Charlee Russo sits down for a question-and-answer session with dru’s book musings so that we, the readers, can get to know her better. Are you ready? Charlee, take it away!

What is your full name?
Charlemagne Russo, but everyone calls me Charlee. My mom had a thing for the Middle Ages, so I just chopped out the middle of my name.

How old are you?
I don’t want to be coy, but let’s just say I’m old enough to know better, but young enough not to care. Okay, fine. I’m a boring ‘ol thirty-something.

What is your profession?
I, believe it or not, am a professional writer. Mysteries, thrillers, and suspense to be precise-ish.

Do you have a significant other?
I have a very significant other, Peter O’Drool, the fat, wheezy pug from upstairs. But don’t tell my boyfriend, Ozzi Rabbinowitz. (I hope I spelled that right. Lotta vowels in that one.)

If so, what is his name and profession?
Peter spends most of his time in bed, farting. Or eating, then farting. Ozzi works at Net Software. I tell people he’s a hacker, because no matter how much he explains what he does, I find computer hacking much sexier.

Do you have any children?
What?! Excuse me one sec, I just spit coffee all over my keyboard.

Do you have any siblings?
An older brother, Lancelot. Middle Ages, remember? He just goes by Lance, even though as a kid I wanted him to chop out the middle part of his name too. Weirdly, he did not want to be known as Lalot or Celo. He’s a cop, just like our dad was.

Are your parents nearby?
My dad was murdered when Lance and I were teenagers, and my mom has relocated to Santa Fe. I see her fairly often, as Santa Fe is only about six hours from Denver. I go there, sometimes with Lance when he can get time off, but she comes here just as often. I’d like it better if she was closer, though.

Who is your best friend?
Hm, that’s a tough one. For fun, I guess I’d pick Ozzi. Even though we don’t live together, we spend oodles of time together doing lots of, um, fun things I don’t do with anyone else. For longevity and shenanigans, I’d pick AmyJo McFarland. She and I went to college together in Des Moines, then when I came back to Denver, she came too. She’s also a writer, but hasn’t quite hit her stride. And for sage advice and surrogate grandparenting, I’d pick Don and Barb Singer who live upstairs from me, with Peter, their gasbag pooch. Truth be told, I think I need them way more than they need me, although I do try to help them whenever I can. They’re pretty spry for eighty-year-olds! And they repay me with unconditional love and a freezer full of baked goods. I love all of them. My besties, that is, not the baked goods. Aw, who am I kidding? I love all the baked goods too.

Do you have any pets?
Nope. But I consider Peter O’Drool my dog godson or something. That looks weird. My dogson? Nephew twice-removed? Stinky Overlord?

What town do you live in?
I usually just say Denver, because everyone knows where that is, but technically I live in Aurora, an eastern suburb.

Do you live in a small town or a big city?
Even if I was just talking about Aurora, it’s a pretty big city. But my little corner of it is small. The apartment complex where Ozzi, Don, Barb, Pete, and I live is right across the street from Espresso Yourself, a combo café/bookstore I love. And my critique group meets at the McMansion of one of our members, so that’s like a small town unto itself.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
I really like our apartment complex. It’s well-maintained (especially since I complained about that darn security gate that didn’t lock), and beautifully landscaped. Ozzi lives in a third floor unit in Building JJ, facing east. And I live in a ground floor unit in Building D, facing west. So we get sunrises from his place, and sunsets from mine. And if you’ve never seen the sky a gorgeous Broncos blue-and-orange, you should rectify that immediately.

What is your favorite meal and dessert?
Ozzi makes a fantastic green chile stew I love. Always paired with brownies, of course.

Do you have any hobbies?
Not officially, but I do end up solving a lot of crimes. Does that count? Oh, I recently tried my hand at some decorative metal art. I got pretty good at tabletop sconces, jewelry holders, and ear cuffs. But I think I’ll give that up. I thought it was going to be relaxing and take my mind off writing about murders, so I made some and donated them to a Christmas fundraiser. But get this . . . my art implicated me in a murder! No thank you. I’ll stick to watching sunrises and sunsets and eating Ozzi’s green chile stew.

What is your favorite vacation spot?
I haven’t vacationed in quite a long time, but if we can wrangle it, Ozzi and I like to spend long weekends in a mountain town when it’s not ski season. We just wander around, find cute stores, keep our eyes peeled for unusual brew pubs and fudge shops, go hiking, maybe hit an alpine slide.

What is your idea of a really fun time?
See above.

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
“Why Do These Things Keep Happening to Me!”

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
I’m not a sleuth at all! I’m a mystery writer!

What is a typical day in your life like in general and when you are on a case?
My “cases” tend to end up in my typical days so they look something like this: wake up, drink coffee, write, stumble over a body, hide under the covers, eat a grilled cheese sandwich, pretend nothing happened, realize it actually did happen, make a plan, enlist help, contribute to shenanigans, solve crime. It’s funny, now that I think about it. The characters in my thrillers and mysteries are all fearless, kickass kind of women. But I’m not at all like that. My professor referred to someone like me as a “reluctant hero.” I didn’t really understand that phrase until my agent was murdered. I was the reluctantest of reluctants, but when you’re accused of a crime—or someone close to you is—you do what you need to do. You may not be fearless or kickass, but you can still be the hero.

Police Navidad, A Mystery Writer’s Mystery #4
Genre: Cozy
Release: November 2021
Purchase Link

A Christmas pageant. A dead Santa. All is not calm, and it’s definitely not bright.

The only thing Charlee Russo wants for Christmas are some silent nights so she can work on her mystery manuscript. Instead, she gets snowballed into writing and directing a Christmas play as a fundraiser for an elementary school to be held at the local senior center. But when the actor playing Santa drops dead at rehearsal, Charlee must deck the halls with thoughts of murder.

Rehearsals continue while she is forced to contend with sabotage, assault, and actors—young and old—refusing to learn their lines. As she digs deeper into Santa’s so-called accident, she gets a frosty reception from all the suspects on the naughty list. With the school funding at stake and a potential murderer involved in the production, she needs a Christmas miracle. Can Charlee pull off the pageant without anyone else getting sleighed?

Police Navidad is the fourth book in the Mystery Writer’s Mystery series. If you like fun, fast stories with warm and witty characters you want to hang out with, then you’ll love this cozy mystery from Becky Clark.

About the author
Award-winning author Becky Clark is the seventh of eight kids, which explains both her insatiable need for attention and her atrocious table manners. She likes to read funny books so it felt natural to write them too. She surrounds herself with quirky people and pets who end up as characters in her novels. Readers say her books are “fast and thoroughly entertaining” with “witty humor and tight writing” and “humor laced with engaging characters” so you should “grab a cocktail and enjoy the ride.” She writes the Dunne Diehl novels, the Mystery Writer’s Mysteries, the Crossword Puzzle Mysteries, some nonfiction, and a short Christmas play. Visit her at beckyclarkbooks.com.

All comments are welcomed.