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G. Miki Hayden
Writer, author



G. Miki Hayden is a prolific writer. She once said one way to be taken seriously is to write whenever and wherever. And she does. G. Miki has an interview-review column in each issue of Blue Murder Magazine, a column in Futures, a column in MWA's The Third Degree, and short stories appearing here and there. Not to mention her two novels, Pacific Empire and By Reason of Insanity. She's a journalist, novelist, and surfer of the ether. She also has definite ideas about writing, as expressed in her Futures "The Contrarian" column. Perhaps not surprsingly, she's also a book doctor. A legitimate one, friends. And she's aggressive in getting out the word on writing scams. She's a huge proponent of short stories, working to ensure the form regains the respect it once had.

Her first book, Pacific Empire was favorably reviewed by the New York Times Book Review, unusual for a first book published by a small press. Her second published book, By Reason of Insanity, a mystery, somewhat, bears no resemblance to her first. I say somewhat because the protagonist is a story in himself. Read it and you'll see what I mean.

From the sequel to Pacific Empire:


The world is a place where very bad actions are taken by terrible people. The consequences, however, are always diluted by forces much larger than this foolishness of evil.
G. Miki Hayden, New Pacific

IC
You've said that Pacific Empire was written as a series of connectedshort stories. Yet, the book reads like a novel. Did you originallyintend these as short stories?
GMH
Louise, I actually began the work as a single story--now story number eight of nine. Then, when my publisher suggested a complete work, I knew I had to begin at the beginning, prior to the World War II in this book (not the same war that readers are familiar with, as this is an alternate version). I had to set the scene in order to make this later story valid within a larger context.

I totally intended for this "novel" to be short stories and was gratified, if surprised, when readers began calling it a novel. I consider myself to be a novelist as well as a short story writer, so perhaps the confluence of the tales wasn't entirely accidental, however.

