Now it’s time to learn more about the authors we read. . .

What drew you to the genre you write?
I watched every cop show on the air with my dad when I was a kid, and read every mystery in my grade school library.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
Insomnia

How did you come up with your pseudonym?
I’m obsessed with names, so I looked through my family trees, didn’t get anything that way since my ancestor’s names were a little too old fashioned, tried anagrams, and ‘Ellis Black’ was almost an anagram of Lisa Becka. So I just stuck with Black, it would be eye level on the shelves and be easy to spell and pronounce.

Tell us how you got into writing?
I always wrote. I would write letters to my favorite cousin when I was in early grade school and make comic strips putting us in our favorite TV shows. Eventually they got longer and without pictures, because I’m a terrible artist.

What jobs have you held before, during and/or after you became a writer?
Secretary…sitting in front of a word processor all day, so I thought, what the heck, I’ll write a novel. Now I’m a forensic specialist, and still haven’t quit the day job.

How many books do you have published?
18. Plus 3 self published.

Where do you write?
I can write anywhere, an ability from when I was a secretary and writing at work. So normally I’m at home in my home office, but otherwise I can write at work, in a car, on a bus, on an overturned bucket in a supply closet waiting for the manager to show up with the video system password so I can download it.

What is your ideal time to write?
In the morning. Then I can be done for the day and not feel guilty because I’m not writing.

What is your favorite deadline snack?
I don’t have a problem with deadlines so I don’t have a particular snack, but I love carbs. All the stuff that’s not good for you, cookies, crackers, candy…

What’s your favorite genre to read?
Thrillers and mystery.

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
I can’t think of anything surprising about me. I’m the most boring person ever.

What is your favorite beverage to end the day?
Vodka mixed with Fresca

Who is an author you admire?
PD James. She was amazing. Worked in the Home Office during WWII, didn’t start writing until she was 45. Her stories were so detailed without ever being boring.

Have you any advice for aspiring or beginning writers?
Read the best writers who write the kind of stuff you want to write.

What are you reading now?
Adam Plantinga’s The Ascent

What is next for you?
My next book in the Locard Institute thriller series, Not Who We Expected, comes out in February 2025. I’m also working on a standalone about a group of people trapped in a building with an active shooter.

Where can we find you?
lisa-black.com

Now to have some fun . . .

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
Always breakfast

Fruits or vegetables
Fruit

Chocolate, vanilla, or another flavor
I love chocolate, but it has to be chocolate, not chocolate flavored things. So for ice cream I do vanilla and put chocolate chips in it.

Sweet or salty snacks
Mostly sweet. I like cookies and candy, but also Fritos and Ritz.

Ice cream or cake
Ice cream. All day, all night.

Cooking or baking
Baking. I’m a terrible cook.

Dining in or dining out
Out. See above.

City life or country living
Country

Beach or mountain
To visit, beach. To live, mountain

Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall
Fall

Extrovert or introvert
Introvert

Early bird or night owl
Early bird, but not by choice. That’s just how I am. Plus I’ve always had day jobs, not night shifts, so that’s how my brain has been trained.

And even more fun . . .

What’s your favorite movie?
The Mummy. Brandon Fraser and Rachael Weisz. Absolute perfection as a story and cool scenery.

You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
Chap-stik, bug spray, and chocolate. Unless there’s no fresh water, then, of course, water. And, like, food. And a hammock. And a sat phone would be good too.

My bio:
Lisa Black is the New York Times bestselling author of 18 suspense novels, including the Gardiner & Renner series and the Locard Institute series. Her works that have been translated into six languages, optioned for film, and shortlisted for both the inaugural Sue Grafton Memorial Award and the Nero. She is also a full-time Certified Latent Print Examiner and a Certified Crime Scene Analyst, beginning her forensics career at the Coroner’s office in Cleveland Ohio and then the police department in Cape Coral, Florida. She has spoken to readers and writers at numerous conferences, been a consultant for CourtTV, and was a Guest of Honor at 2021 Killer Nashville.