Juliet Blackwell

Author profile

gender

female

website

http://www.julietblackwell.net/

genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Science Fiction & Fantasy

About this author

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Juliet Blackwell (aka Julie Goodson-Lawes, aka Hailey Lind) started out life in Palo Alto, California, born of a Texan mother and a Yankee father. The family soon moved to what were, at the time, the sticks of Cupertino, an hour south of San Francisco. Walking to and from kindergarten every day she would indulge in her earliest larcenous activity: stealing walnuts and apricots from surrounding orchards.

By the time she graduated middle school, the orchards were disappearing and the valley at the southern tip of the San Francisco Bay had become the cradle of the silicon semi-conductor. A man named Steve Jobs was working in his garage in Cupertino, just down the street. Juliet's father advised his daughters to enter the lucrative and soon-to-f...more Juliet Blackwell (aka Julie Goodson-Lawes, aka Hailey Lind) started out life in Palo Alto, California, born of a Texan mother and a Yankee father. The family soon moved to what were, at the time, the sticks of Cupertino, an hour south of San Francisco. Walking to and from kindergarten every day she would indulge in her earliest larcenous activity: stealing walnuts and apricots from surrounding orchards.

By the time she graduated middle school, the orchards were disappearing and the valley at the southern tip of the San Francisco Bay had become the cradle of the silicon semi-conductor. A man named Steve Jobs was working in his garage in Cupertino, just down the street. Juliet's father advised his daughters to enter the lucrative and soon-to-flourish field of computers.

"Bah" said Juliet, as she went on to major in Latin American Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz (they had, by far, the best parties of any department). Rather than making scads of money in computers, she read, painted, learned Spanish and a little French and Vietnamese, lived in Spain and traveled through Europe, Mexico, and Central America. She had a very good time.

uliet pursued graduate degrees in Anthropology and Social Work at the State University of New York at Albany, where she published several non-fiction articles on immigration as well as one book-length translation. Fascinated with other cultural systems, she studied the religions, folklore and medical beliefs of peoples around the world, especially in Latin America. Juliet taught the anthropology of health and health care at SUNY-Albany, and worked as an elementary school social worker in upstate New York. She also did field projects in Mexico and Cuba, studied in Spain, Italy, and France, worked on a BBC production in the Philippines, taught English as a second language in San Jose, and learned how to faux finish walls in Princeton, New Jersey. After having a son, moving back to California, and abandoning her half-written dissertation in cultural anthropology, Juliet started painting murals and portraits for a living. She has run her own mural/faux finish design studio in Oakland, across the bay from San Francisco, for more than a decade. She specializes in the aesthetic renovation of historic homes.

Finally, to round out her tour of lucrative careers, Juliet turned to writing. Under the pseudonym of Hailey Lind, Juliet penned the Art Lover's Mystery Series with her sister Carolyn, about an ex-art forger trying to go straight by working as a muralist and faux finisher in San Francisco. The first of these, Feint of Art, was nominated for an Agatha Award; Shooting Gallery and Brush with Death were both IMBA bestsellers, and Arsenic and Old Paint is now available from Perseverance Press.

Juliet's Witchcraft Mystery series, about a witch who finally finds a place to fit in when she opens a vintage clothes shop on Haight Street in San Francisco, allows Juliet to indulge yet another interest—the world of witchcraft and the supernatural. Ever since her favorite aunt taught her about reading cards and tea leaves, Juliet has been fascinated with seers, conjurers, and covens from many different cultures and historic traditions. As an anthropologist, the author studied and taught about systems of spirituality, magic, and medicine throughout the world, especially in Latin America. Halloween is by far her favorite holiday.

When not writing, painting, or haranguing her funny but cynical teenaged son, Juliet spends a lot of time restoring her happily haunted house and gardening with Oscar the cat, who ostensibly belongs to the neighbors but won't leave her alone. He started hanging around when Juliet started writing about witches...funny coincidence.
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22 posts
Juliet Blackwell's Blog

Juliet Blackwell isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but she does have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from her feed.

Number 22!

In a Witch's Wardrobe hit #22 on the New York Times Bestsellers list!

I've read the New York Times ever since I moved to New York from California, when I was in my early twenties. Even though I eventually moved back to California, I've always kept a subscription...and I've always read the Book Review.

To see my name listed there is an indescribable feeling.

When I first started writing books, it... Read more of this blog post »

View more on Juliet Blackwell's website »

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Published on July 14, 2012 09:25 • 13 views

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Juliet Blackwell's Books

Average rating: 3.94 · 8,884 ratings · 966 reviews · 13 distinct works · Similar authors

	Secondhand Spirits (A Witchcraft Mystery, #1) 3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 2,770 ratings — published 2009 — 9 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Cast-Off Coven (A Witchcraft Mystery, #2) 3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 1,765 ratings — published 2010 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hexes and Hemlines (A Witchcraft Mystery, #3) 3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 1,301 ratings — published 2011 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	If Walls Could Talk (A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery #1) 3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 1,029 ratings — published 2010 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In a Witch's Wardrobe (A Witchcraft Mystery, #4) 4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 761 ratings — published 2012 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dead Bolt (A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery #2) 3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 563 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Murder on the House (A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery, #3) 4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 288 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Brush With Death: An Art Lover's Mystery 3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 210 ratings — published 2007 — 4 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Shooting Gallery (An Art Lover's Mystery, #2) 3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 197 ratings — published 2006 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tarnished and Torn (A Witchcraft Mystery, #5) 4.38 of 5 stars 4.38 avg rating — 8 ratings — expected publication 2013 — 4 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Juliet Blackwell…

Series by Juliet Blackwell

A Witchcraft Mystery (5 books)
by Juliet Blackwell
3.94670704012112 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 6,605 ratings

A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery (3 books)
by Juliet Blackwell
3.896808510638298 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 1,880 ratings

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Quotes by Juliet Blackwell

“In fact, people who posses not magic at all can instill their home-cooked meals with love and security and health, transforming ingredients and bringing disparate people together as family and friends. There's a reason that when opening one's home to guests, the first thing you do is offer food and drink. Cooking is a kind of everyday magic.”
― Juliet Blackwell

tags: cooking, magic

12 people liked it

“You know I wouldn't know a Louis Vuitton from a Louis L'Amour”
― Juliet Blackwell, Dead Bolt

3 people liked it

“Don’t be too nice to him,” I teased. “He’ll never leave.”
― Juliet Blackwell, Hexes and Hemlines

tags: friends, funny, joking, kindness

2 people liked it

See all Juliet Blackwell's quotes »

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