Why do you write the genre that you write?
That’s a really good question. I like solving puzzles, but that’s not enough. It depends on how you define “the genre that I write.” If it’s mystery, it’s the puzzle thing and that you have an easy jumping-off point to start every story. If it’s because I try to write FUNNY mysteries, it’s because I have no sense of serious.

Tell us how you got into writing?
I flunked out of upholstery school. The fact is, I don’t ever remember NOT writing something. Even when I was a kid I’d be making up stories, which is NOT the same as lying! I started out wanting to write for movies and then realized (after 20 years) that Hollywood was not waiting breathlessly for me and that maybe I had a sensibility better suited to novels.

What’s next for you?
I’m thinking a nap and then dinner but you probably mean book-wise. Judgment At Santa Monica, the second Jersey Girl Legal Mystery (the first was Inherit The Shoes, in case that one eluded you) is out in the UK in July and the US in October. I’m told.

What are you reading now?
I just finished Scot On The Rocks by the fabulous Catriona McPherson after re-reading The Thin Man and a slew of Spenser novels. Catriona’s was the most fun by far.

Where can we find you?
Where are you looking? I’m in my office at the moment. But I’m at @ejcop on Twitter and on Facebook as E.J. Copperman/Jeff Cohen.

Now to have some fun . . .

Vanilla or chocolate
Yes, please.

Pizza or burgers
Same answer, although it probably depends on where you’re getting the pizza.
Or the burgers. If it’s Pizza Hut or McDonald’s, I’ll take the other option.

Broccoli or squash
Broccoli if necessary.

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
What time of day is it? I like breakfast for dinner sometimes. But a nice sandwich
at lunch is also good. I’m sorry; were you asking me out? I’m married.

Mountain or beach
I suppose “city” isn’t an option? Probably beach because mountains are cold. But I’m not a huge ocean fan.

Introvert or Extrovert
You’d have to catch me at the right time of day. I like being noticed but I’m
always worried I’ll offend someone. It’s a push-pull kind of thing.

And even more fun . . .

You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
1. My spouse.
2. Something to write on.
3. A private plane and pilot

My bio:
E.J. Copperman is the figment of someone’s imagination. The pseudonym for another writer of funny mystery novels, Copperman has now written five series: The Jersey Girl legal mysteries, in which New Jersey prosecutor Sandy Moss moves to Los Angeles so she can stop practicing criminal law; the Haunted Guesthouse mysteries, in which a single mom buys a Jersey Shore house to turn into an inn without realizing there are two dead people inhabiting the place; the Mysterious Detective mysteries, in which a midlist mystery author is confronted by a physical embodiment of her fictional sleuth, who insists he needs her help in solving cases; the Asperger’s mysteries in which a man with an autism-spectrum disorder opens a business offering to answer customers’ questions if he finds them interesting (and usually gets involved in solving a murder) and the Agent to the Paws mysteries, in which a theatrical agent whose clients are all furry beasts (not the human kind) finds herself defending her clients while humans are being murdered in their general vicinity.