Why do you write the genre that you write?
I’ve loved mysteries since I picked up my first Nancy Drew book. I love figuring out “who done it” when I’m reading and I love placing the clues for the reader when I’m writing. I also love the WW2 era, which is when my Homefront News series is set. I get the best of both worlds at the moment.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
In my Brewing Trouble series Candy, the bakery owner, is a diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fan and wears nothing but black and gold. In the Homefront News series, it would have to be Ava, the town gossip. She’s a beautician and changes her hair color frequently. Not quite as quirky as Candy and her black and gold, though.

How did you come up with your pseudonym?
The publisher wanted a pseudonym for the Homefront News mysteries and it was hard to come up with one! I kept sending my agent lists of names. I’m a Catholic girl just like my protagonists and it finally hit me to use my favorite saint’s name. St. Anthony and I are best buds. He bails me out all the time, lol. I kept my first name because I might not answer to another one!

Tell us how you got into writing?
I’ve always written something or other. In my late teens I wrote what would be called fan fiction now–I loved the Hardy Boys TV series and wrote stories for myself for fun. Later on I wrote a book that was suspiciously like HB with different names. Fortunately, none of these exist anymore! I did some freelance reading and editing for a now defunct agency that had very loose submission requirements–anyone could send anything in. That’s when I realized I could write better than much of what I was reading and decided to try to write for publication. It took several manuscripts to get to that point.

What jobs have you held before, during and/or after you became a writer?
I haven’t worked a lot of jobs–I was a full time mom for many years. In school, I was a clerk in a drug store. My first full job was in a library. After that I was a unit secretary on the orthopedic unit of a large hospital. Then came my full-time mom stint until my youngest was 10. Then I worked as a part-time police secretary for my local police department. That was my favorite job outside the home. When I lost that job, I began writing full time.

Where do you write?
I use a laptop, so I can write anywhere, but most of the time I’m at a small desk in the loft of our log home.

What is your favorite deadline snack?
Chocolate! And lots of coffee.

What is next for you?
I’m kind of in a holding pattern at the moment. I recently turned in Death on a Deadline, the second book in the Homefront series. I’m not under contract for anything else right now. I should know soon (hopefully by the time this is posted) whether there will be any more in the series. It will depend on how well Front Page Murder sells. My agent has two cozy proposals that she’s submitting–one set in a cider house, and one in a bed and breakfast.

What are you reading now?
Liz Milliron’s “The Lessons We Learn.” It’s excellent so far!

Where can we find you?
My website at joycetremel.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

Now to have some fun . . .

Vanilla or chocolate
It depends! I prefer vanilla ice cream, but I like chocolate cake.

Ice cream or cake
Ice cream. I can’t keep it in the house or I’ll eat it all!

Broccoli or squash
Neither? I eat them both, but only because
they’re good for me. I don’t really like them, lol.

Pizza or burgers
Pizza if I’m eating out, burgers at home.

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
Breakfast.

Mountain or beach
Mountain! I live on one!

City or country
Country.

Introvert or extrovert
Definitely an introvert.

And even more fun . . .

You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
I can’t seem to narrow it down to three. Chocolate. Coffee, but then
I’d need electricity and a coffee maker. Good beer, but I’d need
a refrigerator and electricity. See what I mean? I’d never survive
on a deserted island!

My bio:
Joyce St. Anthony is the author of the Homefront News Mysteries, set during WWII. As Joyce Tremel, she is the author of the award-winning Brewing Trouble mysteries. A former police secretary, she took to writing about crimes instead of committing them. She lives in the Laurel Highlands of PA with her husband and two cats—Hops and Lager.