Spotlight Profile
March 2002
Spotlight Profile
This month Spotlights Alex Matthews, known for her Cassidy McCabe series. Cassidy McCabe is a familiar and beloved character to many of us. "I want Cass to come across as a typical woman, a person who reminds you of yourself or your female friends."Death's Domain begins with Cassidy reading her own obituary. When untraceable e-mails threatening her family flood her computer, she is compelled to find the potential murderer.
Alex Matthews is a winner of the Cat Writers Association Certificate of Excellence and the 1999 Readers Choice Award for Best Series Character.
Alex and Allen Matthews live in Oak Park, Illinois, in a house that bears no resemblance to the village's fabled Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. Alex keeps busy seeing clients, writing books, and serving as a personal valet to the couple's four cats.
Welcome to the Spotlight, Alex Matthews.
IC
After reading one of your books, many readers go back to the first Cassidy McCabe took to "get the whole story." How did she evolve as a protagonist in your novels?Alex
When I first started to write, I'd been a psychotherapist some time, so I created a therapist-sleuth in my own image. Cassidy McCabe represents a period in my life when I was starting a new career. She is not, however, my clone. There are some clear-cut differences between us. But her thoughts and feelings very much reflect my own.Many readers love Cass, and I think it's because she's so human. In the first book, Secret's Shadow, she's divorced, struggling to build her private practice, and keeps her bills in two piles: the ones she can afford to pay and the ones she can't.
Things do not come easily to Cass. She is often uncertain, she second guesses herself, she struggles to get her mother's voice out of her head. But she is also smart and tough and she never gives up. I think many women see themselves in her and are encouraged by her successes. The message she sends is that people don't have to have it all together to win out in the long run.
She also has difficulty with men. Having been left by her philandering ex, she is reluctant to have anything to do with reporter Zach Moran, who wants her to join him in his investigation into the death of one of her clients. She knows that Zach is the black sheep of his family and a self-professed jerk. But before too many chapters have passed, she's ready to accept his offer of a date, which leads the two of them into a prickly relationship.
As to why readers "want to get the whole story," that's because the characters and the relationship develop so much from book to book. As a therapist, how could I not be interested in personal growth? I can't guarantee that my clients will achieve their goals in therapy, but I can guarantee that Cass and Zach will learn from their experiences and continue to evolve.
IC
Cassidy is both a popular and an award-winning character. Do you have plans for another protagonist?Alex
I intend to follow in Sue Grafton's footsteps and devote twenty-four books to a single protagonist--if I live that long. Cassidy's voice comes so naturally to me that I can't imagine creating a new main character for another series. If I tried, it would probably turn out to be Cassidy in disguise.I don't foresee that I'll get tired of Cass and Zach. Both characters are sufficiently well rounded that I can keep exploring different aspects of their personalities. And beyond that, there is enough growth in both the characters and their relationship that I'm not just writing about the same people over and over again. I have a vision of Cass and Zach moving through time, growing somewhat older, running into new conflicts and finding new ways to resolve them. And on top of that--like money in the bank--I have a file filled with plot ideas that are waiting to be written.
I don't know for certain what will happen to these characters, but I do know a couple of things that won't happen-they won't split up and neither of them will die. I think mystery readers like the comfort of knowing that their favorite characters will survive, and that to kill them would break an unspoken covenant between the reader and writer.
I'm convinced a series can go on indefinitely as long as you keep your characters fresh.
IC
How did you locate your editor and your publisher?Alex
I found my editor at a conference and got really lucky with my publisher, who fell into my lap, but only after three long years of submitting. Having just released its first mystery, Intrigue Press mailed out post cards to everyone on the SinC list. When I realized there was a new press in existence, I immediately got on the phone to the publisher, Connie Shelton. She told me Intrigue could take on only one new author, and I asked her not to sign anybody up until she'd read my manuscript. I put my book into the mail that very day. Two months later I had an offer in my hand.For anybody who is searching for an agent, I know quite a few authors, including me, who've found their agents at a conference.
IC
One of the features of your novels is Cassidy's cat, Starshine. I understand she is based on at least one of your own cats. Cats and dogs are participants in many mystery series. What is unique about yours?Alex
In Secret's Shadow a small calico cat, Starshine, moves into Cass's house over her objections. Although Cass is not a cat person, it's not long before she begins talking out her problems with the calico, who is not a magic cat and does not answer back.Since I have wonderful calico myself, giving Cass a cat just seemed like the right thing to do. I mean, how can anybody go through life without an animal companion? After the first book came out, however, I began to have second thoughts. I've always intended my series to be realistic and serious and hopefully to provide some psychological insights. After Secret's Shadow was released, I started to worry that having cat in it would make it cutesy--something I didn't want at all. Fortunately, I don't think readers take it that way.
