A Brand To Die For

When a London ad agency’s client is murdered, its star creative team attempts to solve the mystery but inadvertently gets into deep water. Author Alex Pearl takes time from his busy schedule to tell us about his new release, A Brand To Die For, share his insights on the future of advertising and publishing, and tell us how he once got locked in a record store on Christmas Eve.

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

**********

Q: Tell us a bit about your journey as a writer and the first time you were ever published.

A: I was an advertising copywriter for an unhealthy number of years and started writing my first work of fiction – Sleeping with the Blackbirds – while waiting to be made redundant from a large agency that was undergoing a huge global merger. (Someone at the time wittily referred to the merger involving two lumbering giants, as the Hindenburg coming to the rescue of the Titanic.) It took the agency the best part of a year to give me my marching orders, by which time I had almost finished the book. The book was eventually long-listed for the Millennium Book Awards 2018 and was selected by The Indie Author Project for distribution to public libraries across the US and Canada.

Q: What do you know now that you didn’t know when you started?

A: First of all, I didn’t know if I’d be able to write a book that anyone would want to read. Getting longlisted for a book award and then being selected by The Indie Author Project suggested that perhaps I could. Then, of course, I didn’t know much about the process of publishing (all my books are self-published). Like all writers, I have been down the conventional path of approaching agents, but am not particularly inspired by the timidity of the industry right now. Self-publishing is, as far as I’m concerned, rather more satisfying, rewarding and empowering. Over time, I suspect that the old publishing model will crumble.  

Q: Who are some of the authors whose wordsmithing influenced your own approach to storytelling?

A: The first book I read as a child was Stig of the Dump by Clive King. The book is a charming story written from the point of view of a young boy who discovers a caveman (or more precisely, a cave-boy) living at the bottom of his grandparents’ garden. The book explores those universal themes of friendship and trust, and had me hooked from a young age. So it was obviously an important book as it got the ball rolling. And interestingly, my own first book was written from the perspective of a young boy. One of my Creative Directors, a lovely man named Ken Mullen is a great writer and lover of literature. He introduced me to writers like Mervyn Peake. I was also very privileged to get to sit next to Beryl Bainbridge at an awards dinner. Beryl had written one of several press ads written by novelists for a campaign for real fires devised by Ken and his art director. She was very easy to talk to and rather inspiring.

Q: If you could invite any three authors—living or dead—to a dinner party, who would they be and what would you most like to ask them?

A: Charles Dickens, Scott Fitzgerald, and Clive James. I’d ask Dickens and Fitzgerald to explain their particular approaches to writing stories, and whether they believe in meticulous narrative planning. I’d then ask Clive James to ask his questions of them, because he’d ask really probing and smart questions, and he’d almost certainly make us all laugh in the process.

Q: There are a number of advertising copywriters who have become novelists. Do you think you’d have turned to writing fiction had you not been a copywriter first?

A: It’s a good question to which I don’t have a definitive answer. I suspect the answer is quite possibly not. After all, the advertising business gave me an opportunity to hone my skills as a writer and to also build my confidence. Advertising also teaches you the art of brevity and the ability to think visually. Over time these become instinctive skills.

Q: If you weren’t writing fiction, would you still be in the advertising business?

A: No. I left the industry when I did as I had to be around for my wife who very suddenly became ill with a spinal tumor. Fortunately, I was able to retire early. Writing novels is a hobby.

Q: From your perspective, how has the advertising world changed or remained the same since the 1980s?

A: Gosh… How long have you got? The industry has changed out of all recognition. The period from the 70s through to the 90s was something of a Golden Period for creative advertising in the UK, and particularly London. TV and cinema advertising were the most desirable media to work in and the most creative agencies that won the lion share of the awards every year would generally be the agencies that also won most new business. Agencies like Collett Dickenson Pearce were creatively led. Its creative director John Salmon was also its chairman. If the client didn’t accept the agency’s work or tried to water it down in any way, the agency would simply fire the client – no matter how large they were. In fact, they fired Ford who may have been one of their largest clients. This would never happen today. The boot is very much on the other foot. Today the internet and digital technology are becoming increasingly important and TV advertising is becoming far less so, particularly for brands that appeal to the younger generation who spends more time online than in front of a TV. Humour also plays a far smaller role in advertising than it used to. Most clients seem to believe that humour is flippant and denigrates the brand. The truth of the matter is that humour has sold more products than almost any other attribute the creative team has in its armoury. But try telling that to a young client who has never seen a Heineken commercial from the 80s. Advertising can still be creative and fairly sophisticated, but my feeling is that there’s just an awful lot less of it. And what there is lacks soul. For me, creative advertising has lost its way; it’s just not as daring and witty as it used to be. And it takes itself far too seriously.

Q: Where do you see the book publishing industry in the next 10 years? Next 20 years?

A: I think self-publishing is going to continue growing. Platforms like Smashwords are going to become increasingly important, and e-books are going to become King. As a result, there’ll be more hybrid publishers and the old traditional literary agent/publisher model will eventually become outmoded and disappear. We are already seeing the huge explosion in the number of books being published. The democratisation of publishing through technology is clearly a good thing and we are now seeing terrific writing from authors who would otherwise have no voice.

Q: Tell us how the premise of A Brand To Die For came about.

A: I wanted to write a murder mystery set in the advertising industry for two reasons. Firstly, because there hadn’t been one written since 1933 when Dorothy L. Sayers wrote Murder Must Advertise. And secondly, because I knew the world of advertising really well having worked in it as a copywriter for many years. So I didn’t need to spend endless hours researching it. It was all there in my head waiting to spill out on the page. As for the plotting, I was assisted a great deal by my brother who I credit in the Acknowledgment page.  Together we discussed the second half of the book at some length and hit on an idea that I still feel works really well and isn’t obvious to the reader.

Q: Are there any intersections in this work of fiction with real-life events and characters?

A: There are plenty of events in the book that are in fact based on true incidents. The quip at the end of the prologue during the funeral of Danny Deedes was actually uttered in real life at a memorial service for a famous advertising figure. (He will remain nameless for obvious reasons.) The story about furniture being stolen by an individual who then charged for the removal van on expenses is also a true story believe it or not. And the other story about the telescope installed in the office to spy on ladies of the night in Soho is also sadly a true one.

Q: Plotter or pantser?

A: I’m a plotter. I need a road map to work with otherwise I get hopelessly lost. But with A Brand to Die For I wrote the first half without actually having the second half worked out in my head. But once I reached the halfway point I knew I had to take a break from writing and concentrate on the road map, which with my brother’s assistance fell into place quite satisfactorily. Having said this, you can, of course, deviate a bit from the road map while the general thrust of the story remains in place.

Q: Do your characters ever surprise you?

A: Yes they sometimes do. In my previous novel, The Chair Man, one of my main characters is very unexpectedly murdered, and even I wasn’t actually planning on that. It just kind of happened. In A Brand to Die For the biggest villain in the book loves Charles Dickens and art and that wasn’t something I planned. Again it just happened. But in retrospect, there is something deliciously ironicabout that.

Q: What would readers be the most surprised to learn about you?

A: Possibly that I am generally shambolic and disorganised, and have a really terrible sense of direction.

Q: What’s the oldest, oddest or most sentimental item in your closet?

A: Quite probably a paperweight that used to sit on my grandmother’s sideboard. I wrote a piece about it ages ago. Here it is:

FAMILY REFLECTIONS

It was purchased before the war by a balding, stocky man with a warm smile and a booming, resonant voice. His name was Bertram Davis – though his original Russian surname was the more exotic Bolzwinick. He was the grandfather I never knew. By all accounts, he was the life and soul of the party; a witty chap with a story to tell and a joke to crack. Until, that is, life was cruelly cut short by asthma at the tender age of 54.
I was born into this world five years after his departure. According to my grandmother, Bert would spend many happy hours pottering in dusty antique shops in the Mile End Road, and was in the habit of buying things on a whim.
As a young child I remember setting eyes on my grandfather’s purchase and being drawn by its mesmerizing contents and the way it magnified and distorted itself. This shiny, glassy orb with its intricate geometry of bright lapis lazuli, pink and white sunk deep into a sea of solid glass, never ceased to fascinate my young eyes. How did the coloured glass get inside the see-though glass? And how could this iridescent globule of sheer beauty have no more meaningful a role in life than a mere paperweight?
For many years it was the family tradition for all my uncles and aunts and cousins on my mother’s side of the family to descend in droves on my grandmother’s house every Saturday afternoon for tea. It was invariably a jovial affair with lively children, lively conversation, a real fire sizzling and crackling in the grate and, of course, my grandmother’s famous apple and blackberry pie with its delicate coat of latticed pastry.
My grandmother was a fiercely independent woman with a heart of gold and a particularly soft spot for her short-sighted grandson. So when she passed away quite suddenly and unexpectedly when I was 14, Saturday afternoons never quite felt the same again.
I can recollect helping my father clear her large Victorian house and standing on the threshold of the sitting room where the fire once danced and laughter once filled the air. All that was left was a bare room with bare floor boards. A room stripped of its personality; stripped of life itself.
Some weeks later the paperweight that had sat for so many years on my grandmother’s sideboard, now found a new home on my bedroom desk. Sometimes I look into it and try and make out fleeting reflections of those joyful childhood memories.
Today, 35 years on my mother, now showing the early signs of dementia, lets slip the darkest of family secrets. Her father with whom she was incredibly close did not die from asthma. This jovial man who still laughs and smiles to this day from those black and white snap shots from yesteryear, actually took his own life – following a serious bout of depression.
It explains a lot. It explains why my grandmother’s top floor was always occupied by lodgers – since life assurance policies are never honoured in the event of suicide.
More significantly, it also explains our family tradition and why every Saturday afternoon all her grandchildren would descend and fill her house with laughter.

Q: You share a humorous story in your bio that you accidentally got locked in a record store on Christmas Eve. How did this come about and how long did it take for rescue to come?

A: I was searching for a piece of classical music in a part of the shop where few customers ever ventured, and while here, the staff locked up without bothering to check that there were no strange people browsing the classical music section. The odd thing was that all the lights and Christmas displays had been left on, so there was no way of me knowing that I had in fact been locked in. Indeed, when I finally did find the piece I was looking for and took it to the counter, I couldn’t work out why there was nobody behind the counter to serve me. I politely waited while coughing, which is very much the English way of doing things. When after several minutes, my coughing had had absolutely no effect, I took the bold step of going behind the counter and into the staff room behind, which was empty. It wasn’t until I marched over to the front door and nearly yanked my arm off in trying to pull it open, that it finally dawned on me that I was locked in. This, of course, was long before the invention of the mobile phone. But fortunately, the shop did have a working telephone, so I called my father who, in turn, called the police who, in turn called the caretaker. I remained in my temporary prison for about an hour and a half. Following Christmas, the staff were apparently fired.

Q: What are your three best tips for aspiring authors?

A: Write about what you know. Brevity is wonderful – learn from George Orwell. And heck, have a bit of fun, why don’t you?

Q: What’s next on your plate?

A: Possibly a sequel to A Brand to Die For that involves a cricket match. We will see.

Q: Anything else you’d like to share?

