Anastasia first appeared in Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun and one of the best way to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Anastasia.

What is your name?
Anastasia Pollack.

How old are you?
43 (42 when the series opens, but nearly a year has passed over the course of the seven books and three novellas in the series.)

What is your profession?
Crafts editor at American Woman, a national women’s magazine sold at supermarket checkout counters.

Do you have a significant other?
When the series opens, I’ve been recently widowed. I’m now in a relationship with the man who rented the apartment above my garage.

What is his name and profession?
Zachary Barnes is a photojournalist and possible spy for one of the alphabet agencies, although he vehemently denies that. However, me thinks the guy doth protest too much.

Any children?
Two sons: Alex, now a high school senior, and Nick, a high school sophomore.

Do you have any sibling(s)?
No.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
I inherited my great-aunt Penelope Periwinkle’s African Grey parrot Ralph. She was a Shakespearean professor. Ralph spent most of his life in her classroom and has an uncanny knack for spouting situation-appropriate quotes from the Bard.

I also have Manifesto (aka Mephisto, aka Devil Dog) living with us. He’s a French bulldog owned by my communist mother-in-law, who I’m unfortunately stuck with since the demise of my husband.

Periodically over the years I’ve also had to share my home with Catherine the Great, a corpulent white Persian, whenever my mother is between husbands and moves in with me. Mama claims descent from Russian nobility. So not only don’t she and my mother-in-law get along, her cat and my mother-in-law’s dog don’t exactly see eye-to-eye, either. (Calm is not a word often uttered when describing the situation at Casa Pollack.)

What town do you live in?
Westfield, NJ.

House or building complex? Own or Rent?
I own a way too small mid-century modern rancher.

What is your favorite spot in your house?
The apartment above my garage. It’s my only place of escape from the constant chaos.

Who is your best friend?
Cloris McWerther, the food editor at American Woman. Her baked goods sustain me. Then again, they’re also the reason I’ve never lost the baby weight from my two pregnancies. . .

Amateur sleuth or professional?
RELUCTANT amateur sleuth. I never asked for all these dead bodies I seem to stumble over on a constant basis lately. I blame my dead husband. My life was sane before he permanently cashed in his chips in Vegas. (Of course, I had no idea of the secrets he’d been hiding before he dropped dead in that casino!)

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
That depends. Sometimes Cloris has played Watson to my Sherlock. Other times it’s Zack. Often, both.

Favorite meal?
Any meal that doesn’t involve my mother-in-law joining us at the table.

Favorite dessert?
Do you have any idea how hard it is for a sugar junkie to pick a favorite dessert? What I can tell you is that the ONLY desserts that I won’t eat are ones containing peanut butter. I know it’s downright un-American, but I detest peanut butter. When my kids were little, I had to hold my nose as I made their PB&J sandwiches. Even the smell of the stuff sets off my gag reflexes!

Favorite hobby?
Since I earn a living as a crafts designer/editor, I really don’t have a hobby. My “hobby” is my job. However, my favorite craft is needlework. I also used to enjoy reading, but I haven’t picked up a book for pleasure ever since Karl, aka Dead Louse of a Spouse, slipped his earthly coil and left me drowning in debt. All my spare time is devoted to earning extra money now—when I’m not avoiding killers.

Favorite vacation spot?
Back when we had money, I used to love taking the kids to Disney World. I’m really a kid at heart. Zack took me on a quick trip to Barcelona this past year, but I wound up getting kidnapped within hours of landing at the airport. Not the most relaxing of getaways!

Favorite color?
Definitely black for its slimming properties.

Favorite author?
Hmm. . .I’m not sure I can narrow it down to one. When I did have time to read, I was a very eclectic reader. Janet Evonavich’s Stephanie Plum books are always good for when I need a laugh. Besides, a major review publication dubbed me, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” So how can I not love her? For historical mysteries I’m a fan of Ariana Franklin’s books.

Favorite sports team?
Diehard Mets fan. (You can stop laughing now!)

Movies or Broadway?
Back when Dead Louse of a Spouse was alive and I thought we were firmly entrenched in the middle class, I went to Broadway shows as often as possible. Some of my all-time favorites are The Producers, Wicked, and Finding Neverland. I’d love to see Hamilton, but that’s going to take a lottery win, and that would require first buying a lottery ticket.

As for movies, some of my favorites are Casablanca, Shakespeare in Love, all the old Thin Man movies with Dick Powell and Myrna Loy, and most recently, The Greatest Showman.

Are you a morning or a night person?
I’m a 24/7 person. Who has time to sleep when you live my life?

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
In a word? Chaotic. I rarely have time for breakfast most mornings (thank goodness for Cloris and her muffins!) Dead bodies pop up everywhere lately—even at work. At home I’m constantly playing referee to my mother and mother-in-law, not to mention their cat and dog. I worry constantly about paying down debt that’s greater than the GNP of most Third World nations, let alone having the money to put my kids through college—thanks to their father’s duplicity. So I take on every moonlighting job that comes my way. The one bright spot in my life is my relationship with Zack, but I don’t think he’s being exactly truthful with me when it comes to where he goes and what he does. And you know what? It’s all author Lois Winston’s fault! She got me into this mess. What did I ever do to her?

You can read about Anastasia in Drop Dead Ornaments, the seventh book in the “Anastasia Pollack Crafting” mystery series.

Anastasia Pollack’s son Alex is dating Sophie Lambert, the new kid in town. For their community service project, the high school seniors have chosen to raise money for the county food bank. Anastasia taps her craft industry contacts to donate materials for the students to make Christmas ornaments they’ll sell at the town’s annual Holiday Crafts Fair.

At the fair Anastasia meets Sophie’s father, Shane Lambert, who strikes her as a man with secrets. She also notices a woman eavesdropping on their conversation. Later that evening when the woman turns up dead, Sophie’s father is arrested for her murder.

Alex and Sophie beg Anastasia to find the real killer, but Anastasia has had her fill of dead bodies. She’s also not convinced of Shane’s innocence. Besides, she’s promised younger son Nick she’ll stop risking her life. But how can she say no to Alex?

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About the author
USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry.

Connect with Lois at loiswinston.com | Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog | Pinterest | Twitter

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All comments are welcomed.