Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m the author of the Jewish Regency Mystery Series, which as of December 2016 includes 4 full-length mystery novels and 3 novellas: Tempest in the Tea Room, The Doppelganger’s Dance, The Moon Taker, The Vanisher Variations, Too Many Coins, General Well’ngone in Love, and What’s in a Flame? While I’ve always been interested in English history, about a decade ago I was asked to write about the crypto-Jews of Spain and Portugal (I’m also a journalist) and this led to two novels: Terra Incognita and The Banished Heart. My essays about some of the lesser-known stories in Jewish history have been published in the book Day Trips to Jewish History.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Vanisher Variations, which is the latest installment in my Jewish Regency Mystery Series. The majority of the novel takes place in Brighton, the seaside resort that was a favorite “playground” of the Prince Regent and his circle. I thought all those bathing machines and bathhouses would make a perfect setting for some nefarious deed – such as the vanishing act that sets in motion the plot for The Vanisher Variations.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure if this is unusual, but I do write to music. I find it helps me to stay focused.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Sherlock Holmes, of course. I’m a fan of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction – mystery novels that were written primarily in the 1920s and 1930s – and two of my favorite authors from that era are Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. I’m also a big fan of Rex Stout. And I do love what is considered to be one of the first mystery novels, Wilkie Collins’s The Moonstone.
What are you working on now?
It takes me about a year to research and think out the plot of a mystery novel, and that’s what I’m doing now – thinking about the next mystery in the Jewish Regency Mystery Series.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I find the market is always changing. What worked well two years ago might not work so well today. So I try to keep up with what other authors are doing. I think it’s great that so many Indie authors are willing to share their results and help one another.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep learning, keep growing, and keep dreaming!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
There is so much advice out there. And, mea culpa, I’ve also written a guidebook for new authors: Is Self-Publishing for You? A Quick Guide for Navigating Today’s Book Publishing Maze. But I think the best advice I’ve heard, and which I’ve tried to incorporate into my career, is to know your goal. Only a few of us are going to become a bestselling author with a movie or TV deal that will allow us to buy that Caribbean island or chateau in France. But there can be other goals – smaller steps that will make you a better author or steps that will help you find readers who will love your books – and achieving those goals can also be very satisfying.
What are you reading now?
A Rex Stout mystery called Before Midnight, and a nonfiction work called Stages of Spiritual Growth, by Batya Gallant.
What’s next for you as a writer?
As always, I’m trying to find more time to write!
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?
The Bible, The Complete Works of Agatha Christie, and something about How to Survive on a Desert Island.
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