AN INTERVIEW WITH COZY MYSTERY AND KID LIT AUTHOR MARILYN LEVINSON/ALLISON BROOK

Today we sit down for a chat with cozy mystery and kid lit author Marilyn Levinson aka Allison Brook. Learn more about her and her books at her website and at the Writers Who Kill blog on the third Thursday of every month.

 

When did you realize you wanted to write novels? 

When I was in elementary school.

 

How long did it take you to realize your dream of publication? 

A few years.

 

Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author? 

Traditionally published.

 

Where do you write? 

In my office.

 

Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind? 

Silence is golden.

 

How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular?

None of my plots and characters are drawn from real life, though my settings are often based on real places.

 

Describe your process for naming your character?

I run a few names through my mind when I introduce a character. If none suit, I look up names in a book of names and try those out. Of course, I try not to have too many starting with the same letter.

 

Real settings or fictional towns?

My main setting is a fictional town, though I place it among real towns.

 

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?

I don't know if communicating with a ghost is considered quirky, but Carrie Singleton, my sleuth in my Haunted Library series, can see and talk to the ghost of Evelyn Havers when no one else but her little cousin can.

 

What’s your quirkiest quirk?

I pile too much onto my "to do" list and end up writing late in the afternoon.

 

If you could have written any book (one that someone else has already written,) which one would it be? Why? 

No book comes to mind. 

 

Everyone at some point wishes for a do-over. What’s yours? 

I wish my writing career would have taken off earlier in my life, though I'm not sure what I would have done differently to have made that happen.

 

What’s your biggest pet peeve? 

Receiving several requests for money every day from charities because charities I gave to sold my name to other charities. All those trees cut down. All that garbage.

 

You’re stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?

Books to read, something to write on, a few outfits to change into.

 

What was the worst job you’ve ever held?

Working in the back section of a bank.

 

Who’s your all-time favorite literary character (any genre)? Why?

Robin Hood. He's a romantic figure who leads a group of men, has Maid Marion as his love interest, and can't be caught by the Sheriff of Nottingham.

 

Ocean or mountains? 

I like both—at a distance.

 

City girl/guy or country girl/guy?

I'm a suburban girl.

 

What’s on the horizon for you?

A new series after my next Haunted Library mystery comes out next fall.

 

Anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself and/or your books?

I'm still writing children's books, too. The second in my Rufus series and my YA horror, The Devil’s Pawn, will be out in 2024. I'll soon be starting a new cozy mystery series, too.

 

Overdue or Die

A Haunted Library Mystery, Book 7

 

Carrie Singleton has more than her fair share on her plate: her job at the Clover Ridge Library, preparing for her wedding to Dylan Avery, and hoping that the local art gallery doesn’t steal away one of her part-time employees. Her fiancé Dylan accompanies her to the beautiful home of Victor Zalinka—art collector and successful businessman—to select paintings for an art show at the library. While Carrie muses that Victor's home would be the perfect wedding venue, Dylan spots a forgery among the paintings in Victor's collection.

 

Then Martha Mallory is found murdered in her art gallery. With the assistance of Evelyn, the library ghost; the resident cat, Smoky Joe; and the office manager of Dylan’s private investigation company, Carrie comes up with a suspect list long enough to rival the size of an encyclopedia. During her investigation, Carrie stumbles across a terrible truth: Martha’s murder was part of something far bigger and more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. And it all leads back to the art gallery.

 

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AN INTERVIEW WITH MYSTERY AUTHOR MARILYN LEVINSON AKA ALLISON BROOK

A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for kids. Her books have received many accolades. As Allison Brook she writes the Haunted Library series.  Other mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series and the Twin Lakes series. Marilyn lives on Long Island, where many of her books take place. Learn more about her and her books at her website and the third Thursday of every month at the Writers Who Kill blog.

When did you realize you wanted to write novels?

In elementary school. I wanted to be a fiction writer or a ballerina. You know which one won out. 

 

How long did it take you to realize your dream of publication?

A few years. 

 

Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author?

I am traditionally published but ended up indie-publishing a few books myself after problems with a few small presses arose.

 

Where do you write?

In my office at my desktop.

 

Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind?

I write in silence.

 

How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular?

My life is rather dull so I can't draw on it for plot inspiration. My characters are purely my creation. That said, I've discovered that "real life" has a way of sneaking in and influencing what we write. A few books into the series I realized that the name of one of my main characters was the same as that of someone I knew many years ago. 

