Tell us about Dead End Job
Dead End Job is a hysterically unfiltered tale of a young woman, Louisa (Lulu) Hallstrom, who not only hates her life for the normal reasons (broke, crappy boss, nagging extra 10lbs) but lands herself in the middle of a murder investigation when a co-worker is mysteriously killed in the office. In the midst of self-discovery, epic failures and rare successes, Louisa navigates her less-than-amazing love life, the downright insanity of her roommate and colleagues, and the terrifying concept that she might be the next one to die.

Warning: Author about to go all Braggy-McBraggerson on you!

I am pleased and truthfully downright shocked that Kirkus Reviews awarded my debut novel a Kirkus Star, and also included the book on their coveted “Best of  2012” list. Boo-ya! What? I warned you…

What genre is it?
Light Mystery, Chick lit and/or cautionary tale about tequila.

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
Anyone who has experienced some kind of personal disaster and learned to laugh about it. Maybe not in the exact moment…but eventually.

Complete this sentence for us: If you like _____ ___, you’ll love Dead End Job.
Vodka.

I also get quite a bit of “Bridget Jones” and “Stephanie Plum” comparisons, which is kind of unbelievably flattering and awesome.

Tell us about Lulu Hallstrom. Nothing seems to be going her way!
There seems to be a pivotal moment, usually sometime in a person’s late twenties, when they realize that all of the planning and preparation they’ve done for their life has led to not the dream existence that they imagined, but instead to some kind of semi-miserable seemingly endless slog of failed romances, unfulfilling soul-crushing work, and less-than-desirable financial situations. Lulu finds herself smack dab in the middle of this moment in her life.

The fun thing about writing this character is that she’s convinced herself that she’s given up, but throughout the book the reader gets to see that even if some of her efforts are completely misguided, she is still trying and hoping.

Will there be further Louisa Hallstrom novels?  What can you tell us about them?
I am releasing the next Louisa novel, “Jumping the Gun” in a serial format, about fifty pages at a time, which is very exciting for me. My ambition is to get the first part out sometime in the month of March 2013, which is coming up really soon. This next book is pee-in-your-pants-a-little-bit-then-pretend-it-didn’t-happen funny, can’t wait!

How much of you is in Lulu?

1. Is this a trick question?
2. Of course there’s a lot of me in this character. I found that writing this book was a highly personal, even cathartic, journey, but even so I would say that Lulu represents a more extreme part of my personality—the voice in my head that wants to tell everyone to f**k off while hiding in a dark corner eating cheese.

In that case, tell us a bit about yourself.
Well, I’m glad you asked! I’m currently conducting a ground-breaking social experiment based on thirty-year-old women who wear yoga pants 100% of the time and the corresponding effect on society at large. So far I am the only participant in the study, but have no fear– I’m very committed to the process.

My life in general seems to be a series of semi-embarrassing events strung together by the magical elixirs of coffee and wine. I cannot tolerate excessive seriousness. As I get older, I want more and more to have fun, spend time with people who make fun of me and keep me grounded, and Botox. I find myself dancing to disco music more than the average person. Failure has always been an option for me, this leaves a glorious flexibility in my life plans.

Other than that, I live in Seattle and am married to a wonderful man who tolerates me. I have a loving, appropriately loving but irritating family and a wandering band of drunks who I call friends. My passions are eating and travelling, and I spend most of my little money doing one or the other. For the most part I am past the traumatic transition of my late-twenties and now I can look back at that time in my life and laugh at myself. I am happy.

Have you got a website where readers can keep up with your work? How can we follow you on Facebook and/or Twitter?
I am on twitter @ingridreinke! I have about 5 followers currently—it’s totally badass.

Where can we buy Dead End Job?
Dead End Job is available on Amazon ( US, UK) and BN in electronic versions. Down with the paper book!

What’s next?
Lunch.

***
Enjoyed this interview? Then check out our conversation with Christiana Miller