Spotlight Profile
June 2003
Charlaine Harris is a much-published author and a SinC board member. Charlaine is widely known for her Aurora Teagarden series, her Lily Baird series, and her Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire series. Her delightful personality is apparent in this interview.
Welcome, Charlaine, to the internet chapter's spotlight!
IC
Charlaine, can you please give me a nice bio of yourself?
Charlaine
I was born in Tunica, Mississippi, and after various travels I now live in southern Arkansas. I have three children, one husband, two dogs, one ferret, and one duck.. I read a lot, I chauffeur a lot, and we have a minivan and a lawn tractor. This is my life.
IC
How did you evolve as a writer? I've read that you published your first book in 1980. Did you write any books before that that didn't get published? Did you write short stories?
Charlaine
I am truly disgusting. My first book was published; everything I've ever written has been published, I think. Oh, I've got half a science fiction fantasy in a file in my desk; I never finished that one.
IC
When you were starting out, did any established writers act as mentors to you?
Charlaine
No. But after my first two books were published, I wrote an ardent fan letter to Barbara Paul, and she answered me, to my surprise and pleasure. We wrote each other for many years after that, and still occasionally email each other. She is a fine, fine, writer, and she introduced me to my agent.
IC
Have your family and friends always been supportive of your writing?
Charlaine
Yes, my husband is exceptionally supportive. My kids certainly approve of me making more money, though they think I should spend it all on them!
IC
Do you belong to a critique group?
Charlaine
No. But if I'm worried about a particular passage, or a plot development, I am fortunate enough to have a cadre of trusted friends that I sometimes impose upon by asking their opinion.
IC
Besides SinC, what other writer's organizations do you belong to? How helpful have these organizations been to you? Have you found the writing community supportive or competitive?
Charlaine
I belong to the American Crime Writers' League, Mystery Writers of America, and the Arkansas Mystery Writers' Alliance, an "organization" made up of Joan Hess and me, last time I looked. I think the mystery writers I have met have been very warm and welcoming, right from the beginning.
IC
I know that you attend writers' conventions. Do you feel that these could be useful to beginning writers?
Charlaine
Yes, because you can learn more about the writing life, the writing business, and even meet editors and agents. You can find out how other writers got their agents, and get tips about how to make your work better. You can just learn the facts about being a writer; believe me, that's more than a lot of prospective writers know!
IC
Have you also attended writers' retreats?
Charlaine
No.
IC
How did you go about finding an agent and/or a publisher?
Charlaine
As I mentioned earlier, Barbara Paul recommended her agent to me, and we clicked. Joshua Bilmes is still my agent, (though not Barbara's). My first two books, written when I was not represented, went to Houghton Mifflin because at the time I knew a former editor of HM's, and she was kind enough to call one of her contacts there to ask that editor to read my book. After a few revisions, Houghton Mifflin took the book, and my second one. After that, they weren't interested in the new series I started (the Aurora Teagarden books, not as cosy as they sound) and those books started out at Walker. Then they went to Scribner, then to St. Martin's. The Teagarden series is The Little Series That Didn't Die. St. Martin's also took the Lily Bard books. So that gets us to the Sookie Stackhouse series . . .
IC
I loved Dead Until Dark and can't wait to read the next two books in the series. You had a hard time getting Dead Until Dark published, yet it went on to win an Anthony Award and was a finalist for the Agatha and Dilys Awards in the mystery genre, and the Compton Crook Award in the science fiction/fantasy genre. Anyone else may have given up and put it in a drawer. How did you manage to persevere in getting it published?
Charlaine
You know, even my agent wasn't convinced Dead Until Dark was a good idea. But I knew in my gut that it was the best thing I'd ever written. It got turned down time after time, and some of the rejection letters were so dismissive my agent wouldn't even read them to me. I told him to persevere, and in the end, an editor at Ace (John Morgan) became interested. From starting the book to getting to see it on the shelves, the whole process may have taken as much as three and a half years. During that time, of course, Laurell K. Hamilton's books had become very popular, and that helped open the door, too -- though obviously, I get tired of the comparison because of the time frame.
