Why do you write the genre that you write?
I write mysteries as those are the books I like to read the most. I enjoy a story that has resolution at the end, where the questions are answered and the story makes sense. I’m a Libra so that sense of justice and fairness is strong.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
Nora Tierney can lie at the drop of a hat. She’s so convincing, using her journalist background to doorstep people she wants to interrogate–I mean, interview! Unfortunately or fortunately, Trudy Genova has been known to lie, too, or should I say, fabricate things to garner information…

How did you come up with your pseudonym?
I use my initials as PD James told me many men won’t pick up a crime book written by a woman. And my first name, Marnette, is definitely feminine!

Tell us how you got into writing?
I always wrote from early on, starting with poetry and essays and branching out to fiction as I studied writing, even as I was working as a nurse. A voracious reader, I had it in my head that one day I’d write a book that would capture a reader the way I’d been captured by so many others. It’s a true delight for me to write full time.

What jobs have you held before, during and/or after you became a writer?
I was a nurse for 30 yrs who wrote ‘on the side’ and I had a varied career there on a cancer ward, post-surgical ward, ran a nursing home, and did Quality Assurance which is how I met my husband–he was the chairman of my committee! Writing in different formats came in handy as I knew screenplay format when I did my favorite nursing job, working as a medical consultant for a NY movie studio. It’s the job I gave to Trudy Genova in my Manhattan series. Since writing full-time, I’m very happy to turn my attention to that.

Where do you write?
I write at a partner’s desk in our living room library, facing my husband’s computer screen, and wear headphones to block out household noise. He knows once those headphones go on I won’t be answering the phone!

What is your favorite deadline snack?
I’m partial to cheese and crackers for a quick fix. Or a cut up apple with peanut butter. I always have tea, iced or hot, next to me.

Who is an author you admire?
PD James was a mentor and friend to me for the last 15 yrs of her life, so she’s my number 1. I admire the books of Nicola Upson, who writes the Josephine Tey series, and besides the Golden Agers of Sayers, Christie, Marsh, Allingham, and Tey, have always been a fan of Daphne Du Maurier. Rebecca is probably my favorite novel.

What’s your favorite genre to read?
I’m all about crime in all its guises: traditional mysteries, thrillers, cozies. Give me murder! But recently I’ve read a few fictional biographies by the likes of Marie Benedict that I enjoyed.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading Janice Hallett’s The Alperton Angels. I’ve read her other books and admire her creative approach to a crime novel that puts a real modern twist on her books. I just finished the first in a new series by Mark Billingham, The Last Dance, which was wonderful and a most unusual detective, the start of a new series for him. I read 3 books a week, some for review, with others I want to read sprinkled in.

What is your favorite beverage to end the day?
More tea!

What is next for you?
I’ll be workshopping the next Trudy Genova Manhattan Mystery, Death In The Orchard, with my writing group in July, hoping to revise it and send it to beta readers this fall for publishing next spring. Then I’ll start the sixth Nora Tierney, untitled, but I know it will be set in Cornwall. And somewhere in there I’m gathering notes and doing research for a standalone set in 1926.

Where can we find you?
My website is under revision, so right now readers can find me on Facebook and at Twitter: @GraffMarni; and also at bridlepathpress.com. I also write for the lovely Miss Demeanors blog.

Now to have some fun . . .

Chocolate or vanilla:
Vanilla in ice cream, but I do love a good piece of dark chocolate!

Cake or ice cream:
Tough one–cake.

Fruits or vegetables:
Fruits, hands down.

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner:
I love a big breakfast, especially if it has bacon!

Dining in or dining out:
OUT because we live in such a rural area that dining out is a rare treat~

City life or country living:
I’ve done both, being from Long Island and now living in rural NC. I bloom where I’m planted.

Beach or mountain:
Must I choose? Okay, beach.

Summer or winter:
No contest here; summer.

Short story or full-length novel:
Novel; I like the character, story, and setting development a novel affords, for reading and writing.

Extrovert or introvert:
Extrovert.

Early bird or night owl:
Definite night owl. I’m up reading into early morning and then sleep when my eyes get heavy.

And even more fun . . .

What’s your favorite movie?
I love oldies, so it’s a cross between The Philadelphia Story and The Bishops’ Wife. In more modern times, I can always rewatch Hitchcock’s Rebecca, or Sleepless in Seattle.

You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
I’m assuming we’re not talking food or water, and I should say bug spray, but I’ll say: notebooks/pens; the Complete Works of Shakespeare; an endless supply of music CDs/player.

My bio:
Marni Graff is the award-winning author of The Nora Tierney English Mysteries and The Trudy Genova Manhattan Mysteries. The Evening’s Amethyst, Nora #5, was just named a First Place winner in the Mystery and Mayhem Award from Chanticleer Media. She is also Managing Editor of Bridle Path Press, and a crime book reviewer.