Who are some of your favorite mystery writers?
Mary Lee: Wow, this is hard... I read a lot! LOL I love traditional British mysteries but also love funny, very American contemporary mysteries. I grew up on Agatha Christie and went on to read M.C. Beaton and others. One of my all time favorite authors is Laura Levine who writes the Jaine Austen mystery series. I look forward to each book! Also, Carolyn Hart is an automatic buy for me, specifically her Death on Demand series. What’s not to love about a series with a mystery bookstore setting? <g> The bottom line is this is a great time to be a mystery reader as there’s a plethora of great books written by very talented authors. There’s nothing more fun than discovering a new series!
Anita: What ML said. We have very similar reading tastes, which is one reason why our collaboration was so natural. I also love the Jaine Austen mystery series. Laura Levine is an automatic buy for me. I read Carolyn Hart, Laura Childs, Harlan Coben, Miranda Bliss (I wish she was still writing the cooking class mystery series) and so many others. Like ML said, too many wonderful authors to name them all.
How do you find balance?
We’re still learning. Balance is sometimes difficult when you work full time and write full time as we do. :-/ We’re incredibly lucky we both have wonderful families and beautiful, brilliant grandchildren who keep us grounded.
To keep things balanced, sometimes you have to take a deep breath and remind yourself of what’s really important.
What is the guilty pleasure you find the naughtiest?
We are cozy writers. All the truly naughty stuff happens off the page.
What did you learn about yourself while penning Desperate Housedogs?
Mary Lee: I learned I could still write when life goes crazy. During the writing of Desperate Housedogs things went a little crazy. Okay, more than a little. There
were weddings and births. Operations and job changes. We lost a very dear writing friend and we also had the joy of fulfilling a long-time dream--our first published book. It was definitely a roller coaster!
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