genre): Thrillers by John le Carré, mysteries by Walter Mosley, Donna Leon, and Dick Francis, and adventures by Patrick O’Bryan.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Books on self-help, financial advice, pseudoscience, and The Art of the Deal.

People you’d like to invite to dinner: Mozart and Fani Willis.

People you’d cancel dinner on: Anyone who says they’ll vote for Donald Trump.

Favorite things to do: Go outside, write books, play music, drink coffee, and most of all, be a hands-on grandpa.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Filling out tax returns, but I don’t think the IRS will accept running through a fire or eating bugs as an excuse.

About Gerald:

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

His award-winning Daniel Jacobus mystery series, beginning with Devil’s Trill, 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, was described as a “clever, pacey entry” by Publisher’s Weekly. The audiobook version, featuring excerpts of live performances by the Boston Symphony and the author himself, received praised from AudioFile Magazine “as an altogether delightful listen.”

Elias has also penned two standalone novels: The Beethoven Sequence, a chilling political thriller, and Roundtree Days, a Jefferson Dance Western Mystery, which was a 2023 Silver Falchion Award finalist. His musical memoir, Symphonies & Scorpions, was the subject of his 2019 TEDx presentation. His essays and short stories have been featured in prestigious journals ranging from The Strad magazine to Coolest American Stories 2023. He has just signed a new deal with Level Best Books for two new mysteries, Murder on Vacation and Wild Horses.

A former violinist with the Boston Symphony and associate concertmaster of the Utah 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 a groundbreaking recording of the Opus 1 violin sonatas of the Baroque virtuoso-composer, Pietro Castrucci, on Centaur Records.

Elias divides his time between his home on the shores of Puget Sound in Seattle and his cottage in 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 being a hands-on grandpa.

Let’s Be Social:

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

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

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerald-elias-6a67a0157/

Website: www.mysteriesandmusic.com



#WriterWednesday Interview with W. L. Hawkin

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I’d like to welcome author W. L. Hawkin to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Favorite thing that you always make time for: reading a good book

The thing you’ll always do just about anything to avoid: reading a contract or procedure

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: silence so I can hear my voices

Things that distract you from writing: noise and activity

The thing you like most about being a writer: I’m never bored.

The thing you like least about being a writer: Having to sell books.

Things you will run to the store for in the middle of the night: toilet paper

Things you never put on your shopping list: tempeh (made from fermented soy beans. Bleh)

The coolest thing you’ve bought online: a case of my own books

The thing you wished you’d never bought. A vinyl canopy cover that came without a stand and could not be returned

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: a veterinarian

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: teach a classroom full of people. I thought I’d die the first time I had to do this.

The funniest thing to happen to you: I was playing fake baseball on a diamond with my daughter and our border collie. She fake-pitched. I fake-hit and ran full tilt toward first base. The border collie ran in front of me and hit me and I face-planted in the dirt. I thought she was going to die laughing while I was trying to pick dirt out of my nose.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: I stood beside a man flashing himself at the fourth level elevator parking at Toronto Pearson Airport. I didn’t notice until I got in the elevator that IT was out. Then I tried to report him.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: Alan Thicke (I sang with him on a beach in Jamaica.)

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Valerie Harper (Rhoda from the Mary Tyler Moore show.) I weighed about 100 pounds and she was tinier that I me.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: My husband started reading again after your first book. Now he wants the rest of the series.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: How do you get away with writing LGBTQ books? My reply: What are you asking me?

The best job you ever had: Aboriginal Education Coordinator

The worst job you ever had: Aboriginal Education Coordinator

The one thing you cook/bake that is better than a restaurant dish: Indian Spiced Rice with Red Lentil Dahl

The one thing you cooked/baked that turned out to be an epic disaster: a cod chowder (yuk)

About W. L.:

W. L. Hawkin writes the kind of books she loves to read from her home in the Pacific Northwest. Because she’s a genre-blender, you might find crime, mystery, romance, suspense, fantasy, adventure, and even time travel, interwoven in her stories.

