Interview: Get to know Holli Castillo!

Welcome to another edition of "Get to Know..." I don't know about you, but I am having a blast with these interviews, getting to know people better and reading everyone's delightful answers!  Today I am thrilled to welcome Holli Castillo, author of Gumbo Justice and the upcoming Jambalaya Justice!  This is a woman who has accomplished many of her dreams, including owning her own bar and working the jobs that she loves, Holli also shares my love of Janet Evanovich and chocolate creme pie, so you know she is an awesome person, lol!  Please help me in welcoming Holli Castillo to Cafe of Dreams and please feel free to add any questions and/or comments!

Please share with us a favorite memory

One of my favorite memories is winning the Citizenship Award in sixth grade. The reason it has stuck with me throughout all these years is because it made me realize for the first time that others do not necessarily view us as we see ourselves.  I did not see myself as a particularly diplomatic person or good citizen back then.  I saw myself as a messy kid with a big mouth who occasionally stuck up for the underdogs because I felt sorry for them, and generally got the boys in trouble by being smarter than them.  I realized when I won this award that we aren't always what we think we are, and we may show the world a different image of ourselves than we know.  Until that moment I never contemplated how people perceived me.  ( I was glad to find out in that instance it was better than I had viewed myself.)

Describe a perfect meal - including menu and those present

Eel with rice, Japanese clear soup and salad, iced tea.  On the guest list would be my father, both of my grandfathers, both of my grandmothers, my dog Reenie, Ernest Hemingway, John Kennedy Toole, and Jesus, all of whom are dead, because I would either like to share a meal with them one last time, or meet them for the first time and ask a few questions.

Favorite ways to relax

I like to read and play Spider Solitaire, but my three favorite ways to relax are online shopping, looking at houses, and my number one way, a scalding hot bubble bath in a Jacuzzi tub by candlelight.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Italian countryside.  I've never been to Italy, but it looks beautiful and laid back.  And they don't have hurricanes.  But Japan places a close second, because the people seem so calm and well-mannered, and I would love to see the cherry blossoms.

If you could only read books by one author, who would it be? *I know, this is an inconceivable thought, lol

Janet Evanovich, because she comes up with a new Stephanie Plum every year (and a filler book every half year.)  Although she seems to be recycling a lot of her plot lines and plot devices, I always laugh out loud at her books.  I like mysteries and thrillers, but if I could only read one writer, it would have to be one that makes me laugh when I'm down.

Share with us a few of your dreams - whether they have been fulfilled or not.

I have had several dreams fulfilled.  My first novel, Gumbo Justice, was published by Oak Tree Press in June, 2009, with the second in the Crescent City Mystery Series, Jambalaya Justice, coming out summer 2010.  Being a published writer was a life-long dream of mine, particularly with a series, so that would be the biggie.

I also finally opened my bar, on the westbank of New Orleans, after being in litigation for over a year over parking, and that's a dream I've had since I was a teenager.  Who in New Orleans doesn't want their own bar?

Another dream of mine was fulfilled in 2000 when I got a job working from home, so I could be home for my kids but also make a living.  I am appointed to represent Louisiana indigent defendants for the appeal of felony convictions, so I get to do what I love, write, while still practicing law, and get to do it in my pj's and socks.

One dream I have that has not yet been fulfilled is I would like to sell a screenplay or write for television.  I always wanted to write a sitcom or an hour long drama for t.v., but haven't gotten around to even trying yet. Dreams require time, something that always seems to be in short supply.  I have written a screenplay that did well on the contest circuit, and am working on a second one, but that's a dream somewhere down the line.  And of course, like every writer, my biggest dream of all time would be to have one of my novels made into a movie. Or maybe an HBO series.  That would be cool.

What are some of your guilty pleasures?

Pie.  Maybe a cookie or piece of candy, but mostly pie.  Lemon meringue, chocolate crème, coconut, pecan, I'm a pie girl.  I also like decadent coffee drinks, the kind that have more calories and fat than a whopper meal. That, and afternoon naps when everyone else is working or at school.  I always feel like I'm doing something wrong.