 

Describe your process for naming your character?

I sound out the name in my mind to see if it suits my character. I try not to name my characters with similar-sounding names and do my best to make sure that the names of the major characters begin with different letters.

 

Real settings or fictional towns?

I always set my books in fictional towns. I place them in a very real location on the map surrounded by actual places and landmarks.

 

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?

Carrie Singleton, my sleuth in the Haunted Library series, never knows when Evelyn Havers, the ghost, will show up at the library. Though Carrie has asked more than once, Evelyn won't say where she keeps her extensive wardrobe or who styles her hair.

 

What’s your quirkiest quirk?

It takes me quite a while before I can settle down to write each day.

 

If you could have written any book (one that someone else has already written,) which one would it be? Why?

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. This is one of my favorite books. It's loosely based on Seth's family. I marvel at his enormous cast of characters that follows the members of four families and their entwined lives in India at the time of Partition. It's 1,349 pages long. When I finished reading it, I yearned for a sequel.

 

Everyone at some point wishes for a do-over. What’s yours?

I think I would have been more adventurous when I was in my twenties. I wish I hadn't worried so about my future life.

 

What’s your biggest pet peeve? 

I'm not a very patient person, so I'm not great at waiting.

 

You’re stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?

Books to read or listen to, food to prepare and cook, writing implements so I could write books or simply keep a journal.

 

What was the worst job you’ve ever held?

Doing clerical work in a bank.

 

What’s the best book you’ve ever read?

A Suitable Boy and Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth.

 

Ocean or mountains?

Mountains.

 

City girl/guy or country girl/guy?

Country gal with the occasional visit to the city.

 

What’s on the horizon for you?

I've just finished Dewey Decimated, the next book in the Haunted Library series. It's scheduled to come on in the fall of 2022.

 

Anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself and/or your books?

I'm hoping my children's book Rufus and Magic Run Amok will be republished and that I will be writing more books in that series.

 

Death on the Shelf

A Haunted Library Mystery, Book 5

 

Clover Ridge librarian Carrie Singleton is thrilled to attend her best friend Angela's wedding, but Angela's family can be a bit...much. Angela’s wealthy cousin Donna hosts an extravagant bridal shower at her resplendent home, but the celebrations turn to gossip as the guests notice Donna's surgeon husband, Aiden, spending a bit too much time with Donna’s cousin Roxy. At the wedding reception, the sweet occasion turns darkly bitter when Aiden topples into the chocolate fountain--dead.

 

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A CHRISTMAS MYSTERY WITH AUTHOR MARILYN LEVINSON

A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for kids. As Allison Brook she writes the Haunted Library mystery series. Other mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series and the Twin Lakes series. Learn more about Marilyn and her books at her website. 

In Read and Gone, it's mid-December in Clover Ridge, Connecticut, where my sleuth, Carrie Singleton, lives. The temperature is falling and the days are growing shorter, but Carrie doesn't mind. For the first time in as long as she can remember, her life is close to perfect. She's living in a charming cottage near the river, has a great job in the Clover Ridge Library as head of programs and events, and has a loving boyfriend.  And then in the early morning hours, after celebrating her thirtieth birthday, Carrie is awakened by her father, whom she hasn't seen in years.

Handsome, charming Jim Singleton is a thief by trade. Growing up, Carrie adored her father and missed his presence because even when he wasn't in prison, he usually stayed away from the home she shared with her mother and older brother. Jim has returned to the town where he grew up for a reason. He wants Carrie to help him retrieve his half of a heist that Benton Parr, the local jeweler and his partner-in-crime, has been holding. Carrie is both shocked and outraged and refuses to help her father. Jim takes off but calls Carrie a few days later. Parr has been murdered and Jim is Suspect Number One. Carrie doesn't approve of her father's life style, but of one thing she's certain—that Jim Singleton would never kill anyone—and she sets out to prove his innocence. 

When the police release Jim for lack of solid evidence, Carrie allows him to stay with her. She's surprised and secretly pleased when her father buys a Christmas tree and ornaments to celebrate the holiday, something he was never around to do when she was younger. But true to form, instead of trimming the tree as he promised, Jim leaves  on one of his "secret missions," which lands him in the hospital. Carrie is unaware that Jim is trying to find Parr's killer. Exasperated and disappointed, she refuses her father's overtures to mend their relationship. She insists on calling him "Jim" and not "Dad" as he wants her to. But over time he manages to prove that he really loves her. Moreover, he is willing to make huge changes in his lifestyle. In the true spirit of the holiday, Carrie allows her father into her life.

