Q&A with Lisbeth Mizula

Please welcome Lisbeth Mizula to our Featured Author Q&A series at Writer’s Fun Zone. Enjoy!

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If you’d like to be considered for an interview, check out our guidelines here.

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About Lisbeth Mizula

I’ve written and performed my own stand-up comedy material, published short fiction in local and national publications, and collected wins in writing contests.

I have a horror/romance novella in editing stage and am currently working on a humorous mystery set in Good Deeds, Texas — the small bay town where good deeds are legally required of all residents every Tuesday, the only acceptable excuses being jail, institutions or death.

I live with my husband, brother, and a dog named Noodle.

On to Our Interview!

Q. Tell us who you are and what inspires you to write.

A. My parents loved comedy. I grew up watching sitcoms and Johnny Carson, and getting into trouble for drinking and taking drugs.

I sobered-up in 1985 but it wasn’t till taking a novel writing course in 2006 that I got the idea that maybe I could write a novel.

I got a part time job working at a bookstore planning to work around other people’s books while I tried to convince myself I could write one.

The novel kept changing. The one I just finished, Writing is Murder, will be my first published novel which I hope to have completed by December 2025.

Q. How did you get to this place in your life? Share your story!

A. Ha! Started off practically asking people for permission to write, then spent years looking for someone to tell me what to write.

Took courses, seminars, & webinars on writing, worked with mentors where I basically did squat.

The filled bookcases and piles of books on writing in my office are at the ridiculous stage.

But, I’m finally writing what I want — humorous mystery that makes people laugh.

As a kid, mom would encourage me… I’d do a comedy bit and she’d say, ‘You’re retarded. You’re just retarded.’ You can’t buy that kind of support.

Q. What are you most passionate about?

A. Comedy & encouraging people to follow their dreams.

I want to inspire people to love themselves as they are, and to make them forget for a moment their husband is in the next room with only months to live, or that there is no way in hell they are ever going to be able to pay off their debts.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about your writing process, routine, and/or rituals around your writing?

A. All my classes, books, and mentor advice led to this:

Write first drafts by hand.

Know the night before the scene I’m going to be working on tomorrow.

Write basic details for scenes in the notebook and when I go to bed, put my notebook on my nightstand.

Upon awakening, the notebook comes with me to the coffee machine.

When coffee is ready, bring coffee, and a large thermos of ice water,  and notebook to the office.

With actual recordings of ocean sounds in the background playing on the computer, sit on comfy chair at desk, sip coffee, and apply pen to paper — write the scene I sketched out in the notebook last night.

Take breaks as needed for breakfast or bathroom and acknowledge the existence of other living beings when paths cross but do not let anyone go into details about ANYTHING — just hello, I love you, see you soon.

Even if I only had time for a writing session that lasted fifteen minutes – feel good about myself. I am doing what I’ve dreamed of doing for years.

Be friendly and supportive to all people I see for the rest of the day–I can afford it–I’m self-actualized.

Q. What are a few challenges you faced in creating, marketing, or publishing your creative work? And your solutions to them.

A. I’m facing them now.

What am I supposed to be doing here?

I’m looking at those books on writing and most of them have nothing useful to say about publishing or marketing.

I’m a member of Sisters In Crime, and just with this latest short story publication, I’ve become an active member for the first time in many years.

I’ve been in a few critique groups over the years and they all fizzled out for one reason or another except one where I go when I can get the time in –but at this stage I have a first draft I’m revising and am at the beginning phase of that so it’s not helpful yet to have other readers till I do quite a bit of clean up work.

I kept editing everything I wrote.

Nothing was ever good enough.

It went on for years and I was either going to go crazy, quit writing or do something different.

Now I’m trying to get myself to ask questions of the good people at Sisters in Crime and in my local writing group, Word Crafters.

For the first time I feel hopeful about writing and publishing.

Q. What do you wish you had known before you started writing fiction?

A. There is no perfect story, except the one that comes to mind and interests you enough that you’d want to read it.

Don’t wait for anyone to discover you, you discover yourself.

Be kind to you. This is a messy process. A lot of what you try won’t work — and that’s OK.

If you get feedback that can make your work stronger, listen up. If you get feedback that makes you think they don’t get your work, you’re probably right  — RUN!

Have fun.

Don’t take yourself so seriously.

Be serious about your writing – it’s an investment in yourself and probably one of the best investments you’ll ever make because if you can live in your own skin, guess what, it doesn’t matter what happens in the rest of the world.

Q. What’s next for you in your creative work?

A. I’m on the read through for Writing is Murder about a little writing group in Good Deeds, Texas. Finish read through then start revision and hopefully, publish in December.

Promote the anthology, Gone Fishin’ Crime Takes a Holiday and enjoy learning about the promotion/marketing process.

I need to send out thank yous to all the wonderful people who have helped me and are helping me right now.

Q. Is there anything else you wished I’d asked? Please share!

A. I’m grateful I had the opportunity to answer these questions.

No matter what else happens, every day I write is a good day.

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Gone Fishin’ Crime Takes a Holiday by Lisbeth Mizula

This excerpt is from my short mystery, Travels for the Traditional Man, which shares an anthology with 22 other writers in Gone Fishin’ Crime Takes a Holiday, The Eighth Guppy Anthology from the 1,100-member Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime and published by Wolf’s Echo Press, February 1, 2025, edited by James M. Jackson:

The Diary of Mimi Sinclair

Dearest Carol Lynn,

If you’re reading this, your father has murdered me. It will look like an accident. Your mother married a greedy bastard, not an idiot. Because of his connections, we both know he’ll get away with it.

Should you feel compelled to get justice for your old Mom–never be afraid to use a method that makes sense to your way of thinking. You are my unique, my original, my dearest Carol Lynn. I’ll love you forever–Mom

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Connect with Lisbeth Mizula

Site Link https://www.facebook.com/killerstories

Twitter @LisbethMizula

Facebook @LisbethMizula

LinkedIn https://www.facebook.com/killerstories

Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/writelisbeth