10 Statements – Barbara Venkataraman

 

Award-winning author, Barbara Venkataraman, is an attorney and mediator specializing in family law and debt collection.

She is the author of: The Jamie Quinn mysteries; “Teatime with Mrs. Grammar person”, “The Fight for Magicallus”, a children’s fantasy; a humorous short story entitled, “If You’d Just Listened to Me in the First Place”; and two books of humorous essays: “I’m Not Talking about You, Of Course” and “A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities,” which are part of the “Quirky Essays for Quirky People” series. Both books of humorous essays won the prestigious “Indie Book of the Day” award.

Coming soon, “Jeopardy in July”–the next Jamie Quinn mystery!

 

Find me…

Website:  www.barbaravenkataraman.blogspot.com

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5779805.Barbara_Venkataraman

Jamie Quinn Mystery Collection:  buy link

 

My personal mottoes:

“Everyone is having a rough day, so be nice.“

“Focus on your goal and don’t stop moving towards it. Even baby steps count.”

 

10 statements

1. A typical work day begins with… An iced latte, a group hug from my two dogs, and a review of the last chapter I wrote. I can’t write the next chapter until the one before it is just right. It’s slow going, but it saves me from a lot of rewriting in the end.
2. I lose track of time… when I’m writing. It’s amazing how that happens. I will be happily working away and then I’ll look at the clock and two hours have gone by. Time for another iced latte!
3. I have always… loved to read! I once took a book to a sleepover when I was little and my friend still teases me about it (50 years later!). My favorite day of the week used to be when the bookmobile parked in our neighborhood and I could get new books to read. Now, I can just push a button. Times have changed! Yay for that!
4. I have never… oh, that’s a really long list. Anything scary, dangerous or physically taxing would be included. I love to watch other people do those things though.
5. Home means to me… wherever my family is. The older I get, the less I value things and the more I value time spent with people I care about.
6. I am inspired by… creative people who are always curious and make connections the rest of us miss. Being creative excites my mind in a way nothing else can.
   
7. I would like to meet…  Ellen DeGeneres. She’s so cool!
8. My worst character trait… I am the worst procrastinator in the universe. I stress myself out and then when I finally tackle the assignment, I find it was easy. I could have saved myself so much aggravation…
9. My best character trait… I love to laugh. I love to make other people laugh, too. Once, a man wrote a review about one of my books and said: This book really cheered me up when I was down. That was my favorite review ever!
10. The best advice I was given… was when my parents told me to do the right thing even when nobody’s looking. The other advice was to throw yourself into your projects and don’t let other people’s negativity get in your way.

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Books

• The Fight for Magicallus
  released July 20, 2010
• I’m Not Talking About You, Of Course… (Quirky Essays for Quirky People Book 1)
  released May 9, 2012
• If You’d Just Listened to Me in the First Place…
  released August 12, 2013
• Death by Didgeridoo (Jamie Quinn Mystery Book 1)
  released November 13, 2013
• A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities (Quirky Essays for Quirky People Book 2)
  released December 26, 2013
• The Case of the Killer Divorce (Jamie Quinn Mystery Book 2)
  released January 15, 2014
• Quirky Essays for Quirky People: The Complete Collection
  released May 13, 2014
• Peril in the Park (Jamie Quinn Mystery Book 3)
  released June 3, 2014
• Jamie Quinn Mystery Collection: Box Set Books 1-3
  released September 3, 2014
• Teatime with Mrs. Grammar Person
  released January 5, 2015
• Engaged in Danger (Jamie Quinn Cozy Mystery Book 4)
  released September 11, 2015

 

Books 1-3 of the Jamie Quinn Mystery Series! Including:

“Death by Didgeridoo”-Winner of the Indie Book of the Day award. Reluctant lawyer, Jamie Quinn, still reeling from the death of her mother, is pulled into a game of deception, jealousy, and vengeance when her cousin, Adam, is wrongfully accused of murder. It’s up to Jamie to find the real murderer before it’s too late. It doesn’t help that the victim is a former rock star with more enemies than friends, or that Adam confessed to a murder he didn’t commit.

“The Case of the Killer Divorce”-Reluctant lawyer, Jamie Quinn, has returned to her family law practice after a hiatus due to the death of her mother. It’s business as usual until a bitter divorce case turns into a murder investigation, and Jamie’s client becomes the prime suspect. When she can’t untangle truth from lies, Jamie enlists the help of Duke Broussard, her favorite private investigator, to try to clear her client’s name. And she’s hoping that, in his spare time, he can help her find her long-lost father.

“Peril in the Park”-There’s big trouble in the park system. Someone is making life difficult for Jamie Quinn’s boyfriend, Kip Simons, the new director of Broward County parks. Was it the angry supervisor passed over for promotion? The disgruntled employee Kip recently fired? Or someone with a bigger ax to grind? If Jamie can’t figure it out soon, she may be looking for a new boyfriend because there’s a dead guy in the park and Kip has gone missing! With the help of her favorite P.I., Duke Broussard, Jamie must race the clock to find Kip before it’s too late.

A preview of the next Jamie Quinn Mystery, “Engaged in Danger,” can be found at the end of the book.