Why do you write the genre that you write?
As P.T. Barnum put it: “The noblest art is that of making others happy.” We agree. Uplifting readers is a gratifying goal.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
In the Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, our amateur sleuth Penelope talks to a ghost named Jack Shepard. Back in 1949, Jack was a hard-boiled PI, working a case that led to his death in the very Rhode Island bookshop that Pen now runs with her aunt. Pen is the only one who can hear Jack’s otherworldly voice and often wonders whether his ghostly presence is real or a figment of her avid reader’s imagination. Meanwhile, Pen’s friends and family wonder why she sometimes stares off into space, as if listening to a voice they can’t hear—and that’s pretty quirky!

How did you come up with your pseudonym?
Cleocatra is the name we gave to one of our many rescued New York stray cats. We borrowed the “Cleo” part, and we chose Coyle because it’s a homophone for coil, which describes what we like to do in our mystery writing, challenge characters by putting them in a coil.

Tell us how you got into writing?
Alice: Before writing, I discovered the joys of storytelling, which began around 3rd grade, entertaining my lunchroom tablemates with tall tales like the giant mouse on the moon who makes a meal of astronauts. After that, I started writing down my fables, along with poems, plays, essays, and eventually articles for my high school paper, then my college paper, and finally bigger papers (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Federal Times in Washington, D.C., and The New York Times). Journalism paid the bills but daydreaming up stories remained my deepest wish, so I transitioned into book editing, learned all I could about publishing, and now I channel my creative energies into writing novels.

Marc: When I was in third grade, a company issued a bunch of baseball-type bubblegum cards to promote the science fiction anthology show The Outer Limits. The cards were just pictures of creatures and spaceships and such, but since none of us had seen an episode (yet) I amused my classmates by making up stories about the monsters and spaceships. I had a great time entertaining my friends and decided telling stories was pretty cool.

What jobs have you held before, during and/or after you became a writer?
Alice: My first job at the age of 12 was Coffee Cart Girl at our church’s bingo night. When I was old enough, I moved up to after-school work at McDonald’s. During college, I worked in restaurant kitchens and put in long summer hours as an amusement park ride operator. After college, I worked as a newspaper reporter. I freelanced as a copy writer and slush pile reader for a mystery publisher and a cookbook publisher. I spent years in publishing as a book editor (acquiring and editing adult and children’s fiction) and as an Editorial Director (Lucasfilm books for children), and still work as a media tie-in writer, food & recipe writer, and blogger.

Marc: I can’t say my employment history was conventional. I worked as a therapist at a hospital, in a delicatessen and later a restaurant. I played a zombie in George A Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (with three seconds of screentime) and worked as a copywriter for a non-profit publisher (amazingly similar position to the job with Romero). Later I became an editor and then the editor-in-chief of a book review magazine. I co-wrote a screenplay that was bought but never produced, and I served as a manuscript consultant for a book publisher. Since then I’ve written all kinds of works—fiction and nonfiction—for adults and children and still work as a media tie-in writer.

Where do you write?
Marc: At a computer desk surrounded by my favorite junk and many cats.
Alice: I use a laptop and move around. Bedroom, dining room table, sun porch, coffee shops, and parks.

What is your favorite deadline snack?
Marc: Coffee and Milk Duds
Alice: Besides an obscene amount of coffee and Coke Zero (don’t judge), the noodle soups and egg rolls from Long Spring Garden, not far from our home in Queens (NYC).

What is next for you?
Our newest Coffeehouse Mystery, Honey Roasted, was just released this past February, and we’re now writing Coffeehouse Mystery #20, due for publication next year. We’re also looking forward to the release of our new Haunted Bookshop Mystery, The Ghost and the Stolen Tears, coming this October with the next tile in the series (book #9) lined up for publication in 2023.

What are you reading now?
Alice: The Notebooks of Raymond Chandler
Marc: The Criminal History of Mankind by Colin Wilson

Where can we find you?
Alice & Marc: The kitchen. Or you can visit us at our online coffeehouse (open 2/47)

You can also follow us on social media at: Facebook – Twitter – Instagram – BookBub – Goodreads

And you can keep in touch by signing up for our newsletter, where we share fun contests, bonus recipes, and book news.

Now to have some fun . . .

Vanilla or chocolate
Marc: Vanilla
Alice: Coffee with chocolate chips (sorry to bend the rules!)

Ice cream or cake
Marc: Ice Cream
Alice: Ice cream cake 🙂

Broccoli or squash
Alice & Marc: Broccoli, please, with garlic oil and sea salt!

Pizza or burgers
Alice & Marc: Pizza, extra cheese & pepperoni

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
Marc: Dinner, it caps the day.
Alice: Agree (or breakfast foods for dinner)

Mountain or beach
Marc: Freshwater beach in the mountains
(cheating but that’s where I swam while growing up)
Alice: I’ll join Marc there.

City or country
Marc: City
Alice: Ditto, New York City

Introvert or extrovert
Alice: Introvert
Marc: Loudmouth. Which one is that?

And even more fun . . .

You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
Marc: E-reader, coffee, Milk Duds
Alice: Laptop, coffee maker, my cats

My bio:
Cleo Coyle is the New York Times bestselling pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. With more than 1 million books sold, Cleo has gained an enthusiastic following. Their Coffeehouse Mystery novels have earned starred reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus, “Best of Year” selection honors from reviewers, and have been recommended by Booklist as among the best culinary mysteries for core library mystery collections. As Cleo Coyle, Alice and Marc also write the national bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, recently honored with Best of Year selections by Suspense Magazine and Aunt Agatha’s. When not haunting coffeehouses, hunting ghosts, or rescuing stray cats, Alice and Marc are also media tie-in writers who have penned bestselling properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, Toho, and MGM. They live in New York City, where they write independently and together.