If you like “myth, magic, and mayhem” her Hollystone Mysteries feature a coven of West Coast witches who solve murders using ritual magic and a little help from the gods. The books—To Charm a Killer, To Sleep with Stones, To Render a Raven, To Kill a King, and To Dance with Destiny—follow Estrada, a free-spirited, bisexual magician and coven high priest as he endeavors to save his family and friends while sorting through his own personal issues.

Her standalone novel, Lure: Jesse & Hawk (2022) won a National Indie Excellence Award, a Gold Reader’s Choice award from Connections E-magazine, a Crowned Heart Review from InD’tale Magazine, and placed as a finalist in The UK Wishing Shelf Book Awards. Lure is a small-town romantic suspense story set on a Chippewa Reservation in the American Midwest near the fictional town of Lure River.

As an intuitive writer, Wendy captures what she sees and hears on the page, and allows her muses to guide her through the creative process. In an upcoming book, Writing with your Muse: a Guide to Creative Inspiration, she explains her writing process and offers tips and techniques to help writers get their words on the page.

#WriterWednesday Interview with Ann Charles

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I’d like to welcome Ann Charles back to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Favorite thing that you always make time for: My family. They make my heart happy.

The thing you’ll always do just about anything to avoid: Bookkeeping—ugh! Every month it takes hours to gather everything the tax man might want to see.

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: Something to drink—coffee, tea, water, or a frozen Coke.

Things that distract you from writing: My cats, especially when they demand attention and walk on my keyboard.

The thing you like most about being a writer: Making readers smile, laugh, even cringe—basically, just giving them an escape from everyday life when they need it.

The thing you like least about being a writer: The doubt demons that creep in when you’re struggling with the unfolding story.

The coolest thing you’ve bought online: Our house. We didn’t visit it until after we had the keys in hand because we lived about 1200 miles away and our kids were in the thick of school when we had to make the purchase. So, we looked at pictures online and relied on our real estate agent and a persnickety home inspector. Almost ten years later, we still love it here.

The thing you wished you’d never bought: A pair of pants from a scam sight where they used other company’s photos to sell knockoff clothing. The pant are all cockeyed, but I have kept them for years because they cost me $40 and I’m going to figure out something to do with them eventually. Maybe I’ll make a scarecrow with them.

Something you’re really good at: Finding lost items in our house for my family.

Something you never learned how to do: Hotwire a car. It seems like a skill that could be useful in an emergency.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: Camel jockey

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: Write books

Things you always put in your books: Humor and a little romance

Things you never put in your books: Love triangles and politics

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Have children. There is so much responsibility and so many worries that come with them. (But they are worth every gray hair!)

Something you chickened out from doing: Jumping out of an airplane. Nope nope nope. Unless not jumping means dying, then maybe I might be open to being pushed out of the plane.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: That I’m their all-time favorite author. That’s a huge honor!

The craziest thing a reader said to you: Twice my books have been compared to Coca-Cola, and both with a negative intention. I love Coca-Cola, so the insults backfired.

The best job you ever had: Writing stories for a living.

The worst job you ever had: Cleaning the Women’s restroom at a large fast-food restaurant on the Ohio Turnpike during the busiest travel day of the year—Thanksgiving. The things I saw … yuck!

About Ann:

Ann Charles is a USA Today Best-Selling author who writes spicy, award-winning mysteries full of mayhem, adventure, comedy, and suspense. She writes the Deadwood Mystery Series, Jackrabbit Junction Mystery Series, Dig Site Mystery Series, Deadwood Undertaker Series (with her husband, Sam Lucky), and AC Silly Circus Mystery Series. Her Deadwood Mystery Series has won multiple national awards, including the Daphne du Maurier for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. Ann has a B.A. in English with an emphasis on creative writing from the University of Washington and is a member of Sisters in Crime and Western Writers of America. She is currently toiling away on her next book, wishing she was on a Mexican beach with an ice-cold Corona in one hand and a book in the other. When she is not dabbling in fiction, she is arm wrestling with her two kids, attempting to seduce her husband, and arguing with her sassy cats. 

