Author Interview - Rhys Bowen

I am excited and happy that Rhys Bowen has given an interview to Mysteries and My Musings!  She writes two mystery series that are each wonderful.  She writes the Molly Murphy and the Royal Spyness mysteries.  Check out the review of Last Illusion here and Royal Blood here.

 A little background about Ms. Bowen.  Rhys was born in Bath, England, of a Welsh/English family, and educated at London University. She worked for the BBC in London, as an announcer then drama studio manager. She sang in folk clubs with luminaries like Simon and Garfunkel and Al Stewart, and also started writing her own radio and TV plays.  She married and settled in the San Francisco area, where she has lived ever since, raising four children. (Although she now spends her winters in her condo in Arizona.)

- Do you start your next mystery with the killer, the victim or a plot idea?

Since I write two series currently they each start from a different point. The Molly Murphy books, set in 1900s New York City, usually start from an area of the city or a part of society I'd like to explore. Once I sent Molly undercover in the garment industry. Next time she's going into Chinatown. And the crime evolves from what she encounters there.

For my lighter Royal Spyness series about a minor royal in the 1930s the book starts with somewhere fun to send Georgie, somewhere that will make life really complicated for her, as well as something that ties in to real history. So, for example, in the latest, Royal Blood, I thought wouldn't it be fun if Georgie had to attend a royal wedding in Europe and it turned out to be in Transylvania and I could do the whole vampire spoof thing.

So I rarely know who is going to be killed when I start to write, and even more rarely know who the killer will be.





- Do you outline the plot or some variation of that (a little/a lot of detail, a strict 3 act structure etc) before sitting down and writing?

I start knowing almost nothing. I send my character into a situation and see what happens to her. I just follow along. This way I'm shocked and surprised when things go wrong for her. I'm not the puppet master jerking her strings, I'm her side-kick, viewing the action from behind the drapes. I think it makes for a much stronger book.





- What is your process for developing a character? Do you use pictures, a worksheet or just let the character(s) tell you about him/herself as you write?
I think creating character is like developing a friendship. When they first come on the page I know the essentials--how they look, what they are doing at this particular place and time, why I've introduced them to my story. It's like meeting someone at a cocktail party. They tell you the essential facts about them. If you enjoy the conversation you meet again and as a friendship develops gradually they reveal more about themselves. Thus by book four I've learned a lot more about my characters than I knew in book one. But I couldn't have arbitrarily created those facets of character. I had to find them out by watching that character in action and gradually becoming closer to her (or him).
 

This is the huge beneft of a series--we come to know a whole cast of characters really well.



- How do you find time for writing, what works for you - and do you have anything special you do before writing, particular music or a special room/location that helps you get in the zone and write?
I'm a professional writer and I write two books a year. Doctors don't have to get in the mood to examine patients. They do it every day. Pretty much the same for me. When I'm writing I write every day. I have a home office. I go to my computer with my morning cup of tea, read my emails and then start to revise what I wrote the day before and then start writing. Some days it flows easily, some days it doesn't, but I do not allow myself to leave until I've finished 5 pages a day. That way I know I can complete a first draft in the required period of time.





- What is your work schedule like when you're writing and how long does it take you to write a book?
As I mentioned I write two books a year. I try to block off three months for the actual writing. Both series require quite a lot of research as they are both historical. I do a lot of background reading before I'm ready to write, but then once I start writing I write every day until I have a first draft on paper. Then I revise, it goes to trusted readers and I get their imput, then final polish and off to publisher. This is fine unless I have agreed to too many speeches across the country during that three months (which I'm afraid I tend to do.)



- What in your background prepared you to write mystery novels?
I wanted to kill half my teachers in school! No, seriously, I've been a writer all my life, have always created fictitious worlds for myself and have always loved to read mysteries. I like the puzzle aspect, and I especially love the way the mystery can bring justice to the universe.  I also love the type of book that takes the reader to another place and time--hence the historical aspects.


- How did you get your first break toward getting published?  Was it at a writer's conference or mailing a query letter etc? 

Sorry, I've had a rather serendipitous career that just isn't typical. I started writing plays when I was with BBC drama in London. I took my first play to the head of drama. He said he liked it and they were going to produce it. Simple as that.

After a stint with ABC in Australia I married and found myself in California. Nothing like BBC drama, so I wrote a children's book. First publisher declined. Second accepted it and teamed me with famous illustrator. I published many books and some TV tie ins before I turned to crime, but by that time I had learned my craft and my agent had two competing bids on my first crime novel.




- What are you currently reading?
I just bought a Kindle today so I'm going to start by working my way through the complete Jane Austen. Then Connie Willis's Blackout. I've just re-read Harry Potter 7 as a comfort read as I rushed to finish my next book.


- What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
 I can tell quite dark stories with humor without in any way making light of them. Laura Lippman once said of me, "Few writers create this mixture of light and dark." I see the humor in life, and I think I tell stories in a great first person voice.

- Do you participate in a critique group (or have you in the past?) What are the pros and cons of critique groups?

