Ellen Kirschman

I started out writing non-fiction. At some point, I got tired of reality and thought it would be easier to make things up. It's actually harder, but more fun and very therapeutic. Creating characters inspired by real people gives me the opportunity to take pot shots at cops who treated me badly over my forty-year career as a police psychologist, psychology colleagues who did more harm than good, and two of my ex-husbands. Dr. Dot Meyerhoff, my series protagonist, is a police psychologist. She's been hired to counsel cops, but she cannot resist getting involved in the crimes they investigate—even after her police chief threatens to fire her if she does. Too dedicated for her own good, she never gives up on a client and will risk everything, including her life, to see justice done. I'm proud to have been given awards by the American Psychological Association and the California Psychological Association for my contributions to police and public safety psychology. And grateful for the advanced praise about my fifth Dot Meyerhoff novel, Call Me Carmela, now up for pre-order. Here are some samples: "Ellen Kirschman seamlessly brings her expertise and empathy as a therapist for first responders in creating her fully realized amateur sleuth, Dr. Dot Meyerhoff. Call Me Carmela is like the perfect morning coffee, rich, smooth, and nuanced, leaving you craving another cup." --Naomi Hirahara, USA Today bestselling and Mary Higgins Clark award-winning author of Clark and Division and Evergreen “Ellen Kirschmann’s front-row criminal justice insight is woven throughout the mystery, and in Dot Meyerhoff, she’s created a hero the world needs: smart, big-hearted, and complex. This is a story that will stick with you long after you close the book.” --Edgar-nominated author Jess Lourey "Ellen Kirschman sees into people's hearts: not just those of the victims, or of the good guys, but the hearts of all her characters. With a rare delicacy of language, she lets us know that no one's innocent, but no one's past redemption, either -- except those who refuse to try. -- SJ Rozan, best-selling author of THE MAYORS OF NEW YORK" Please stay in touch. If you sign up for my every-other-month newsletter on my website, you'll get a free copy of my mini-memoir as a dance hall hostess as well as book and TV reviews, cooking ideas, and modest mentions of my life as a writer. Follow me at Open Road Media or on Facebook. I post interesting articles from the worlds of writing and psychology. As always, if you like my books and are so inclined, please tell your friends, your local library, your local bookstores and (this really helps writers) post a review on Amazon or Goodreads.