If you could leave the world with one piece of advice, what would it be?

Don't let the small stuff weigh you down.  When something bothers you, ask yourself if this thing will make a difference ten years from now.  If the answer is no, don't let it bother you, and don't feel the need to respond to anyone about something trivial that won't make a difference in your life. It's a good way to avoid burning bridges you may want to cross someday.  On the other hand, if it's something life altering, never be afraid to fight for it.

Holli Castillo

For more information, see my websites at www.gumbojustice.net, or
www.hollicastillo.com

or follow me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/people/Holli-Herrle-Castillo/1594837203

or follow my blog at http://www.gumbojustice.blogspot.com/

or my publisher's blog at http://otpblog.blogspot.com/

or contact me at hollicastillo@cox.net

Signed copies of Gumbo Justice available at my website www.gumbojustice.net
or through Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Gumbo-Justice-Holli-Castillo/dp/1892343517/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272597708&sr=8-1
or at your local independent book seller.

---

About Holli Castillo:

Holli Castillo was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She attended public elementary and graduated from an all-girl's Catholic High School. She was a gymnast through high school, and performed with her gymnastics team, Westbank Gymnastics, at the 1984 World's Fair.

In 1990, she received a BA in Drama/Communications from the University of New Orleans. She earned her degree working nights at the now defunct Can Can Cabaret in the French Quarter, doing everything from Sound and Light technician to performing as a Can Can girl. She also stage managed and did technical work for many UNO Mainstage productions, and wrote and directed plays for UNO Lab productions.

After graduating from UNO, she attended Loyola Law School at night and worked full-time during the day at the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office as a child support collector. After being hired, she was advised that the only reason she was called in to interview for the collection position was because the Hiring Assistant--a man-- wanted to see what a Can Can girl looked like.

In 1996, she received her JD, and immediately began working as a New Orleans prosecutor. She quit the D.A.'s Office when she had her first child, and is now an appellate public defender.

Her first novel, Gumbo Justice, published by Oak Tree Press, was delayed for a year when she was hit head-on by a drunk driver in June, 2008, and rendered immobile for six months with two broken legs and a shattered elbow.

She took advantage of the downtime to write a screenplay, Angel Trap, which won first runner-up in the 2009 Acclaim Screenplay Awards, a Silver Screen Award at the 2009 Las Vegas Film Festival, and made the 2009 finals of the Page Awards, Exposurama, and WildSound. She also placed second in the Biz of Screenwriting Contest.

The second in the Crescent City Mystery Series, tentatively titled Jambalaya Justice, is scheduled for release summer, 2010.

In addition to being a lawyer and a writer, she is also a junk heiress, mother of two, and spends a great deal of her free time fighting the Jefferson Parish School Board over discrimination in the magnet school system and the Jefferson Parish Code Enforcement Office over zoning issues for the bar she's trying to open.
Holli lives with her family and dog in the metropolitan New Orleans area, and spends her evacuation time in the hills of north Alabama.

About Gumbo Justice:

New Orleans prosecutor Ryan Murphy likes her Tequila cold and her cops hot. Battling demons from her past and checking her self-destructive streak take a back seat to her ambition, and she's not above skating the line just a little to get what she wants. If she snags a detective in the process, well, that's just a little lagniappe for her trouble. Life should be good. Enter a demented psycho, with a plan to ruin Ryan's life before he ultimately kills her. Set against the backdrop of pre-Katrina New Orleans, Gumbo Justice is the first in a series that follows the tumultuous life of prosecutor Ryan Murphy.

---

*If you would like to participate in this series, please send an email to me at cafeofdreamsbookreviews@yahoo.com and I will send the questions to you. This is open for authors and bloggers! I'm hoping to make this an extended event and have several great responses so far!! I hope everyone enjoys, has fun and if you have a question for the person being interviewed, please feel free to ask away!