A: A plug for my previous book 100 Ways to Write a Book, which is raising money for PEN International. This is, as far as I can tell, the only book on the market written in English that explores the backgrounds, motivations and working methods of 100 authors around the world. Of the book, one reviewer penned the following: “This collection of interview responses by over 100 authors, who write about their craft, is not only fascinating, it may be a first. There are numerous nuggets here and it amounts to a large scale seminar in writing techniques, in book form. As they also talk about their early experiences and motivations, as well as hobbies and many other topics, there is much to delve into here. Highly recommendable.” The book is available in paperback and Kindle at Amazon here: https://mybook.to/stTSGI7

DYING FOR FAME

Dying wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened to Fredrike Cambourd. Lex investigates the murder of this retired artist/curator from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What she walks into is a crime that leads her to dark secrets that she could never have imagined, and her life is placed at risk by an elusive killer. Our spotlight author today is Mark L. Dressler who talks about his latest detective mystery, Dying For Fame.

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

**********

Q: What attracted you to the mystery genre and how did you get started?

A: It’s the only genre I’ve ever bothered reading. My story is crazy. I was four years into retirement, I never intended to write a book. My younger daughter had a house that was set far back from the road on seven forest-like acres, I used to stand on her deck and say “There could be a dead body out there and no one would know. One night I went home and started writing. I didn’t know what I was doing and maxed out at 5-10 pages. Something made me go back to it and then the magic of writing began to happen. Characters were created and they began to take over the story. That was 2014.

Q: If you could invite three fictional mystery detectives to dinner, who would they be and what unsolved crime would you task them to solve?

A: Columbo- Solve the Gardner heist.
Hercule Poirot- Jack the Ripper
Popeye Doyle- Find Jimmy Hoffa

Q: As a male author, what were the challenges in writing from the perspective of a female protagonist?

A: A very difficult task to try to think like a female. Even though being married for a long time, men do not think like women. I needed to get into how they dress, how they sit, how they deal with emotions, how they walk, every nuance. Fortunately, my wife is a consummate reader and helped me to craft my Tenacious Female Detective, Lex Stall. Having accomplished that feat, I still don’t understand my wife.

Q: How would you describe your writing style?

A: Fast-paced. I also like to think my job is part writer and part magician because I it’s my job to lead the readers down a path that leads them in the wrong direction.

Q: Plotter or pantser?

A: Pantser

Q: How long does it typically take you to write a book?

A: Thee first book Dead and Gone was three years. My others are about a year from first draft through self and professional editing, cover design and publishing.

Q: Do you allow anyone to read your works-in-progress or do you make everyone wait until you have typed THE END?

A: Yes. My wife. Every time I give her a chapter, I get it back with red lines. It’s like handing in a test paper.

Q: Tell us a bit about your other titles.

A: Dead and Gone, Dead Right and the soon to be released Dead Wrong are detective mysteries that feature Dan Shields, A Hartford Ct, Detective who breaks all the rules.

Q: What governed your choice to go the self-publishing route for your novels?

A: I did query agents at first, but soon realized it was a tough road. Joining groups like Mystery Writers of America, meeting other authors and learning their experiences swayed to self-publish. I hate to say it, but my age was a factor as well. I knew if could be years to get published if I pursued the traditional route.

Q: What do you know now about publishing that you didn’t know when you started?

A: I know that you cannot write a book by yourself. In my genre, I need every type of editor. Developmental, Line, Copy and Proofreader. You cannot afford to produce a poor-quality product.

Q: You have a special connection to Boston Children’s Hospital. Tell us about it.

A: I have a 10 year old grandson who had surgery at that hospital when he was 8 months old. I spent two days there with my family and saw children and families who were not as lucky as me and mine. My grandson is well, a happy boy. I felt a strong need to contribute to those families and children who are less fortunate than me.

Q: Any success stories you’d like to share?

A: I’m fortunate to have been chosen by the Hartford Courant as a Most Notable author for my book Dead Right. That led to TV appearances on popular TV shows CT STYLE channel 8 – New Haven and REAL PEOPLE in Hartford on Fox TV channel 61. And the Boston Children’s hospital has honored me for my generosity. I was also the only author to sell out at a book signing at Barnes & Noble at Blueback Square in West Hartford. And I remain a best-selling author at Barnes & Noble in downtown Hartford.

Q: How much does “setting” factor into the plots you weave for your readers?

A: My Dan Shields books take place in Hartford and have hit the hearts of locals. I have a strong area following.

Q: The best authors are often voracious readers. What wordsmiths do you turn to for inspiration?

A: That’s the craziest part of all. I am an outlier. I do not read very much, When I do, it’s authors like Michael Connelly, and John Grisham.

Q: Any advice for prospective authors?

A: Ask why you are writing your story. What are your goals and then learn about publishing, especially the need for editors and realize the journey is not free.

Q: What’s next on your plate?

A: The third book in the Dan Shields series, Dead Wrong is due out within the next 30 days. I am also currently writing the 2nd Lex Stall book with a working title of Write to the End.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: One standout moment occurred when I wrote Dead and Gone. It was finished, almost. I woke up in the middle of the night and had an incredible idea that changed the ending into a surprise that I couldn’t even have guessed, and as far as I know, it has stunned all of my readers.

The Deadly Game

As Lauren and Michael Casey bicycle through Miami’s Coconut Grove, Michael races off while his wife is preoccupied with changing gears. When she gets up to speed, Michael is out of sight. She anticipates he will surprise her by coming up from behind and tapping her on the shoulder. It doesn’t happen. After a fruitless search, she reports him missing. Later that evening, she is mortified when she learns he was murdered.

For our first interview of the new year, we’re pleased to welcome Lynn Sheft, author of the suspense thriller, The Deadly Game.

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

**********

Q: Tell us a little about your journey as an author. Who or what would you say had the greatest influence in inspiring you to pick up a pen…or put fingers to a keyboard?

A: When I was in eighth grade, I was assigned to write a true story and asked to read it aloud to my class. I told of my attempt to bake cupcakes on my own for my Girl Scout troop’s bake sale. I had success with the cake part; it was the frosting that was a disaster. I selected a boiled frosting from my mother’s cookbook without any knowledge of using a candy thermometer. The frosting was soupy, but I put it on the cupcakes anyway. When my mother got home from work, she asked me why was there was a grainy puddle on the cupcake. With no time do repeat the recipe, she advised that I should just buy prepared frosting in a can. She asked my Dad to get it for me. I had to remove the icing puddle so I scraped it off and then wiped the rest off with a sponge. When the class heard that, they erupted in peals of laughter. I was thrilled that I could entertain them. I also got an “A.”

Q: What attracted you to the genre of suspense/thriller for your debut novel?

A: I enjoy reading suspense/thrillers.

Q: Are there suspense/thriller novelists whose work you especially admire?

A: Dennis Lahane, Joe Finder, Ken Follett, Andrew Gross, B.A. Shapiro, and last, but not least, Stephen King.

Q: Many people walk around for years with a book idea in their heads but there seems to be no shortage of real or perceived obstacles that keep them from ever starting. What convinced you there was no time like the present to make that dream a reality?

A: I realized that time is precious so I decided to publish before it was too late.

Q: Where did you get the idea for The Deadly Game?

A: The idea came from my Sunday bike rides through Coconut Grove with my husband, Barry. Just like the character Michael in my novel, Barry would race off and hide. When I least expected it, he would appear out of nowhere and tap me on the shoulder. Naturally I screamed. It was on one of those bike rides that I came up with the idea. What if he failed to appear?

Q: They say write what you know. Your protagonist is a senior copywriter in a Miami advertising agency. How much of the story comes from your own experience?

A: The story comes from my own experience with the employees and the type of projects I managed.

Q: Particularly in suspense novels, the physical setting can be as compelling and mysterious as any of the characters walking around in it. What do you believe are some of the elements that make Miami such an effective backdrop for your plot?

A: Miami is an international city featuring different neighborhoods that have their own distinct culture: Little Havana, Little Haiti, Liberty City, Coconut Grove, Downtown, Coral Gables and Key Biscayne. The population is as diverse with people from all walks of life: Billionaires, drug dealers, businessmen, and artists all making a living, including the street peddlers hawking bags of limes at the intersections.

Q: Plotter, pantser or a combination of both?

A: I am a plotter. I start with an idea for the plot. Then I make a list of characters and everything I know about them. Next I start outlining chapter by chapter. This process gives me the opportunity to formulate the story so I know if the plot is suspenseful. Then I begin writing. Of course, I may change things while writing, but I least I have the solid foundation.

Q: How much research do you typically do?

A: I do enough research so that I have the facts right. I’ll interview experts in their field, and view maps so what I write is correct. I actually did arrange to take a lie detector test so the scene in the book is realistic. I also arranged with a yacht broker to go aboard a vessel as described in the novel. The yacht was magnificent and I was amazed to learn it required a full-time crew.

Q: Do you allow anyone to read your work while it’s still in progress or do you make everyone wait until you have typed The End?

A: In this novel, I teamed up with another writer working on her romance novel. We exchanged a chapter a week and commented on each other’s work. It kept me on task and I appreciated her feedback. I did the same with my second novel, Saving Maria that I expect to publish in late summer. For my third, I had a mentor from Mystery Writers of America read 25 pages. I wanted to know if my opening was strong. I’ve done most of the research, but I have yet to finish the outline.

Q: When did you discover the power of words on your audience?

A: This would go back to the first question, when I read my story aloud to my classmates. I discovered the power of words on my audience with this novel from five-star reviews posted on Amazon. I learned that The Deadly Game kept readers up past their bedtime.

Q: What governed your decision to self-publish?

A: I attended a webinar in August 2021 with a literary agent who was speaking about the current state of publishing novels. She mentioned that suspense and thrillers were a tough sell to editors. My ears perked up since that’s my genre. When it was time for questions, I asked why. She said that so many thriller and suspense authors are publishing independently with much success and the traditional publishers can’t compete with the financials.

Q: What do you know now about self-publishing that you didn’t know when you began?

A: I didn’t know how satisfying it would be to have total control. I formatted it in the font I like, selected the cover photo and font, arranged for a professional photographer and completed all the editing with an eagle eye. I celebrate the fact that this novel has been well received by all who read it.

Q: What have you found to be the most successful marketing/promotion strategy for you?

A: I have distributed bookmarks and completed two email blasts. I have an appearance scheduled at a senior community in January that I expect will go well since I was invited. I believe personal appearances will prove to be successful; however, the pandemic may curtail future efforts. I do plan to contact the broadcast media this month.

Q: Best writing advice anyone ever gave you?

A: Develop a writing schedule. Sit down and write what comes to mind, even if it’s bad. Don’t let the blank page intimidate you. And most of all, believe in yourself.

Q: Thus far, what has been the reception to The Deadly Game?

A: Excellent. The reviews posted on Amazon are all tops—five stars.

Q: What’s next on your plate?

A: I’m outlining an historical suspense novel that I’m very excited about. My own mother never knew her father and her mother would never tell her anything about him. My protagonist is fashioned after her and the time she lived. Her quest is to find out who her father is in 1941.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: Thank you for this exceptional opportunity to share my thoughts and experience with you and your audience.