Let’s Be Social:

Website
Facebook

#WriterWednesday Interview with Diann Floyd

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I’d like to welcome author Diann Floyd to the blog for #WriterWednesday.

Favorite thing that you always make time for:

I will always have time for a movie.

The thing you’ll always do just about anything to avoid:

I always put off reorganizing my closets.

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave:

Seriously, I don’t have a special place to write. Anywhere quiet works for me as long as I can plug in my laptop.

I think they were being cute and using the term cave to mean wherever you write. Notice “your” writing cave. I love the initial response, but perhaps you should add something like the following: Seriously, I don’t have a special place to write. Anywhere quiet works for me as long as I can plug in my laptop.

Things that distract you from writing:

If a good movie is on, I have to leave the room, or else I lose my concentration, and I cannot finish the story.

The thing you like most about being a writer:

I love hearing from my readers. It warms my heart.

The thing you like least about being a writer:

Editing. Thank goodness there are professional editors.

Things you will run to the store for in the middle of the night: Chocolate - Chocolate - Chocolate.

Things you never put on your shopping list:

You will never see artichokes, olives or Brussel sprouts on my grocery list.

The thing that you will most remember about your writing life:

I remember a publisher telling me they wanted to publish my story. It was so exciting!

Something in your writing life that you wish you could do over:

If I had to do something over, I would never have mailed in some of my first stories.

Something you’re really good at:

I am good at hand beading. I just finished beading a new Christmas Stocking for a family member.

Something you never learned how to do:

I never learned how to do tatting and embroidery.

My Great-Grandma Terrill was so good at tatting and quilting. My mom was great at embroidery, along with 2 of my great-grandmas My mom did beautiful embroidery; you could look at the back, which was as beautiful as the front.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid:

I always wanted to be able to skateboard and ice skate like my brother Danny.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do:

Art, I never dreamed I could paint, especially using different media..

Favorite things to do:

I love to sing, act, and bake.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing:

Vacuuming the car.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done:

Rappelling in Costa Rica.

Something you chickened out from doing:

Bungee jumping

The coolest person you’ve ever met:

It was an honor to meet Senator John McCain in Austin, where his documentary on his time in Vietnam was shown at the State Theater.

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video:

Robert Redford

The funniest thing that happened to you in an airport.

I was in the Athens airport, and I was locked in the bathroom. I could hear it was time for boarding. I started beating on the door and yelling for help until my thumb started bleeding. The people could open the door, and I made it to the plane. It was only funny after I was safely on the plane.

The most embarrassing thing that happened to you in an airport.

I was not watching the gate messages or listening to announcements to hear my gate change till I realized we should be boarding. I had to have the attendant tell the gate I was running to get to the correct gate, so I could still make the plane.

About Diann: Diann Floyd Boehm is an award-winning international author. Diann writes children's books and young historical fiction adult books. In addition, Diann writes books to inspire kids to be kind, like themselves, peace, and to "Embrace Imagination”.  You can find all her books on Amazon.

Diann does speaking engagements, book signings as well as author visitations. Her creative flair encompasses the performing arts and performing in musical theatre productions in Dubai produced by Popular Productions out of the UK. In addition, Diann enjoys making guest appearances on various live streaming shows. Diann is the cohost  for three shows on USA Global TV ™ and Radio. 

She has traveled extensively to many parts of the world and lived in Dubai for 14 years, where her husband worked for the American Law Firm Norton Rose Fulbright for 14 years. She has a Bachelor of Education from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, and her kindergarten certification from The University of Texas @ Austin. Diann has taught in the classroom overseas as well as stateside. more about Diann at https://www.diannfloydboehm.com

Diann is a wife, mother, grandmother, and a former classroom educator. Throughout her life, Diann continues to be involved in various humanitarian projects.

#WriterWednesday Interview with Mary Keliikoa

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I’d like to welcome the fabulous Mary Keliikoa to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Things you never want to run out of: Coffee. I’m not sure how I’d function!

Things you wish you’d never bought: Most of my exercise equipment—except for my treadmill. I always have grand plans of lifting weights, and working on my core with those exercise balls, and now they sit there and taunt me.

