Why do you write the genre that you write?
Since the type of crime stories I write range from cozy to noir (though more often on the lighter side of the scale because I love making people laugh and smile), I’m going to define my genre as short stories. They’re all I write, and I write them because I love them—reading and writing them. I love having an idea and bringing it to fruition in a few days (or sometimes a couple of weeks), so I can turn around and start something new. Writing short allows me to give readers everything they’d want in a novel—a good plot, fun characters who grow, and a satisfying ending—yet enabling them to read the whole thing in the hour before bed or whenever they have limited time. Short stories can also be a palette cleanser between reading novels, and I like being able to provide that refresher for readers. In short (ha!), short stories are like that perfect first kiss. They may be over quickly, but they can also be everything you dream of.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
In my story “Five Days to Fitness,” Maria adores the Sound of Music and regularly belts out songs from the movie, dancing and prancing in full-on Julie Andrews mode. She’s a lot of fun. This story appears in the 2022 anthology Murder in the Mountains.

Tell us how you got into writing?
While I was in law school, I was reading a Barbara Parker novel and thought, I could do this. I even had an idea and thought I could fit it into my schedule. But I never did. (Shocking.) A few years later, I realized I’d never started writing the manuscript because I didn’t know how to write a novel. (Yes, I started aiming to write novels, before I found my true calling.) I figured it wasn’t meant to be and that was that. But just a few days later, I saw an ad for a class on how to write a mystery novel that was starting soon near my home. It felt like fate, so I signed up. And here I am.

What jobs have you held before, during and/or after you became a writer?
I’m going to skip everything before I finished grad school or we’ll be here all day: Newspaper reporter, then attorney, and now, freelance fiction editor and associate editor of Black Cat Weekly magazine.

Where do you write?
In my office, trying not to be distracted by the birds out the window or the dog by my feet. He (the dog) doesn’t make it easy.

What is your favorite deadline snack?
If I didn’t have to worry about calories: chocolate ice cream. Since I do: two or three handfuls of Cheerios.

What is next for you?
Since I don’t know when my next story will be released, I’ll talk about the one that came out most recently: “The Gift” appears in this year’s Bouchercon anthology, Land of 10,000 Thrills. In this story, Debbie has always believed in setting a good example for her grandson and the kids at her high school, where she toils as the principal. But sometimes the line between right and wrong blurs—especially when family is involved.

What are you reading now?
Novel: I’m about to start The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Nagendra. Short story collection: I’m enjoying Dead Even by Frank Zafiro.

Where can we find you?
My website: barbgoffman.com
Facebook: @barb.goffman
Blog: Every third Tuesday at SleuthSayers, sleuthsayers.org

Now to have some fun . . .

Vanilla or chocolate
Chocolate. Always chocolate.

Ice cream or cake
Ice cream. But not ice-cream cake. If I’m having cake, it needs to be real cake—chocolate cake.

Broccoli or squash
Broccoli

Pizza, burgers, or pasta
Pizza

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
Lunch

Mountain or beach
Live in the mountains, vacation at the beach

City or country
Country

Introvert or extrovert
Introvert! Small talk is exhausting.

And even more fun . . .

You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
An unlimited supply of books
A computer with unlimited battery that’s connected to the Internet so I can write stories, submit them, and keep up with friends
My dog

My bio:
Barb Goffman has been a finalist for major short-story crime awards 36 times, twice winning the Agatha and once winning the Macavity, Silver Falchion, and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine Readers Award. She’s an associate editor of Black Cat Weekly and works as a freelance editor, focusing on cozy and traditional mysteries. In 2023, she’ll be toastmaster at Malice Domestic. Look for her recent story “Beauty and the Beyotch” in issue 29 of Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, which came out earlier this year.