Starshine is unique in that she is entirely realistic--just like all the cats you've known--and she has her own separate cat story that's not connected to the main mystery. When I first started, I didn't really understand what Starshine's function was. Now I see it as grounding the books. Starshine provides a sense of everyday life in the midst of the frightening and bizarre events of the mystery.
IC
How did you get started writing?Alex
Although I dreamed of writing fiction since childhood, I succumbed to other pressures as an adult and did not take out my dream and dust it off until after I'd hit the half-century mark. By that time my husband Allen and I had developed a thriving psychotherapy practice and our children were out on their own.I began putting words on paper in 1991. After several revisions, my first two books were sold to Intrigue Press in 1995. When Secret's Shadow came out the next year, both Allen and I threw ourselves into promoting my books.
IC
Allen's inventive ways of promoting your books is well-known in some writing circles. Tell us more about this part of the process.Alex
Allen is so involved in both the writing and the promoting of my books that I wanted to include his name as co-author, but he wouldn't agree to it. Since he brainstorms the plot with me and critiques each scene as I write it, by the time the book is finished it's more our book than mine.Before the first book came out, he took on the title of "Proud Husband of the Author" and threw himself into promoting it. He has learned the craft of bookbinding and makes his own advanced reading copies to send to reviewers. He mails out post cards and calls independent bookstores. He gives away peanut butter cups and purple balloons at conferences. He develops contests, donates books to libraries, and creates amazing promotional materials. Allen is absolutely ingenious and has come up with more great marketing ideas than I could begin to tell you about here.
I'm extremely grateful to have a husband who's so enthusiastic about my/our writing career. And the best part is, he isn't doing it as a favor to me, he's doing it because it's fun for him. I could never have come this far without him.
IC
What is the most outrageous thing Allen has done to promote your books?Alex
Our signature item is peanut butter cups, which Cass scarfs down on a regular basis. So, when Allen appears on marketing panels, he throws handfuls of Reese's into the audience. Some people love it. Others have threatened to sue.
IC
Why did you choose Oak Park as your setting?Alex
Oak Park makes a great setting for two reasons: first because of its sense of mission, and second, because it has more diversity than any other place I can imagine.Oak Park used to be a staid traditional community inhabited by DOOPERS (Dear old Oak Parkers), a kind of modern-day landed gentry, people who lived in big houses and behaved according to a code of civility that is mostly lacking today. During those early days, the village was known as Ernest Hemingway's birthplace and as the home of some pretty incredible architecture, not the least of which are the half dozen Frank Lloyd Wright buildings.
In the sixties, Oak Park lay squarely in the path of a steamroller of rapid racial change. The west side of Chicago turned black and at that point the village divided into two factions: those who wanted to keep blacks out and those who wanted to promote integration. Fortunately the good guys won, and Oak Park did a turnabout from focusing on its illustrious past to focusing on its progressive future. This set the village on a crusade to create a rich stew of diversity in terms of race, sexual preference, and lifestyle. On my block alone we have blacks and whites; singles, families, and the elderly; straights and gays.
Oak Park would be my ideal place to live except for its one big downside--the criminals who slip over the Chicago border to ply their trade here. So add muggers, dope dealers, and robbers to the stew, which is not exactly an enhancement, although for a mystery writer it's not all bad.
The main thing the village has to offer is its richness--a richness in terms of the controversies and political issues that are always bubbling up, and a richness in terms of its patchwork population. Every kind of person you can think of--from wealthy CEOs to homeless junkies--can be found here.
Oak Park never ceases to feed my imagination.
IC
What do you enjoy most about writing?Alex
Getting lost in it. I have a parallel universe inside my head and when the words are flowing, it's as if I've stepped inside that world and closed the door behind me. I stop thinking about myself or what to fix for dinner and become entirely absorbed in Cassidy's life, which is far more mesmerizing than mine.I suspect the main reason writers write is that it's such a high when we're in the zone. The women in my critique group all agree that a good writing day is better than an orgasm.
