The first two are wall maps I use far more often than I ever expected. My husband made the yellow shelves beneath the world map for me for our first Christmas when we were dating.
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The third one is my (always) messy desk, decorated with awards and with lovely handmade gifts from my kids.
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The last one is a watercolor I painted for my dad years ago of our family dog, Buttons. She was great and totally my dad’s dog. When my father passed away, my brother gave the painting back to me. And now Buttons watches over my shoulder when I’m writing.
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Julie Hyzy

Julie Hyzy’s very first job had her flipping burgers and chopping onions at a neighborhood hot dog stand. She traded that experience for a job as a singing waitress at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour — but gave that up when she started college (and because she couldn’t carry a tune).

Over the years, she’s acted in community theater productions, appeared in television commercials, and crashed a previously all-male fraternity to become one of the first female brothers in Loyola University’s Chapter of Delta Sigma Pi. Julie had dreams of becoming a writer, but family, friends, and frat brothers convinced her otherwise. Having held positions as junior officer at a downtown bank, office manager at an architectural firm, and financial advisor at a prestigious wealth management company, she realizes that the business degree was probably a good choice — but fiction is truly her passion. Now, with some well-earned life experience behind her, she’s delighted to finally be able to make writing a priority in her life.

Julie Hyzy is the New York Times bestselling author of the White House Chef Mysteries and the Manor House Mysteries. She’s won the Anthony, Barry, Derringer, and Lovey Awards for her novels and short stories. Her first Manor House Mystery, Grace Under Pressure, earned a Starred Review from Publishers Weekly. GRACE SEES RED, the latest in the Manor House series, was released on Tuesday,