I have certain trusted people who read and comment on my books before they go to the publisher. Not a real critique group. I do think it helps to have more than one pair of eyes look at a manuscript before it goes out. We tend to overlook a lot of our own faults. There are two things against a critique group that I can see: they are too nice and never give true critiques so they don't hurt your feelings, or they tear it to shreds and take away your belief in yourself. Also they need to be your peers and to know what they are talking about.

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Author Interview: Wendy Roberts

Winners for The Morning Show Murders book giveaway are: Cherylbaryl and Rubynreba.  Wahoo!  Congratulations.  You should have received an email from me requesting your mailing address to send the book to you.

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Today we have the author of the Ghost Dusters Mystery series, Wendy Roberts, visiting with us.  You may read the review I did of her most recent book, Dead and Kicking here.

- Do you start your next mystery with the killer, the victim or a plot idea?

I start with the protagonist/heroine. If I have a handle on her personality, the nugget of a plot will follow in my mind. In the Ghost Dusters series, the idea for Sadie came to me after I’d interviewed a trauma clean worker in Seattle.

- Do you outline the plot or some variation of that (a little/a lot of detail, a strict 3 act structure etc) before sitting down and writing?

I don’t outline or plot during the first draft. In the beginning it’s crucial that I let my characters dictate the story and I can honestly say that I never know whodunit until I’m about three-quarters through writing the story. I like to be surprised! After that epiphany, I go back and start the second draft and that involves some plotting. For my process, I like the ideas to come to the paper fresh without a lot of self-editing during that crucial first stage.

- I enjoy Sadie and Maeva, what is your process for developing a character? Do you use pictures, a worksheet or just let the character(s) tell you about him/herself as you write?

I’m glad you enjoyed Sadie and Maeva! For the protagonist I allow her to speak to me throughout the story. With secondary characters, however, I often find pictures will help. I’ll peruse magazines, online articles, or even my own facebook friend list for photos to become the basis of a supporting character and I’ll build their personality attributes around what I feel that face is telling me.

- How do you find time for writing, what works for you - and do you have anything special you do before writing, particular music or a special room/location that helps you get in the zone and write?

I have four kids so my writing time is during school hours out of necessity but I have been known to bring a laptop to baseball and football games when I’m under deadline. If I find the laundry and the dishes calling my name when I should be writing, I’ll pack up my laptop and find a coffee shop. If I want to go for a particularly spooky scene, I’ll pour myself a glass of wine and write late at night with the lights turned down low.

- What is your work schedule like when you're writing and how long does it take you to write a book?

Every book comes with its own time frame. I’ve written one complete first drafts in six weeks and one in a year. Usually it takes me six months to complete that first draft and then another couple months of editing and layering to complete the story.

- How much research goes into your work and do you complete that up front or "just enough" as you go?

Most of my research is done before I go beyond the first three chapters of the book. If things come up along the way, I’ll insert a note to myself in the manuscript and I’ll go back to research those questions after the first draft is complete. If I stop and go to do research along the way, I find I get too hung up on details and it slows my process.

- Setting seems as important as the characters in your mysteries, any tips on conveying a sense of place well?

All my books so far have been set in Seattle. I just love that city and I find inspiration around every corner! I find it helpful to include real locals in my stories. I’m an avid coffee fan so it wasn’t a hardship to visit many independent coffee shops in Seattle and then include them in my Ghost Dusters series.

- Can you recommend a fiction book that provides a great example of the writing craft to dissect and learn from?

Any books by Allison Brennan or Tess Gerritsen are great examples if you want to learn how to build strong characters and thread suspense throughout a story. A couple non-fiction craft books in my own library are Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg and Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass.

- What are you currently reading?

On my bedside table right now is Jasper Fforde’s Shades of Grey. It’s different and somewhat peculiar but I’m enjoying it immensely. I’ve just finished Allison Brennan’s Original Sin which was a phenomenal read!

- What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

If I’m writing at home, rather than at a coffee shop, you’ll find me twisted into odd pretzel shapes while I wrap myself around my keyboard. I can’t seem to maintain creativity while sitting up straight and tall. At the moment I have my right leg tucked under and my left foot on the edge of my desk. Weird, I know J

- How did you get your first break towards getting published? Was it sending in a query or meeting an agent at a writing conference etc?

In the beginning I was rejected by every big agent and publisher in New York. My biggest break came at the Surrey International Writers Conference in my own home town. I had a ten minute appointment with published author, Nancy Warren. During those ten minutes she helped me see where the beginning of my story was a bit weak and also told me which publishing house would be looking for my particular style. I reworked the beginning and then submitted to that publisher. They bought my first book, Dating Can Be Deadly, almost immediately. Nancy has also become one of my dearest friends.

- Do you participate in a critique group (or have you in the past?) What are the pros and cons of critique groups?

In the beginning of my writing career I participated in a few critique groups, both online as well as face-to-face. I found the lessons I learned were priceless. Just having the opportunity to have someone read my stuff and give me their opinion on the story was wonderful. It helped me to be stronger and grow a tough skin which is a must in this business. Now my critique group is my agent and editor but I still meet with other published authors for brainstorming sessions.


Thank you Wendy Roberts for such a great interview!