Ernestine

Author Kate Reynolds’ debut novel, Ernestine, is sure to win over any historical fiction reader. Mystery, intrigue, and excellent writing make this a win-win, as Reynolds takes readers on a journey into the past and into the life of Sister Ernestine in 1526, Spain as she does everything she can to honor a promise made while facing her own fears.

Interviewed by Debbie A. McClure

**********

Welcome, Kate. Perhaps you could start off by telling us about your book. 

In 1526, the serene convent sitting within the red walls of the Alhambra in southern Spain faces a disturbing problem. Stung by rising taxes and faced with the impending demise of the convent, the abbess chooses to sell the magnificent abbey olives, despite her vows of poverty. Into Saint Francis Abbey steps Sister Ernestine, a stranger from the north. She has come to the cloister to conclude a matter of honor despite the terror she feels in being in the land of the Great Trials. Out of the crucible of the Inquisition, Sister Ernestine helps the abbey resolve a cascade of financial difficulties. In doing so, she discovers her own courage. Ernestine is the story of the conflict that arises when a woman afraid of her own past confronts an abbey afraid of its future.

Q Who has been your greatest life coach, mentor, and why?

A One of my earliest memories is of a very young me sitting in the family kitchen while my mother made dinner, and while she worked, she told me stories. Mom and my father got married in England during World War II, and the tales she told of bombs and death and courage sent shivers down my spine. In fact, all these years later, I am still powerfully affected by her stories. Mom was a skilled teller of tales, and I hope I learned something from her. She chose her words—and even her pauses—carefully. The stories were always communicated with humor, but they also showed a deep respect for the nuances of the English language. She knew to choose not just a good word, but the right word, and that matters.

Q What inspired you to write Ernestine?

A Now that’s a question I love, because the answer is a strange convergence of two events far apart in time. The first happened years ago, when I read The Royal Road to Romance by Richard Halliburton. Halliburton was an adventurer who traveled around the world, usually spending as little as possible. He later wrote up his exploits in a series of wonderful books. One of these escapades occurred when he visited southern Spain, thus fulfilling his long-held desire to see the Alhambra. To him, the Alhambra in Granada, Spain represented romance and magic. It was a place filled with history and daring deeds. Halliburton bought a ticket to tour the Alhambra Palace late one afternoon and then hid from the guards when it came time to close. He spent a mystical night alone wandering in the beautiful Moorish Alhambra alcazar and gardens. When I read Halliburton’s book, I knew that some day I would visit the Alhambra—I just had to roam those gardens at night. He inspired a love of travel in me that I have never lost. He also inspired me to write.

The second occurrence happened years later when my husband and I toured Spain. I insisted (in memory of Richard Halliburton) that we spend the night at the Alhambra, which had become a high-end hotel run by the Spanish government. While there, I learned that back in the 1500s, the Alhambra was home to a convent of nuns. I was entranced by this knowledge. Imagine a palace home at various times to Moorish princes, Spanish monarchs and a humble collection of nuns. And this is where I decided to set my story.

Q Historical fiction entails a great deal of research. How much time and research did it take to complete this novel?

A  This is a bit embarrassing, because it actually took me about seven or eight years to research and write Ernestine. I wanted it perfect, you see. Well, perhaps not perfect, but the best it could possibly be.

Q Where did you obtain your research resources to ensure historical accuracy?

A  My husband and I lived in Palo Alto, California at the time, and the library there and the one at Stanford University contain rich, interesting scholarly texts. I spent years fossicking about in old books and dusty shelves learning about Spanish culture and history. Some research was made difficult because I had let my Spanish lapse a bit, so it was hard to glean the meanings. I am enormously proud that in fact, Albrecht Dürer really did create a design for a flying machine, just as I write in my novel. Those plans really were lost, too. If you read Ernestine, you’ll find out what happened to those documents!

Q What surprised you the most about writing this character?

A Well . . . honestly . . . the ending stunned me. That is not what I intended, not what was in my notes. I don’t want to spoil anything for your readers, but when I sat down to write my ending, Ernestine simply refused to cooperate. So she wrote her own grand finale. When I think about it now, I realize she was right.

Q Do you write to a schedule or as inspiration/time allow?

A  Writers can learn to encourage their own inspiration so they don’t have to drum their fingers and wait for a muse to appear. One of the tricks I’ve learned over the years is to always finish up and walk away from a day’s work in the middle of a scene. What, you say? Walking away in the middle of a scene is sacrilege! Ah, but it actually isn’t.

You see, each morning I always begin by reading what I wrote the day before. If I always turn off the computer in the middle of a scene, the next day I can easily remember what excited me the day before. It makes it fun to finish the scene and propel the story forward.

I never wait for inspiration, but I do try to provide an atmosphere in which inspiration finds me. I’ve never even once experienced writer’s block.

Q What did you learn most about yourself in writing, publishing, and marketing?

A  I was terrified when I began to write. Terrified that my lifelong dream, writing a novel, was beyond my reach, or that I would be unable to tell a story that hung together well. I had the example of my mother’s World War II tales to remind me that I might never be the story teller she was. All that is likely true, but I learned I have my own stories to tell. Writing Ernestine helped me develop confidence in my own work, my own voice. It did not, however, teach me confidence in marketing. I am an awful marketer.

Q Has anything in your past professions proven to be of particular help in the writing of this novel? Why?

A One of my favorite pastimes is learning to track wild animals. For years, I had no idea such a hobby even existed, but it does and there are loads of books on animal tracking for anyone interested. Anyway, the idea is to find a track (preferably more than one) and then study it to determine what animal made the track, when it might have been made, and what the animal was doing at the time (running away from a predator, for example, or maybe getting up from a nap). Some trackers are so good they can determine the gender of the animal and can even track across rocks. (I am nowhere near that good, not even close.)

Tracking takes patience, thought, study, and careful observation. When you track an animal, you need to think like that animal, need to see and feel what it did. Writing is a lot like that. A writer has to immerse herself in her own characters, must be someone else. You also need to reach deep into your own life experiences. We all know what hunger feels like, and love, and anger, and remorse. I use my own experiences with those emotions while imagining them from someone else’s point of view.

Q Would you write another historical novel?

A I already did! I am finishing a novel set in World War II in Phoenix, Arizona. It’s about a pair of twins who throw themselves into the War Effort with unforeseen results. I try to capture the moment a young girl learns to think for herself. Plans are in the works to publish my new book soon. As of now, the title is Pheemie’s War. Pheemie is my main character.

I also have another historical, my very first effort, set in San Francisco during the Gold Rush. It remains to be seen whether or not I will resurrect that novel and use what I have learned since then to improve it.

Q This book is extremely well written and you’ve chosen to write Ernestine in the first person. Why?

A Yes, there are parts of the book in which Ernestine explains to an old blind nun who she is and where she comes from. I put those sections in the first person because the first person seems so much more immediate. I wanted a reader to feel the same emotion Ernestine experienced. When I originally wrote those passages in the third person, it didn’t seem as fresh. I switched to first person, and it was like magic.

Q What’s next for you?

A  My husband and I have lived in Tucson, Arizona for about twenty years. When my mother passed away here last year, at age 102, we saw an opportunity for some adventure. We’re moving with our cat to Bluffton, South Carolina early next year. I’ll be writing and publishing from there.

Q Where can our readers discover more about you and your work.

A  My new Facebook page is: https://tinyurl.com/2v4drvfj

I plan to keep that site up to date, and that’s where you can find out about my other books when published. I would love to interact with readers there, so if anyone has a question, visit my page and fire away. I will answer!

Blackthorne Cove

Growing up on a grain farm near Toledo, Illinois, author Betty J. Crow lived most of her life in the Dallas, Texas area, with the exception of time spent in Tennessee and North Carolina. An avid reader all her life, she’s written 200+ short stories, but in 2018 she joined a writers’ group and began re-writing a novel she’d abandoned on her computer years before, Blackthorne Cove. Excited to be celebrating the release of this novel, Betty lives in Oklahoma with her husband, Don, and best dog, Gus. Welcome, Betty!

Interviewer: Debbie A. McClure

**********

Q  Can you tell us a bit about your new release, Blackthorne Cove?

A Blackthorne Cove is divided into two parts. Part I is set in Illinois. It begins with ten-year-old Mitchell Lassiter trying to stop his father from murdering his mother. While trying to save her, the struggle leaves the boy with severe burns on his face. The scars are not only superficial, they run deep into his psyche.

With his father in prison, Mitch’s maternal grandmother petitions the court for full custody. For the first time in his young life, he finds himself living in a home filled with affection instead of anger. With his life settled, his only wish was to have a friend. Meghan lived next door. Even though Mitch kept his scarred face hidden as long as possible, Meghan and Mitch formed a friendship, which eventually turned into more. Fearing he may have inherited his father’s propensity for violence, he rejects Meghan to keep her safe.

Part II is set in Tennessee. After finding a body during his college years, he develops an interest in police work, eventually becoming a detective for the Nashville P.D. With a serial killer loose in the city, he must solve the case to save Meghan from being the next victim.

Q Were there any aspects of your early life as a child, growing up on a grain farm, that prepared you for your writing journey today?

A I have a brother two years older than me. When he started school, he read to me every night. I enjoyed listening to stories about Dick, Jane, and Sally. My love for reading was born. If we lived in the city where there are malls, movie theaters, and lots of other children to play with, I doubt reading to his little sister would have been a priority. Once I learned to read, I often rode my bicycle the two miles to the local library. Back home, I liked to lean back against my favorite moss-covered tree and read the afternoon away. 

With only two channels on TV, few friends nearby, and no such thing as video games, my brother and I spent most of our free time together. Some of my favorite memories stem from playing pretend. As farmers, our bicycles became farm equipment. Like they do in real life, those tractors and combines often broke down, which required using tools and pretending to drive to town for parts. A salvaged blackboard turned into an airplane instrument panel, where we avoided crashes, and travelled the world. We used old boards to build a boat, which promptly sunk, but we pulled it over to the edge of our pond and sailed across the sea.

As I suspect most farmers’ children do, I dreamed. I fanaticized about travelling to amazing places, living in the city, driving a flashy red Plymouth convertible, becoming a dancer, a famous singer, or a dress designer.

In addition to learning about hard work, living on a farm allowed me to read, pretend, and dream—the best preparation for becoming a writer.

Q  Who has been your greatest life coach or mentor, and why?

A  In my personal life, my family gave me the best guidance. Of course, I didn’t always pay attention to their advice, which caused a few bumps in the road. But they gave me the foundation to grow into the person I am today.

In my writing life, I have more than one mentor. My sixth-grade teacher asked the class to write about the scene outside our classroom window. It was a stormy day, so I likened the sky to El Greco’s painting, View of Toledo. She chose to read my paper aloud to the class, which allowed me to dream of being a writer someday. In college, one of my English instructors pulled me aside to tell me I had a gift for storytelling. She encouraged me to keep a journal and start writing. These two teachers gave me the encouragement I needed to believe in my ability to write.

Q   What inspires and drives you to write?

A The first novel I wrote came about because of reading a poorly written book. Inspired to write my own, I turned on the computer, and wrote Blackthorne Cove in three months. Three months later I finished a second novel. Editing wasn’t fun, so I continued writing short story after short story. A few years later, I joined a writer’s group. With the encouragement of other writers, I began editing Blackthorne Cove.