IC
You said your publisher suggested a novel when you had a few short stories. You acquired a publisher prior to having a completed novel?
GMH
Odd, but true. He was putting out a magazine at the same time he began publishing books and had bought a story of mine. He told me exactly his area of interest, so I wrote a short piece for him, specifically. He liked it so much that he wanted to handle a full-length version. Somehow our putting the project together just worked.
IC
When I read Pacific Empire, I was reminded of Yukio Mishima's books.Not in terms of language or story, but perhaps in the fatalisticoutlook. There is an authentic cultural feel that comes through. Howdo you come by that?
GMH
God bless you, Louise. Thanks. I am not Japanese or Japanese American. I am a writer who has the use of the collective unconscious in which all mindsets are contained. I dipped in and found the Japanese wellspring. In addition to that, I have many years of reading the finest in that country's literature, including the revered Mr. Mishima--and other geniuses of that culture. Such reading, plus a few dozen samurai movies, and anyone can call herself astute in that national heritage.
IC
Are you a WWII historian by hobby?
GMH
My major many years ago was history. I have followed that war always as it is such a turning point and foundation for what has come after. I am, actually, a researcher, which means to me that I can provide almost any background to a story or novel. I have a story coming out in the religious mystery anthology that Serita Stevens has gathered for Intrigue Press. The main character in my offering is a Navajo shaman. I have an as yet unpublished novel that features a Navajo shaman, too. The story is historical; the novel is set in the future.
IC
Pacific Empire and By Reason of Insanity were published by differenthouses. Why the change?
GMH
JoNa Books is dedicated to presenting material related to history--fiction as well as nonfiction. He didn't want to pursue a generalized (or mystery) fiction venue. My other publisher--Free Range Press--in its primary incarnation is Federal Regulatory Press. Having published fiction once before, my new benefactor was willing to take a stab at it (no pun intended) again.
IC
The language in Pacific Empire fits. By this I mean, the cadence,formality, and word choice is much like one would expect from a literateJapanese of the eras covered. Again, how did you manage that?
GMH
I think that the language which flows out of me simply fits whatever it is I'm writing. I do write a lot of different materials. I'm a self-regulating computer, in other words. That's what the human being is intended to be but in our society it is mostly artists and writers who free their mind/body "instrument" in order to allow it to work automatically.
IC
Though the backcover of Pacific Empire implies the book is mysterybased, small mysteries, isn't it more a literary saga--following thefamily of Baron Shimazo and descendants?
GMH
The book is literary. But I can write pulp, too; I swear! In fact, that's all I ever intended to write, originally. My purest ambition was to write kick boxing novels with a security practitioner protagonist. Once I had written a couple, I found out that the male adventure market had totally collapsed--or 90 percent of it. Most of those I see around are reprints of authors popular in the 70s. That bothers me. I think there ought to be room still for men's recreational novels.
IC
You say you are a researcher. Is that what you do to put bread on the table? (Since we all know that writing alone doesn't usually cut it.)
GMH
I'm a lifelong journalist and have written about everything from computers, to passive solar housing, to the business of health care, to corporate security. Being a reporter used to equate to doing research. I have to be critical of the media today here and say it no longer does.
IC
Do you kick box? Or practice any of the martial arts? If so, which style/school do you favor?
GMH
I have studied the martial arts in the past, never to any degree of excellence. I doubt if I'm capable of that. I have practiced karate, kung fu, and (tai chi) push hands. They were all a lot of fun.
IC
Besides your fiction, you've been prolific in the nonfiction arena, as well--columns, reviews, and interviews in Blue Murder Magazine, Futures, Mystery Writers of America's The Third Degree etc. Do you find either mode--fiction or nonfiction--easier than the other?
GMH
Everything takes effort and time and, therefore, is "hard," but what are you going do with your lifetime, anyway? I prefer writing fiction because the work is much more free-form and personal, of course.
IC
I see you've taken on the task of being a "book doctor". What is the most exasperating aspect of that job?
GMH
Writing clearly is difficult. Most authors who want to be edited have problems with simple forms of communication. Often, a "book doctor" or editor has to tear up and rebuild a sentence, as well as help reconstruct a plot. This work is tough and time-consuming. The writers' mistakes aren't exasperating, only the repetition of those mistakes is.
IC
The most satisfying?
GMH
The sense that someone "gets it" can be gratifying.
IC
You mention tapping into the collective unconscious. An interesting concept. Are you a proponent of Carl Jung's theories?
GMH
I probably would be if I knew more about him, but fundamental truths appear in varying forms. I believe we are, together, a single, united manifestation and have access to all streams of thought and realities.
IC
When you are in your fiction mode, do you do anything to enhance a particular mood--listen to certain music, surround yourself with artifacts, or do you just get down to it and pound the keys?
GMH
I pound a few keys, get up and get a snack. Pound a couple of keys, make a phone call. Pound a couple more keys and turn on the television. And so on. I don't lose my train of thought. On my way to the bathroom I might form a sentence in my head, which is useful. The most I generally write in a day is about 3,000 words, but I often write less. I do get a lot of snacking and television in though.
IC
You are very active in the short story field and as such are President of the Short Mystery Fiction Society (SMFS).. Where do you see short mystery fiction going in the market place?
GMH
I'm very excited that at last these markets have opened up with more print magazines and many further opportunities on the Internet. Our own Barbara (Babs) Lakey has a print publication--Futures--that has been going great guns and has provided a lot of opportunity for many of us here on-line. Sister Margo Power at Murderous Intent Mystery Magazine continues strong after many years of publication and has been a real starting point for many authors (like SinC's own Kate Grilley) who are breaking out into longer works.

But in addition there are so many fine e-zines offering short mystery fiction, such as Blue Murder Magazine, to mention one, and the new Nefarious, to mention another. A lot more exist, of course, including many that don't specialize in short mystery, but that will feature them. We're in better shape now for venues than we have been in many years.

IC
What do you see as an optimistic sign for the future of the short mystery form?
GMH
In addition to the proliferation of markets for a variety of short mystery material (hard boiled, cozy, etc.), I see that the form itself is broadening out into more variations of expression. Finally, an author doesn't have to be old-hat or corny to write short mystery stories. A deeper glimpse into human motivation is now allowed and the pacing doesn't have to be as structured as the former standard appeared to mandate. Short mystery has gone legit, in other words. These stories illuminate the human situation.
IC
There are some who have said that they write differently when writing for an on-line e-zine. Visual esthetics becomes a factor--the way words and lines appear on the screen--in what they create. Is there something to that view?
GMH
If so, then that factor can present another positive challenge for the writer. As a writer/editor, I have always been concerned with visual presentation--the amount of white space on a page, adding graphics, and so on. Readability is extremely important in any form of publishing. However, that consideration is dependent on the writer having some control, which is not usually the case. I have had stories published on-line and I would have liked to have had some input into layout--but never expected it and wasn't offered it.
IC
What problems most beset the short mystery field?
GMH
Many readers don't have as much respect for the short story form as for the novel. Short stories are simply not as sought out as full-length stories are. Consequently, short mystery fiction authors are very under appreciated and tend to be overlooked within the mystery field. Pay rates for short mystery story writers are also sometimes poor, while the submission/rejection process is often disheartening.