Read and Gone

A Haunted Library Mystery, Book 2

Twenty million dollars' worth of missing gems bring Carrie Singleton's long-lost and larcenous dad back into her life and it's up to Carrie to clear his name.

A devoted dad is as precious as diamonds, but Carrie Singleton wouldn't know since her dad Jim's been on the lam most of her life. In an unusual family reunion, she finds Jim breaking into her cottage in the middle of the night. The fun really starts when he begs her to help him recover his half of a twenty-million-dollar gem heist he pulled off with the local jeweler, Benton Parr. When she refuses, Jim takes off again.

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MYSTERY AUTHOR MARILYN LEVINSON/ALLISON BROOKS ON THE ORIGINS OF HALLOWEEN

A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for kids. As Allison Brook she writes the Haunted Library mystery series. Other mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series and the Twin Lakes series. Today Marilyn joins us to discuss the origins of Halloween. Learn more about Marilyn and her books at her website. 

The Haunted Library Mystery Series takes place in Clover Ridge, Connecticut, where Carrie Singleton is the head of programs and events. She is the only person, besides her four-year-old cousin, who can see and talk to Evelyn Havers, a former library aide who haunts the library. Carrie’s feline Smoky Joe is the library’s popular resident cat. Her boyfriend, Dylan Avery, is an insurance investigator. Carrie finds herself embroiled in solving mysteries and murders. Evelyn often helps her, except when the suspects happen to be her relatives.

Halloween has become one of our most popular holidays. It certainly wasn't the case when I was growing up in Brooklyn. Then we did our best to avoid the boys running around with chalk in their hands intent on drawing a line down the back of our jackets while they shouted "Halloween!" These days it's the second most popular holiday regarding sales and decorations. Pumpkins abound on doorsteps and in windows, the colorful fruit of autumn. (Yes, it's technically a fruit because it has seeds though we think of it as a vegetable.)

Halloween began with the Celtic celebration of Samhain—the midway point between the fall equinox and the winter solstice—the end of harvest and a time of increasing darkness and the advent of winter.  For those of us in the U.S., it's the start of our holiday season: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa, which occur around the Winter Solstice and the shortest day of the year. No big surprise that all three are holidays of light.

The ancient Celts celebrated Samhain with bonfires, many of which burned sacrifices. They feared that the dead might return at this time of the year and wore costumes to scare away the ghosts of the dead. When the Christian reign began, Pope Gregory the Third instituted All Saints Day on November First; the eve before became All Hallows Eve and evolved into Halloween. Countries created their own unique way of celebrating the holiday. In Mexico, November First became El Día de los Muertos. Instead of fearing the dead, Mexicans picnic in cemeteries and share the day with their departed.

Holidays evolve as society changes. We in the United States celebrate Halloween with decorations, parties, and costumes. The dark side of the unknown aspect of Halloween still intrigues us, but a playfulness has set in as well. For many years now, children have worn costumes to go Trick or Treating. Now many adults dress in costumes. Instead of Trick or Treating, they attend private parties or take part in a parade. There are several popular costume parades such as the one in Greenwich Village in Manhattan every year.

Death Overdue, the first book in my Haunted Library series, starts out in October. My sleuth, Carrie Singleton, has a low-level job in the Clover Ridge Library in Clover Ridge, CT. She's bored and restless and ready to move on. Which is when she is offered the position of head of programs and events at the library. To find out why Carrie decides to stay in Clover Ridge, how she gets involved in a cold case and a recent murder, and how she meets her future boyfriend, you'll have to read Death Overdue.

Carrie is well aware that Halloween is a huge event and makes sure that the library is decorated accordingly—with cutouts of skeletons, pumpkins and black cats. She also arranges a Halloween costume party for adults, the first in the library's history. All those who attend—including library staff—must dress as a literary or movie character. Carrie comes as a female Sherlock Holmes. Others come as Snow White, Captain Jack Sparrow, Alice in Wonderland, Superman, Scarlett O'Hara, and Santa Claus. She hires a magician to perform and a storyteller who tells ghostly and grizzly tales. After that, the guests parade around the room while a group of judges choose the best and the funniest costumes. A good time is had by all. Except when Carrie leaves, she discovers that someone has broken a window in her car. The dark side of the holiday—and of all mysteries.