I often have ideas pop into my mind. I keep a notebook of possible stories, characters, and settings. I think the drive to write comes from wanting to give life to those characters. They have a story to tell and I am their voice.

 Q   How much research do you put into your books? Do you have any specific resources you use as your go-to?

A I’m a pantser, so I don’t research before I start writing. Scenes are usually places I’ve been and can picture in my mind. Characters are based on people I know or observed while out in public. I write what I know. However, sometimes I need more information or a memory refresher. For scenes, I often turn to travel brochures I have collected, maps, or personal photographs. I use Google or go to the library if I need some obscure detail. Plus, I can’t imagine writing without a thesaurus and punctuation book beside me. For Blackthorne, even though I have been to Nashville many times to visit my son, I called him to ask his opinion of the best places to leave bodies in and around the city. 

Q  What has most surprised you about the process of writing, publishing, and marketing a book?

A I’m always surprised at how easy it is to tell the story. When the house is quiet, I play instrumental music on low volume, and start writing. The words seem to magically appear on the page, as if I’m taking dictation. I don’t understand writer’s block. It hasn’t happened to me, and I hope it never does.

I wasn’t surprised at how difficult it is to get published. There is the time spent looking for an agent, then finding a publisher who actually wants to publish the book, more editing, rewrites, etc. It can take years. I finally consulted one of my successful writing friends for advice. She provided lots of helpful information.

Marketing can be difficult and time consuming. No surprise there. Not only do you have to sell yourself, you need to persuade people they want to read your book. Give me writing over marketing any day. 

Q   What advice would you give to aspiring writers just starting out on their own journey?

A Join a writers group. Members keep each other inspired and give helpful advice. If you want to be a writer, read books in your preferred genre and books about writing—lots of books. Don’t procrastinate. Life is short, so start now, and write every day. Don’t go into writing with the idea this will be your only source of income, because it won’t be—until you become a bestselling author. Don’t stop after the first draft, edit, edit, and edit some more.  

Q   Why did you choose the genre of murder mystery for Blackthorne Cove?

A I like to read books in this genre. Some of my favorite authors are James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell, Nora Roberts, and John Grisham. In my younger years, I read a lot of Agatha Christie. I like the rush fear brings, and since I’ve never seen a real monster or alien, to me there isn’t anything more frightening than murder.

Q   What’s next for you, Betty?

A I’m currently editing my second novel, Riverton Road, and working on a third with the working title of Down Somerset Lane. Both are in the same genre as Blackthorne Cove.

Q   Where can our readers discover more about you and your books?

A For more about Betty J. Crow, the writer, I have an author page on Facebook, @bettyjcrow2021, as well as on Amazon.

For more about Betty J. Crow the amateur nature photographer, I have a blog where I post pictures and will be adding more posts about writing in the future, bettycrow.blogspot.com.

The Other Side

How do you start an investigation when you have no evidence that a crime has been committed?

Such is the premise of Mark Leichliter’s gripping new suspense novel, The Other Side. When a seventeen-year-old girl abruptly disappears from a sleepy Montana tourist town, the ensuing investigation probes dead-ends seemingly as deep as Flathead Lake. The effort to discover what has happened to Britany Rodgers takes readers inside spectacular lakefront mansions and within gritty trailer parks, and into the lives of those who exhibit motivations as murky as the fog-choked Montana woods. Fans of realistic procedurals, pulse-pounding mysteries and contemporary crossovers will not be disappointed.

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

**********

Q: What was your age and circumstance when you first learned that language had power?

A: I was actually reminded of this circumstance via a social media post by a former classmate remarking on the publication of The Other Side. That post mentioned my favorite teacher of all time, Mrs. Garcia, who was fabulously creative, caring, and passionate. 7^th grade, so I must have been twelve, all hopped up on adolescent hormones and filled with self-doubt. Because I’d been writing little stories on my own practically since I could hold a pen, and because Mrs. Garcia was the sort who championed all of her students and enthusiastically shared their work, there were numerous times that year where she made me see that writing could provide one agency, but I recall one transformative moment. One semester-long assignment was a collaborative class project—together we were supposed to create a “feature film.” Teaching genius years ahead of its time. And I mean every aspect of the film, from producing scripts to final editing and sound mixing. The project started with a contest. Every student wrote a script. Mrs. Garcia and some colleagues narrowed those to a few finalists, and then the class voted on the project they would “produce.” This will date me, for I wrote a comedic spoof of a popular television show of the time, “The Six-Million Dollar Man.” I titled my take “The Six Cent Man.” I had a great time writing the script and was proud of it. I was also aware enough to recognize what a rare, great teacher we had in Mrs. Garcia, so the fact that my script made it to the voting stages meant that she must have liked it, and that knowledge brought me satisfaction.

The class voted to produce a script titled “The Amazing Ham-burglar,” choosing a campy physical comedy over the nuances of my script, or at least I like, with the distance of time, to believe my twelve-year-old self understood nuance, social commentary, and more sophisticated comedy. I’m sure I was wrong. However, Mrs. Garcia approached me after class on the day the results were announced. She said, “Mark, I just wanted to let you know that the class got it wrong. I don’t think they can fully appreciate what you are doing in this script. Your movie is the one we should be making. You understand something fundamental about the creative act. I’d like you to be the director for ‘The Amazing Ham-burglar.’ If you’re interested, I think you’re the one who can best understand the creative process behind shooting this story.” My directorial “debut” (also my only director billing) was a consolation prize, but it’s one that I valued. To have a teacher who I so respected read, with care rather than obligation, something that I’d written was the real prize. I was a shy, skinny kid in “love” with a girl I was too scared to ask out and too nervous to try-out for the basketball team. I did well in school and particularly well in English and related subjects, but I was quiet in class. With Mrs. Garcia’s support, writing became my voice. It was the vehicle that allowed me to speak to the world, and belief in that work was enough to allow me to take on the leadership directing a class project required.

Q: What books might we have found on the nightstand of your adolescent self? What are you reading now?

A: Like most people destined to be writers as grown-ups, I was a voracious reader all my life and a particularly committed reader as an adolescent. As I’ve said, I was shy, so books were an important outlet, and I particularly enjoyed books that allowed escape from my sheltered life and that featured strong male protagonists who were confident, mysterious, and idealistic. You most certainly would have found one of Don Pendleton’s books from his The Executioner series on my nightstand. The protagonist was Mac Bolan, a decorated American sniper from the Vietnam War who is granted leave when his entire family is killed by his father in a murder/suicide. Learning that his father’s actions were prompted by the mafia having kidnapped his sister and forced her into prostitution, Bolan starts a one-man crusade to rid the world of organized crime. Non-stop action, a clear case of good vs. evil, racy covers of Mac rescuing attractive women—it was a teenage boy’s dreamscape. I was also big into science fiction as an adolescent, and my world was definitely changed by reading Dune. To watch an adolescent discover himself and begin to realize the power of his gift was extremely attractive to a young kid living in the Wyoming prairie. I was entranced by Frank Herbert’s world-building, even if was only beginning to decipher the geo-political commentary he’d embedded, inspired by the America’s addiction to oil and dependence on powers in foreign deserts to provide it. But adolescence also brought the wisdom of Mrs. Garcia and lists and lists of more literary titles we could read and report on for extra credit, so I was reading the original versions of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer that I’d read in abridged form as a child. It was in her class that I first read The Great Gatsby, a novel I’ve read, and taught, dozens of times as an adult. Eventually I outgrew The Executioner, largely stopped reading science fiction and traded it for literary realism, but those novels are as much a part of me still today as any lived experience I had.

Q: Upon reflection, what author(s) would you say have/had the greatest influence on the development of your style and voice as a storyteller?

A: Honestly, I could fill a book in response to this question. I do truly think everything we read influences the writers we become. Probably the dominant force in my own voice is a love affair with the nuances of language and how great language lives first in the reader’s ear, then helps them form imaginative visions that compel emotion, then, with the echo of language still reverberating in the ear, they move on to an intellectual understanding of where the language leads them. Writers who use precision of language in its full elegance are the ones to whom I’m most instinctively drawn, and in this regard, I have to highlight Fitzgerald as an early influence. My strongest two influences share these qualities—Tim O’Brien and Andre Dubus. They are the sort of writers who literally changed how I saw language and the nature of storytelling. They came earlier for me, but a writer like Jennifer Egan, who came later, extended such lessons. She, like O’Brien, also offered evidence that a writer can experiment with structure and learn to have the rhythms of language and syntax become mechanisms for supporting theme. Kent Haruf, among others, taught me to learn to simplify. All these same qualities that lean to what gets labeled as the more literary part of the marketplace are everywhere present in the crime fiction of Tana French. Within the crime genre, she certainly sets the bar I want to learn to reach.

Q: What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel (and why)?

A: In all of my work I wish to present characters in as realistic a vein as possible, and I wish to honor the complexity we all have within us as human beings. People are rarely “types.” They contradict themselves, have vulnerabilities, demonstrate unexpected grace, possess monsters within them, and are regularly floored by beauty and love and kindness. A novel that far too few know (well, really, I’m cheating a bit because it’s a novella and short story collection) that conveys people as they truly are, is The Times Are Never So Bad by Andre Dubus. Dubus is a writer’s kind of writer, and while he had/has a nearly rabid, devoted following among writers and editors, he steadfastly refused to play a lot of the publishing game, staying with the same small press for nearly the whole of his career, never producing an actual novel, constantly writing sophisticated anti-heroes and finding strength in unlikely characters. “The Pretty Girl,” the novella that opens the book, alone offers an unflinching exploration of the shaky ego behind those who are bullies and abusers, daringly accessed via first person, alongside the devotion of a parent even when powerless to protect those they love, the grit and tenacity of quiet strength in those who others might never see or reduce to a dismissive reduction based on physical attractiveness, just to name a few of its remarkable character portrayals. To convey how the world actually is can take far more talent than to fabricate the world that only exist in the imagination in my estimation, and Dubus was an absolute master at that. To do so and have those stories still be the places we want to spend our time requires the kind of ability that is replicated in great architects; there is a near parallel in creating spaces that are fully functional living or work spaces that are structurally sound, efficient, utilitarian and simultaneously provocative, beautiful, and stimulating. The Times Are Never So Bad is a book equivalent of that kind of architecture.

Q: In your opinion, who was the best written character of all time (and why)?

A: I’d probably give you a different character on a different day because there are many, but immediately my mind goes to Count László Almásy, who most of us only know at “the English patient” in Michael Ondaatje’s novel of that name. He is a mystery inside a mystery, a man inside of gauze and burnt skin, a figure inside layers of stories. We get to meet what seem multiple versions of him across the novel, and, perhaps most important to the novelist, he undergoes such transformations that we see him quite differently at different parts of his life and in different parts of the novel. Finally, for a person who has lived richly and explored the world, consorted with fascinating people, learned more than most ever dare, ultimately, he is a figure defined by the love of another. He’s all the romanticized parts of a larger than life being as we often expect in novels, and yet Ondaatje captures him as human, as frail, as lovesick as any of us might be. He is unknowable and known in the same breath. He can be pathetic. He can be brave. He can be funny. He can be vulnerable. He can be wise. He can be naïve. And he can be all these things at once. That’s a character we must peel away in layers, one we will never forget once we meet him.