 

Author Interview: Julie Hyzy

I am excited to have author Julie Hyzy interview today for you.  She is a fascinating lady who has acted in community theater productions, appeared in television commercials, and crashed a previously all-male fraternity to become one of the first female brothers in Loyola University's Chapter of Delta Sigma Pi. Julie had dreams of becoming a writer, but family, friends, and frat brothers convinced her otherwise. Having held positions as junior officer at a downtown bank, office manager at an architectural firm, and financial advisor at a prestigious wealth management company, she realizes that the business degree was probably a good choice -- but fiction is truly her passion. Now, with some well-earned life experience behind her, she's delighted to finally be able to make writing a priority in her life. (Life details provided from her website.)

I am grateful she is writing full time because I enjoy her books.  You may read the review I did of here second book in her White House Chef series, "Hail to the Chef" here.  I am looking forward to hopefully giving you an advance peak of her new series due out this coming summer 2010.

Do you start your next mystery with the killer, the victim or a plot idea?

I usually start with a plot idea, then decide on the victim, and finally the killer. I've started with the victim a time or two, but I almost always start with the plot. That said, my plots have changed during the writing process and the end story is never exactly as I originally planned.

Do you outline the plot or some variation of that (a little/a lot of detail, a strict 3 act structure etc) before sitting down and writing?

I do outline, but it's not terribly structured. I've tried all sorts of outlining tactics, but the one I'm favoring now involves a main page of ideas, Post-it notes, and a big board. I start with a sheet of paper and put my main character in the center of it, then surround her (almost always a "her") with other characters who will be important to the story. I jot a few notes as to how they all interact. Once that's done, I start imagining how the story starts and how it progresses. That's where the Post-it notes come in. I scribble an idea or two for a scene -- very brief -- and tack it to my board, adjusting as necessary. One idea I have come to love is to have separate Post-it notes labeled with days of the week, for as many days as necessary. I put those up first along the left side of the board (and again, adjust as needed), but this way I can see at a glance if I've included way too much action for a single day. The days-of-the-week has prevented me from double-dipping, too. I did that once. I have a book with two Saturdays. Yikes!


I loved Olivia Paras, what is your process for developing a character? Do you use pictures, a worksheet or just let the character tell you about him/herself as you write?

Thanks so much. I love it when people feel strongly about my characters because I really do. With Olivia, I studied Cristeta Comerford, our *real* first female White House Executive Chef, but I didn't copy her exactly. I just used her as a guide. Usually I don't have a real person to base my characters on, so I free-write and let them talk to me and tell me about how they grew up, what's important to them, and how they came to be important to the story.


How do you find time for writing, what works for you - and do you have anything special you do before writing, particular music or a special room/location that helps you get in the zone and write?

I am so lucky to have a room to write. My family calls it my cave. Every morning, I read the paper, have coffee, check email, and then sit down to write. When there are busy days, or times when I can't carve out my morning that way, I feel it. I love my routine.

When I write, I prefer silence. No music, no background noise. Just the quiet of the house around me. It's lovely.

What is your work schedule like when you're writing and how long does it take you to write a book?

I tend to write abuot 3 hours per day when I'm not on deadline, and about 8 hours a day when I am. Now, I'm way more leisurely during those 3 hours, which is why I often find myself approaching a deadline and start to get nervous. I've always finished a book with weeks to spare, but I need those weeks for revision, so it's not as though I'm done early. Does that make sense?

The shortest time it ever took me to write an entire novel was about 2 months. But that was for a contest that I decided (last minute) to enter. I didn't win, but the novel seems to have garnered some attention. It isn't published yet, nor is it under contract, but I have hopes.

Mostly, I take about 6 months to write a book, give or take.

How much research goes into your work and do you complete that up front or "just enough" as you go?

For the White House Chef books, and for the upcoming Manor of Murder series, I do a lot of research. I'm constantly on the prowl for information, and I'm always gathering ideas and notes. I have books, DVDs, articles, etc. here that I refer to every day, but I prefer to research certain details as I write. For instance, in one of the WHChef books, Ollie walks through the Palm Room. There are a couple of great paintings in there. I knew where to find that information, so I waited until I was writing that scene to fully explore that room.

I particularly enjoy how you create a sense of place. Setting seems as important as the characters in your mysteries, any tips on conveying a sense of place well?

I think if you "see and smell and feel" a place in your mind as you write, it naturally comes out in the story. What I really enjoy reading and try to write myself - is how a character experiences a place. That is... seeing and feeling it through his/her particular filters. That not only gives you the setting, it helps the reader know the character better too.

Can you recommend a fiction book that provides a great example of the writing craft to dissect and learn from?

So many. Sue Grafton does a great job of providing that "filter" I just mentioned. We see where Kinsey is, but even better, we hear what she's thinking about the setting. I love that. Diana Gabaldon's OUTLANDER is lush with detail. The first time I read that one I skimmed through the descriptions, only to find out later that I needed to know those details. Wonderful book.

There are so many... it's hard to narrow it down. I think we can learn from every book we read. How to, or how not to...

What are you currently reading?

