Lisa Avelleyra is an author from the Madison, Wisconsin area, where she lived and worked for 26 years. During those years, she worked at a small bookstore, which became the basis of her new mystery book, “Shelved.” She’s since returned to Iowa City, living and working here.
The Daily Iowan: You worked at a bookstore previously in your life. Is that a large inspiration for your book?
Avelleyra: Absolutely. While I lived in Madison, Wisconsin, I worked at a tiny bookstore for eight years. We bought and sold books to the public. I thought it was such a rich setting. There were so many good characters I could draw on. So many of the characters are loosely based on people I worked with…