Rhonda Pollero - F.A.T. and Funny

Not many writers can say they’ve done a stint as a dancing ketchup bottle, but Rhonda Pollero has.  “The worst job ever” gave her the drive to tackle a Ph.D in forensic psychology and become a USA Today bestselling author.

Pollero dreamed of being a writer since first grade when she won a Daughters of the American Revolution writer’s competition, but she worried about being able to earn a living.  So she became a paralegal, although, she admits, “not a very good one.”  In the meantime, she penned a romantic suspense novel titled Legal Tender.  “It took ten years to sell my first book," she says. "I made every mistake you could possibly make along the way. I was learning about the industry and finding where my voice fit.”  Over thirty novels later, she is three books into her F.A.T. series, a collection of humorous mysteries that center on the misadventures of a bargain-hunting paralegal named Finley Anderson Tanner.  “Finley’s been in my mind for years,” she explains.  “I come from a family of shoppers, so while I didn’t get the shopping gene, I learned from the masters. The only part of Finley that’s me is her E-Bay shopping.  I’m an E-Bay junkie.”  Pollero describes the books as “what would happen if Elle Woods (Legally Blonde) wanted to solve a crime.”  Booklist calls them a “… stylishly entertaining new amateur sleuth series that’s certain to be a runaway hit.”

The latest F.A.T. book, Slightly Irregular, was just released.  In it, Finley gets caught up in a kidnapping plot.  And eBay doesn’t sell clues.  The end result is “Fun,” according to Publisher’s Weekly.  Pollero simply says, “My goal is to entertain readers for however long it takes them to read my books.”

Pollero is hard at work on the next F.A.T. mystery, Bargain Hunting.  She has also co-written a non-fiction book, Adoption is Forever.  Pollero says writing with co-author Traci Hall was a wonderful experience.  “I’m an adoptive mother, and Traci gave up a child for adoption," she says. "We wanted to share the reality of adoption, including the bad parts.”  Since the two women share the same sense of humor, this book is as funny as it is informative.  Adoption is Forever garnered several national awards.

Although her writing keeps her busy, Pollero still finds time for her husband, her 15-year-old daughter, and Pebbles, “a dumpster cat with issues” because she writes at night and sleeps while her daughter is in school.  A self-described “movie junkie,” Pollero enjoys watching pre-1940 film noire.  She also loves the Florida lifestyle.  Having moved to the Palm Beach area from Maryland nine years ago, Pollero likes “being able to live eighty percent of my life outside.  It beats the heck out of snow days.”

While Pollero has long abandoned her ketchup bottle costume, she has retained her ability to make people laugh.  And this makes for a legion of happy readers.

For more about Rhonda Pollero, visit her website at www.rhondappollero.com.

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