Preaching to the Corpse

Roberta Isleib is in the midst of a very interesting and creative blog book tour, and I'm visiting each tour stop she makes. I've just finished the first book in this series, Deadly Advice, and it was a page-turner, make no bones about it. I can hardly wait to get my hands on the next corpse! You can check out her entire tour schedule here, and I'll post my favorite stops with live links so you can hop over direct.

First, stop at The Dark Phantom Review to read the excerpt.

If you're a writer, don't miss the interview at Fiction Scribe.



Author Bio

New Jersey born clinical psychologist Roberta Isleib took up writing mysteries to justify time spent on the links. Her first series, featuring a neurotic professional golfer and a sports psychologist, was nominated for both Agatha and Anthony awards.

Roberta's new series, starring a Connecticut psychologist and advice columnist, debuted in 2007 with DEADLY ADVICE and PREACHING TO THE CORPSE. She has also had many articles and short stories published. "Disturbance in the Field," published in SEASMOKE by Level Best Books, was short-listed for both Agatha and Macavity awards.

Roberta is the president of International Sisters in Crime and the past president of the New England chapter. She is also a member of Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and the Authors Guild. She lives with her family in Connecticut.

All about me(me) and reading

Elsa Neal, that brilliant fiction editor at BellaOnline, tagged me for this meme and what could be more appropriate for a blog about books?

What have you just read?
Deadly Advice by Roberta Isleib.

What are you reading now?
Why We Read What We Read by John Heath and Lisa Adams.

Do you have any idea what you'll read when you're done with that?
Preaching to the Corpse by Roberta and Dana Fredsti’s premiere novel, which has a great title, but hasn't been in front of my face often enough for me to instantly recall. It's the first in her Murder For Hire series. And this situation is exactly why authors must put their latest title after their names everywhere in the world, every chance they get. Repetition, repetition, repetition.....wait, I've almost got it..... The Peruvian Pigeon!

What's the worst thing you were ever forced to read?
An Editing How-To eBook – the first eBook I ever bought – that was so full of errors I should have edited it and sent it back to the author! I did complain to the publisher who laughed and replied that they should have hired me to edit the thing. I was not amused.

What's one book you always recommend to just about anyone?
Not the editing book, that’s for certain! I think my all-time favorites are Mary Stewart’s books in the Merlin Trilogy. I never tire of reading them. The fourth book, The Wicked Day, is one of my very least favorites.

Admit it, sadly the librarians at your library know you on a first name basis, don't they?
Not sad at all, as I love the added attention and service!

Is there a book you absolutely love, but for some reason, people never think it sounds interesting, or maybe they read it and don't like it at all?
I like Anne McCaffrey’s Dragon Riders of Pern series, but many people don’t.

Do you read books while you eat?
Rarely.

While you bath?
Never, since I shower. What a mess that would be.

While you watch movies or TV?
I don’t watch TV and when I watch the occasional video, I concentrate on it. I can’t even knit for very long, before I'm completely engrossed and staring at the screen like an idiot. It's not a pretty picture.

While you listen to music?
No.

While you're on the computer?
I don’t know how people can do this! I mean, isn’t it like trying to read two things at once?

When you were little did other children tease you about your reading habits?
Not other children, but my mother used to kick me out of the house and tell me to go play. I would hide a book in the clothes hamper, which was in the bathroom, and then use the potty excuse to get in a few pages of reading.

What's the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn't put it down?
Alas, I simply haven’t been able to do this since my cataract surgery earlier in the year. I still remember my marathon session with Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I think I had pizza delivery three times over two days. Huge pizzas. Mushroom with double cheese.

Have any books made you cry?
You mean have many books made me cry? Yes. The last was Garden Spells. And I just read an article in AARP magazine that had tears rolling down my cheeks. I have that author, Ann Harleman, on my To Read list now.

So I’ve tagged these good folks, and you can read their answers here:

Dana Fredsti
Ann Parker
Doris Baker
Diana Vickery