At the moment, I'm in SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut, THE FIERY CROSS by Diana Gabaldon, and a manuscript from a new writer that is really, really excellent.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I like to act out gestures to "get it right." Sometimes I find it hard to describe exactly the gesture I want, so I act it out repeatedly until I find the words for it. This is why I prefer to write in my cave, and not out in a coffee shop where people might stare ;-)

How did you get your first break towards getting published? Was it sending in a query or meeting an agent at a writing conference etc?

My first professional sale was a short story for an annual Star Trek anthology by Pocket Books. This was a great opportunity for new writers (especially those who were ST fans!) because it was only open to amateurs -- that is, writers who had not had more than 3 professional sales. That meant one could possibly appear in a maximum of three anthologies, which I did. Once I had these sales under my belt, editors and agents were more willing to look at my stuff. As it turns out an editor took my first novel for Five Star, and working with them to get three novels published helped me develop a foothold in the business. I still love writing short stories, though I haven't done so in a while.

Do you participate in a critique group (or have you in the past?) What are the pros and cons of critique groups?

I belonged to a critique group for about 7 or 8 years. I still keep in touch with the group and go to the holiday party, but I've run out of time. It takes about a year to get one's entire novel critiqued in the group, and I'm under contract to write 2 books per year at this point. But I learned a great deal in the time I was participating, and the group is wonderful for providing support and help whenever needed.

I think the pros include having that support and knowing there are others in the same boat. Also, if everybody says, "this scene doesn't work for me," then you can bet that scene doesn't work. The cons include the time participating takes from writing, and also sometimes there are too many opinions. Once in a while, you just have to go with what feels right.

Tell us about your latest book, Eggsecutive Orders out Jan 5 2010. What aspect of the new book did you particularly enjoy? I also noticed a second mystery series - A Manor of Murder, what can you tell us about that?

Eggsecutive Orders is the third White House Chef novel featuring Ollie Paras. This time she faces the worst dinner guest she's ever encountered -- a dead one. When a big shot dies after dining with the president, she's banished from the kitchen until her innocence can be proved. But it's the week before the annual Easter Egg Roll, so tension is very high. In this one we meet Ollie's family and we get to know the kitchen staff a little better. Lots of stuff going on in this one.

Manor of Murder is the series debuting in June, 2010, and the first book is Grace Under Pressure. The books are set in the Eastern United States, at a palatial mansion/museum/tourist attraction, where Grace Wheaton is curator. Well, assistant curator until her boss is found murdered. She steps into his position, not only to help keep the place running, but also to solve his murder. What she doesn't expect is to encounter a personal mystery of her own.

Thanks for asking!

*************

Thank you Julie for such a fantastic interview.  I bet she has a hard time not getting overwhelmed with the research she could do on the White House!  I love her writing quirk too.  I am looking forward to her new series, sounds great with lots of possibilities with the setting.  So dear reader, what do you find interesting in the interview?

Author Interview: Juliet Blackwell

Today we have the accomplished author Juliet Blackwell's interview that she graciously agreed to do.  You can read the review I did of her last book "Secondhand Spirit" here.  Enjoy finding our more about this wonderful author.  Ms Blackwell also writes the Art Lovers Mystery series with her sister under the pseudonym of Hailey Lind.

You had written several books in a collaborative fashion with your sister, what are the good and bad sides to joint writing efforts?

The good part is always having someone to bounce ideas off of, and to tell you when you’re off track. My sister and I are good friends with a similar sense of humor, so sometimes when the mood’s right we really get each other laughing and coming up with ideas. The bad part is the constant need to re-write, and re-write again, since it’s so important to keep a single, unified “voice” in the narration. Plus, writing on my own means I get to go off on whatever tangent I like, or have the romance go the direction I want, without having to argue with my sister. Unlike me, of course, she can be so unreasonable…;-)

I loved Lily Ivory in Secondhand Spirits as well as Annie Kincaid in the Art Lover's series, what is your process for developing a character? Do you use pictures, a worksheet or just let the character tell you about him/herself as you write?


For me, developing character is the easiest—and most exciting-- part of writing. I love imagining the characters in different scenarios, how they would react, that sort of thing. I usually list their favorite food and drink, funny quirks, a few things like that on a piece of paper I keep for each one, but beyond that I just let them develop organically. I’m always shocked at how characters seem to fix themselves, and then tell me exactly what they would or wouldn’t do in a situation. Many’s the time I’ve had to change a storyline because my character simply wouldn’t do what I had planned for them to do. Sounds a little crazy, but it’s true.

Do you outline the plot or some variation of that (use a strict 3 act structure or not and little/alot of detail) before sitting down and writing?

I have to turn in an outline to my editor before writing, which forces me to think through certain plot points and storylines. But other than that, I’m more of an organic writer – I like to be taken by surprise by my own writing. If I try to stick too closely to an outline or formula, I find I get bored. And if I’m bored, I’m willing to bet my readers will be bored.

How do you find time for writing - what works for you?

