Guest Author Interviews
November 2002
Book Giveaway: Irregardless of Murder
Interviewed for SinC-IC by Lorie Ham
SinC-IC: Why do you choose to write mysteries?
EK: Because I love to read them. I think you always write best in the genre you love the best.
SinC-IC: What is unique about your main character or setting?
EK: I chose my main character more because she wasn't unique than because she was. She's a high school English teacher, very ordinary. I wanted somebody many people could identify with. Hitchcock did that, placed a normal person in extraordinary circumstances. The setting, a small town on the shores of Lake Champlain in far northern NY state, is where I grew up. Write about what you know, right? Of course, it's what I call the "Mayberry version," a bit dreamy and idealized, but fun and funny, too. Not many mysteries have been written about the Lake Champlain area, which is too bad. There's so much to write about. My special favorite is the hunt for the Lake Champlain monster, a la Loch Ness. There are real scientists doing that right now, so I put it in Irregardless of Murder.
SinC-IC: What authors do you like to read?
EK: Agatha Christie. I've read everything she's ever written at least 10 times. P.G. Woodhouse, what a genius with words and humor; Anne George, because her characters and locale are absolutely perfect. Those are 3 authors I can always pick up, read, and re-read.
SinC-IC: How long did it take for you to write this book?
EK: If I added up all the actual writing, about a year. It took me that long to write my second book, Another Think Coming, too.
SinC-IC: Do you make a living off of your writing?
EK: Hahahahahaheeheeheehahahah. Gasp. I'm sorry. Pardon me. What was the question?
(Actually, no. If I figured out how much I've made from writing fiction over the past ten years, it averages out to approximately $300 per year. Patricia Cornwell has nothing to fear from me. Yet.)SinC-IC: What do you like most about being a writer?
EK: I like the idea of being an entertainer. Of communicating my ideas to others and getting them to smile or say, "Yeah, that's right."
SinC-IC: What do you like the least?
EK: The necessity of getting published. Let's face it, writing is a form of communication, and if you aren't published, very few people will read your stuff, and if they don't, then you haven't communicated. Hence the chore of finding an agent/publisher, etc. And that's a pain that takes one away from writing. On the other hand, going to conventions and signings and giving talks is a pure pleasure for me.
SinC-IC: How much time per day or week do you spend writing?
EK: It varies widely, depending on my family responsibilities. You'd think with an empty nest like my husband and I have, that there'd be oodles of time, but there's always something urgent cutting in. I almost feel like I'm stealing time when I get a chance to write.
SinC-IC: How do you discipline yourself to write?
EK: I long to write, have ideas popping in my head all the time, it's a treat and a relief to put it down and trim it and sand it down into something that pleases and entertains.
SinC-IC: Do you hear your characters speak to you?
EK: Not exactly. But they are very real to me. I find myself laughing and/or crying as I write about them. When I finished writing the scene where Amelia experiences a car-jacking in a parking deck, I was literally trembling. And I have had conversations with them in my dreams. One of them, a young man named Vern, is so real in my head that I find myself worrying about him sometimes, just like I do my sons-in-law. I have to remind myself that he's fiction. I was writing about my character Amelia taking a taxi, and I gave the cabbie a name, and all of a sudden, Vern took shape and was so delightful, I had to give him a little more time on the page. He turned into an important character, a young sidekick for the prissy schoolteacher, somebody who sees the lighter side of things. I love that kid!
It was hard to pick a villain among my characters in Irregardless of Murder. I had one person in mind all through the book, then when I finished writing it, I decided that it was too obvious, so I changed it, but kept some of the clues that pointed in the wrong direction. Sneaky, huh? I wonder if the readers can guess which person was my original villain.
A few months ago, I finished another mystery, Another Think Coming, this time set in small-town Texas, about a God-fearing, church-going Baptist grandma who becomes "hoppin' mad at God" when her grandson is killed after he gets involved with drugs. She holds a colorful, flamboyant drug dealer, The Desperado, responsible for the boy's death, and since local law enforcement can't seem to catch him, decides to kill him herself.