IC
J.K. Rowling has always said she knew what would happen in her Harry Potter books and when the story would end. Do you have a whole Sookie Stackhouse series mapped out in your mind, or is each new book a challenge? What about your other two series?
Charlaine
Each new book is a challenge. I don't know what will happen to Sookie beyond the end of my nose, or rather the end of my fingers. I have a new Aurora Teagarden coming out in August (POPPY DONE TO DEATH). There will be no more Lily Bards, at least not in the foreseeable future, due to a couple of circumstances.
IC
You're so prolific and are juggling three series. How many books in total have you published so far?
Charlaine
Ummmm. . . .nineteen? Twenty?
IC
What are you currently working on?
Charlaine
Well, I just finished an essay for a collection called Seven Seasons of Buffy, which was a lot of fun to write. I'm working on the next Sookie. Then I have a novella for Silhouette (Sookie's world, but not featuring Sookie) and a short story for an anthology to do -- this year. Eeek!
IC
You must be very organized. Can you describe your writing space and work methods? I know you do stand-alone novels as well as your series. How do you plot? Does your story just take on a life of it's own or do you work with an outline?
Charlaine
I wish I were far more organized than I am. I think Susan McBride is the most organized writer I've ever met; I'm just a piece of chaos compared to her. I write in a "guest house" (translation: medium-size room) reached through the carport of my home, so I do have a separate building, but in the summer when my kids are home it's full of computer pieces and young people and it becomes a total mess. I like to have a neat room to work in, and that's seldom something I achieve.
I work from about seven-thirty to eleven-thirty every day, and if I have a looming deadline I work in the afternoon for a couple of hours, as well. How do I plot? Poorly and not enough, in my opinion. I begin with a key event or a key character and build the book around that. I don't outline, but I often wish I did. Pathetic, huh?
IC
Do you do any specific research for your books?
Charlaine
Yes, I do. I have to find out all kinds of things, especially for the Sookie books. How big is the biggest car trunk? How much blood is in the human body? For a recent Aurora, I had to find out how genetic testing was ordered and completed, and of course while I was writing Lily, I took karate.
IC
What do you wish you had known? What kind of advice can you give writers to help them avoid pitfalls and grief or just wasted time? Do you have any golden tips for other writers?
Charlaine
Gosh, writing is like having a child. If you had any idea going in how much trouble it's going to be, and how much grief it's going to bring you, you might chicken out of doing it altogether. Until you actually do it, you have no idea how rewarding writing can be. Entertaining other people is the most fun in the world. Golden tips? I wish. The best advice I can give people who want to be writers is to read. Read everything; science fiction, romance, mystery, general fiction, travel books. Read and read and read.
IC
Would you like to share a favorite quote or inspirational saying?
Charlaine
I'm not one for inspirational sayings. In my office, I have a picture of Jane Austen, a picture of myself with a Romantic Times Cover Model, two stuffed vampires, a bumper sticker that reads, "The way to a man's heart is between the fourth and fifth ribs," and a wonderful old cartoon by Jerry van Amerongen, a drawing of a man flattened against a wall in a living room. The caption reads, "Suddenly, there you are, alone with your own brain." That, to me, is writing.
IC
Last, but not least, what would you like other SinC-IC members to know about you? Not all of us will ever get to meet you in person, so this is our chance to get acquainted, up close and personal.
Charlaine
I believe in the aims and goals of Sisters in Crime. I believe we are a necessary organization, and I believe there is still a lot of work to do before we gain parity. I was published back in the "Bad Old Days." I know we've come a long way, but when I hear younger writers say they think Sisters in Crime is an organization which has outlived its usefulness, I am absolutely horror-stricken. Having gotten a chance to climb on my soap box and say that, I can only tell you that being a writer has made me the happiest person I know; I constantly feel lucky to have friends who are so talented and intelligent.
IC
Thanks so much, Charlaine. You're an inspiration to us all!
To find out more about Charlaine's books, visit her website at
http:\\www.charlaineharris.com
This interview was conducted during the month of May 2003 for SinC-IC
by Jonette Stabbert.
E-mail Charlaine
E-mail Jonette
Visit Charlaine at http://www.charlaineharris.com
Visit Jonette at http://www.stabbert.com
Read an earlier Spotlight Profile
