She has lectured and given workshops on writing, psychological and educational topics
throughout the United States and has served on mystery writers’ panels. Radio
appearances have included NPR interviews about dysfunctional and abusive families,
difficult teens and mental health issues. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery
Writers of America, the American Psychological Association and the California
Association of Marriage Family Therapists. In addition, she has served on community
boards that provide services to troubled children and families, including the Ventura
County Mental Health Board, where she served as its chair, and Interface Children and
Family Services Board where she served as chair of its Council Against Domestic
Abuse.  She and her husband live in Somis, California among avocado and lemon
orchards.

To learn how Joan became a mystery writer and how she writes her books, read her
article "Murder on The Campus" in the
Mystery Readers Journal, Volume 22, Winter
2006-2007.
Joan Blacher, PhD

Award winning author Dr. Joan Blacher, a licensed
psychotherapist in private practice for the past
nineteen years, is a former university professor and
director of a counseling and guidance graduate
program. She is the author of the mystery novel
s,
Lethal Lake,
Murder Canyon and co-author of
Difficult Teens:  A Parents Guide for Coping. Her
works have been published in counseling and
educational journals, mystery publications,
magazines, newspapers, and she is a former member
of a counseling journal’s editorial board.  In 2003,
the California Association of Marriage Family
Therapists awarded her the Carl Vincent Award for
her literary contribution to mental health with the
publication of Difficult Teens.
Copyright  (C) 2011  Joan Blacher