The book is about how a nice woman would plot a murder and the frustrations and lessons she experiences. It's grittier than Irregardless. It's sad, it's poignant, and it's also really funny. My agent is looking for a publisher right now. The problem with it is, my character Esther has to deal with her understanding of God, and that puts off some publishers. Keep your eyes peeled. We'll find a home for it yet! Right now, I'm working on a sequel to Another Think Coming, called Burning Daylight (about Texas prairie fires) and a third, From the Get-Go (about tracing one's ancestry back to the Alamo.)
Larry Karp
December 2002
Book Giveaway: The Music Box Murders
Interviewed for SinC-IC by Lynn Kinnaman
SinC-IC: How did you start writing?
LK: Seems like the first time I picked up a pencil, I got hooked. When I was 8, I wrote, published, and distributed a neighborhood newspaper, one column of which was a serial called RICHARD RICHARD, PRIVATE DICK. In college, I had a friend who was flunking English, so I wrote his weekly 1000-word papers in addition to my own. I made sure to write my friend's papers in his voice, so the prof wouldn't catch on.
For the next 30 or so years, I wrote nonfiction books and articles on a wide range of topics, until I finally got free of my real job and had the time and concentration to do what I'd always wanted to do: write novels.
SinC-IC: Why did you choose to write mysteries?
LK: Mysteries chose me. I was primarily a mainstream-fiction reader, so I began to write a mainstream novel, set in New York City, and peopled by members of the antiques subculture. The protagonist was Harry Hardwick, a large, genial, ultra-rich music-box collector. Harry threw a Christmas bash to show off his new, rare music box...and a few pages into Chapter One someone killed him and stole the box. This troubled me no end. I tried and tried to write around it, but whatever I put onto the screen led me inexorably back to the sumptuous music room, with Harry's bloody corpse on the floor below a conspicuously empty shelf. Finally a writer-friend told me more or less tactfully that I was pretty clearly working on a mystery, and why didn't I just do it. So I read mysteries non-stop for 6 months, discovered what I liked and what I didn't, then went back and wrote what became The Music Box Murders.
SinC-IC: Briefly summarize the plot or the plot inspiration for your latest book:
LK: I begin my books with people in particular situations, and only a general idea where they are going. In The Midnight Special (published in pb in Aug, '02) I wanted to look at some of the problems we face and need to deal with as we get older. The story begins on a beautiful June day in New York, when Edna Reynolds calls her doctor and friend, Thomas Purdue. Edna's a 72-year-old collector and restorer of musical automata, depressed after suffering a paralytic stroke; she tells Thomas she's murdered Marcus Wilcox, a tinhorn interior designer who's been harassing her. Thomas rushes over, clears up that little problem, then goes to check out an unusual music box he'd been tipped onto. The shopkeeper, however, denies any knowledge of the treasure. Then, Thomas gets a call to the ER to look after his friend, antiques dealer Frank (the Crank) Maar, who's been beaten up. When Thomas finally trudges back to his home, a nasty little surprise is waiting for him.
Dead bodies accumulate, as do sightings of the music box. With help from his customary gang of off-beat friends, Thomas tries to find both murderer and music box, and help Edna out of her funk. He decides he needs help from his father, Dr. Will Purdue, who has a potentially-helpful area of expertise, but who's never quite approved of his son's behavior. Finally, Thomas does solve the puzzle - but disastrously misses the most important clue of all.
SinC-IC: How long did it take you to write it?
LK: A year and a couple of months - less time than The Music Box Murders or the second book in the series, Scamming the Birdman. But the fourth installment, The Sorcerer and the Junkman (just finished) took almost two years. I'd upped the ante further than I realized.
SinC-IC: What was the best writing advice you’ve received?
LK: See above, in "Why Did You Choose to Write Mysteries?" My friend advised me to listen to the story, to not censor out anything the story wanted to say, to not put in anything the story didn't want. This isn't always easy. For example, Vincent LoPriore, the title character in Scamming the Birdman, does a terrible thing to an old woman's pet, the appalling act perpetrated in an instant, before I could react. I wanted to go back and rewrite the scene but realized that was what Vincent had to do right there, and to tell him he couldn't would've altered his character to the detriment of the entire story. Painful, but it had to stay.
