Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written 4 books – 2 in the Jo Epstein mystery series and 2 ‘stand-alone’ works of literary crime fiction.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
So many elements in my life combined to inspire me to write RUSSIAN RECKNING!
My older brother is a private investigator and as a teenager, I pestered him to take me out on surveillances. When he refused, I stayed home and wrote poetry. Eventually, Jo Epstein’s hyphenated identity as performance poet/private detective emerged and she ‘starred’ in her first mystery, ASK THE DEAD.
When my mother moved to Brighton Beach – a Russian enclave in New York City—I visited her often and played with the idea of writing a book in which the past of a Russian émigré’s catches up to him. I wrote the beginning of RUSSIAN RECKONING, which set in New York City, and then traveled to Russia to find settings for the climactic second half. I was the first American to visit Vladimir Central prison and was taken to dinner by a Commander in the Moscow Criminal Police, who blessed my plot.
Many intriguing places in and near Moscow became settings for scenes in RUSSIAN RECKONING. And along the way I discovered that my last name – shortened to Yarrow on Ellis Island so many years ago – was actually Yaroshevsky – a common name in Belarus. Perhaps this was the real reason I wrote RUSSIAN RECKONING –I solved my own mystery by writing a novel of suspense set in my ancestral homeland.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Since my teen years in New York I have loved writing on buses and trains. This love of writing on moving vehicles does not, however, extend to cars and planes.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
As a mystery writer I am influenced by Ruth Rendell, Georges Simenon, Elroy Leonard and Martin Smith Cruz, just to name a few. It is wonderful to be part of a continuum – no matter how great or small a part one plays – and for me that is the best part of being an author.
What are you working on now?
I am currently finishing a romantic thriller set in India and Vancouver. My co-author, Arindam Roy, lives in Allahabad.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My blog is where I enjoy meeting readers and writing about my travels in search of interesting stories to tell.
It is called Travels with the Muse Please stop by!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I would say the most important thing is to develop a body of work and postpone publishing until you feel you have mastered your craft.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As soon as you finish a book, start another one!
What are you reading now?
Thunder Demons by Dipika Mukherjee and Shooting to Kill by Susan Schreyer.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m adapting one of my books for the screen. Can’t say more right now but perhaps Bollywood will be involved.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Collected Plays of Shakespeare, An Open Heart by The Dalai Lama, and a book on how to survive on a desert island!
Author Websites and Profiles
Joyce Yarrow Website
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