I met Anastasia a few months ago through mystery writer Lois Winston. I invited Anastasia, with Lois’ permission, to tell us about herself and how she became involved in solving murder mysteries. Her story is one you’ll enjoy and appreciate. 
Look for Revenge of the Crafty Corpse; out this month!

My name is Anastasia Pollack, and I’m a 
reluctant amateur sleuth. I’m also the protagonist of the Anastasia Pollack 
Crafting Mysteries by author Lois Winston. 


I thought I was living the American dream. Loving husband. Two kids. Great job. Home in the suburbs. Money in the bank. But because no one wants to read about a perfect protagonist, Lois let the caca fly, covering me from head to toe.

You see, loving husband turned out to love something a whole lot more than he loved his wife and kids. Twenty-four hours after Karl Pollack cashed in his chips at a roulette wheel in Las Vegas, my life crapped out. That’s when I discovered Karl, who handled the family finances, had not only cracked open, fried, and devoured our nest egg, he’d maxed out our home equity line-of-credit, borrowed against his life insurance policy, cashed in his 401(k), and drained the kids’ college accounts. All for his one true love – Lady Luck. Only in Karl’s case, Lady Luck was one very fickle bi-yatch. On top of that, I’m now permanently stuck with his mother-in-law, a card-carrying curmudgeon of a communist.

You think Lois heaped enough troubles on me? Guess again. Not only did Karl’s bookie demand the fifty grand he was owed, but the day I went back to work, I discovered a dead body hot glued to my desk chair, making me the prime murder suspect.

That’s when I was forced to segue from magazine crafts editor to reluctant amateur sleuth. And the dead bodies have been piling up ever since, from Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun to Death By Killer Mop Doll and now in Revenge of the Crafty Corpse, the latest book in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries.
What’s one pear-shaped, cellulite-riddled, slightly overweight, more than slightly in debt, middle-aged widow to do? You’ll have to read those books about me to find out.

Bio:
Award-winning author Lois Winston writes the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries series featuring magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack. Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in the series, received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Kirkus Reviews dubbed it, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” Death By Killer Mop Doll was released this past January. Crewel Intentions, an Anastasia Pollack Mini-Mystery is now available as an ebook, and Revenge of the Crafty Corpse is a January 2013 release.

Lois is also published in women’s fiction, romance, romantic suspense, and non-fiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. In addition, she’s an award-winning crafts and needlework designer and an agent with the Ashley Grayson Literary Agency. She’s also the author of the recently released Top Ten Reasons Your Novel is Rejected. Visit Lois at http://www.loiswinston.com, visit Emma at http://www.emmacarlyle.com, and visit Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers character blog, www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com.

Thanks, Lois and Anastasia, for being my guests.