On Roberta

Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.
**Girl Scout camp song

Now we are five!

Jungle Red gets a fabulous holiday gift. (You've probably noticed our snazzy new look.) (And her snazzy new book!)

Roberta Isleib--sister in crime extraordinaire and beyond--successful mystery writer has slid down our chimney (am I pushing the metaphor here? Plus, is she too lady-like for that?) and agreed to sign on as a Jungle Red Writer. We have issued her a bottle of our special blazingly crimson nail polish, and given her our secret code book. (We have not yet told her about the initiation rites, but that can wait.)

I first met Roberta at Kate's Mystery Books--I think it was at the signing for Hallie's "How to Write and Sell.." How meta can you get. Anyway,I was new new new, and a huge fan, and just agog to meet her. She was charming and gracious and made me feel right at home.

(This wasn't that day. But it's another day at Kate's. Good

enough. That's me, Ro-2, Ruth McCarty (new pres of SINC-NE) behind Hallie, and Cathy Cairns (out-going pres of SINC-NE. But she's not going far away, of course. But. I digress.)

So now, please note, her lovely photo has been added to our row of smiling faces, and you can click right over to her website. And click to buy her books. But wait. Not yet. First..let's get the scoop on the Jungle Red Ro. Or, I guess, she's Jungle Red Ro-2.

HANK: So, Roberta. You're president of National Sisters in Crime. One of the best-known mystery authors in the country. You have a wonderful husband, a beautiful home, many many pals and an extremely cute dog. How much do you think about crime and death?

ROBERTA: Hank, you were agog? You crack me up! I'm so excited to be part of Jungle Red--you girls are the cream of the crop in mystery fiction! Now on to the question...
What a lovely way of asking how come a nice middle-aged lady has killed off so many people! Knock wood, I haven't been the victim of a crime other than the five times my radio was stolen out of the same car. I could have murdered someone around broken window #4. As far as solving crimes, I'm not a brave person. If a burly cop growled at me to butt out of a crime scene, you'd see me sprinting as fast as my short legs could take me.

All that said, when I'm working on a book, of course I spend a lot of my day thinking about crime and death--who was murdered, who did it and why, how's my psychologist going to solve it. I try to consciously remind myself that the characters are dealing with a death that is real to them--an event that would feel scary and upsetting. I don't want to leave a group of cardboard cut-outs on the pages.

HANK: Preaching to the Corpse is coming out December 4--just in time for the holidays! And reveiwers are loving it. One said: "Preaching to the Corpse is a fun holiday mystery with a heroine who will easily win new fans and keep old fans well satisfied."

And some of your "old fans" also loved your Cassie Burdette golf mysteries. Talk a bit about starting with one main character and her world--then switching to another. How did your brain handle that?

ROBERTA: I did what I always do when faced with change: I kicked and screamed and said "no way!" But keeping Cassie going wasn't really an option. The publisher had suggested they'd "like to see something new", a polite way of saying the golf series wasn't selling well enough to support more books. After a couple of weeks of deep depression over losing Cassie, I was able to start thinking about a new adventure. And I love writing this new series. The work of a psychologist is right up my alley. And my new character adores cooking and eating, so I eat right along with her. Actually Hallie is my cooking muse. You haven't lived until you've had her roast chicken and gravy...

(HANK: Oh, we're all going there for roast chicken dinner next week to celebrate your arrival. We just have to tell Hallie. La dee dah.)

JAN: I think the idea of advice columnist as protagonist is terrific. I can just imagine the crazy letters real advice columnists get. How did you come up with this idea and how much of your own experience as a psychologist are were you able to draw on?

ROBERTA: I can't remember the "aha" moment, but I've always loved reading those columns--I'm an advice junkie. The kind of therapy that I did (and that Rebecca does now) involves biting your tongue when the urge to give advice arises. The idea is rather to help the patient explore what's inside and then life decisions evolve from that knowledge. So giving advice without a lot of data and introspection is just good fun! The trick for me as writer is to avoid having the column turn into a gimmick and try to integrate it naturally into the story.

HALLIE: **The idea is rather to help the patient explore what's inside and then life decisions evolve from that knowledge.** This is why you're a psychologist and I'm not -- I want to scream "You did WHAT?!" and shake the person until their head flops back and forth. And I happen to know that you have your own streak of bossiness that quite matches my own. Did you have to watch that in writing Rebecca Butterman?

ROBERTA: Ha, ha, what me, bossy?? I channeled all of that stuff into my home life so Rebecca could be sympathetic. Just ask the family!

HANK: Okay, we'll get right on the phone with them and we'll let you know the bossy verdict. (Rosemary Harris is in Africa right now..so she'll weigh in later. With questions. Not about Ro-2 being bossy. Or not.)

ROBERTA: Oh you'll find out first hand soon enough!! Really, it's an honor to be here and I'm looking forward to all kinds of conversations. Just don't expect me down the chimney--I've already had a few too many holiday treats to make it a comfortable fit...

HANK: We're all thrilled! And happily, Jungle Red readers, Roberta is ready to answer questions from you! Need advice? On anything?? Now you know exactly who to ask.

And she would never do it herself--that's what sisters are for--so remember to look for PREACHING TO THE CORPSE in your favorite bookstore or on line! Having trouble finding it? That shouldn't happen--but just visit us here at JR and we can point you in the right direction.

Now--Roberta is ready for questions!