Then there's that gorgeously-written paragraph, or fabulous insight, contributing not a damn thing to the story, just hanging there like a lovely but distracting appendage. Painful, but it's got to go.
SinC-IC: What's the worst?
LK: That's a tough one. Maybe writing longhand, on a yellow-lined page. Now, I know a fair number of writers who do this, and that's fine - for them. But my handwriting is illegible even to myself, and by the time I was on Page 30, I was hopelessly lost, couldn't find who had said or done what on any previous page. And don't even talk about cutting and pasting. Or rewriting key lines or paragraphs, which I may do 100 times or more. I ain't no geek, but I do love my computer.
SinC-IC: How do you discipline yourself and schedule your writing?
LK: Writing is my job, my occupation, my work. I get up in the morning, my head full of what's going to happen next in my book. I eat, shave, dress, then go off to work - down a hill to my little room apart from my house, with no phone. When I begin to grow stale (usually after about 4 hours), I make myself stop; otherwise, I'll only have to redo all the work from that point. I eat lunch, take a walk, then maybe go back to my book for another hour or two. Last thing in the evening, I think about where I left off, so my helpful subconscious can chug away while I'm asleep.
SinC-IC: How do you handle writer’s block?
LK: With double-sterilized rubber gloves...but seriously. My usual problem is the opposite - to be able to type fast enough to keep up with the characters. Occasionally, though, whether in first draft or rewrite, the action slows, or I realize we are meandering down a dead-end street. My story is blocked - but I'm not. I sit down with my characters, talk it over, run thoughts past them, get them rapping and brainstorming. I know they'll solve the problem...and the murders. Sometimes they recruit another character, maybe someone I've met before in an earlier book, maybe someone entirely new to me who ends up adding a whole different and interesting dimension to the story.
Since my characters may decide to take off in the right direction while I'm away from my computer - say, while I'm working on a music box - I always carry a small pad in my pocket.
Sometimes I just need to sleep on the block. But at all times I keep the situation in at least the back of my mind. That block's not going to melt if I walk away from it. I can't force my way through a block; I've got to to dream a path around it.
SinC-IC: What's the one thing you couldn't do without in order to write?
LK: Another toughie. I think as long as I have a functioning brain and a means of communication, I'll write stories. But to at least come close to the question, I'll say my computer. I think the computer is the greatest thing for a writer since Herr Gutenberg's press. I type automatically; words seem to flow directly from my head onto the screen. No need to exert any sort of censorship - I can write a line just as it comes to me, then change it as many times as I want, no effort at all. I don't have to be careful about making mistakes and needing to stop and use white-out fluid. If Chapter 3 should become Chapter 8, I can cut and paste in an instant. And I can get a word-perfect copy of an entire manuscript in half an hour, just by pushing a button. I remember spending 3 months at a manual typewriter, just to get a manuscript finished for an editor to spill coffee on.
It gets better all the time. I recently finished the fourth Thomas Purdue book, The Sorcerer and the Junkman, queried a publisher by email, then sent him the entire manuscript as an email attachment. A process that used to take weeks or months, completed inside two days. Still seems like marvelous science fiction to me.
SinC-IC: Do you have someone who critiques your work?
LK: I never let anyone see my work, or hear about it, until I have it finished to the best of my ability. Stories are personal. From the emotion-driven first draft, through the careful reworking stages, to the final The End, ideas and observations pop up onto my screen that startle me, amaze me, sometimes even dismay me. But they're my thoughts; they represent the way I see the world, and the minute someone gives me advice while a story's still in progress, that person has sent my story off in a new direction so that it's no longer mine, nor can it ever be again.
Once I've gotten a story complete and whole, seemingly finished, if I have any concerns I show the work to one or both of two writer-friends with whom I have an informal reciprocal arrangement.
SinC-IC: What's the best book you've read about writing?
LK: Miki Hayden's Writing the Mystery is excellent; so are Lawrence Block's Telling Lies for Fun and Profit, and Annie Dillard's The Writing Life. But the best books I've read about writing were novels, many of them mysteries. Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse Series taught me about intelligent, complex plots and interesting characters. Ed McBain's books showed me believable, human characters, speaking realistic dialogue. Donald Westlake's books taught me pacing and the use of wry humor. From Patricia Highsmith's books I learned how to use psychological twists. There have been many others; these came first to mind.