Q: Plotter or pantser, and why does your chosen method work effectively for you?

A: I am absolutely a ‘pantser.’ 100 percent. Every writer approaches their work differently, as they should. It’s important you find what works for you. We all have different needs. I have writer friends who plot every aspect of a novel and spend years meticulously doing research for it. While I’m a stickler for research and spend important time consulting experts in fields that are vital to what I’m writing at the moment, when it comes to process, I relish not knowing where a book is going. It’s actually a topic I’m passionate about, for I find tremendous joy in the act of discovery that comes with writing. I believe in the E.L. Doctorow idea that writing is like driving at night with your headlights on; you may only be able to see what’s immediately ahead of you, but you can make a whole trip that way. As long as I begin to see the next scene at some point while I am writing a current scene, I trust that I’ll find my way to the end. For me, this allows me to get out of the way of the book, listen to its rhythms and patterns, hear my characters’ voices. I learn to put my trust in discovering the characters’ stories rather than telling them what to do. I find it a more authentic process. Of course, my process could never work for another writer. And it greatly complicates the revision process where I spend a lot of time moving material around into a new order. But I find tremendous energy in this silly approach. I take that to heart in all my work; indeed, The Other Side was written in this manner, defying the sort of “who-done-it” where, for a good part of the writing process, I remained open to the “who” of that question.

Q: If you could invite three famous fictional detectives to dinner, who would they be, what would you serve, and what would you most like to ask each one?

A: Sherlock Holmes, Phillip Marlowe, Cassie Maddox. I’d prepare something hearty and layered in flavor to keep the conversation going and keep people at the table, yet a dish that might appeal to Homes’ and Maddox’s homeward yearnings, perhaps bouillabaisse. Chocolate mousse for dessert because it pairs with brandy, a drink I think I could get all three on board with and then loosen their tongues a bit. For Holmes, because I first encountered him as a child and took a somewhat narrow, purposeful (though still fun) focus on his use of logic, I’d want to ask technical questions about people’s behaviors and their “tells,” those elements of applied observation of human behavior that might help a detective know when they were being truthful. For Marlowe, who I didn’t encounter until college, my questions would be directed at the softer, more reflective parts of him that appear under the hard-boiled, oft-stereotyped mask; not only would they be questions focused on rooting out the person behind the role, they’d reflect my sense that we all are likely to hide our vulnerabilities. I’m not certain that Tana French’s Cassie Maddox meets the typical definition of “famous” since she is contemporary, but French either is or has cemented her place in the crime fiction we’ll all still be reading two generations from now, and Maddox is among her most interesting creations from what might be her best novel. For Maddox, I’d want to go to the heart of what The Likeness is all about: when, as an investigator, do you risk becoming the very thing you are hunting; what does Maddox find in her alter-ego that makes her come so near to wanting to disappear herself? For all three, there’s a uniting question: does the commitment to the work preclude an ability to maintain a relationship—something I play around with in my character Steven Wendell.

Q: What’s a typical writing day like for you?

A: My love is in writing novels. Most of my income comes from editing work for others and ghostwriting for thought leaders. As a result, I purposefully split my days. From nearly the moment I awaken until a late morning break for a work-out, I’m ensconced inside the novel that I am writing at the moment. I write in layers and typically open the writing day by reading and revising a portion of what I’ve written over the past few days and allow that momentum to carry me forward into new pages. I always follow the Hemmingway advice of stopping a writing day mid-sentence, so many days I feel strongly compelled to finish that sentence and am back inside the writing without thinking about it. I don’t outline. I rarely know beyond the next scene where the text will take me, so I feel an urgency to listen to the characters and uncover the story.

The afternoons are nearly opposite affairs in that I’m typically working from an outline, puzzling out how to best say content that I know the client wants to include, researching alongside writing, constantly turning inside transcripts of interviews to find the thread of expression. It’s all writing, but they originate in different ways.

They day closes by research on materials I need for my own novels, some close editing either of my own work or a client project or of work that will be published in a literary magazine I edit. If I can keep my eyes open, I turn to the book(s) I’m reading for pleasure/study.

Q: You began your first novel 25 years ago while teaching full time, raising a family, coaching, and working a part-time job to supplement the family income. Did you ever feel you should just quit and throw that manuscript into a bottom drawer, never to be touched again?

A: I may hold the record for rejection—from agents, editors, magazines, you name it. I get told “no” almost constantly. The smart move would have been to quit. I’m a Taurus, so maybe I’m just stubborn. But honestly, two things remain true to me on why I have kept writing: 1) stories are an inherent and central way in which I view the world; while some think in terms of formulas or math or data or things they produce with their hands, I hear the universe in stories and metaphors. Many times I can’t make heads or tales of complex material until I hear the human story underneath it. So, in this regard, I’d almost say I don’t have a choice. 2) On the stubborn front, there has always been a part of me that wants to prove those who frequently say “no” wrong, and truthfully, I remain steadfast in the belief that the only logical response for a writer to rejection is to return to the work, scrutinize it even closer, make certain it is as good as it can possibly be, and send it out again.

Q: Do you edit as you compose or save all of the editing until the first draft is completed?

A: In a way, I do both. I definitely edit as I compose. By the time a manuscript is typed, I’ve already been editing across it through multiple passes. That said, revision is a long process for me, and I come back to the full draft again and again. Because I don’t plot—writing is a far more organic process for me—much of the revision goes well beyond “editing” and involves moving entire chapters to different locations, finding gaps of ideas that need developed, and other larger scale concerns.

Q: Does anyone get to read your works-in-progress or do you make everyone wait until you have typed THE END?

A: My wife often reads or has me read aloud work-in-progress. When she does, she’s quick to ask, “What happens next?” That creates a certain momentum that can be really useful. At times, we enter long, contemplative conversations about characters, which in turn prompts more questions and more investigation.

Q: Detectives Steve Wendell and Stacey Knudson are the law enforcement protagonists in The Other Side. From where/what did this pair arise?

A: Both are entirely fictional beings, but Wendell does have a handful of facts/qualities that are an amalgam of several real law enforcement friends or acquaintances, including the notion that he doesn’t come to the police side of the law enforcement world until he’s forty, which makes him something of an outlier from all the other rookies. That outlier status is key to his personality, and that was very purposeful. I wanted a cop who likes to largely work a case in his own way and who, while he is respected by his colleagues, is quite different from them. The one particular I share with Wendell is that I’ve made him a trail runner. While I don’t run as fast or as long as he does, to be a trail runner you have to be able to adapt to changing and challenging trail and weather conditions, be resilient and push yourself when you’d like to turn around (and we share Montana as our home, so trails always are uphill), be comfortable alone, and find comfort in the quiet of pine forests where you can think and problem solve. Wendell is careful in nearly every way, deeply moral, and precise even in how he speaks. He never wants to offend—that’s a real part of his personality that is instilled in him by not wanting to judge people. That’s why he’s paired with Knudson, who is outspoken, crass, and likes to poke at people. She uses this part of her personality as a bit of a defense mechanism, for she’s an outlier as well, but her status is largely forced on her as a woman. Law enforcement is changing and continues to become more inclusive, but historically it’s very much a man’s realm and it often still attracts alpha-male types. Knudson is willing to stand up to these forces. Both characters care greatly for victims and take the “protect” part of the police pledge to heart.

Q: What’s unique about Steve and Stacey as investigators and why are they the right characters for the readers’ experience in this novel?

A: That last part of the previous response is key to understanding Steve and Stacey. It could even be their undoing, for they are entirely sincere in their vow to never give up on a case or on the people impacted by a case. They are dogged in their pursuit. For this novel, that’s key because it is an investigation that’s filled with dead-ends and there’s very little logic behind what they begin to uncover. One crime bleeds into another. One person of interest has as little or as much reason to retain their interest as another. It’s the sort of investigation that requires original problem solving and perseverance.

Q: If Hollywood came calling, who would comprise your dream cast for an adaptation?

A: I’ve simply got to be honest and say that such a question simply doesn’t align with my thinking. I’m not saying I wouldn’t love for the novel to be adapted. I think it actually would lend itself to film extremely well. I just don’t think in those terms. And honestly, I think part of the power of reading is that the reader is a partner, so every reader has his or her own way of seeing characters and a text. I’d leave such vision of casting to a reader who was so engaged in a text that they wanted to lead an adaptation.

Q: What does your title—The Other Side—mean to you and how does it apply to the plot (without giving away any spoilers)?

A: “The other side” as a phrase has numerous applications to the nature of the novel, from the most superficial to the most metaphysical. On one end of the spectrum, the geographical center of the book is Flathead Lake, the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, and the criminal events literally take place on the other side of the lake from where Steve Wendell lives. In some aspects, the two communities are quite different from one another. In another application, from the beginning of this missing person investigation, it is unknown if Britany will be found alive; “the other side” is a common reference to the crossover from life to death, something the characters, like the reader, is reminded as a possibility. Because of where the novel is set and the nature of the Flathead Valley, there’s a great deal of flow between the lives of the “haves” and the “have-nots”, and a lot of contemplation about how the other half, or “the other side,” of the economic spectrum lives. For the divide is quite real and many of the “haves” in my neck of the woods have A LOT, with grand, lakefront mansions and luxury cars, both of which they may use for only a few weeks out of the year. One highlighted question revolves around the natural daydreaming common to youth and with Britany’s fixation with those whose lives are so different from her own. Lastly, from a psychological standpoint, in police work there’s always that question of the person you are supposed to see vs. “the other side” of their personality, and the person they may wish to hide.

Q: How did you go about finding a publisher?

A: This book had a complicated publishing journey, including being represented by an agent with whom I ultimately parted ways. Shortly after that representation ceased, I stumbled into Level Best Books, which was growing their list pretty substantially and had placed a call for manuscripts. But I’ve been studying the industry a long time and know more than I might like to about the search for agents and the like and am lucky enough to have enough writer friends to be able to know a lot about some of the comings and goings in publishing, trends, reputations, etc.

Q: Best advice to aspiring authors?

A: Write the books you want to write and concentrate on learning the craft so that you can make them the best books you are capable of writing. Publication is a different animal. A lot of it is luck and timing, but good work finds a way. Don’t get caught up in the hype or the trends or the pursuit. The work is the work. Follow your passions; sure, you’re unique, but you’re not so unique that there aren’t others who share those passions and who will want to read the stories you write. Write them well. Get over the difficulty of having your work critiqued; it needs it. Solicit readings from those who are knowledgeable and who are capable of honesty. The world does not need more mediocre books. Readers deserve the book you believe in with all your heart and into which you have poured your time and your soul.

Q: What would people be the most surprised to learn about you?

A: Probably how different I am from the characters I write and the stories I tell. I care a great deal for realism and try hard to apply my powers of observation backed up with research and talking with people who have experience radically different from my own. I like to think my books are highly imaginative and introduce characters with a lot of mystery and depth—psychologically complicated people, world travelers, cross-cultural…—so perhaps the surprise is how boring and ordinary I really am.

Q: What’s next on your plate?

A: I’m a quarter of the way into writing a new novel that opens in 1966 in what was then Saigon and that pursues as its protagonist a woman who only entered diplomatic service in a blue-collar capacity in her forties. She finds she is adept at work in the chaos and uncertainty of an unfamiliar culture in the midst of war. I’m pairing her with a second narrative of a younger woman contemporary to our own time who might learn from the life of an independent, extraordinary woman.