Death Overdue

A Haunted Library Mystery

Carrie Singleton is just about done with Clover Ridge, Connecticut until she's offered a job as the head of programs and events at the spooky local library, complete with its own librarian ghost. Her first major event is a program presented by a retired homicide detective, Al Buckley, who claims he knows who murdered Laura Foster, a much-loved part-time library aide who was bludgeoned to death fifteen years earlier. As he invites members of the audience to share stories about Laura, he suddenly keels over and dies.

The medical examiner reveals that poison is what did him in and Carrie feels responsible for having surged forward with the program despite pushback from her director. Driven by guilt, Carrie’s determined to discover who murdered the detective, convinced it’s the same man who killed Laura all those years ago. Luckily for Carrie, she has a friendly, knowledgeable ghost by her side. But as she questions the shadows surrounding Laura's case, disturbing secrets come to light and with each step Carrie takes, she gets closer to ending up like Al.

Now it's due or die for Carrie in Death Overdue the delightful first in a new cozy series by Allison Brook.

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--SLEUTH CARRIE SINGLETON BAKES DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Today we’re joined by Carrie Singleton from mystery author Allison Brook’s Haunted Library series.

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?

It was a total mess. After college I stayed in one town for a while—never more than a year—then would move on to another. I felt I had no roots, no family or purpose.

What’s the one trait you like most about yourself?

I'm resilient. When I was made Head of Programs and Events of the Clover Ridge Library, I proved to be a capable and responsible worker.

What do you like least about yourself?

I can easily lose my sense of security.

What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you?

I wasn't happy when Allison sent me to search a cabin in the woods a good hour's drive from Clover Ridge to see if my father's partner-in-crime had hidden the jewels there.

Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about?

The only time we argue is when she does something completely unexpected—like having my father break into my cottage at three in the morning, asking me to contact his partner-in-crime so he can recover his share of a heist.

What is your greatest fear?

That my new life in Clover Ridge will suddenly evaporate. Or I will wake up and it will all be a dream.

What makes you happy?

Spending time with Dylan, my boyfriend; girls' night out with my best friend, Angela; having dinner at my great-aunt and uncle's home across the Green from the library; and, of course arranging programs and events that the library patrons will enjoy.

If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why?

I would give me a happy childhood and not let my brother Jordan die in a car accident in his twenties. Jordan was my protector and the one person I could depend on when I was growing up. He and Dylan were good friends when we were little and spent our summers on the Singleton farm. Jordan would be happy to see that Dylan and I are now a couple.

Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why?

Dorothy Hawkins, the reference librarian. She has the most miserable disposition and got it into her head that she should have been given my position. Soon as I started my new job, she pulled all kinds of dirty tricks until I managed to put a stop to it.

Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why?

Right now I'm happy to be me, but I'd love to trade places with Julia, my cousin's wife, for a short while. As I see it, Julia has the perfect life—a husband she loves, two wonderful children, a beautiful house she decorated herself, and a career. I envy her calm and imagine she must have had a happy childhood.

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog?

Allison Brook is the pen name of author Marilyn Levinson, who has been writing mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for kids for many years. Before that, she was a Spanish teacher and enjoys conversing in Spanish when the opportunity arises. She loves to travel, read, knit, watch foreign films, dine out with her significant other, and visit her two grandkids. She lives on Long Island and has a red cat named Sammy. Readers can learn more about her and her books at her website. http://www.marilynlevinson.com 

What's next for you?

Book #3 in the Haunted Library series will be out in the fall. Alas, a member of the library staff has been murdered and I'll be investigating—along with the police.

Double Chocolate Brownies

(Perfect for the holidays and other family occasions)

Yield: 12-16 brownies

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup melted butter

3/4 –1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2/3 cup flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line 8” square pan with parchment paper.

Stir together eggs sugar, vanilla and butter.

Mix together flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir into egg mixture. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. (Note: if you like, you can melt the chocolate chips before adding them to the mixture.)

Spread mixture evenly in pan. Bake 20-25 minutes. Test with toothpick. Brownies done when toothpick comes out slightly moist.

Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

Read and Gone

Twenty million dollars’ worth of missing gems bring Carrie Singleton’s long-lost and larcenous dad back into her life and it’s up to Carrie to clear his name.