SinC-IC: What advice do you have for beginning authors?
LK: Read critically; write regularly. There are probably as many ways of writing as there are writers, but successful writers seem to see writing as a job, and keep more or less regular work hours.
Don't try to sell your books until you're sure they're done. You get only one shot at a particular agent or editor; don't be in a hurry and get a book rejected because it's not there yet. Or worse: your book may be accepted, and once that bad book is in print, it's around your neck for life, worse than any dead albatross.
Consider trying to sell your books to small or midsized presses. You won't get rich, but your chances of getting published are probably higher than if you try Big Conglomerate Publishing, Inc., even through an agent. In addition, smaller houses may give you more individual editorial attention.
And remember: good writers need good editors. I'm constantly amazed at beginning writers who refuse editorial advice out of hand because "it will ruin my book." By and large, editors know what they're doing, and in this age of computers, it's so easy to give their suggestions a try. You may be pleasantly surprised...and if you don't like the results, fine; just hit the delete key. In the end, it is your book.
SinC-IC: Is there anything else you'd like to tell us?
LK: I'm honored to be Guest Author. Sisters in Crime is a first-class organization, made up of highly professional writers, and lively readers whose knowledge about mysteries stuns me no end. I hope you've enjoyed my interview.
Daniel J. Hale
January 2003
Book Giveaway: Red Card
Interviewed for SinC-IC by Lorie Ham
SinC-IC: Why did you choose to write mysteries?
DJH: I'd always heard that you should write the sorts of books you'd want to read. For Matthew and me, both, that choice was easy. In fact, when we started work on RED CARD, there wasn't even any discussion as to what genre of book it would be - Sherlock Holmes meets Jonny Quest.
SinC-IC: What is unique about your main character or setting?
DJH: Zeke Armstrong, the protagonist of the Zeke Armstrong Mystery series, is (and always will be) thirteen years old. Before moving to the United States, he lived in seven different countries. He speaks three languages with no accent, as well as a smattering of others. He learned to drive when he was eight years old.
SinC-IC: What authors do you like to read?
DJH: Jim Thompson, Iain Banks, Chloe Green, Orson Scott Card, Patricia Highsmith, Gene Wolf.
SinC-IC: How long did it take for you to write this book?
DJH: About a year. Of course, this wasn't working straight through - it's not THAT long of a book. If Matthew and I had devoted all of our efforts to it, we probably could have finished it in a month or two.
SinC-IC: Do you make a living off of your writing?
DJH: Not yet.
SinC-IC: What do you like most about being a writer?
DJH: The thing I like most is the process of writing. Close behind that, though, is the interaction with the readers, especially the kids. They don't hold anything back. If there's something they love, they'll tell you. If there's something they'd like to see done differently, they'll tell you.
SinC-IC: What do you like least?
DJH: This may sound sappy, and I say this realizing that there are things that I think should be done differently, but...I'm so happy to be in the position in which I find myself, I consider the annoyances and nuisances to be a part of a greater (and better) whole.
SinC-IC: How much time per day or week do you spend writing?
DJH: I write every day. The amount of time per day varies greatly. When I'm finishing work on a book, I may write twelve to fourteen hours in a day. At other times, I may only write three or four hours a day.
SinC-IC: How do you discipline yourself to write?
DJH: First thing in the morning, after I walk my dog, I either plop down on the couch with my laptop, or I take my machine to Starbucks and sit in one of the big, comfortable chairs they have there. Silence isn't necessary. For me, the key is to be portable and to begin writing as early in the morning as possible.
SinC-IC: Do you hear your characters speak to you?
DJH: When I was in the final stages of writing Green Streak, there was a particular scene near the end of the book in which Zeke faced dangerous circumstances. For the story to work well, Zeke's personal safety needed to be placed in jeopardy. On a professional level, I knew this, but some part of me didn't want to write the story that way. When I began to question my reluctance to put Zeke in harm's way, I realized that I was holding back because I was afraid Zeke would get hurt. While I've never really heard characters speak to me, I do become very attached to them.
SinC-IC: Thank you, Dan, for this month's interview!
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