IC
What is your biggest frustration?Alex
It's getting a manuscript back from my freelance editor, Chris Roerden, with notes on every page telling me what's wrong with it. Chris has edited all my books. She's a mentor and a friend. But every time an edited manuscript arrives on my doorstep, I want to wring her neck.When I'm writing the first draft, my book seems pristine and perfect, like newly fallen snow. Then Chris returns it with all her criticisms, and it suddenly seems worthless, a total failure. At that point I sulk for a few days, then eventually regain my perspective and dig into the rewrite.
Sometimes I wonder why I do this to myself. I actually pay money to an editor to make me feel inadequate. How masochistic is that? Then I remember the reason I do it--to make sure every book is the best it can be.
IC
How else do you get feedback on your writing?Alex
I've already talked about my editor, but in addition I also have an excellent critique group. The reason I like to get feedback from two different sources is that my editor and my group pick up on different things. And a group, whether the members meet in person or through the Internet, can also be a great source of support.It's important to remember that the best feedback includes both positive and negative comments. Hearing what I'm doing right helps me to improve just as much as hearing the bad stuff.
IC
How and why did you get started writing mysteries?Alex
I always wanted to write but I grew up in a family that places a high value on making money and no value on fripperies such as writing books. In fact, my mother used to tell me that we were not creative people. And being the left-brained person that I am--logical and analytical--I believed her. And so I put away my dream of writing and got on with the challenges of everyday life: getting married, having children, moving around the country, getting divorced, starting a new career, and getting remarried. And then eventually I ran out of challenges. I had a career I loved, a wonderful second marriage, and everything was going right.I couldn't stand it. So I stirred everything up by deciding to find out whether or not my mother was right.
To some extent she was. I have to work harder at coming up with inventive new material than some writers I know, but Allen lends me his right-brain creativity and generates a log of wonderful ideas for me. And then I have the advantage of my experience as a therapist, which helps me understand characters and their motivations. So I think that in the long run, even though I'm not as creative as I'd like to be, it all works out.
IC
Do you have any advice for Internet Chapter members?Alex
The most important thing is to get your first draft down on paper. No matter how bad it is, you can always fix it later. When you're in a creative mode, you should write as if no one else was ever going to see your work. You shouldn't think about whether people will like it, or whether anyone will be offended, or whether you've exposed too much. You should write for yourself alone, pouring all your passion into it, and if you do that, your book will be authentic.When the first draft is finished, you need to put your editor in charge and allow that part to rewrite your book as many times as necessary.
And one last thing. When I was just getting started, a successful author said to me, "Never give up." I've repeated those words to myself many times over the years, and have come to believe that endurance is what wins out in the long run.
IC
What other thoughts do you wish to share with Internet Chapter members?Alex
Motivation, motivation, motivation.I think there is a great temptation for beginning writers to devise a plot, then force their characters to move through it. The worst books I've read are the ones in which there's no clear motivation for the characters to do what they do.
Developing credible motivation is not that hard once you understand the importance of it. You can get a character to do anything you want by creating a compelling reason. Take murder, for instance. What would motivate you to commit murder? Would you kill in self-defense? Or if someone was threatening the life of a child? Or if someone had information that could ruin your life? Would you kill in order to become wealthy?
Different motives work with different personality types. A caretaker would kill to save a child but not to gain wealth. A greedy person would do the opposite.
Cassidy takes her ethics seriously, but in Vendetta's Victim I needed her to share client information with Zach. I set this up by putting Cass in a situation where she knew that a psychopath was torturing women. She couldn't take the information to the police and so had to investigate on her own. But she knew that Zach was far more experienced than she was and that including him would increase her odds of success. So she weighed the evil of breaking confidentiality against the evil of allowing the psychopath to continue torturing women and decided that the most righteous choice was to share some privileged information with her S.O. Since Cass always thinks in terms of the lesser of the evils, this fits her personality.
Whatever it is you need your characters to do, you can find a way to motivate them. Just make sure you know what the motivation is and that you pass it on to your readers.
The Internet Chapter thanks you, Alex, for giving us your valuable advice this month. We will be eager to see what problems Cass is hit with in your next book in the series. Best of luck, and be sure to keep us updated on your signing schedule. You are a great spokesperson for the value of critique groups, editors, and just sticking with it, not to mention supportive husbands. Now, for one final question, may we clone him?
This interview was conducted during the month of February 2000 for SinC-IC by Jan Fudala.
Portions of this interview are included in the March issue of First Draft, the newsletter of the Guppies.
Guppies is a special interest chapter of SinC-IC.
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