This is a tough one. The simple answer is that there’s never enough time for writing. Just as there’s never enough time for so many things in our modern lives. But since writing is a priority for me, I make time. Most days I get up at four in the morning, believe it or not. I hate it (I am so NOT a morning person!) but it’s the only way I can find a couple of completely quiet hours to work without interruption. I also don’t watch television, which gives me extra time in the evenings. I never do more housework than absolutely necessary, and the garden has to get by with a minimum of intervention. I have a teenage son, so he takes priority over my writing, but otherwise the writing has to come before fun time with friends and that sort of thing. I try to keep some balance in my life, and do cherish my good friends, but by and large I guard my writing time jealously.

For your mystery series' there is a lot of detailed information - how much research goes into your work and do you complete that up front or "just enough" as you go?

I love research. I was trained as an anthropologist, and one of the reasons I love being a writer is that it gives me an excuse to read about interesting things every day! I just finished the fourth Art Lover’s book, Arsenic and Old Paint, and I learned all sorts of gruesome things about poisons, and also lots of details about bats.

I read constantly, and obviously use the internet for research. But I also do a lot of walking around neighborhoods where I set my stories, and I’ve interviewed FBI agents and bounty hunters and parole agents and medical examiners. With the Witchcraft series, I studied the history of the famous witch hunts in Europe and Salem, and about the persistence of witchcraft in parts of the modern world, especially in rural areas of Africa and Latin America. I also interviewed witches one-on-one, and attended coven meetings. And I get to do it all in the name of work!

As to how much…obviously, a writer can only include a small fraction of her or his research in the actual books – otherwise you run the risk of boring your reader. I usually do some research prior to writing, which gives me a lot of ideas. Then I research as I go along –sometimes it’s as simple as looking something up on Google, or sometimes it’s something I have to make time for (such as interviewing or walking the streets).

I read once that a romance writer would put on sexy lingere to prepare for writing - do you have anything special you do before writing, particular music or a special room/location that helps you get in the zone and write?

I really love writing in my office – boring, right? But I live in a beautiful old house full of ghosts, beautiful light, and wavy-glass windows, so it puts me in the mood for magic and art. I look out onto the hills of Oakland – which are truly beautiful, by the way. Very European looking. And my neighbor’s black cat, who just happens to be named Oscar (and I didn’t even know him when I named Lily’s familiar Oscar!) won’t leave me alone. He’s convinced I’ll fall for his feline ways…and he’s right. Having a black cat around makes writing about witches seem just right.

I also have a rather fierce –but cute—looking gargoyle who overhangs my computer monitor – he always makes me think I’m in the company of Oscar from the book.

Do you have any secrets to success for editing?

Hmm, that’s a tough one. I write my first draft with great verve and make myself turn off my internal editor – I want the story to flow without restraint—but that means that I have to do some serious re-writes and thorough editing once that first draft is done. For that, I think Stephen King said it best: you have to be willing to kill your darlings. Be tough on yourself – no matter how much you love a scene or iteration, if it doesn’t work for the story, cut it. Don’t give too much backstory, let the story unwind bit by bit to keep the reader intrigued. Use lots of dialogue to move the story along, and make sure you have a good mix of action, dialogue, and description throughout.

In this technology driven world there is more and more pressure on authors to use social media (blog book tours, twitter, facebook etc.) but what do you feel is the payoff for the amount of time invested as opposed to traditional methods such as brick and mortar book tours?

Wow, you really do ask the tough questions! I don’t know what the payoff is, and I wish I did. It’s so frustrating to spend so much time and energy in an arena that is so far removed from the ultimate goal –to sell books and introduce new readers to one’s work. So far no one has been able to show what the connection is, though as you say writers are expected to maintain a presence on the web. The only direct benefit I can see is that I get a lot of email from readers, and I imagine few of them would have taken the time and energy to write the old fashioned way.

I enjoy visiting bookstores, but obviously it’s expensive. My publisher doesn’t have the money to pay for my tour, so I do it on my own dime – however, I know so many great authors now that we often tour together, sharing expenses and making everything much more fun. It’s always a pleasure to meet booksellers and librarians face-to-face, and to interact with readers and fans. The only downside is that it’s truly exhausting, and does take away from writing – I always say “I’ll write in the evenings in the hotel”, but I usually wind up going out to dinner and drinks instead!

What is the "tipping point" where an author can support themselves from their writing? Is there a recognizable point at which you can dedicate yourself full time to writing books and not worry about a day job again?

I don’t know that there’s any one “tipping point” – the downside about being a published author is that unless you’re a HUGE name, you’re always having to look down the road to what’s next. Will I have a contract next year? Will it be enough to live on? Should I be changing genres? Supplementing my income? Maybe I should get a job at Peet’s Coffee….

Much of it, obviously, depends on your personal situation and expectations. I’ve been a professional artist for years, and before that I was a social worker, and before that an anthropologist. So frankly, I’ve never made much money! My demands are low, I live with housemates to share expenses, so I don’t need as much as other people might. I’d much rather have an interesting, rewarding career than a new car or fancy vacations…and I’m lucky, because my ex-husband is able to pay for our son’s school and important, mundane, things like his health insurance and new shoes.

A lot of authors supplement their writing wages through freelancing non-fiction, teaching classes, or sympathetic spouses. But I’m not sure that many of us are able to “not worry about a day job again” ever!