Meanwhile, I’m in the midst of research and some notetaking for the follow-up to The Other Side, which will focus on human trafficking and feature an unexpected façade for a trafficking ring operating out of Flathead County, Montana.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: Only a thank you. I appreciate your time and your interest. Writers are very indebted to those who help guide readers towards great books. The industry pours all its money and attention into a tiny handful of books—often the very ones already guaranteed an audience—so the role of those in the industry that share interviews, book news, reviews and the like are tremendously important to readers and writers alike.

A Dead Man’s Eyes

Lori Duffy Foster’s heroine, Lisa Jamison, has done well for a single mom who got pregnant at fifteen. She’s a reporter at a well-respected newspaper and her teenage daughter is both an athlete and honors student. Though their relationship is rocky these days, Lisa has accomplished what she set out to do; she has given her offspring the kind of life she never had herself. But all that changes when her daughter’s father is murdered, the victim of a suspected drug killing.

Lori’s new novel, A Dead Man’s Eyes, is the latest in her Lisa Jamison mystery series and she joins us today to talk about the craft of writing compelling suspense.

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

**********

Q: Were you a voracious reader in your youth? If so, what titles and authors might we have found on the nightstand of your adolescent and teen self?

A: I certainly was! My father used to go to auctions and buy boxes of books without looking inside. We never knew what he might bring home, but I devoured just about all of them, from used social studies textbooks to Harlequins to encyclopedias. Some of my favorites were Son Rise by Barry Neil Kaufman, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, the Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys mysteries, Mopsa the Fairy by Jean Ingelow, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath,

Q: What are you reading nowadays?

A: I just finished From Ashes to Song, by friend Hilary Hauck, and Not My Boy by Kelly Simmons. I am about to start Walter Mosley’s John Woman (as soon as I finish this interview!).

Q: Who or what was the earliest influence in your passion for the craft of writing?

A: My earliest memories of writing are in my room as a kid, passing the time when I was being punished. It was easy to feel sorry for myself as one of eight kids, to feel like I was invisible. So, I sketched my feelings on paper and wrote poems (I was and still am a terrible artist!). One of those poems won a local contest. That was a huge confidence boost. Writing has always been therapy for me, a way of figuring out the world, but that was the first time I ever thought it might become something more.

Q: For 11 years of your professional life, that passion manifested in a full-time career as a reporter. How does journalism inform your fiction and structure your particular writing schedule?

A: I had always thought that when I wrote novels they would fall more into the literary genre. I am fascinated by human nature and the forces that make us go against our natures. But my career in journalism showed me that crime is the perfect intersection of those forces. Most people don’t set out to be criminals. Some still don’t see themselves as criminals even after killing someone. Something happens that alters their thinking, that forces or entices them into actions that clash with their values. Journalism gave me incredible access to those people and those situations.

In a more practical sense, journalism taught me a lot about police work, forensics, writing quickly and hooking readers from the start. I also learned to write in my head, driving back from interviews or crime scenes or press conferences. With my current job and my kids, I find it hard to keep a regular writing schedule, but when I sit down to write I am super productive.

Q: You began your first novel 20 years ago whilst working part-time jobs to supplement the family income and raise four kids. Did you ever go through periods of depression and doubt and feel as if you should just quit and throw that manuscript into a bottom drawer? What kept you going?

A: Oh, yes! There were many times I just cried and cried and pondered how much easier life would be if I could just wipe out this urge to write. We could have no debt right now. The house would always be clean. My stress levels would be so much lower. But, whenever I tried, even for just a few days, I felt empty and numb. My husband, a writer himself, always came to the rescue. He would talk me down from that ledge and take the kids somewhere for a day so I could write or send me away for a few days for some retreat time, even if the hotel had to go on a credit card. He has been my greatest supporter.  The writing community was a huge help as well. Some of the best writers are also some of the more giving people I know.

Q: Aside from the fact your main character, Lisa Jamison, shares your own skill sets in journalism, what are some of the other influences that drive her emotions, beliefs and actions?

A: The inspiration for Lisa came from a couple of different directions. I had two colleagues at the newspaper who were awesome reporters and single moms. One was fresh out of college and had no family around to help her raise her toddler. Yet she succeeded and her daughter grew into an amazing adult. I have so much respect for both women. Another inspiration was a pregnant 15-year old I met while covering a house fire one night in Syracuse. She was living with foster parents in the neighborhood and had been drawn out by curiosity. This girl was determined to keep the baby and make something of herself, maybe go to college. She struck me as extraordinary—smart and capable—and her name seemed familiar. I looked her up in my old notes when I returned to the newsroom. She shared a name and age with a girl who had witnessed a fatal game of Russian roulette. I forgot her name over time, but I never forgot her. So, together with my own journalistic ethics and experience, those two women and that young girl converged to create Lisa.

Q: What governed your decision to write a series?

A: I never intended to write a series and I had not read much serial fiction when I completed A Dead Man’s Eyes. It was my former agent who suggested I write a second Lisa Jamison book and I was surprised by how naturally that second novel, Never Broken, came to me. I am almost finished with the third book now and I already have ideas for the fourth.

Q: What are the rewards and challenges inherent in penning a series vs. writing standalone works?

A: There is a sense of security that comes with writing a series. The main character already exists and is well-developed. The setting is at least partially determined. But it can also be limiting and confining. The trick (I believe) is to make it new and exciting each time for both the author and the readers and to think of each book as a standalone. I enjoy discovering something fresh about Lisa and the people in her life with each novel while also developing a new and intriguing protagonist. It is fun to hear readers tell me which characters they hope to learn more about in future novels as well. But I have read some serial fiction in which it is obvious the author is bored. A quarter of the book is a recap of the last one. If it’s not fun anymore, it’s time to stop.

Writing a standalone means starting from scratch each time. Some authors find that daunting. I find it thrilling. The hardest part for me is settling on a conflict of human nature, and then creating a main character and plot that will combine to make that collision especially intriguing and revealing. Once I get past those obstacles, I am good to go. I like writing both, but I enjoy the challenges of standalones most.

Q: To date, you have five novels under contract with Level Best Books. Looking back, how has your writing process changed from the first book to the most recent?

A: It took me six years to write my first novel and another three years to revise it. I completed my second novel, A Dead Man’s Eyes, in only two years. Each novel after that has taken about two years to write, except for the one I am writing now, which will be my sixth. The pandemic took a toll on my creativity. With all four kids studying from home and my husband working from home, it was difficult to find the uninterrupted time I needed. I wrote only about 20,000 words that entire year. But I am on a roll now and should finish that project within a month. That first novel, Spring Melt, is an historical crime novel, so it required a lot of research, but the learning curve also slowed me down. I made lots of rookie mistakes—too many secondary characters, too much worrying about deviating from my original plot plan. I had to learn to relax. I still think Spring Melt is my best novel though and I can’t wait until it is released.

Q: How has your publishing experience differed from or matched your early expectations?

A: I never expected to work so hard at promoting my books. It is like having a second part-time job. It is so dramatically different from the writing aspect. There is not much point in publishing novels, though, if no one knows about them. It has been fun, though, and I expect it will get easier with each novel.

Q: Plotter or pantser and how structured is your writing day?

A: I would say I am a little of both. I usually start off with a plot and an ending in mind, but that plot revolves around decisions the characters make. As I develop the characters and get to know them better, I sometimes realize they will make different decisions than I anticipated. That changes the plot and the ending. But I love that part of it. Writing is a discovery process for me.

As for my writing schedule, I don’t have one. I might go weeks without writing any fiction, and then write 14,000 words in a few days. Some people are critical of that, insisting that authors should be more disciplined and write daily, but that is not practical for me right now. I do hope to start writing more regularly now that my kids are growing up, but I am not sure how that will work for me. One reason I am so productive is that I am always thinking about my fiction, formulating scenes and developing characters in my head. When I finally sit, the word come rushing out. So, I don’t expect I will be much more productive when I am finally able to write fiction every day.

Q: Do your characters ever take your plots in different directions than you expected them to?

A: Always! The plot is really just a guide. I go where the characters take me.

Q: What role have writing organizations played in your career so far?

A: I would not be where I am now without Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Pennwriters and Thriller Writers International. The mystery writing community is so overwhelmingly supportive of everyone, from those who are struggling with their first paragraphs to those who have multiple best sellers. Those organizations have helped me improve my writing; become selective about agents and publishers; and promote my books. I have made friendships that will last a lifetime. I recently joined the Historical Novel Society as well and I look forward to being more active in that group. I highly recommend that writers join writing organizations as early as possible in their careers to get the most out of them.

Q: What’s next on your plate?

A: I am finishing the third novel in the Lisa Jamison series, and then I will dive right into edits of the second book before officially handing it off to Level Best Books. I can’t decide which project to start next when I am done. I am itching to write book four in the series, but I am also tempted to write another historical crime novel set in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State where I grew up. I wish I could write both at once!

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: I really want to encourage novice writers to embrace the ignorance. Believe that your first novel will be a best seller even when others are trying to yank you down to Earth. That ignorance will give you confidence and might even make your dream a reality. I know lots of writers who wrote multiple books before they were published, but I also know some whose first novels were best sellers. Look at Jamie Ford. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is still a best seller after more than a decade. Believe, believe, believe! If you are not published right away, be grateful for the extra time to build up your novel inventory and learn more about the business. See it as a good thing. It will happen eventually if you believe.

Knitty Gritty Murder: A Knit & Nibble Mystery

If you’re looking to cozy up with a good beach read this summer, Peggy Ehrhart’s latest book, Knitty Gritty Murder: A Knit & Nibble Mystery, follows the adventures of Pamela Paterson, founder of her town’s gregarious knitting club. This time around, Pamela and her fellow sleuths are drawn into the mystery of why a victim’s body was discovered in her own vegetable patch…and why the murder weapon used to dispatch her was a circular knitting needle.

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

**********

Q: What or who was the earliest influence that compelled you to dream, “I want to be a writer someday?”

A: When I was in third grade at Our Lady of Peace School, I won a Knights of Columbus essay contest on the theme of “Columbus Rediscovers America.” I had always been a reader, to the point that my mother treated my constant reading as if it was some kind of an affliction, but all that reading had given me an ability to string words together and an interest in doing so. After I won the contest, I became known as “the writer” and it seemed that my destiny was set.

Q: How did a former English professor, blues guitarist and holder of a doctorate in Medieval Literature gravitate to the mystery genre?

A: I never read mysteries until one of my graduate school friends introduced me to them. I discovered that reading a mystery was very relaxing after a day spent with Beowulf or Paradise Lost. I did a lot of scholarly writing in graduate school and beyond, but—mid-life crisis alert!—halfway through my forties I asked myself, Is this all? What do you really want to do? I realized I wanted to write fiction and play in a band. I started taking guitar lessons and, as far as writing fiction was concerned, I figured it would be easier to get published if I tried a popular genre like mysteries rather than something more serious. And I liked mysteries anyway, so that’s what I wrote.

Q: Who are some of the mystery authors you most admire and why?