However, short story writing is a good place for any writer to begin and an author might as well learn now as well as later the hardships of the writing life.

IC
Many decades ago, inexpensive news stand crime magazines were abundant. Times, tastes, or the market changed and most disappeared. Do you think e-zines are filling that void?
GMH
I think the type of stories published are different now. E-zines are great--wonderful--and provide satisfaction to authors who sell to them. But due to the medium, these stories tend to be shorter, on the whole. The audience is different, more general, less particularly interested in that old type of hard-boiled crime story. I'll bet there's still an audience out there at the stands for the old type magazines--but the business end has changed so much and the financial aspect is so forbidding that I don't think we'll get back to those publications.
IC
What is short mystery fiction's place in the mystery world?
GMH
Short mystery fiction is both the door to the genre for readers and writers--as well as an entity onto itself. Edgar Allan Poe was a short story writer without a novel to his name. Remember him? Yes, we all do.

Short stories are an art form. A good short story can change your way of looking at the world or change the mood of your day.

IC
Your main character in By Reason of Insanity is a psychiatrist who prescribes various medications to offset chemical imbalances that exacerbate or cause various behaviors. No doubt you must have done much research beforehand. Did you also pass your manuscript by a psychiatric consult before you sent it to the publisher?
GMH
All of the prescriptions were taken from live case studies, so if there was a misprescription, the mistake was that of a genuine, board-certified psychiatrist. Moreover, I had the nerve to send a review copy to the Journal of the American Psychiatric Association--only to find that they don't review novels. So, since the medications were derived from in situ prescription, I didn't feel the need of a fact checker.
IC
Dr. Dennis Astin is quite a character. His self doubts and imaginings are funny, as well as bizarre. Had you planned that or did it just evolve as you wrote?
GMH
I don't plan characters. I discover them. Maybe I picture them somehow in my mind. I don't know exactly the mechanism, but often these people are very specific and unique. On the other hand, the protagonist I'm writing now is fairly bland. He's more caught in his situation than someone who creates his own reality. What I am depicting here is a society that takes a fairly normal fellow with quite ordinary ambitions and treats him as if he had no inherent worth or value. I suppose the fact that he has no exceptional character traits--although he is singular in many aspects--comes out of the focus of the story.

In By Reason of Insanity, I wanted to highlight pathology. The most convenient character to show that in was the protagonist, as the reader is with him the most. I think I was trying to demonstrate that all of us are a little bit crazy--neurotic or miswired, or whatever you want to call it. I believe that's true, but in fiction these out-of-kilter aspects of us usually don't come to the surface.

I have a psychotherapist in my family and I have known many mental health professionals. These practitioners are just as peculiar as anyone else, but that doesn't detract from their ability to operate efficiently in a medical realm and to help others.