Can you recommend a fiction book that provides a great example of the writing craft to dissect and learn from?

Wow – in this case there are far too many answers to your question. I adore Richard Russo – his Empire Falls is a masterpiece in interweaving the story of individuals, families, and a whole town, as well as handling flashbacks and historical information. Nick Hornby is a master of using “voice” to establish character, almost without using description at all – try About a Boy or A Long Way Down. My friend Sophie Littefield’s debut novel, A Bad Day for Sorry, is another example of a strong, clear voice of character. Elizabeth Peter’s novels are wonderful examples of storytelling beyond a lot of modern conventions – she can write an entire mystery novel without actually killing anyone. Amazing.

How did you get your first break towards getting published? Was it sending in a query or meeting an agent at a writing conference etc?

I did go to a conference – the Willamette Valley Writers’ Conference in Portland, Oregon—and credit that wonderful event with meeting agents and editors for the very first time. I didn’t get an actual agent from that event, but I did learn what it was they were looking for, as well as important things like how to write a decent query letter. After that, I did a lot of research on the web for lists of agents, as well as looking through Jeff Herman’s guide to publishers. I had a goal of sending out 100 letters, hoping for a ten percent return. I only got up to 38, but out of that we received three offers for Feint of Art, which was later nominated for an Agatha.

Now I am President of our Northern California chapter of Sisters in Crime, and a member of Mystery Writers of America, so I realize there was a whole lot of support out there that I was unaware of – our Sisters in Crime chapter has ushered many aspiring authors through the process, recommending them to our agents and helping with the query letter process. Several are now published authors! Look around you for writers’ groups – they’re wonderful and willing to help!

Tell us about your upcoming book! What aspect of the new book did you particularly enjoy?

My next book will be A Cast-off Coven, the second in the Witchcraft Mystery Series (June 2010). I really enjoyed writing about the characters I established in the first book, plus adding in a few more. I researched a lot about ghosts for this book, and found some fascinating tidbits about the different way people view spectral beings. I also researched demons – a scary lot.

Arsenic and Old Paint will also be out next summer, either August or September. This will be the fourth in the Annie Kincaid Art Lover’s Mystery series, and it was so much fun to research – I spent a lot of time in Chinatown looking into rumors of underground chambers and tunnels. I also particularly enjoyed writing this one, because I got to come back to characters that I love, and which I haven’t been able to write about lately.

THANK YOU so much Juliet for this interview.  I am certainly looking forward to your next books with much anticipation!
 
Until Thursday and our next book review, I wish you dear readers many mysterious moments.

Special Announcement: Carnival Coming!

Introducting the Mystery and Crime Fiction Blog Carnival

I have taken a huge plunge here by deciding to run a Blog Carnival dedicated

to Mystery/Crime Fiction/Suspense books and the craft of writing them. 

 Do you review mystery, crime fiction, or suspense books?

Do you have author interviews that discuss writing mystery or crime fiction?

Do you blog on fiction writing advice?

Join us for this Carnival.

What is a blog carnival?  blog carnivals are where someone takes the time to find really good blog posts on a given topic, and then puts all those posts together in a blog post called a "carnival". 

This carnival takes your submissions and presents them in a monthly carnival.  Imagine one place to go each month for book reviews on Mystery, Crime Fiction and Suspense books as well as author interviews and writing tips and advice.

Blog carnivals are a great way for bloggers to recognize each other's efforts, organize blog posts around important topics - like the Mystery Genre, and improve the overall level of conversation in the blogosphere. The fact that carnivals are edited (and usually annotated) collections of links lets them serve as "magazines" within the blogosphere.

CONDITIONS:

1)  MUST BE A BLOG POST - NOT A WEBSITE
2)  MUST BE MYSTERY / CRIME FICTION OR WRITING RELATED

WARNING: IF IT DOESN'T MEET THE CONDITIONS I WON'T POST IT

Categories under this blog carnival include:

Police Procedural Book Review

Private Investigator Book Review

Amateur Sleuth Book Review

Cozy Mystery Book Review

Suspense Fiction Book Review

Author Interview

Writing tips and advice

This Carnival will take place the first Monday of each month. 

Submission deadline is the last Friday of each month.

Please submit links to recent articles (within the last 3 months) to keep the information fresh.

Also, your links should point to actual articles not archive lists, indexes or about pages.

Submit your blog entry here now

(http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_8796.html)

Spread the word far and wide!!!

Mystery lovers celebrate.

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(http://blogcarnival.com/bc/widget_2_demo_8796.html)

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Interview with Brunonia Barry, The "Original" Lace Reader

Progress on my suspense novel, The Society, from last week – 1244 words written, although my goal was 1750. Still that was 1244 words I wasn’t getting done before, so I am still pleased. I wrote the scene with the significant character that the reader doesn’t know if he is friend or foe and I believe I kept his true motivation hidden. I told it from his viewpoint interacting with my heroine, which had its challenges. But I like the result. This scene accomplished giving my heroine a push to investigate further. Next my heroine, Elizabeth, will take her first tentative step into finding out what happened in the looming mystery while the reader knows she is being closely watched.