A few of your favorite things: Golden retrievers, traveling to warm places, and British mysteries.

Things you need to throw out: Half my wardrobe. I swear I still have clothes from twenty years ago—they’ll eventually come back into fashion…right?

Things you need for your writing sessions: Did I mention I love coffee? It fuels my writing time, so an absolute must have, along with my computer!

Things that hamper your writing: social media. If I could have it unavailable to me from 7am to noon, I’d get more done!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Wondering if the book will come together early on. Even with a good idea, I’m never quite sure until I’ve passed a certain point.

Easiest thing about being a writer: showing up at the keyboard. I look forward to it every day. I may not always get much done, but even if I spend an hour editing, I feel like I’ve accomplished something that day.

Words that describe you: tenacious, loyal, kind

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: impatient and easily distracted

Favorite music or song: I’m a country girl all the way.

Music that drives you crazy: Rap – I’ve never understood the appeal.

Favorite beverage: Besides coffee…. I love Ginger Beer.

Something that gives you a sour face: Anything green that identifies itself as a healthy smoothy.

Favorite smell: Cinnamon. I really love walking into my house in the autumn because I have all the spicy scents going!

Something that makes you hold your nose: Hominy. My grandmother used to cook it and I remember just hating that smell.

Things you always put in your books: The beginnings or hint of some kind of romantic relationship. I just feel like it adds a layer of real life.

Things you never put in your books: Graphic violence.

Favorite places you’ve been: Hawaii, New Zealand, Great Barrier Reef

Places you never want to go to again: Does the emergency room of the hospital count? Because I could live my whole life and not go there again!

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Zip Lining

Something you chickened out from doing: Bungee jumping – I just couldn’t see myself free falling…rope attached or not!

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: In Hidden Pieces, the cold case in that book was based on the event that happened in my small town when I was 14. Two girls went out walking and one of the girls was abducted, never making it home.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: In my PI Kelly Pruett series, Kelly has an obsession with peanut butter and most think that’s from something I enjoy. Truth is, I liked it okay as a kid, but not so much as an adult.

About Mary:

Eighteen years in the legal field, and an over-active imagination, led Pacific NW native Mary Keliikoa to start writing mystery and suspense. She is the author of the award-winning HIDDEN PIECES and DEADLY TIDES in the Misty Pines mystery series, the PI Kelly Pruett mystery series including the multi-award nominated DERAILED for Best Debut, and the upcoming stand-alone DON’T ASK, DON’T FOLLOW out June of 2024. Her short stories have been included in Woman’s World and the anthology, Peace, Love, and Crime.

When not in Washington, you can find Mary with toes in the sand on a Hawaiian beach. But even under the palm trees and blazing sun, she’s plotting her next murder—novel that is.

Let’s Be Social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mary.Keliikoa.Author

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/mary_keliikoa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mary.keliikoa.author/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mary-keliikoa

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20038534.Mary_Keliikoa

Website: www.marykeliikoa.com 

#WriterWednesday Interview with Linda Lovely

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I’d like to welcome the fabulous Linday Lovely to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Things you never want to run out of: Coffee to wake me up each morning, and toilet paper (TP wasn’t on my essentials list until we ran out during the pandemic).

Things you wish you’d never bought: Uncomfortable shoes and all the specialty facial washes, moisturizers, and cosmetics collecting dust under the bathroom sink.

Things you need for your writing sessions: Quiet. No radio, TV noise. My husband and I quickly learned we couldn’t share an office.

Things that hamper your writing: Phone interruptions and the urge to get up and do something constructive (like making cookies or cleaning the bathroom) when I’m having a bad day.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Social media promotion to sell books, though I really enjoy in-person meetings at book clubs, libraries, etc.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Finding ways to “disappear” or humiliate the type of characters who annoy you in real life.

Words that describe you: Determined, optimistic, easily amused.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Old, wrinkled, overweight.

Favorite foods: Chocolate, Eggs Benedict, almost any Italian dish.

Things that make you want to gag: Vegetables overcooked until they’re slimy.

