I had the pleasure of meeting author Debra Goldstein on social media, and I invited her to tell us about her latest mystery and about her writing routine. Debra is a prolific writer, and I’m sure you will enjoy learning about her Sarah Blair mystery series.

It’s time to get your protagonist out of their comfort zone. You want to present her with a challenge, and you’ve given her the following choices: climb Mount Everest; run a Marathon; trek across the Sierra Desert with a tribe of nomads; or sail around the world alone. Which would she choose?

Sarah Blair would opt to sail around the world alone because she feels the same way about exercising as she does being in a kitchen – both frighten her more than murder. Despite the difficulties of starting over after a divorce, one constant has been that she’s not afraid of being alone. Consequently, she would view sailing around the world as a challenge and a peaceful escape.

If she could change anything in her life, what would it be and why?

Rather than have a goal-oriented twin sister who is a gourmet chef who occasionally makes Sarah a meal, Sarah, because of her feelings about kitchens, would have a live-in cook.

What do you and your protagonist have in common?

Sarah Blair finds being in the kitchen more frightening than murder. Although I’m not inclined to go out and solve murders, I, too, avoid the kitchen. In fact, the line about paper plates being Sarah’s best china came directly from a friend’s quip of “Oh look, she got her good china,” when, during my wedding shower, I opened a package that contained beautiful paper plates. During that same shower, I received a box with two words on a recipe card: “Make Reservations.” The same message applies to Sarah.

What do you want most for your readers to come away with after they read your books?

The subplots of my books all include social issues that I hope readers will think about, but my main hope is that readers close my books thinking they just had a fun experience. For a few hours, at least, I hope my work provides readers with an escape from the tensions of real life.

Tell us about your perfect writing day.

I don’t write every day. In fact, I only write when the muse hits me or I’m on deadline. That’s why, the perfect writing day is one in which I get so immersed in the words flowing from me that I forget about everything else until I suddenly realize hours have passed. It’s at the point of total immersion that I instinctively know the words are good.

What is the last book you’ve read purely for pleasure?

The last book I read totally for pleasure was Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn. It was a both a hoot in that it clearly made the point that older women are often under-estimated, but the clear delineation of the characters and the situations they found themselves in were well-paced.

Tell us about your latest book.

In Five Belles Too Many, the fifth book in the Sarah Blair series, a New York television show comes to Wahoo, Alabama to film the finals of a competition for the perfect Southern wedding. The five finalist couples include die-hard University of Alabama and Auburn football fans, Day of the Dead aficionados, Jethro and Ellie Mae comparables, and Sarah’s mother, Maybelle, and her friend, George. Maybelle entered them in the contest secure in the knowledge that the demographics would demand an older finalist couple – and she was right. The problem for Sarah is that she is forced to be her mother’s chaperone, and everyone is required to stay at Sarah’s greatest nemesis’s bed and breakfast.  When the show’s producer is killed, Sarah must weigh finding the true killer by helping woman who broke up her marriage and tried to steal Sarah’s cat and business or chancing that any of the other contestants or crew are permanently eliminated.

How many books do you read in a typical month? Do you read in your genre while you are writing?

I typically read three to four books per month while writing and more when instead of writing, I allow myself a reading month. Most of the books are cozies or biographies, but I’m an equal-opportunity reader across all genres.

What is the most challenging area for you as a writer?

The most challenging thing for me as a writer is to believe in myself. It is far easier to let the whispers of doubt get in one’s mind.

How did you develop the idea for your most recent work?

The concept for Five Belles Too Many grew out of my fascination with the behind-the-scenes machinations of game shows and observing what happened when a small invitation press that I was familiar with entered a competition, like the one in this book, and had their invitation selected. Knowing there is a lot of pain, humor, and cunning in this kind of scenario, I had a ready-made concept for a fun Sarah Blair book.

Judge Debra H. Goldstein is the author of Kensington’s five book Sarah Blair mystery series, Should Have Played Poker, and IPPY Award winning Maze in Blue. Her novels and short stories, which have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies, have been named Agatha, Anthony, Derringer, Claymore, and Silver Falchion finalists and received Silver Falchion, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, and Alabama Writers Conclave awards. She serves on the national board of Sisters in Crime and previously was a national board member of Mystery Writers of America and president of the Guppy and SEMWA chapters. Find out more about Debra at https://www.DebraHGoldstein.com

In Five Belles Too Many, Sarah Blair’s mother is a finalist to win the perfect Southern Wedding in a reality TV show competition. To her dismay, Sarah is pressed into service as Mother Maybelle’s chaperone. After the show’s producer is found dead, with Sarah’s greatest nemesis kneeling by the body, Sarah must find the true killer before any of the other contestants or crew are permanently eliminated.

https://www.amazon.com/Five-Belles-Sarah-Blair-Mystery-ebook/dp/B09HRCV4TN

https://www.amazon.com/Five-Belles-Sarah-Blair-Mystery/dp/1496732235

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/five-belles-too-many-debra-h-goldstein/1140225124