For my Musings this week, I wanted to interview Brunonia Barry the author of The Lace Reader, but since this is a new blog and I had a few days only, I found an interview she had already done. The wonderful people at Writer Unboxed (http://www.writerunboxed.com) were gracious and sanctioned me to provide  parts of the interview here.

I felt this was particularly interesting since The Lace Reader was initially self-published before the big New York publishers ever got it. The interview covers story development, how a major concept for the book came from a dream Ms. Barry had and how the setting was more a character than a location.

BB = Brunonia Barry
TW = Therese Walsh of Writer Unboxed
     ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

TW: You worked on your book for seven years.

BB: True.

TW: Once you finished, you decided against sending it to a single publisher or agent and self-published it, but in the back of your mind you’d hoped that a big publisher would hear about your grass-roots success and publish you anyway.

BB: Yes. True.

TW: What’s your process? How much do you know going in about the story arc, about the chararcters, etc…?

BB: I just spent the worst weekend on my next book, not knowing who anybody was! I think that’s the point you get to, when you rethink everything.

TW: It’s interesting, isn’t it? You think you know what you’re doing, but then the characters decide that you’re completely wrong.

BB: Exactly. That’s what happened with the first book, too. I do work from an outline, but then the outline changes because the characters always change.

TW: And the characters have a loud voice when you’re writing, don’t they?

BB: For me they do. They will not shut up. They won’t be directed, either.

TW: They’re driving the car.

BB: Absolutely, they’re driving the car. And the more work I do on their backstory, the stronger they become.

TW: So you have an outline that you revise as you’re writing?

BB: I probably do the first 100 pages without an outline, but I also throw away at least 60 of the first 100 pages. I’m just trying to write about a setting and about a character and see where it goes. And then at that point I decide a little bit of where it’s going, and I probably do a one-page outline. And then as I’m actually writing it, I really try to structure a chapter-by-chapter outline with a step outline—a paragraph for each chapter.

TW: Like beats?

BB: It is the beats, along with any notes that I need to include. Say in The Lace Reader I need a note to myself like, “Eva knew Towner went to Cambridge.” Just a note for myself about who knew what and when, what the characters know, that sort of thing. Moments you want to highlight. They’re beats, too, but they’re more subtle. And it’s like a three to five act structure. For me, it’s easier to structure the outline that way. But then sometimes the outline falls away and I’m left in a nervous state for a while before the outline really comes together. I don’t have the paragraph for each chapter at that point—maybe just a sentence. Then it really starts to kind of fall into the structure that it will be in. Then I can outline chapters more fully. The reason I outline chapters initially with paragraphs is that if I get stuck I can move past it and go back to it. I often have to do that because otherwise I would probably have writer’s block; I think the reason that I don’t have it is because I jump around. But in order to jump around you have to have a bigger outline, even if the outline changes.

For the books I’m writing it’s so important to keep track of details. In the rewrite for The Lace Reader, I got very mixed up for a while. I had index cards all over the walls and the floor, and I would go running crying from the room—“I can’t do it!” And then one day, as if by magic, a pattern emerges as if through the lace. One day it starts to make sense, and generally you’re on your way.

TW: All hail the subconscious mind.

BB: Oh, yes, and I rely on it. I’m in the process of changing the step outline for the second book now because I realize that some things are happening in the wrong places. This seems to happen particularly if there are flashbacks involved. With both of my books so far there’ve been a lot of flashbacks, and I have to really step back and think on it for a while before it comes together.

TW: Flashbacks used throughout a story can be tricky, don’t you think? Deciding when and how to weave them in isn’t always obvious, and reordering scenes can make you crazy.

BB: I agree. I’ve done this for both books. I write them where I think they belong in the book, but… Yesterday, I broke out one of the stories and put it in a separate place thinking I’d figure out where it goes later, because it’s really slowing me down. I don’t quite know who knows what when anymore, and I have to figure that out first. If I break it out, at least I can complete that part of the story, even if it changes. Sometimes when things are segmented through the book, you just have to pull pieces out and see where they fit best later. There’s a lot of structural work that I do once I get to the middle point of the book.

TW: …I know a lot of writers write first thing in the morning to kind of pull some of that dream state into the work.

BB: That’s exactly what I do. Three a.m. is a really good time, too. I tend to wake up at 3:00 a.m. and always have. Since I’m awake then and wanting to go back to sleep, writing is a good thing. Reading is great, too, because you’re moving your eyes and it can be a little hypnotic, but writing’s good, too. You never know until morning just what you’ve come up with, but it’s interesting.

TW: You’ve said that you wrote The Lace Reader as the hero’s journey for women. Can you explain how the journey might be different for men and women?

BB: Well, a hero’s journey for women might be more collaborative than a hero’s journey for men—at least the traditional male hero’s journey we see often, where a lone hero saves the town. There are always helpers, but for a hero’s journey for women, those helpers are different, more important. In The Lace Reader, Towner couldn’t make this journey if people hadn’t come along to help her each step of the way—people who were alive, people who weren’t alive, people from California, people from Massachusetts, relatives, friends, everyone. So I think it becomes very collaborative and the outcome depends on her interacting with these people. Of course she’s very solitary in the beginning, so partly she needs the reflection of other people to understand who she is. I would also say that the hero’s journey as a structural device is not complete because there’s the idea that you have to go back to the world and teach what you’ve learned, and I didn’t quite get there with The Lace Reader.