IC
What is the status of Too Old For Murder, the sequel to By Reason of Insanity?
GMH
The status is: Like it or not, the publisher didn't make enough money on the [prior] book to proceed, so my agent is pitching it elsewhere. This is one of the realities of publishing today--something that happens with both the "traditional" houses and the new, small press. Too Old for Murder combines threads of the treatment of psychiatric disorders in the elderly and material about the Nazi era.
IC
Do you plan for more than one sequel?
GMH
I'm infinitely ready, willing, and able.
IC
You mention a new protagonist. This implies a separate work, unlike any earlier. Can you tell us more?
GMH
This is actually the sequel to Pacific Empire, which did well in terms of critical acclaim and in selling overseas rights. I thought another publisher might want to pick this up, too--and, if Pacific Empire does well overseas, I'll have another book to sell in Asia. The novel is set in 2031 and is somewhat of an action thriller.
IC
Seems like you are not stuck in the mode of strictly series writing. True?
GMH
I would like to continue to work in both mystery and science fiction, but I did write another novel this last year--The Hidden--a literary work about Bangladesh (Moslem) immigrants and artists in the East Village. My agent is now marketing that. I do like to write what I like to write and, just think, I'm unencumbered by any contracts at this point.
IC
I have to say, I broke out laughing at reading the "Publisher's Afterword" in By Reason of Insanity in which the publisher says that Free Range Press was almost named No Submissions Press. If thinking of submitting to Free Range Press "Stop right there," she says, explaining how overwhelming the influx can be. With the growth of small press to offset the cutbacks at the large publishers, this "flood" of unsolicited manuscripts may become suffocating. Your thoughts?
GMH
Since I cover markets for that other, unnamed, mystery writers organization, I have a pretty good idea of what is going on. A lot of fine authors have been de-published by their houses. In turn, a drove of small press publishers are springing up. Their output, however, is fairly small--anywhere from three to five books a year, some offering advances and some not. This hardly begins to cover all of us who have novels to submit.
IC
This brings to mind the recent discussion on Short Mystery Fiction Society about the time mystery magazine editors may or may not have to both handle, edit, and publish submissions, and participate in e-mail lists such as SMFS. The more frequent the publishing schedule, the less time I would think an editor has to follow e-lists. Any thoughts on this?
GMH
Editors are very busy, although you can usually scratch that word edit from your list. Line editing, anyway, is generally freelanced out. Moreover, their area of concern is usually focused inward. They only care about what is happening at their own organization.

Editors want to hear what their sales reps, if they still have them, have to say. They are looking at the numbers given them every week by the accountants and hearing what management says as to what is needed and wanted. There are exceptions to this, such as Michael Seidman at Walker, but most are not looking for grass roots reaction or interaction. They are not accountable to readers and writers, but to stockholders, owners, and managers.

IC
You once mentioned that selling a book written with a war scenario was easier when the author wasn't obviously seen as being a female. Ala, "G. Miki". (A female not being "credible".) I was going to say the equivalent misconception might exist in the arena of romance books obviously written by a male--until I remembered Nicholas Spark's books. Or, perhaps, they are not really "romance" in the usual sense of that genre. (The Notebook, Message in a Bottle etc.) Is this problem of author credibility, based on gender, still so prevalent?
GMH
Gender stereotyping is more prevalent in publishing today--rather than less than previously--from what I hear, and editors discourage writing across gender lines. This particular rigidity is not so strong on the part of readers, I think, except regarding certain topics that have a definite masculine (or feminine) cultural gloss. Sparks does not write romance and I hear from romance readers that they don't like his "masculine," unhappy endings. No romance lines publish novels under male names, just as many publishers issue hard-boiled mysteries under women's initials so that there is a gender doubt. Whether authors should cloak their gender to facilitate marketing is an issue for those who write certain types of fiction to consider.
IC
Parting thoughts for our readers?
GMH
Being a writer is a frustrating occupation--or is it preoccupation? Someone was telling me her sexual saga last week and I was quite shocked to find that anyone could be so absorbed in the minor matter of her own personal life.

Writers (I think) have a larger vision that they want to bring to fruition, but first there's the matter of refining our craft--then there's the deadly earnest question of publication. Both are difficult struggles that throw us back on ourselves for resolution. We can only discover how to be writers inside our own being. The work is solitary. I think we want to be writers because we desire to commune with what's inside of us and bring that out. Then we seek external confirmation. But maybe that's really something else we have to deal with innerly--ultimately leading to a change in our outer situations. I'm theorizing here, a little, although I believe it, too.

Someone once said, "Facts change from hour to hour." The real barrier to our being acknowledged as writers might not be the big bad publishing industry (be assured, I complain about it a lot myself). The difficulty might be in accepting ourselves and surrendering to whatever happens and the pace at which it all occurs.

I've gotten to a point at which I see some of the worrying and calculating and fussing as silly. I'm resting in my ability to tell a story the way I want to, which is a fascinating enough thing to be able to do. I can't control what's going to happen next. I can only participate to the best of my ability and maintain a lot of hope and faith and trust. I don't mean to say something simple and idiotic here, but as a profession we have it tough, so I'd like to suggest we just keep trucking, doing what we're doing on behalf of the amazing progression of the process itself.

Thanks to G. Miki for her thoughtful interview. This interview was conducted for Sisters in Crime Internet Chapter during the month of February by Louise Guardino.



gmh222222@aol.comspot@sinc-ic.org



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