This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Verónica Gutiérrez.

Verónica has had an inspiring career. Learn more about that, as well as how she’s used her experiences to inform her first novel, As You Look.Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so.Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafeDebbi (00:54): But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting.I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice?If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included affiliate links on this blog.Download a PDF copy of the interview here.

Debbi: Hi everyone. Today our guest is a former community organizer, civil rights attorney and corporate executive. Originally from the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles where her protagonist Yolanda Avila lives, she and her wife are home bar enthusiasts and avid travelers. I can get into that, boy! They host cocktail-lesson-themed fundraisers. Now, that's something I can imagine are popular. She is the author of the book As You Look, which I believe is her debut novel, a Yolanda Avila mystery. It's my pleasure to introduce Veronica Gutierrez. Hi, Veronica. How are you doing today?Veronica: Hi there. I'm well. Thank you for having me.Debbi: Excellent. Good to have you on. Thank you. You have had the most interesting career or series of careers. Which one of those things did you start with?Veronica: Well, probably the work in politics. I worked in local government for quite a while before I practiced law, and then I went off and moved into public affairs, doing work similar to what I did in public service.Debbi: Interesting. How were you involved in politics?Veronica: I worked on various campaigns for local government in Los Angeles. I helped the first Latina councilwoman in Los Angeles get elected and worked on her staff for a bit. I also worked on a campaign to get her elected as the first county supervisor, where she served for more than 20 years, and was just fantastic. Then I also worked for another council member who became president of the school board and who was actually the president of the school board twice. Worked with her in the city for a little bit. And then most recently, a friend of mine asked if I could help Mayor Karen Bass set up her office when she was first elected, and I did that for about five months or so at the beginning of her administration, which was a lot of fun.

I worked on various campaigns for local government in Los Angeles. I helped the first Latina councilwoman in Los Angeles get elected and worked on her staff for a bit.

Debbi: Wow. Bet it was a lot of work too, huh?Veronica: Oh absolutely. Yes. it's definitely a young person's sport, let me put it that way..Debbi: Yes. And you were a civil rights attorney.