TW: Did the idea of the hero’s journey inform your outline from the beginning?

BB: Not the very beginning. In this case, The Lace Reader started as a short story, but I always held in mind the idea that I should try to do a hero’s journey from a woman’s point of view; I was reading so many scripts in Hollywood and what was happening to strong female protagonists is that they were either killing them off or marrying them off or getting them pregnant, because they didn’t know how to end the story. I mean, I didn’t know how to end the story either, but I thought that would be very interesting to explore, so very early on this turned into that structurally.

TW: You’ve also said that you wrote the book three times. Can you talk about that? What was going on? How did you get beyond it?

BB: Different things influenced me and that changed the direction of the story. For example, I went to see a demonstration about the history of Ipswich lace making by a woman named Marta Cotterell Raffel who wrote a book called The Laces of Ipswich, and got some great ideas there. Then we moved to Salem, and Salem fit the description of the world of the hero’s journey story, almost to a T—because it’s very surrealistic, it’s a place where the history is so much a part of the town, like the witches who live here.

TW: This idea of a women’s circle is an important idea in your book. Is that something you introduced to explore the idea and the shame of gathering as women?

BB: I did, and I thought it was interesting for the lace makers to call themselves “The Circle.” People already think they’re weird out there on the island. There were a lot of ideas that I wanted to explore that had to do with perception and prejudice.

TW: Let’s talk a little more about Salem. Setting was a major player in the book.

BB: Yes, a character, really.

TW: Do you think the story could’ve been set anywhere else? Would it have been a completely different story?

BB: Well, I do think that the story could’ve happened elsewhere; in fact, it’s unlikely that Salem would have the kind of cult that I described—that might happen somewhere else. But I think the story takes on a certain resonance backed with the history of Salem that it wouldn’t have had elsewhere. For me, setting is the main thing, actually. The islands in this case, that kind of isolation, is interesting and useful, too. I think having that kind of isolation together with a town like Salem, which is anything but isolated and has been about community for forever, creates a kind of opposite feeling, a tension. And of course it’s real.

TW: Let’s go back to the first incarnation of your story. You’ve said that it started not in Towner’s but in May’s point of view, and that you realized partway through that May was not the true protagonist. Do you want to speak to that a bit?

BB: Yes. The story started, and it was a short story about a haircut, inspired by lace reading. I’m not sure how one got to the other, honestly, but it was about May taking her daughter, Towner, for a haircut. And it was a very intense mother-daughter scene where Towner is very angry at May, and she wouldn’t be quiet about it. She was the more interesting character to explore, and I kept coming back to May, but Towner took over every chapter as the story grew. I meant to set the book more on Yellow Dog Island and less in Salem, but as Towner took over the story it became obvious that Salem was a bigger part of the story. May’s story was recessed a bit.

TW: Which came first: The short story or the “lace incident?”

BB: The lace incident.

TW: Tell us about the lace incident.

BB: We had bought a house in Marblehead, and we were renovating it to enlarge the kitchen. One big wall was being knocked out. I didn’t unpack much, but I had our bedroom set up, and I’d unpacked a little piece of lace that my Irish grandmother had given me, which was made by nuns. This was all I’d had from my grandmother. She’d given it to me as a bit of a joke because sometimes I acted up and she would say, “Guess who made this lace? The nuns, and you can do this, too!” I lost my grandmother when I was in my twenties, and so this is all I’d had of hers. I’d had it on my bedside table forever in New York, Chicago, LA, all the places I’d lived.

On this particular night, I unpacked the lace along with a few other things, and went to bed, and dreamed—in the logic of dreams—that I was looking through the lace to see what the kitchen would look like when it was enlarged and finished. It didn’t make sense in the waking hours, but in my dream it made sense. And what I saw, instead of a finished kitchen, was a field of horses. We were on a main street in a town devoid of horses, and so it didn’t make a lot of sense. It was also an anxiety dream for me, because I’m really allergic to horses and all of a sudden I had a field of horses in my kitchen. It woke me up and I couldn’t get back to sleep. The next day, the contractor came in to knock down the wall and put on his mask and started to complain: “I hate this old horsehair plaster. It gets in the air and you can never get it out.”

So that was my first lace reading. I assumed at that time that it was something that was real and that people did, and that I’d just heard about it at some point and stored it away and dreamed about it. But then I was looking for eight years for people who did lace reading and didn’t find anyone. Now they’re popping up, and that was kind of the bet that after the book came out they would. I still don’t know if it was real, but I’d love to know. I’ve talked to people who read all sorts of things, from tarot to the bumps on your head, and they say there’s no reason that people wouldn’t read lace and perhaps they did but they just didn’t hear of it.

TW: I love that you’re the original lace reader.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Thank dear friends for joining me for another edition My Musings.

See you again Thursday for a book review.  Until then I wish you many mysterious moments.