Please Welcome My First GCC Guest Roberta Isleib!
I belong to a writing group called the Girlfriend’s Cyber Circuit. We love to help promote each other’s books when they are released, and so occasionally I will welcome guest authors to visit the blog. This week please welcome Roberta Isleib, whose mystery, Asking for Murder, is the latest in a popular mystery series featuring psychologist/advice columnist/sleuth Dr. Rebecca Butterman.
Isleib’s advice column series debuted in 2007 with Deadly Advice and (I love this title) Preaching to the Corpse. A clinical psychologist, Isleib says the work of the detective in a mystery has quite a bit in common with long-term psychotherapy: Start with a problem, follow the threads looking for clues, and gradually fill in the big picture. So we’ll follow our own clues to learn more about Roberta Isleib (who is a fellow Nancy Drew/Bobbsey Twins fan!)
JG: Tell me a little about your book.
RI: When Dr. Rebecca Butterman’s dear friend, a sandplay therapist, is found beaten and left for dead, Rebecca’s determined to help search for answers. With a would-be killer on the loose, she can only hope the clues are buried within easy reach. Besides the mystery, the book is about best friends, craziness in families, and the mysteries of sandplay therapy.
JG: What got you writing in the genre in which you write.
RI: I’ve been a mystery fan as long as I can remember, starting with the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames…and I still read tons of them. So writing one myself was a natural progression.
JG: Favorite thing about being a writer?
RI: I love looking at what I’ve written and feeling excited about it. And seeing the new book in all its stages. And meeting fans and talking books. And I simply adore the friends I’ve made along the way.
JG: Least favorite thing about being a writer?
RI: The business part is hard–the part I have no control over. I can produce a fabulous book, but unless the publisher is really behind it and I have a bit of luck somewhere along the line, it’s unlikely to be a commercial success. That’s why I do as much as I can to promote, as long as it doesn’t interfere with my writing! I want to be able to say I gave it my all…
JG: What is the most interesting thing that’s happened to you since becoming a published author?
RI: This year I served as the president of Sisters in Crime, which was founded in 1986 by Sara Paretsky, Nancy Pickard, and others. It’s been a fabulous experience to walk in their footsteps and help guide this organization as it supports professional women mystery writers. Oh, and I loved going to our special conference: Sisters in Crime goes to Hollywood!
JG: What’s your favorite type of pie?
RI: Hmmm, only one? I’m going with chocolate cream pie!
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Stagmom says:
The chocolate cream pie sealed the deal. I’m off to Amazon. And maybe the Stop & Shop! Good luck with the book. Thanks for sharing, Jenny.
Kim
Danielle says:
Looks like a great book!
jennygardiner says:
Thanks Kim and Danielle! And yeah, chocolate cream pie…I honestly had never had one until last spring when my son had committed to make one for his girlfriend, though, naturally, hadn’t a clue how to make one (and sprung this on me at 7 p.m. the night before). So I scrounged the internet for a recipe that wasn’t too much of a PIA to make and whipped one up with ingredients at hand. I was missing a little of this and a little of that so had to make do. I didn’t have any of those Amos’ chocolate wafer cookies for the crust, and the closest approximation I could find were very stale Oreo cookies. But you mix ’em up with butter and bake the crust and you’d never know they were stale! The pie was fantastic and now I’m imagining a mint variation would be quite nice…
Joanne Levy says:
Roberta, your new series sounds great! I had a lot of fun reading your golf-themed books (I am a certified golf widow) which I even gave to my husband to read.
jennygardiner says:
Joanne–I didn’t realize you were a golf widow! I grew up in the shadow of golfing everyone. I hated the feel of wet grass on my ankles in the morning so eschewed group golf lessons for swim team (plus hated the golf tan). My father always saw this as a failure LOL
Judi Fennell says:
Oh, good! Another one to add to my TBR pile!
Suzanne Macpherson says:
Joanne, I LOVE good mystery, and your series just looks delightful. But really, chocolate cream pie? Okay, I give you this, its the pie most likely to get made during a power outage LOLOL I’m just kidding.
I’ll take deep dish apple with some Gruyere baked in the crust- a’ la’ the Pie Hole- Pushing Daisies!
Can’ t wait to sit down and read your book, pie in hand. Suzanne
therese gilardi says:
congratulations on a great blog jenny!
: ) therese
jenny gardiner says:
Thanks therese!