Like her heroines, the Blackbird Sisters,
Nancy Martin comes from a distinguished Pennsylvania family whose ancestors include Betsy Ross and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
She has written numerous novels, directed a few Shakespeare plays, and raised two delightful daughters.
Martin's latest novel is
No Way to Kill a Lady (Blackbird Sisters Series #8).
Late last month I asked the author what she was reading. Her reply:
This summer I have been under the gun and writing like mad. To take the pressure off, I climb into bed every night with an advance copy of the marvelous new biography of Julia Child. Dearie, by Bob Spitz, is a sweet homage, and---please excuse the pun---I am savoring every page. Bob is better known for his career in rock and roll, and his 
detailed book about the Beatles. I also enjoyed his memoir, The Saucier's Apprentice, about fleeing the stress of the real world and going to Europe to learn to cook at the great cooking schools. But his bio of Julia is a loving portrait of one of America's great personalities. Her work transformed home cooking as we know it in this country, but this portrait is intimate and affectionate, and it's marvelous summer reading. I will confess now that Bob is my brother-in-law, and I was privy to his journey into the research for the Julia Child book. At Christmas, he made omelets for us while telling some of the anecdotes he writes about in Dearie. His joyous esteem for Julia Child sparkles on every page.
Visit
Nancy Martin's website.
The Page 69 Test: Our Lady of Immaculate Deception.
The Page 69 Test: Sticky Fingers.
Writers Read: Nancy Martin (March 2011).
--Marshal Zeringue
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