Holly Schlivnik sits down for a question-and-answer session with dru’s book musings so that we can learn more about her. Let’s get to know Holly.

What is your full name?
Holly Schlivnik.

How old are you?
I am on the sunny side of my 30s and, to my mother’s consternation, still unattached.

What is your profession?
I am the President of Mermaid Swimwear.

If you have a significant other, what is their name and profession?
Right now, there are 2 men in my life: Buddy LaValle, a ladies’ apparel designer, and Moises Lehrman, a homicide detective with the Miami Beach PD.

Do you have any children?
No, I do not.

Who is your best friend?
Queenie Levine

Do you have cats, dogs, or other pets?
Yes. My standard poodle/psychiatrist/sleuthing partner Sigmund Freud Schlivnik, Ph.D.—as in Professional Hound Detective—better known to his legion of fans and friends as Siggie. I tell Siggie everything. He’s my four-legged shrink. Hey, don’t knock it. Siggie is an excellent listener. He never interrupts, never tells me my hour is up just as I get to the heart of a problem, and doesn’t charge a hundred and fifty bucks an hour.

What town do you live in?
I live at the beach in Marina del Rey, CA.

What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
I own and live on a houseboat.

Do you have any hobbies?
Yes. I am an avid Philatelist, a fancy word for a stamp collector. I am also a dedicated walker, a voracious reader, and an ardent sailor.

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
Rag Lady.

Amateur or professional sleuth, and with whom do you work?
I am an amateur sleuth. I work with Queenie Levine and the Yentas, a group of female professional colleagues/friends whom I meet for coffee and conversation every workday morning at A Jolt of Java in the California Apparel Mart lobby.

DEATH BY COCONUT
Series: A Holly Swimsuit Mystery, Book 7
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: April 2026
Format: Print, Digital
Amazon Print | Amazon Kindle

Obnoxious Mystique Swimwear sales rep Simon Posnick was universally despised by competitors and customers alike. So the question wasn’t who wanted the lying, cheating scoundrel dead.

The question was who didn’t. Mariel Levine, Laurie’s Fashions’ swimsuit buyer and Holly Schlivnik’s career mentor, is wrongly arrested for murdering Posnick by impaling him with the jagged edge of a coconut shell at the base of his skull. The wisecracking, irreverent President of Mermaid Swimwear jumps into action to uncover the real killer. But the treacherous trail holds more dangerous human predators than the alligators and black pythons in the Everglades.

Everything turns out differently than the way amateur sleuth Holly thinks it will as she tangles with a killer hellbent on revenge in this 223-page hilarious whodunit.

About the author
Named Best US Author of the Year by N. N. Lights Book Heaven, award-winning cozy mystery author Susie Black was born in the Big Apple but now calls sunny Southern California home. Like the protagonist in her Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series, Susie is a successful apparel sales executive. Susie began telling stories as soon as she learned to talk. Now she’s telling all the stories from her experiences in the garment industry as humorous mysteries. She reads, writes, and speaks Spanish, albeit with an accent that sounds like Mildred from Michigan went on a Mexican vacation and is trying to fit in with the locals. Since life without pizza and ice cream as her core food groups wouldn’t be worth living, she’s a dedicated walker to keep her girlish figure. A voracious reader, she’s also an avid stamp collector. Susie lives with a highly intelligent man and has one incredibly brainy but smart-aleck adult son who inexplicably blames his sarcasm on an inherited genetic defect.

Looking for more? Contact Susie at: E-mail: mysteries.authorsusieblack@gmail.com.