A devoted dad is as precious as diamonds, but Carrie Singleton wouldn’t know since her dad Jim’s been on the lam most of her life. In an unusual family reunion, she finds Jim breaking into her cottage in the middle of the night. The fun really starts when he begs her to help him recover his half of a twenty-million-dollar gem heist he pulled off with the local jeweler, Benton Parr. When she refuses, Jim takes off again. 

Carrie finds her father again behind bars for the recent murder of Benton Parr. Who made the connection? Unbeknownst to her, Carrie’s boyfriend Dylan, an insurance investigator, has been searching for the gems. Determined to find the jewels herself, she starts examining every facet of Parr’s life. She turns up a treasure trove of suspects, one of whom bashes her on the head as she’s searching the victim’s country cabin. 

Retreating to the quiet confines of the library where she works, Carrie watches as Smokey Joe, the resident cat, paws at a hole in the wall. Is he after the library’s ghost Evelyn, or something shinier?

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR ALLISON BROOK

Marilyn Levinson aka Allison Brook writes mystery, romantic suspense and young adult novels. Learn more about her and her books at her website. 

When did you realize you wanted to write novels?

I was in the second or third grade. I’d even picked out a pseudonym. It was Brenda Something. I tried writing a mystery but didn’t get very far.

How long did it take you to realize your dream of publication?

A few years. My first published book, a novel for kids, came out in 1985 or ’86. Today it would be labeled a young YA. And Don’t Bring Jeremy received wonderful accolades. It was a nominee for six state awards. I thought everything I wrote after that would be published. How wrong I was. J

Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author?

I suppose I’m all three. I’ve been published by big companies, smaller ones, and I published one mystery myself. I’ve also republished a few novels.

Where do you write?

I write at my desk in my home office on a large-screen computer.

Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind?

I write in silence. No music.

How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular?

My plots and characters are not drawn from real life, as far as I know, and certainly not from my own life. It’s difficult to say where my ideas come from—I suppose a compilation of life, news, TV shows, books and one’s vivid imagination.

Describe your process for naming your character?

I try out a few names in my head, continue to write and see how that name suits my character. I’ve often made changes. Also, I try not to have two very similar names in one book, and I do my best to avoid having too many characters with names that begin with the same letter.

Real settings or fictional towns?

I create the town or village where my book takes place. However, the surrounding towns, points of interests, and shopping centers, etc. are real. Many of my mysteries take place on Long Island, where I live. However, Death Overdue takes place in Connecticut.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?

One of my favorite characters is Cameron Leeds in Giving Up the Ghost. Cam is a ghost and can only manifest in the den of the cottage where he used to live, which pleases Gabbie, who now lives in the cottage, no end.

What’s your quirkiest quirk?

I have trouble settling down to write until the late afternoon.

If you could have written any book (one that someone else has already written,) which one would it be? Why?

I suppose that would be the Harry Potter series, because Joanne Rowling has created such a wonderful school full of traditions for Harry and his fellow magical classmates.

Everyone at some point wishes for a do-over. What’s yours?

I wish I’d started writing fiction ten years earlier than I did.

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

Getting criticized in a review for something a reader misunderstood.

You’re stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?

Food to prepare tasty meals, books to read, and pen and paper to write on.

What was the worst job you’ve ever held?

Working in the back room of a bank.

What’s the best book you’ve ever read?

I love A Suitable By by Vikram Seth. It has 1,349 pages, and I wish he’d write a sequel.

Ocean or mountains?

I like both, but I’d take the mountains—like Machu Picchu.

City girl/guy or country girl/guy?

Love to visit the city. Prefer to live in suburbia.

What’s on the horizon for you?

Read and Gone, the second book in the Haunted Library mystery series, has already gone to production and will be out in September. I hope to write more books in the series, start a new series, and try to get back to some of my older series.

Anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself and/or your books?

I’m finally starting a newsletter! Please go to my website or contact me via FB to let me know if you’d like to receive it.

Death Overdue

Carrie Singleton is just about done with Clover Ridge, Connecticut until she's offered a job as the head of programs and events at the spooky local library, complete with its own librarian ghost. Her first major event is a program presented by a retired homicide detective, Al Buckley, who claims he knows who murdered Laura Foster, a much-loved part-time library aide who was bludgeoned to death fifteen years earlier. As he invites members of the audience to share stories about Laura, he suddenly keels over and dies.

