Jinx Schwartz Revisted

Raised in the jungles of Haiti and Thailand, with returns to Texas in-between, Jinx followed in  her father's steel-toed footsteps into the construction and engineering industry in hopes of building dams. Finding all the good rivers taken, she "traveled the world defacing other landscapes with mega-projects in Alaska, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Mexico."

Like the protagonist in her mystery series, Hetta Coffey, Jinx was a woman with a yacht—and she wasn't afraid to use it—when she met her husband, "Mad Dog" Schwartz. They opted to become "cash-poor cruisers rather than continue chasing the rat," and sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge, turned left, and headed for Mexico. They now divide their time between Arizona and Mexico's Sea of Cortez.

Jinx will be featured in the soon-to-be-released book, The Mystery Writers, with Sue Grafton, Lawrence Block, J. A Jance and many others.

Jinx, why were you raised in the jungles of Haiti and Thailand?

My father built dams.

You mentioned that you followed in your father’s steel-toed footsteps into construction and engineering in the hopes of building dams but wound up “defacing others landscapes and mega-projects in Alaska, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Mexico?”

I went into the petrochemical field, so we built large chemical plants, refineries and pipelines.

How did you meet your husband Robert “Mad Dog” Schwartz? And how long after your marriage did you leave the proverbial rat race to live in Arizona and the Mexico Riviera?

We are not on the Mexican Riviera, although we did take out boat there a couple of time. We are in the Sea of Cortez, which, if you draw a line from Cabo San Lucas to Mazatlan, everything north of that line is the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California)

I was single, working hard and supporting a three-story Victorian in the Bay Area when my dog upped and died. I decided to change my life, so I bought a 42' Power Boat (my first ever boat) and moved aboard. Six months later, I met Mad Dog at a yacht club, and three years later we married and left for Mexico in what was supposed to be a honeymoon trip, but we decided to stay.

Tell us about your Hetta Coffey series, a woman with a yacht who knows how to use it. 

Hetta Coffey is an engineer, with her own one-woman consulting company. She takes on somewhat iffy projects from a legal and ethical standpoint. When her dog dies (sound familiar?) she decides to change her life, so she sells her home and buys a boat to live on. Hetta has a penchant for iffy men, as well, and her world travels have left a string of bad boys in her wake. She's hoping to change all that, but her human foibles keep getting in the way.

You also write a YA series about your childhood in Haiti. Are the stories strictly autobiographical? And why did you decide to write the series?

All of my Hetta Coffey books, and Land of Mountains I would classify as "fictography" (a term I stole from the back cover of John Grisham's A Painted House.) I never set out to write a series, it just happened.

What’s the most difficult aspect of writing for you and what do you enjoy most about the publishing industry?

I am not the most disciplined writer in the world, and it is difficult for me to write when I'm not in the mood. I write humor, for the most part, and you've got to be "on" to do it.
I love book signings, meeting people.

How do you promote your books?

I'm a lousy promoter. When I was working I could sell a client on a multimillion dollar project, but I have difficulty asking people to buy my books. I do well one-on-one at signings.

Do you research all your books by traveling to the various settings? Which novel was the most difficult to research and write?

Without a doubt, my historical novel, The Texicans, required the most research. The other books were easy; I lived it.

Advice to aspiring mystery writers?

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of editing. Of course, now you can go back into a Kindle version and fix your mistakes, but why make them in the first place?

Where can we find you online (your social media links)?

I'm on Facebook, Twitter, Murder Must Advertise, and Dorothy L., to name a few. Google Jinx Schwartz and the next six pages pop up. I also have my website www.jinxschwartz.com and all of my books are on http://www.amazon.com/