A: Raymond Chandler, for his stylish prose. And I love the writers from the Golden Age of mystery fiction: P.D. James, Dorothy Sayers, G.K. Chesterton . . . Agatha Christie, of course.

Q: Mysteries come in all lengths, styles and settings. What is it about a cozy mystery that makes it such a cozy escape for its readers?

A: Nobody who reads cozies takes them seriously as crime fiction. The appeal is the world they portray—usually a pleasant small town inhabited by pleasant people with quirks that make them amusing. And most cozy mysteries follow the pattern of the traditional mystery (see: Golden Age of mystery fiction). The main point is the puzzle, not the gore. Who, of many possible suspects, did it, and how will the sleuth figure that out?

Q: With its amateur sleuths and light-hearted plots, the cozy mystery is inherently unrealistic. As a writer, what do you find challenging and satisfying about the form?

A: The challenge is to hide the real clues and distract the reader with red herrings or false clues. The cozy mystery is a subcategory of the traditional mystery, which features multiple suspects, any of whom could be the killer. That’s where the red herrings come in.  Usually the killer turns out to be the last person anyone would suspect—until the sleuth identifies that person and points out the carefully hidden real clues. Another challenge is that an amateur sleuth can’t just show up and arrest someone—so once the sleuth has identified the killer, he or she has to find a way to make the killer incriminate himself or herself and thus draw the attention of the police.

Feeling that I’ve met these challenges is highly satisfying!

Q: The protagonist in your Knit and Nibble series, Pamela Paterson, is a middle-aged widow. What governed your choice to not go for someone younger and single?

A: Twenty-somethings generally don’t read this style of mystery. People middle-aged and older do. So I wanted to create a character that readers could identify with—she’s old enough to have had some life experience and she has a daughter in college. But I wanted her to be young enough that a romance subplot would be realistic. (Yes, I know even people in their 70s, 80s, and beyond can fall in love, but I chose to make her 45-ish.) I made her a widow rather than a divorcee because I didn’t want readers to wonder what went wrong in her marriage.

I also wanted her to live in a house in a small town among other suburban people. A single woman could live in a house in a small town, of course, but her backstory is that she and her husband bought the house and restored it when they were first married and, thus, she loves the house and didn’t want to leave it when he died.  

Q: How much in this series is drawn from your own life?

A: The town of Arborville is a thinly disguised version of the town where I live and Pamela’s house, which is over one hundred years old, is basically my house. Like her, I knit, I love to cook, and I have never met a garage sale or thrift store that I could resist. My husband, however, is alive and well, thank goodness. I have one child, but he’s a son and he’s been out of college for quite a while. I don’t have a best friend like Bettina Fraser living across the street, but Bettina’s sweet husband Wilfred is based on my husband.

Q: Plotter or pantser?

A: Plotter—always have been. And that turned out to be a good thing when I was approached by Kensington to write a cozy series. I got the contract for the Knit & Nibble books on the basis of a detailed outline and some sample chapters. And my editor still likes to see a detailed outline before I start a new book. I can’t imagine how a person could write a tightly plotted mystery without working out ahead of time who did it, how, and why, and identifying the other suspects and their possible motives.

Q: Your colorful and well-stitched storylines revolve around a knitting club in charming Arborville, New Jersey. What do the knitting club and the ongoing group of characters add to the books?

A: The members of the knitting club are a varied group, from the oldest, Nell Bascomb, who is in her 80s, to the two youngest, Holly Perkins and Karen Dowling, in their 20s and new to Arborville. There’s also a man, Roland DeCamp, a high-strung corporate lawyer who took up knitting because his doctor told him he had to learn to relax. Then there’s Pamela, and her best friend Bettina, who’s about a decade older than Pamela. The knitting club meets three times in every book, and the topic of conversation as they knit is often whatever murder has once again upset the normal routines of idyllic Arborville. But Nell doesn’t approve of discussing these crimes, so often there’s a bit of back and forth about that. And Roland is always complaining about his high taxes—he’s politically conservative—while Nell is an old-time liberal. So they argue, too. The books usually end with a meeting of the knitting club, and that gives Pamela a chance to explain how she figured out who the killer was.Also the books are Knit AND Nibble—the members take turns hosting the group and each week’s host serves a dessert with coffee and tea. Each book includes a recipe and a knitting project, and often the recipe is for something served at a meeting of the knitting club. I post photos of the finished Knit and the finished Nibble on my website.

Q: Do you think Knit and Nibble would lend itself to a television show along the lines of the amateur sleuthing found in Father Brown, Hart to Hart or Murder, She Wrote? Why or why not?

A: I’d love that! And I think it would lend itself. A big part of those shows, to me anyway, is the home décor and the gardens—like Martha Stewart with murders, and the eccentric people. And Knit & Nibble has those things.

Q: Given that you write cozies, how do you handle the violence of murder?

A: The reader never sees it happen, and sometimes doesn’t even see the body. And, most important (I think), the methods used by the killers are often totally preposterous—so no reader is going to have nightmares thinking this could happen to them. Stabbed with a knitting needle? Clunked on the head with a rock and hidden under a festival booth with a knitted aardvark on your chest? Garroted with a circular knitting needle?

Q: Does the series require mystery fans to read the books in the original order in which you penned them or can they jump around?

A: They can jump around. In each book I try to fill in background on the characters so someone starting with that book isn’t at a loss. On the other hand, there’s an ongoing (and very slow-moving) romance subplot that unfolds from book to book.

Q: You also have a mystery series about a blues singer named Maxx Maxwell. Tell us about her.

A: If I could sing I’d have taken up singing rather than guitar. Maxx (real name: Elizabeth) is my younger, blonder, more talented, and more adventurous alter-ego. The Maxx Maxwell mystery series only consists of two books and was published by a small press, Five Star, that accepts what are called “unagented submissions.” The first book was Sweet Man Is Gone and the second was Got No Friend Anyhow. The titles are taken from blues songs. After the second came out I set my sights on creating a project that would attract an agent and, thus, a larger press. And then Five Star dropped the mystery line anyway.Though they are set in the gritty world of NYC bars and clubs and the characters are struggling musicians, the books are actually traditional mysteries and rather cozy. Nothing very scary happens and the plots feature multiple suspects, clues, and red herrings, and a surprise at the end when the real killer is revealed. But one thing I learned while trying to interest an agent in the first one is that readers of cozies really like the “Martha Stewart with murders” aspect of the form and don’t want to enter a world where the tables are sticky with spilled beer and the smell of marijuana drifts from the restroom. The books are out of print now but available on Amazon in the Kindle format.

Q: Best advice to aspiring writers?

A: Understand your genre. Figure out what kind of books you want to write and then read a whole lot of books in that genre and study what makes them work. Outlining is helpful. And never give up. And don’t wait to write until you feel inspired. Just sit down and do it, even for half an hour a day. And there is no such thing as writers block.

Q: What’s next on your plate?

A: Just now I’m writing a Knit & Nibble novella to be included in Kensington’s 2022 Christmas anthology, Christmas Scarf Murder, and I recently signed a contract to write two more full-length Knit & Nibbles.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: Thanks very much for inviting me to be a guest on You Read It Here First. 

The Man in the Microwave Oven

For readers who prefer their traditional mysteries with a touch of humor, a strong cast of characters, and not too much gore, Susan Cox’s latest release, The Man in the Microwave Oven, may be just the ticket. The premise: When the lawyer who threatens to expose her tragic past is murdered, Theo Bogart is unwillingly drawn into the investigation. 

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

**********

Q: First of all, I love the title of your book! How did you come up with it and what does it mean?

A: Title are famously difficult, and they’re not copyrighted, so I could have called my mystery The Sun Also Rises or The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Quite often a title comes late in the process, prompted by something that happens in the book, but in the case of The Man in the Microwave Oven I thought of the title first.  It came to me as a joke, really, while making a short presentation at Bouchercon. But once I got my laugh, I decided I really liked it and then I went about writing the scenes that made the title work. It’s quirky, but it follows up with the sinister appliance theme from the first book (The Man on the Washing Machine), and microwaves have always had this rather dangerous reputation. They’re in everyone’s kitchen and they’re such a benign little tool until you accidentally put the wrong thing in it and all hell breaks loose. That’s why I liked it—my novel is a traditional mystery with a bit of a twist, and I think the title is the same way. As for what it means, well—there’s a man in a microwave oven!

Q: What attracted you to the mystery genre?

A: I suppose it’s the sense of the rightness of things that attracts me to police procedurals, detective stories and amateur sleuths—I like to see the bad guys get their comeuppance and the good guys triumph.  It may be why I like the Golden Age detective novels so much; there’s no moral ambiguity and no anti-heroes, just a fairly simple vision of the world and the people in it doing the right thing.

Q: The physical backdrops of a story often take on as much personality as the human characters who inhabit it. Was this the case governing your decision to use San Francisco as your setting for The Man in the Microwave Oven?

A:  I lived in San Francisco for many years and love the city, partly because it’s so welcoming to such a wide variety of people and cultures.  It’s one of those American cities, like New York and New Orleans that couldn’t be anywhere else. Its founding families weren’t landed gentry or from wealth going back generations; they were blue collar working people mixed with a few disgraced scions of wealthier families back east. Maybe for that reason, the city has always accepted people at their own valuation and allowed them to make a fresh start. I wanted to use that accepting attitude towards newcomers and give it an ironic twist because my heroine isn’t just making a new start, she’s hiding some dark secrets and she struggles with lying to everyone she knows.

Q: What was your biggest challenge in bringing this mystery to life?

A: My home was burgled, and my laptops, my external hard drive and even my thumb drive back-up were all stolen. I wasn’t backing up to the cloud at the time, which meant that The Man in the Microwave Oven, which I had recently finished, and several partially complete manuscripts were gone. It was devastating.  I eventually rewrote the novel from scratch using my memory and some hand-written notes, but it was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. The burglar was eventually caught, by the way, but my laptops, and the novels they contained, have never been recovered.

Q: Plotter or pantser? And why do you feel this method best suits your creative style?

A: Pantser.  I’m not sure if it really suits my creative style, or if I just can’t do it any other way.  For me, writing a novel isn’t a linear process; it’s like putting together a jigsaw puzzle.

Q: How did your prior careers in journalism, safari park PR and fundraising for nonprofits hone your craft as an accomplished and award-winning author of mystery novels?

A: In one way or another, I’ve been a writer all of my life and, like with any skill, it’s practice that produces the best work.

Q: Tell us about your protagonist, Theo Bogart. What percentage of her life is fiction versus reality and how did this differentiation come about?

A: Like me, Theo is English, but that’s where we part company with reality; Theo is much more inquisitive, and much braver, than I am. She lives a very quiet, almost undercover life in San Francisco, but she had a very high profile past in London and her grandfather is the younger son of of an English Earl. I invented her friends, her business, and the community she lives in, to give her a background that makes it easy for her to get involved in a murder plot. The only “real” parts of her life are the parts where she interacts with the city which, because I know it so well, I make as accurate as I can.

Q: How do you approach the task of research?

A: I read local newspapers and magazines to stay current on things happening in San Francisco and California. I had a quandary in The Man in the Microwave Oven when a major character was arrested and I had him posting bail. I learned that the state was voting to eliminate the financial bail requirement for criminal defendants, but I couldn’t know which way the vote would go before the book was published. I decided, since we’re all familiar with the system after forty years of cop and lawyer TV shows, to leave the reference in as a sort of shorthand for what was happening.