Favorite smell: Cookies or cakes baking in the oven. My answers to these questions seem to explain why one of the words I use to describe myself is overweight.

Something that makes you hold your nose: People who douse themselves in perfume.

Something you’re really good at: Cooking.

Something you’re really bad at: Holding my tongue. I tend to say what I think and offer my opinion even when the wiser course is to keep my mouth shut.

Things you always put in your books: Smart women.

Things you never put in your books: I’m tempted to say smart men—but that’s not true! My real answer is I don’t like excessive gore or torture scenes and avoid those.

Favorite books (or genre): Mysteries, thrillers, suspense.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Most celebrity-written bios.

Favorite things to do: Read, go on long walks, play tennis, swim.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Attend an opera or a rave. Hate huge crowds and loud noise.

Best thing you’ve ever done: Married my husband, my best friend. Approaching our 50th.

Biggest mistake: Years ago, my husband and I bought a franchise that we quickly discovered was a huge mistake. But we gained skills that we’ve been very thankful for—so the mistake eventually yielded a happy ending.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: Oil painting, playing with food recipes.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: Some of those “let’s see what happens if I add this” recipes.

About Linda:

Linda Lovely’s A Killer App is her eleventh published novel. A journalism major in college, Lovely spent decades handling corporate PR, including penning hundreds of feature articles for business, trade and travel magazines. Today, her focus is fiction. Her mysteries, historical suspense and contemporary thrillers share one common element—smart, independent heroines. A member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime, she also serves as secretary for Mystery Writers of America’s Southeast regional chapter. For many years, Lovely helped organize the Writers’ Police Academy.

#WriterWednesday Interview with Joe Golemo

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I’d like to welcome author Joe Golemo to the blog for #WriterWednesday.

A few of your favorite things: technology items (phone, laptop)

Things you need to throw out: old stuff (furniture, clothing, etc.) that we’ve replaced with new versions but that is still in the basement

Things you need for your writing sessions: I used to write in coffee shops exclusively until it got too expensive and time consuming to get there and back. Now I take the laptop on the deck in the summer and stick to the home office in the winter.

Things that hamper your writing: Discovering a plot hole in the synopsis that I thought I’d already finished.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Putting yourself and your ideas about the world in writing and hoping no one will think you are (too) crazy.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Is anything easy? Cashing a royalty check maybe?

Favorite foods: chocolate, wine, steak, burgers, Chicago dogs, seafood

Things that make you want to gag: eggplant and okra

Favorite beverage: it has to be red wine followed by coffee

Something that gives you a sour face: really sour beer flavors

Things you always put in your books: quirky minor characters that I hope are amusing to the reader

Things you never put in your books: gratuitous violence or really any violence if it can be avoided

Things to say to an author: I loved your last book and can’t wait to get a copy of your new one!

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I noticed a type-o/plot hole/minor inconsistency on page 147 of your book.

Favorite books (or genre): murder mysteries, of course; thrillers; science fiction; books on how to improve your writing; business book; anything on the banned books list

Books you wouldn’t buy: the latest fads in self-help books; cookbooks (my spouse has enough of them)

Favorite things to do: write, read, work on home projects like building cabinets or rebuilding a deck

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: editing your book for the umpteenth time

The nicest thing a reader said to you: “I really liked your book. You are a really good writer!”

The craziest thing a reader said to you: This is about an animated video I created for the book using AI tools: “The video is creepy AF!”

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done:

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it:

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: I have no sense of direction and get lost anytime I’m in a new area so of course, my main character does, too

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: My brother and I were both adopted but our parents told us when we were very young – we didn’t find accidently when we were older

About Joe:

When he’s not working on his next murder mystery, Joe is a Partner with a Management and IT Consulting firm. He is originally from Chicago and holds a Chemical Engineering degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He moved to Rochester, Minnesota, to work for IBM and fell in love with the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Joe has a lovely wife of over 30 years, two adult children, and a crazy dog named Marco.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: https://www.facebook.com/JoeGolemo/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joegolemo/

Author Website: www.joegolemo.com