The medical examiner reveals that poison is what did him in and Carrie feels responsible for having surged forward with the program despite pushback from her director. Driven by guilt, Carrie’s determined to discover who murdered the detective, convinced it’s the same man who killed Laura all those years ago. Luckily for Carrie, she has a friendly, knowledgeable ghost by her side. But as she questions the shadows surrounding Laura's case, disturbing secrets come to light and with each step Carrie takes, she gets closer to ending up like Al.

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR MARILYN LEVINSON

Multi-genre author Marilyn Levinson writes mystery, romantic suspense, and young adult books. Today she sits for an interview. Learn more about Marily at her website.

When did you realize you wanted to write novels?

I started writing fiction when I was in elementary school. I wanted to be an author or a ballerina when I grew up. Writing won out.

How long did it take you to realize your dream of publication?

A few years. My first children’s novel, And Don’t Bring Jeremy, was published in 1985.

Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author?

I’ve published with the big houses, with small presses, and I’ve self-published a few novels.

Where do you write?

I write in my office on a large-screen computer.

Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind?

I prefer writing in silence.

How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular?

My characters are very real to me. Their personalities reveal themselves as I write their stories, explore their pasts and motivations, relationships and values. They aren’t based on actual people—at least I don’t think they are. I draw on my own life experiences occasionally, but I’m grateful that I haven’t had to deal with actual murders. Therefore, my plots are drawn completely from my imagination.

Describe your process for naming your character?

Having the right name for a character is of utmost importance to me. I’ll often look through a baby-naming book for suggestions. I take into account a name’s meaning and how it sounds. I like feminine names for women characters that lend themselves to nicknames. Alexis is usually called Lexie; Gabriela is called Gabbie.

Real settings or fictional towns?

Many of my novels take place on Long Island because I’ve lived here most of my life. I refer to actual towns and landmarks in my books, but most of the action takes place in villages and communities that can’t be found on any map.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?

Cameron Leeds, the ghost in Giving Up the Ghost and my WIP, can only appear in the den of the cottage where he used to live. This gives Gabbie, my sleuth who lives in the cottage, an out when she doesn’t feel like dealing with Cam’s investigative suggestions.

What’s your quirkiest quirk?

My writing habits aren’t the best. I end up writing feverishly at the end of the day.

If you could have written any book (one that someone else has already written,) which one would it be? Why?

The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy. This is an amazing novel with brilliant writing that only a very special person could have written. Roy said she won’t write another novel. I hope she changes her mind.

Everyone at some point wishes for a do-over. What’s yours?

I wish I’d been more adventuresome when I was a young adult.

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

I wish authors weren’t in the position of having to sell themselves and their books 24/7. I started publishing when promoting was the publishers’ job, though writers did readings and presentations at libraries, bookstores, and schools. I miss those days.

You’re stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?

A few beloved books (please let that count as one must-have) sunglasses, a garden to grow veggies.

What was the worst job you’ve ever held?

Filing in a bank the summer after high school graduation.

What’s the best book you’ve ever read?

I’ve read so many books I’ve loved, I find it hard to name my favorite. That said, I love Vikram Seth’s novel, A Suitable Boy, which is about four Indian families. One story line is that of a family choosing a suitable husband for their daughter. Though the book has 1,349 pages, I wish Vikram would write a sequel.

Ocean or mountains?

I like to visit both, actually.

City girl/guy or country girl/guy?

At this time of my life I like the quiet country with occasional visits to the city to visit museums and see an occasional play.

What’s on the horizon for you?

I’m working on The Return of the Ghost. After that, I’ll write the third book in my young adult Rufus series. The second Rufus book is coming out in a few months.

Anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself and/or your books?

I love writing novels in three different genres. It’s fun going from the mind of a ten-year-old boy who’s learning to control his magical powers to a woman solving mysteries and enjoying the attention of two male admirers.

The Devil’s Pawn

After fifteen-year-old Simon Porte's family is killed in an automobile crash, his father's brother, whom he's never met, brings Simon to live with him and his wife in upstate New York. Simon doesn't trust Uncle Raymond, and for good reason. Raymond is dying and using his diabolical powers to take over Simon's body. Simon must develop his own supernatural defenses. With his dotty great-aunt, his young sister, and a pair of odd twins, he wages war against the evil Raymond and his cronies.

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