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, I didn’t start writing fiction until relatively recently.
I started out writing contemporary romances (They’re listed with their links at the bottom.), because someone told me they’d be easier to write. Which proves you should never listen to certain people because these certain people were wrong.
75-80,000-word books in any genre are hard to write! But I did love writing them.
As much as I did, though, I felt like I had a different story 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 more seasoned side in terms of age. In other words, 50 years old.
Of course 50 is a great age. At 50 you come into your own. Plus we all know 50 is the new 30.
I wanted my heroine to live in a town in Essex or Union County, which means northern New Jersey. For those of you who know New Jersey, you know that’s not far, far northern New Jersey.
My heroine would have the issues a woman of that age would have to deal with; hot flashes, an annoying ex-husband, adult children grown distant. She’d wonder what she was going to do with the rest of her life.
Then, in the course of the first five books in the series, she’d figure it out.
There’d be an Italian cop who comes into the picture…I love a man in uniform. Just ask my friends. They’d start out as enemies, and yes, they’d become lovers. My heroine would be as madcap and snarky as they come, and the cop? He’d be the one who keeps her from going completely off the rails…and would remind her all the time how much he loves her.
I wanted to give my heroine a Jewish name and I did.
Do you think Tootsie Goldberg is Jewish enough?? BTW, the cop is Steve DiLorenzo. Is that Italian enough?
And I wanted to put her name in the series name: The Tootsie Goldberg Humorous Mysteries. You’d know there’d be a mystery. And you’d know you’d be laughing along the way.
If you want to know the tone of The Tootsie Goldberg Humorous Mysteries, think Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books.
Now you know that along the way Tootsie’s going to get into a lot of trouble and the cop is going to help her get out of it. When she lets him.
I’ve written five books in the Tootsie Goldberg Humorous Mysteries with Book 6 coming soon. Here they are:
WHEN SHE GETS HOT
WHEN SHE GETS SMART
WHEN SHE GETS BUSY
WHEN SHE GETS RILED
WHEN SHE GETS CONNED
When I’m not working on a book—which is almost never—I’m in the kitchen stress baking or getting in the car to go babysitting for my youngest grandchildren, who I’m teaching to bake with me. 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 near five of my seven grandchildren. (Psst: I name secondary characters in my books after them.) I’m happy to spoil all of them, sometimes serve them 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, Instagram, or on TikTok.
Here’s a question I have for you. Do you like to read mysteries or romances? Let me know at miriam@miriamallenson.com.
FOR THE LOVE OF THE DAME
A DUKE FOR DESSERT
WHEN THE DUKE FINDS HIS HEART
