Cara Bertoia

They say write about what you know and I know a lot about casinos. My new mystery Casino Queen has been featured in The Big Thrill, Women Writers Women's Books, Charlotte Reader's Podcast, Tell Me About Your Book, and dozens of popular book review sites.

In my twenties on a summer hiatus from teaching in North Carolina, I drove to California and became a dealer in Lake Tahoe. Well, I can tell you that after teaching high school, handling an unruly gambler was a piece of cake. My mother highly disapproved of my working in a casino, "a place so bad it has 'sin' in the middle."

Thankfully the paper from Palm Springs disagreed with my mother. The Desert Sun raved, "As if often the case, the author pulls from real-life experiences to create a worthy piece of fiction. And her own life is a vivid kaleidoscope of adventure. Casino Queen arrives at the perfect time when crime-solving tales that revolve around strong female protagonists aren’t just a luck of a draw. They’re downright successful. (See TV’s "Equalizer" and "Poker Face" for samplers.) To that end, Casino Queen has the makings of a streaming series."

Eventually, I succumbed to pressure from the family and returned east to take a high-tech job in Boston. I also began working on my MFA in writing at Emerson. While in Boston I was offered the opportunity to join Princess Cruises as a croupier. Jumping at the chance, I spent the next five years circling the globe. Sometimes life exceeds your dreams. I was awed by the beauty of Venice, the glaciers of Alaska, and the wonders of the Amazon.

I returned from ships with a very special souvenir, my husband Ray. We now live in Hollywood, Florida where I write while gazing out at the ocean. I can see the cruise ships sailing out of Port Everglades and I get a little bit jealous.