BookEnds Talks to J. B. Stanley

J. B. Stanley
Book: Carbs & Cadavers
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Pub date: September 2006

J. B. Stanley taught sixth-grade Language Arts in North Carolina for the majority of her eight-year teaching career. Raised as an antique lover by her grandparents and parents, Stanley also worked part-time in an auction gallery. An eBay junkie and food lover, Stanley now lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband, two young children, and three cats.

Author Web site: www.jbstanley.com

BookEnds: Describe your book in 50 words or less.
J. B.: James “Professor Puff” Henry may as well have “loser” stamped on his forehead. Divorced, overweight, shy, and living at home, he relies on books and his favorite snack—cheese puffs—for sweet relief from his problems. Seeking a social life, James joins a supper club, and while dodging delectable temptations, the dieters (a.k.a. The Flab Five) work together to shed pounds and find the killer who has struck fear in this tight-knit community.

BookEnds: What is your favorite thing about this book?
J. B.: It’s funny and it’s real. Everyone has something about their body they would like to change. At one point, everyone has had a zipper resist on its way up the track of one’s pair of jeans.

BookEnds: What other authors do you find inspiration from?
J. B.: I love gritty thrillers and admire authors who have experienced much of what they write about, such as Michael Connelly and Patricia Cornwall. However, I like to escape to the foreign villages created by M. C. Beaten and Rhys Bowen as well. And I love historical mysteries, such as Bruce Alexander’s. I’ve tried to create a Beatenesque village in Carbs & Cadavers and capture some of the feeling in historical mysteries in my first book, A Killer Collection.

BookEnds: Why have you chosen to write in the genre in which you write?
J. B.: Because I enjoy reading cozies and because my grandmother (she’s 92) said if I write about a bunch of sex and gore she won’t read my books. Hey, she’s my only grandma—I gotta listen!

BookEnds: What’s your next book? When and where should we look for it?
J. B.: Thanks for asking! Book 2 in my antiques and collectibles series, A Fatal Appraisal, is due out October 3.

BookEnds: Who are your favorite characters and why?
J. B.: The ones with flaws. I hate the high-heeled, skinny, perfectly made-up heroines who can scale cliffs and make a tender pot roast all in one day.

To learn more about J. B. Stanley, see Our Books at www.BookEnds-Inc.com.