An Interview with Jill Carol

In 1986, I received my Bachelor of Science Degree (Cum Laude) from Adelphi University in Garden City, NY. As the small business liaison officer at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in Upton, NY, I wrote two proposals that both won the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Dwight D. Eisenhower Award of Excellence in the research and development category, one in March 2009 and the other in May 2016. Both awards were presented at the White House, in Washington, D.C. In 2017, I retired from BNL and moved from NY to the suburbs of Nashville, TN with my husband Jeffrey and our two dogs.

---

---

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

I had many ideas but none of them stuck until Is It Someone You Know? A Detective Jennifer Cot Mystery floated into my mind.

It wasn’t until I was into the publishing process that I realized there are other books out there with the same first line of this title—Is It Someone You Know?—BUT none of them had the subtitle A Detective Jennifer Cot Mystery. So, I left it alone.

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

It felt FANTASTIC!

This is my debut book, and I’m thrilled with the reaction I’m receiving from readers.

Originally, I designed my book cover, BUT then I decided to see if Atmosphere Press’s art department could add a WOW factor to my cover.

I sent them the pictures from my original cover, and they added a HUGE wow factor!

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

My father had an exceptional grasp of the English language, which he graciously passed on to me. My love of reading made me stretch my imagination and writing talents to create my debut mystery novel.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

Most of my career was in the procurement departments at major U.S. Government Prime Contractors. In 2017, I retired from the position of small business liaison officer at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, NY.

In this position, I taught national small businesses how to market and write detailed proposals for their product and/or services, which allowed them to win federal, state, and/or local government contracts.

Readers wouldn’t know:

– I grew up in Levittown, Long Island, New York, where the first serial murder took place.

– I used my previous personal experiences as a mentor to a young girl when I wrote about mentoring the young girl named Amy Dobbins, who, in the book, was selected as a participant in the new Future Officers in Training Program at the Eighth Precinct.

– I used my personal traumatic car accident experiences to help me write about Charlie Cloud’s medical injuries after his bike accident.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

Oh, there are so many rewarding/meaningful parts, BUT seeing it all come together so smoothly was the most rewarding—thank you, Atmosphere Press!

I must confess, there is another thing that stands out. This journey forced me to learn the ins and outs of the scary social media world.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

My perfect reader is a person who enjoys a good mystery with a little romance thrown in for balance.

What creative projects are you currently working on?

Sending the wonderful one-page flyer that was designed by Atmosphere Press to my potential reader list.

Trying to figure out how to execute the marketing plan I devised for myself in both Nashville, TN and Long Island, NY.

Then putting down on paper some of my ideas for my second book in the Detective Jennifer Cot Mystery series.

How was working with Atmosphere Press?

Working with Atmosphere Press surpassed all of my expectations!

---

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.