In this pic of me, I’m probably three or four. I look up at the photographer and I’m thinking you’re interrupting me why? Couldn’t he/she tell I’m busy??
As big a reader as I was…and am…and as much as I wrote as part of my job descriptions when I still did the 9 to 5 thing, I didn’t start writing fiction until relatively recently.
My first books are all contemporary romances. Here they are:
FOR THE LOVE OF THE DAME
A DUKE FOR DESSERT
WHEN THE DUKE FINDS HIS HEART
As much as I loved writing those romances, I felt like I had different stories to tell. I knew I wanted to write a series. I knew there’d be a female lead and that she would be a Jewish woman who was on the later-in-life side (50…NOT old!!!). She’d live in a town near where I live (in Clifton, NJ). She’d have the issues more than one a little-later-in-life woman would deal with: maybe hot flashes, or an annoying ex-husband and or maybe distant grown children. She’d wonder what she was going to do with the rest of her life. Then she’d figure it out. There’d be a cop who comes into the picture. (I love a man in uniform. Just ask my friends). They start out as enemies, and yes, they become lovers. My hero would be as madcap and snarky as they come. Meet Tootsie Goldberg. If you’ve ever read Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books, you have an idea how much trouble Tootsie can get into!
I’ve written three books in the Tootsie Goldberg Mysteries. Here they are:
WHEN SHE GETS HOT
WHEN SHE GETS SMART
WHEN SHE GETS BUSY
As for where I write…it’s mostly at my dining room table. I have been known to write in other places. Like in Starbucks. Or Panera, Or maybe a French pastry shop (ooh la la). I’ll even write in a restaurant after I order and before my meal comes. I write on planes, trains, but not in cars. I write while waiting for an appointment with the dentist. I’ve even dragged my laptop with me on vacation!
When I’m not working on a book—which is almost never—I’m in the kitchen baking something, gardening on the “huge” 8’x5’ deck of my apartment, or adding one more character to my 500+ Pez collection (no, I do NOT eat the Pez candy.). I like black licorice but not chocolate, polenta more than pizza, and baseball any day over football.
I’m a happy resident of the Garden State, New Jersey and yes, no joke, it is beautiful. I live with my fabulous, supportive husband, Andy, and near five of our seven grandchildren. (Psst: I name secondary characters in my books after them.) I’m happy to do overnights and will serve dessert on request before dinner. Parents…mind your own business.
I’m not much for social media but you can find me or follow me on Facebook or on TikTok.
How about you? Do you like to read mysteries or romances? Let me know at miriam@miriamallenson.com.
