Why do you write the genre that you write?
I’ve read suspense novels since I was able to read. I love the exquisite pleasure of not being able to put down the book until the story was resolved. I never had the desire to write my own books until I was well past forty. But when it came, I never looked back.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
Ellie Foreman, the protagonist of my first series, had a little problem with shoplifting in the first few books. It was never anything really valuable: a lipstick, a card, an extra can of peas.. (peas?). She’s mostly over it by now. I think.

Tell us how you got into writing?
I usually say the devil made me do it. I watched the OJ Simpson trial on TV from gavel to gavel – it was probably the first trial to be telecast. Not only were the characters out of Central Casting: the celebrity killer, his beautiful dead wife, the ambitious but earnest prosecutor, the avuncular defense attorney, even the surfer dude who lived in his home. . . but there was also something that came to fascinate me. And that was the ability of law enforcement to figure out and analyze elements of a crime scene scientifically. AKA “Forensics.”

I never knew someone could identify a shoe manufacturer from a shoeprint. Didn’t know you could tell whether someone was left or right handed from the angle of the knife. Didn’t know the blood spatter could tell you more about the timing of a crime. We knew about DNA, of course, but there was so much more. I wanted to learn it all. A murder was a puzzle whose pieces could be figured out. That was when I decided that I’d write one of them there novels myself. 17 novels later, I guess I have.

What jobs have you held before, during and/or after you became a writer?
All my jobs revolved around communications in some way. I have a masters degree in film production from NYU and thought I would be a film director and dance off into the sunset with Ingmar Bergman. There was only one problem. I had to make a living and, as a nice Jewish girl, I had no plans to starve in a garret while I finished the great American screenplay.

But I was a history major in college and news is history in the making, so I turned to broadcast news. I started out as an assistant film editor at Nightly News NBC in NY. Worked on the Watergate Hearings at PBS in DC. Moved to Chicago for a job at a big PR firm, where I produced films, meeting openers, and trained executives to be better speakers and interviewees. It was all preparation for the most important communications work I’ve ever done.

Where do you write?
Anywhere I can. I’m not picky. I used to write in bed. At my desk. On the couch. Outside. Now my back is a problem so I have an ergonomic chair and thick books under my feet to fix my posture. That’s what happens when you get older.

What is your favorite deadline snack?
Anything sweet. Actually I absolutely LOVE honeyed or sugared almonds or pecans. So wicked!

What is next for you?
Probably a historical fiction novel set during World War Two in Western Europe.

What are you reading now?
Sujata Massey’s The Bombay Prince. Then Winter Counts. Then RazorBlade Tears.

Where can we find you?
Authorlfh@comcast.net. I always answer my mail.

Now to have some fun . . .

Vanilla or chocolate:
Vanilla with chocolate sauce on top

Ice cream or cake:
Both, but the cake has to be store bought, and preferably yellow.

Broccoli or squash:
Either. I like them both.

Pizza, burger, or pasta:
Pizza. I actually love thick crust pizza.

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner:
Lunch

Mountain or beach:
Both, but mountains are edging out the beach because of the sun.

City or country:
Country

Introvert or Extrovert:
Both! I didn’t know I was an introvert until I started writing.

And even more fun . . .

You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
A Bathing suit
A laptop
A wireless connection

My bio:
Libby Fischer Hellmann left a career in broadcast news in Washington, DC and moved to Chicago a long time ago, where she, naturally, began to write gritty crime fiction. She soon began writing historical fiction as well. Seventeen novels and twenty-five short stories later, she claims they’ll take her out of the Windy City feet first. She has been nominated for many awards in the mystery and crime writing community and has even won a few. She has been a finalist twice for the Anthony and four times for Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year. She has also been nominated for the Agatha, the Shamus, the Daphne, and she won the The Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year in 2021. In the past she has won the IPPY, Foreword Magazine’s Indie Awards, and the Readers Choice Award multiple times.