ROCCO and Chazz interview Rosie Genova!

 Today we are interviewing a friend and fellow author Rosie Genova!

Proud Jersey girl Rosie Genova is a multi-genre author. Her work includes a Jersey shore cozy series, The Italian Kitchen Mysteries, and The Tess Mancini Time Travel Mysteries, set in 1955 Atlantic City. She is also the author of standalone suspense and a couple of rom-coms that presently live in her computer files (but are longing to be released into the wild). A former teacher and journalist, Rosie’s non-fiction has appeared in a variety of publications, including Entrepreneur magazine and The New York Times. The mother of three sons, Rosie still lives in her favorite state with her husband, too many dusty antiques, and a charming mutt named Lucy.

 

Welcome to the blog, Rosie!  Tell us a little about your background

As my bio states, I’m a proud Jersey girl. I grew up in a small town with a tiny library that became my favorite place to hang out. I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was eight. When my kids were young, I did some magazine writing and I taught journalism for years. But writing fiction has always been my dream, which came to fruition twelve years ago, when my first novel was published.

Tell us a bit about your latest book

Murder on the Steel Pier is a time travel mystery featuring Tess Mancini, an investigative reporter who celebrates her thirty-fifth birthday with her bestie in Atlantic City. Many tequila shots later, she wakes up in a boarding house in 1955, where she finds herself living the life of her own great-aunt, also a reporter. While there, a guest in the boarding house (who happens to be a Nazi on the run) is murdered, and Tess’s teenaged grandfather is accused of the crime—leaving Tess stuck in the Nifty Fifties until she can clear his name and make sure she has a future.

 

How do you “get to know” your characters before and while you’re writing the books?

It starts with a specific voice in my head, especially if I’m using first-person narration. Writing Tess in Murder on the Steel Pier was a bit of a departure for me; she’s a Millennial, she’s a badass, and she’s pretty snarky.

Do you have an “How I got my agent” story you want to share?

Contrary to popular opinion, the “agent phone call” is not necessarily an offer of representation. (I’d had three such conversations in my past that did not turn into offers.) So when my current agent emailed me asking for a phone call, I kept my expectations low. I figured she’d be asking me to rewrite and then resubmit the book. On the call, I was amazingly calm and confident. When she asked if she could give me feedback, I thought, oh, here it comes. I walked downstairs to where my husband and sons were waiting and gave them a thumbs down. The agent and I talked about revisions, and I told her I would resubmit promptly. There was this silence, and then she told me she assumed we’d go through the process together. It was an offer, after all. Then I dropped all my notes and started babbling like an idiot! So much for my professional cool…

If you could take only three books with you for a year-long writing retreat in a gorgeous setting with no library, which three would you take?

Hmm. Guess I’m not allowed my Kindle, huh? I would take Persuasion by Jane Austen, Touch Not the Cat by Mary Stewart, and Agatha Christie’s collected stories. A nice mix of the literary, the romantic, and the mysterious.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

(See answer to biggest splurge in Fast Five.)

What’s one thing your readers would be surprised to find out about you?

I write across genres. I started out writing rom-coms, which are as yet unpublished. Then I wrote a cozy series, The Italian Kitchen Mysteries. I’ve also written two standalone suspense novels, both much darker than my usual humorous take. And Murder on the Steel Pier is a mix of historical, paranormal, cozy, and noir elements. Something for everyone!

What question do you wish interviewers would ask? (And what’s the answer?)

Question: What is your superpower? Answer: My homemade meatballs.

ROCCO:  And now Rosie answers my ‘Fast Five”

What song do you like to sing along to?

“You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio,” by Joni Mitchell. You can not shut me up if I hear that song.

What smell takes you back to your childhood?

Lilacs. There was a beautiful lilac bush at my grandmother’s house, and it’s a strong association for me.

What’s the last thing you splurged on?

Blowing through every last one of my credit card points to fly business class to Italy this summer!

If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?

I’ve been blessed to follow both my vocations; I was an English teacher for 25 years before leaving to write full time.

What celebrity are you dying to meet (or have met)?

I once stood next to the aforementioned Joni Mitchell in the ladies room of a West Village restaurant. But I was stuck dumb in the presence of my musical goddess!

Where can our readers learn more about you?

Book Bub  www.bookbub.com/profile/rosie-genova

Website  www.rosiegenova.com

Goodreads   www.goodreads.com/author/show/6462450.Rosie_Genova

Facebook www.facebook.com/RosieGenova

Thank you for a wonderful interview, Rosie!  Now it's GIVEAWAY TIME.

Rosie will give away two e-pub editions of MURDER ON THE STEEL PIER to two lucky commenters!  To enter leave your name and email address! It's that easy. Chazz will pick the winners at random.  Contest closes midnight April 16th!