Lizbeth Lipperman is here today to answer a few questions alongside the release of Deadly Triangle, book five in her Garcia Girls Mystery series. Let’s get into it!
Welcome! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what got you into writing?
I grew up in small-town Ohio, number eight of nine kids. My mother always told the story that she had four boys, and she prayed every day for a girl. She joked that she prayed too darn hard as she got five of us in a row. (Good Catholic family!) I married my high school sweetheart, and when we would fight, I would write a letter. Even way back then, I knew I wrote better than I spoke. Hubby and I had two awesome kids and when they were teenagers, I decided to go back to college. Originally, I had gone to a Catholic hospital school of nursing and was an RN, but I wanted the BSN after my name. Who knows why? At any rate, all the colleges that I applied to wanted me to start over—this, after I’d been a nurse for over 20 years. So, I decided to get a BS in Professional Arts. Again, why? Although, now I see it as the turning point in my life. As an elective, I took a Creative Writing Class, and on my final exam, the professor wrote, “You should consider a career in fiction writing.”
And the rest in history!
Has the way that you grew up as a part of a big family influenced your writing/your stories in anyway?
Absolutely. I grew up surrounded by unconditional love, and my sisters were my best friends. Family get-togethers are still always filled with laughter and love. My ghost, Tessa, was named after Theresa, sister number three who died way too young. However, she was nothing like the wise-cracking ghost in the Garcia Girls Mystery Series, as she married her high school sweetheart and had four kids right away. How boring would that be to read about? The other sisters were definitely modeled after my siblings, though. The Garcia sisters will do anything for each other, and they always do it with humor, unconditional love, and loyalty to each other. Don’t get me wrong. I love my brothers, too, but they didn’t make the cut for these books, although they did get a part in my Jordan McAllister cozy series as her four brothers.
Are there any books that have really influenced you as a writer?
There are so many authors that I love. Unfortunately, when I’m writing I am so undisciplined that I try not to read other books unless I’m on vacation, since I find myself thinking about their characters instead of mine. When I retire, I will never run out of books to read. That said, I absolutely love James Lee Burke. His descriptive writing is so awesome, I can actually see the dew drops on leaves when he’s describing a tree. Descriptive writing is not my strongest suit. I do my best work with dialogue. I love real-life conversations with people who don’t take themselves too seriously. And I do a lot of laughing when I’m writing it.
What do you like most about writing Paranormal Romance/Suspense?
Suspense. I love mysteries of any kind and really love thrillers. I used to belong to a group of writer friends, and we helped each other plot. When someone was stuck and asking what to do next, the romance girls always wanted sex. The fantasy girls always wanted magic. The historical girls begged for handsome Lords who were rogues. Me?? I wanted them to kill someone. Unfortunately, my love of whodunnits has made TV and movie watching less exciting since I usually know who the bad guy is early on.
What inspired this series in particular?
As I mentioned, my sister Theresa died way too young. Since my sisters have always been my best cheerleaders, I decided to write about them. Most of the one-liners in my stories come from them as well as from my Bunko girlfriends who I’ve been friends with for over thirty years. We vacation together every year. Oh, the conversations we have!!
What is your favorite aspect of Detective Madelyn Castillo’s character?
I love that she married her high school sweetheart, like I did. Love that she is respected by her siblings, but most of all, I love that she reminds me of my sister Mary Ann, who was also the oldest. Unfortunately, she died a few years ago, but she was our rock after our mom died. Each of my sisters get their own books, BTW. My younger sister Lilly, Kate in my stories, is always razzing me because she doesn’t think I made her exciting enough. I’m Lainey in Heard it Through the Grapevine. I couldn’t let her be more exciting than me.
What is your favorite aspect of Lieutenant Gary Mitchell’s character?
He’s always hungry, and his wife is trying to make him eat diet food. He is so funny, probably my favorite character to ever write. Amazing what he’ll promise Maddy for a cheeseburger. And look out if anyone messes with Maddy.
What is your favorite takeout meal/cuisine?
Hands down, Mexican. I’ve lived in Texas for over fifty years, and I’ve developed quite a taste for it. It helps that unlike Jordan, in the Jordan McAllister Mysteries, I am a really good cook, although, like her, I absolutely love fried bologna sandwiches and fast food. As a friend of mine said recently, “Who needs therapy when you can have nachos and margaritas?” Can I get an Amen?
Want to know more about Deadly Triangle?
A double homicide. A missing sister. A triangle of secrets with only one way out.
When Detective Madelyn Castillo and her new partner, Lieutenant Gary Mitchell, are called to the scene of what appears to be a murder–suicide, they quickly realize the truth is far more disturbing. The crime has been carefully staged—and it’s only the beginning.
Complicating matters, one of the victims is a Naval Reserve helicopter pilot, bringing an intrusive NCIS special agent, Nick Ryan, into the investigation. The case turns personal when Madelyn learns that her sister, Deena, had been secretly involved with the male victim—and that DNA places Deena at the scene of the crime.
Then Deena vanishes.
Against orders, Madelyn and her siblings begin digging into the mystery themselves, aided by the unsettling presence of the wise-cracking ghost of their deceased sister, Tessa—who appears only when one of them is in danger.
As a dangerous stalker closes in and a crucial lead goes violently wrong, Madelyn and Mitchell find themselves trapped in a deadly triangle of obsession, betrayal, and buried truths. With the killer determined to leave no witnesses behind, Madelyn must uncover the truth before her family becomes the final casualties.
Deadly Triangle launches A Garcia Girls Mystery with high-stakes romantic suspense, layered family dynamics, and a chilling supernatural edge. Lizbeth Lipperman blends police procedure, emotional urgency, and eerie intuition into a fast-paced mystery where love, loyalty, and survival are dangerously intertwined.
Preorder it here: https://books2read.com/u/4Xplxa**
Meet Lizbeth Lipperman:
Lizbeth Lipperman started writing many years ago, even before she retired from the medical field. Wasting many years thinking she was a romance writer but always having to deal with the pesky villains who kept popping up in all her stories, she finally gave up and decided since she read mysteries and obviously wrote them, why fight it? She wants readers to know that her G rated cozies are written as Liz Lipperman and her R rated, grittier mysteries as Lizbeth Lipperman. Check out her web page for a more detailed listing of her books along with reviews and trailers. www.lizlipperman.com
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