Interview with Libby Klein

What is the title of your newest book? How many books have you published?
Restaurant Weeks Are Murder is the third story in the Poppy McAllister series. There will be at least

five titles at this point. So many fun things are planned. Fingers crossed for more. (For a review of Restaurant Weeks Are Murder click here.

How did you develop your character and choose your location?
I went with a lot of what I know, and then embellished it. I grew up in Cape May, NJ so I know the location very well. There is a wealth of beauty in the area, and at the same time, great opportunity to have a constant influx of tourists bringing a seedy underbelly of crime into Poppy’s home town. Poppy is a very honest character. Her flaws and mistakes are as much a part of her as her red hair and freckles. I think what makes her so easy to identify with is that she reveals the things we are all thinking and feeling.

What is a day in the life of an author like? Do you write a certain number of words, do you write in the morning or evening?
My day always starts with coffee. I start thinking about it when I go to bed at night. I work a day job so my writing schedule has to revolve around payroll and taxes and boring things like that. I find I work the best in the afternoon, and if I can get a few hours in a row I tend to write a chapter a day.

Do you model your character after yourself or any one you know?
Poppy has some of my qualities, some of the qualities I wish I had, and some things are just hers

alone. She is much more emotional than I am. And of course, her life has taken a different path than mine did as my very alive husband will tell you. I think Poppy is someone I’d love to be friends with.

If your books were made into a movie, who would you want to play the lead character?
Carol Burnett would be a fabulous Aunt Ginny. Poppy is a plus sized heroine and needs to be played by a plus sized actress. If Sara Rue were heavier she’d be perfect as Poppy.

Who is your favorite author?
I have too many to list. I love Ann B. Ross and Lilian Jackson Braun. For traditional mystery I really enjoy Kathy Valenti. For fantasy I love Jasper Fforde. And two of my favorite series were written for children by Lemony Snicket and Eoin Coifer.

If you could invite five people – living or dead – to a dinner party, who would they be?
Agatha Christie, Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Oscar Wilde, and Edgar Allen Poe. I think we’d all be terrified of Edgar, and Oscar would say something horrendously inappropriate and offend Carol. Tim would act up the entire time and Agatha and I would just sit and watch and take notes.

If you could not be an author, what would like to do as a career?
I wanted to be a pastry chef. Now I’d like a job that sends me around the world and pays me to taste chocolate and coffee. I know I’d be good at it because I’ve been training for it my whole life.