Getting to Know You…

Welcome Debbie Lestz Teahan. Thanks so much for doing the interview.Nothing more fun than getting to know each other. 
I live in Rochester, NY, and lost my 3 beautiful cats all in the same year 2 years ago so still in mourning. They were all 14 yrs old and it was terrible losing them all. Almost ready for a new kitten but not quite yet.

Love growing dahlias which is a big commitment. Also have a rose garden. Also grow peonies and many others. We have our beds timed so we start with hyacinths, crocus then get daffodils, forsythia and tulips. Lilacs and peonies follow then all the summer beauties. Ours is not a low maintenance yard.
Theater is my life and passion and I have an interactive mystery theater company - The Mystery Company. Almost 25 years in business. We do both interactive stage theater as well as Mystery dinner theater. Dinner theater pays the bills. Met my husband at Keuka Lake when I had a cottage there and we try to rent there almost every summer.
I'm an ocean person and try to get there as often as possible. Bermuda is the best but also love Cape Cod  and Virginia Beach. If it's been too long I shrivel up inside until I can see the ocean and smell it and hear the waves and dip my toes in it. I come alive again and the world resets itself. Right now I'm mostly shriveled.
I love every kind of color blue there is, but teal and turquoise are my favorites. You know, ocean colors. I am drawn to it and it makes me smile all over. I have touches of turquoise everywhere.
My Dad introduced me to mystery and sci fi at a young age. I am a voracious and fast reader and can read 3-4 books a week if not writing a script. Love Castle, Bones. Monk was a favorite and Psych.
My favorite classic authors are Dame Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Martha Grimes, and Dorothy Sayers. Martha Grimes I believe is one of the all time masters of characterization. She makes people really come alive and their story so compelling. There's a book she wrote about an rich heir orphan I cannot reread because it is so heartbreaking and the child so real. I feel the horror of her murder still.I think I have read all of Christie's books at least 3 times. "The Secret of Chimneys is my favorite and I reread that and a couple others from time to time. 
Favorite new authors are you, Donna Andrews, and Rhys Bowen. Reread all of these. Also reread Tolkien and Jk Rowling every so often. Can't remember my first mystery but it was probably Holmes. Would love to hang out with Castle. He seems like he's really fun. 
I think mystery is the exciting wonderful part of everything around us. Every story is heightened with a touch of the unknown that must be solved. To get me excited all I need is something like:
He walked into the room and knew immediately something was wrong. Very wrong. And it was missing!Now add wit and whimsy and fun characters and I'm yours. Oh, and a well constructed plot line and realistic dialogue with no ridiculous similes.