American author (1944- )
My first novel, Death Will Get You Sober, came out on my sixty-fourth birthday--not quite the career path I expected.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, Kings River Life Magazine, May 2012
What inspired the mystery series as a whole was my desire to write about recovery from alcoholism, codependency, and other addictions and compulsive behaviors. Recovery is an amazing transformational process that sometimes verges on the miraculous. Many people know little or nothing about it, and many others think it must be dark and depressing. I wanted to create engaging characters in recovery to manage to have some fun in the process of turning their lives around.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
"An Interview with Elizabeth Zelvin--Author, Psychotherapist, and Singer-Songwriter", Debra H. Goldstein - DHG's Blog
I love my titles. They're funny, they match, and they tell you what the story is about. But when it came to this one, my publisher, Edgar-winning author Julie Smith of BooksBNimble, said my original title, Death Will Improve Your Relationship, wouldn't do. This was e-publishing, and she said the word "relationship" was too long to figure in a good design for a cover the size of a postage stamp. She proposed DEATH WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE instead. We, er, discussed it, and she won. The funny thing is that everyone loves the title, and the cover is terrific.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
"An Interview with Elizabeth Zelvin--Author, Psychotherapist, and Singer-Songwriter", Debra H. Goldstein - DHG's Blog
I first said I wanted to be a writer at the age of seven. It took longer to get that first novel out than I expected.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
"Interview Questions and Answers", official website
I certainly write to entertain. I want my books to make readers laugh and cry. I confess I think my writing is hilarious at times. But I also have something to say about recovery--from alcoholism and other addictions, codependency, and eating disorders. It means a lot to me when readers who know nothing about addictions tell me that I've given them a glimpse what it's like, that they've developed some compassion for the suffering and struggle.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, Kings River Life Magazine, May 2012
Maybe this is not objectively the most exciting event, but the thing I got the most excited about was the call from the person who became my agent at the time I had to negotiate the contract for my first novel. He was not my first agent, I'd already received the offer from the publisher, and I have a different agent now. The story is far too complicated to go into. But I was in the shower coloring my hair when the phone rang, and when I heard the agent starting to leave a message, I absolutely had to take the call. Thank goodness no one Skyped yet back then.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, Book Browsing, Jul. 26, 2012