Sandra Balzo

1 - What's your latest?

Sandra Balzo: FROM THE GROUNDS UP, which came out March 1.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Sandra Balzo: My main character, Maggy Thorsen, has had her coffeehouse destroyed by a freak May snowstorm. She has to start over (you guessed it) from the grounds up. New location (a historical train station) and new partner (Sarah Kingston, the Brookhills real estate agent who give new meaning to "Don't partner with someone who's crazier than you are"). Never one to listen even when she's talking to herself, Maggy launches her new endeavor, only to find Sarah's nasty uncle squished under the wheels of a commuter train. It only gets worse from there. How could you NOT read it??

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Sandra Balzo: Maggy, apparently, is a masochist.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Sandra Balzo: Maggy's first meeting with Sarah's cousin Ronny. In contrast today-of-the-week panties, Ronny is all about decade-of-the-day. Today he's Mr. Rogers Meets West Side Story.

5 - What's next?

Sandra Balzo: A CUP OF JO is the sixth book in the Maggy Thorsen series and will be out in the US in September (June in the UK). THEN, the first book (RUNNING ON EMPTY) in a brand new series, which will alternate with the Maggys. I'm pumped!!