Q: Do you allow anyone to read your chapters in progress or do you make everyone wait until you have typed “The End?”

A:  I was lucky in the early days of writing my first mystery to know some wonderful writers who gave me invaluable help and advice. Now, I often have a trusted reader to help me along the way.

Q: Tell us about how, where and when your publishing journey began.

A: My first mystery, The Man on the Washing Machine, won the Mystery Writers of America/Minotaur books First Crime novel Award. It was a thrill and I couldn’t have asked for a better jump-start to my career as a mystery novelist.

Q: If you could invite any three of your favorite authors to dinner, who would be on the guest list and what would you most like to ask them?

A: Agatha Christie, Dick Francis and Peter Lovesey.  I wouldn’t ask them anything, I’d just listen to them talk and try to remember everything they said!

Q: What is an ideal writing day like for you?

A: Three or four hours of writing in the morning and another couple of hours in the late afternoon. No distractions (no music or visitors), and plenty of tea!

Q: A brief segue to silliness. Rumor has it that you’re a Star Trek geek. (I, too, have a Starfleet communicator pin I bought at the National Air and Space Museum and used to wear on the lapel of my black wool coat. It always got noticed!) A totally off-the-wall question but which was your favorite Star Trek movie and TV series?

A: I have a Starfleet Academy decal on the back window of my car, too! I know it’s not a popular choice, but I loved the reboot with the new actors playing Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. It was fun to see their young selves and how they developed the bonds that made them such a close-knit ensemble.  For me, it’s all about the characters!

Q: What brings you the most enjoyment about being an author?

A:  The moments—and there are several in each book—when a problem that’s been causing a stumbling block in the plot is suddenly resolved and everything beings to flow again.  There’s nothing like it!

Q: And the most frustration?

A: The length of time it takes me to write—I write and re-write, polish and improve until the original plating is almost worn away.  It’s exhausting!!

Q: What’s next on your plate?

A: I’ve begun work on a third Theo Bogart novel.  No title yet—I’m trying to think of a suitably sinister appliance!

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A:  This was fun!

Hide in Place

Intrepid heroine Laney Bird left the NYPD in the firestorm of a high-profile case gone horribly wrong. Three years later, the ghosts of her past roar back to terrifying life and now jeopardize the young son she treasures above all else. In her debut novel, Hide in Place, author Emilya Naymark tells us about her passion for the crime/suspense genre, what it’s like to stay creative during a pandemic, and why it was love at first sight when she was first introduced to the hustle and bustle of New York.

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

**********

Q: There’s certainly no question that the past year of lockdowns and social distancing has had an impact on our mindsets, energy levels and even our self-confidence. Had someone told you that your first novel would make its debut in the midst of so much global chaos, what would you have envisioned the challenges and benefits of such timing to be?

A: First, I would have laughed. It figures that after ten years of teaching myself how to write, how to outline, how to get an agent and finally getting published, it would happen at the oddest time in memory.

It’s an interesting question though, because I’m still learning how this all works. Almost every day I’m surprised by some aspect of the publishing journey that never occurred to me. For example, I only a few months ago learned that traditionally published books get published on Tuesdays.

To answer the question, my knowledge of publishing was so vague to begin with, that anything I might have envisioned as a challenge or benefit would have been completely off the mark. I’m monumentally grateful to and impressed with my agent, publisher and the bloggers who have reached out to me for treating my novel and my launch as if it were 2019.

Q: Versus those who have known since childhood they were meant to be savvy wordsmiths, it might be said that you yourself came late to the table as an aspiring author. With a university degree in Fine Art, at what point did you realize your original career choice might divert to unexpected destinations?

A: It might have been somewhat of a midlife crisis realization. I love art and being an artist, and that will never change. But when my son was in elementary school and the all-consuming level of attention and care he required lessened, I found being a designer simply did not fulfill me at the deep level I needed. I still love my design career and have no plans to give it up yet, but the creative outlet writing allows is completely different. It consumes me and gives me joy. Without this outlet, I’m a sad and gloomy person.

Q: Your family’s personal journey of danger, escape and relocation could be the stuff of a gripping novel as well. Can you share with us your three most vivid memories of those times and what they taught you about survival?

A: You make it sound very exciting! I was a child when we left the Soviet Union, and to me the entire process was an adventure. I didn’t worry about survival the way my parents did because I trusted them to take care of me. But I’ll tell you three things that left a lifelong impression:

1. We lived in Italy for almost six months, in Ostia, on the outskirts of Rome. My parents booked us on a bus tour of northern Italy, and I got to shlep through Venice, Florence, and Sienna. We visited the Vatican and every church large and small, every ruin, and then descended into the catacombs. This experience forever instilled in me a love of Art and History.
   
2. When we came to New York and settled into our new lives, I couldn’t believe the abundance and variety of food available even to the poor, which we were at first. I’d never heard of things like peanut butter or nectarines. Everything was a discovery. A few years ago, I came across a stash of letters I wrote to my friends in Moscow when I was nine, and they were almost entirely about the different foods I had at school and at home. As to why I found those letters—my mother never sent them. Back then, receiving mail from the West was politically dangerous and my mother would not endanger my friends’ families.
   
3. More than anything, I wanted to belong to my new country. I noticed that every morning my fourth-grade class started with everyone standing up, placing their hands over their hearts, and saying something. I had no idea what they were saying, but I wanted to say it, too. Using pantomime, I asked my classmates to write down the Pledge of Allegiance, translated it, and memorized it. To this day, saying the Pledge gets me emotional. It feels corny, but there you go. I could be at a high school football game or a Boy Scout meeting and I must gather myself after saying it. Every single time.

Q: You’ve described your discovery of New York as “a love and a muse.” Why?

A: I guess I’m a New Yorker through and through. What’s not to love? I mean, I even appreciated graffiti. Living in Queens gave me the freedom to walk to Manhattan over bridges, or take the subway, and have endless access to art, films, and music. From the age of thirteen, I was free to explore at will, and did. I remember once being too New York to ask Andy Warhol for an autograph, chatting with Tina Louise (of Gilligan’s Island fame) at an art opening, going backstage at concerts. Everything was an inspiration.

Q: How did writing and publishing short stories help develop the skills and discipline necessary to pen a full-length novel?

A: My first published piece started as a homework assignment from my first writing class, and that was the beginning of me learning how to assemble something resembling a story. I wrote novels all along, five or six of them. I queried with three and the third landed me my agent. The short stories happened simultaneously when I realized I could get publishing credits while querying the novels. Writing a novel is definitely a different beast than a short story, but I’ve learned to apply the same rules to both, and it has made both stronger.

Q: How much time and how many projects did it take before you caught the attention of a literary agent?

A: It took nine years from when I decided to take writing seriously and enrolled in my first writing class to when I found my agent. In between there were two other finished novels, three unfinished ones, including a weird memoir that will probably never see the light of day, and five short stories.

Q: What is a typical writing day like for you?

A: I wish I had an admirable answer, but since I have a day job, that comes first. I write late in the evening, after all other duties are tackled. I can write anywhere, but I need quiet, which means that noise cancelling headphones are my most prized possession. I can be in a living room with my family and not hear a thing. Bliss! When the weather is nice, I settle on my patio, light candles, and write until my brain stops working.

Q: Plotter or pantser?

A: Plotter once I learned how. I feel the story out by writing sketches, and once I have a glimmer of the whole, I outline deeply. For the sequel to Hide in Place I ended up with a printed outline nearly seven feet long, made of paper strips, each a chapter, taped together. Having said that, I will occasionally re-outline if I’m blocked with the story.

Q: What attracted you to the mystery genre and, specifically, writing about undercover investigations?

A: My husband was an undercover detective with the NYPD for years. He always had stories ranging from the hysterical to horrifying. After trying my hand at writing YA paranormal and speculative fiction, I decided I’d better take advantage of the fact checker at my elbow. I love writing crime almost more than anything because it gives me a chance to explore the dark side of human nature.

Q: What traits do you share with your heroine, Laney Bird?

A: I share her devotion to her child and her tendency to romanticize the people she loves. As a detective, she has a logical mind, and I gave her my own ways of reasoning. But she steps over the line frequently and doesn’t ask for help. That’s definitely not me.

Q: What do you feel is the most unique about Laney’s persona as a detective?

A: Laney puts the people she loves foremost in her life, without thinking. This is not always a good idea, especially if the people she loves don’t deserve her loyalty. The detectives I know generally do a better job of keeping their professional and personal lives separate (though that can also be a problem); and the detectives in literature are often haunted. I wanted to write a detective who is a mother above all else, and whose actions rise from that. Whether she is unique in the genre, I can’t say, but I know she felt and still feels utterly real to me.

Q: Accuracy is essential for any type of writing but especially when the content embraces police procedural methodologies. How did you go about doing the research in order to ensure you got everything right?

A: My husband! He was very generous with his time. I wrote out a four-page questionnaire for him and then interviewed him. He gave me detailed, step-by-step instructions on buy and busts, on exactly how an undercover works. For details outside his area of expertise, I turned to google and read indictments on racketeering cases, fraud, etc. I downloaded the gigantic NYPD patrolman’s guide and read through all relevant pages.

Q: Art often imitates Life in the world of writers, and mystery novels are no exception to this. Tell us how some real-life criminal cases came to be incorporated in the pulse-pounding plot of Hide in Place.

A: Oooh, I love this question. The racketeering case at the heart of Hide in Place was inspired by a real RICO case against the Russian mob that took place in 2017. The Shulaya gang of Brighton Beach, New York, had an indictment so extensive it took thirty-three pages to list and included everything from drugs to illegal gambling to prostitution, money laundering, and the theft of ten tons of chocolate. Plus, much, much more. What’s not to love about that?

Q: As I frequently tell my clients, the atmosphere and physical setting of a book can (and should) exude as much “personality” as any of its human players. What governed your decision to use the Hudson Valley and Coney Island as the story’s two opposite locales?

A: This is a great question! I moved to the Hudson Valley in 2013 and was immediately won over by its beauty. It can be harsh here in the winters because the roads were never built with large cars in mind. These areas are historic, dating back to before the Revolutionary War, and the further you go north, the less populated it gets. It’s the perfect setting for a mystery or a thriller. If the bad guy won’t get you, the weather and the isolation might.

Brighton Beach is the epicenter of the Russian mob in the United States, so setting at least part of the story there was a no-brainer. Additionally, summer at the beach in New York City is such a unique place I felt I had to describe it. The situations and locations are so opposite that they work perfectly to illustrate the break in Laney’s life. There is no going back, not to her old job, not to her old life, not back in time. Brighton Beach has the glimmer of nostalgia even as she tries to understand how and when things went bad for her.

Q: What’s next on your plate that readers can look forward to?

A: I have a short story in an anthology coming out April 2021 from MWA called When A Stranger Comes to Town, edited by Michael Koryta. And I’m about to hand in the sequel to Hide in Place, which was, if possible, even more fun to write than the first book.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: These were excellent questions! I’m very grateful to have been able to share so much of my story, both personal and fictional, with your readers. Thank you very much for hosting me.