Seattle Mystery Bookshop

An Interview With Jasper Fforde!

Thank you to Jasper Fforde for answering our interview questions (he asked for zany questions, as interviews can be very drab evidentially)!
Want to know more about this fantastic author? Click here to see his awesome site!

1. In the Thursday Next Series, do you think it would be possible for Jurisfiction Agents to jump into alternate realities which also contain the same classics as their plane of existence? (by classics I mean books like Jayne Eyre, Pride & Prejudice or Hamlet for instance)

It's an interesting thought, and here's my take on it: Perhaps books are the only constant in the Multiverse, and by jumping into a book and then jumping out again, one could enter an entirely new plane of existence and/or timeline? I hope to explore this and many other astoundingly diverse and incredible ideas that will tax my reader's patience and imagination when Thursday Next 8: Dark Reading Matter is eventually written. Given my large workload at present, I don't see this happening anytime soon. 2018, perhaps?

2. When I was reading Song of the Quarkbeast and Once Magnificent Boo was explaining the types of quarkbeasts to Jennifer (pg. 173 in the US version) it reminded me strongly of a scene in the 1987 film Roxanne - when Daryl Hannah’s character was explaining what quarks were to Steve Martin’s character. My question is this, did you draw any inspiration from or were you influenced by this movie at all when writing this scene?

Well, I certainly saw the film and greatly enjoyed it - especially the 'twenty nose insults' scene and the 'damn, locked - good job I have the key' one liner, so it's possible. Oddly enough, this happens quite a lot. I was rereading the Moomintroll stories by Tove Jansson to my young daughter, and out popped a line construction I knew that I had used in the Thursday Next series. I didn't know I had, but I had. That's the odd thing about being a writer - it's like having a mind like a drift net that dredges up little snippets of Stuff to use at a later date. Writing is often pretty odd, really. Even the finest exponents of the art are at odds to describe how it all works.

3. Can you tell us anything about your up coming super-secret stand alone novel? Even if it’s just the postcards you might give away with it?

It's a mystery thriller set in a world where humans have always hibernated, November to March. To protect the inviolable sanctity of the sleepstate there exist Sleep Marshalls who ensure that villainy does not prevail. It does, naturally. John Fugue is a probationary marshall stranded over winter in Sector Twelve, an isolated backwater where a half dozen marshalls look after ten thousand or so sleeping residents. It is also the home of Morpheus Industries, the pharmaceutical giant that manufactures Morphenox, a dream suppressant designed to ensure that weightloss during hibernation is kept to a minimum. As a result, no-one in the Morphenoxed overclass dream, and especially not John Fugue. But he does. And other people have been having it too, with fatal results.

4. Have you ever had an idea for a promotional give away which seemed to outlandish to even attempt?

Yes - I had an idea for making flickbooks, but the cost was too prohibitive.

5. Were you influenced by Agatha Christie at all when writing your Nursery Crime series? (since she used several nursery rhymes in her mysteries)

Most certainly. I read tons of Agatha Christies during those lazy afternoons that seem only to exist when a teenager, and one I particularly liked was 'A Pocket full of Rye' in which the victims were bumped off in a manner that suggested they were actually characters from the nursery rhyme: 'Sing a song of Sixpence/ a pocket full of rye/ four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.'. I remember thinking how cool it would be if they really were from the rhyme, but they weren't, of course - it was a Red Herring. The idea clearly stuck with me, as years later I wrote the Nursery Crime series. I didn't use that particular rhyme in any of my books.

6. If you had to spend one year on a desert island with your favorite & least favorite fictional character who would they be?

Tricky one, this, and not with out some precedence in reality. I was stuck in an elevator once with Uriah Heep which was pretty awful, and a long car journey from Des Moines to Pittsburgh with Ishmael was, while initially interesting, repetitive when he went on long digressions about the different types of whale in almost ridiculous (and in some cases erroneous) detail. The last time I undertook an overwinter at the Antarctic research station was one in which Catherine Earnshaw was also present but as what I don't recall. She spent most of the winter banging on about Heathcliffe. A Danish virologist left the station and was never seen again. No-one knew why, but we always thought 'Earny' had something to do with it.

7. What is your favorite spice? And why?

This is a difficult question, but it was pretty much all we were talking about in the late nineties here in the UK. At the time it was probably Sporty Spice as she was the least affected and apparently the most normal, but in retrospect perhaps Ginger Spice, as she seems to have the most interesting insights about what the Spice Girls meant, and the phenomenon of 'Girl Power' and how it relates to ongoing women's issues.

8.  Can you explain Cricket in 50 words or less to us Americans?

Of course. There are two teams; one who is IN, and one who is OUT. The team who is OUT has to get the team who is IN, OUT. Once the team who was IN are all OUT, then the team who were OUT are now IN, and they have to get the who is now IN, OUT. There is usually a good tea involved afterwards, and it is expressly forbidden to show appreciation in anything but a reserved clapping of the hands. Cricket also has laws, not rules, and some excellent nomenclature: A 'Googly' is bowling term used to describe a reverse spin leg break ball (that cleared that up) and 'Silly mid on' which is a position on the pitch for a fielder that is really far closer to a man wielding a heavy bat than you'd like to be. Simple, really.

9. Any final words?

Thanks for the questions, and hope to see Seattle in the next US tour - for Early Riser.

Thank you once again for the interview! - Seattle Mystery Bookshop

Gail Carriger Interview

Thank you once again to Gail for answering our blog questions!

If you's like to learn more about Gail Carriger and her books click here to go to her website!

1. Did you start out intending to write three separate but linked series?

I didn't even intend to write one series. The Parasol Protectorate just kinda happened. The second Finishing School series, was intentional and by then I was on a roll and really enjoying playing in this world. So the third series came naturally. I've always admired writers like Lackey and McCaffery who do this kind of world play, so I'm delighted to be writing it.

2. Have you considered expanding the series out from the center of the empire, to say Canada, India or Australia?

Yes! In fact, Prudence, the first in my new Custard Protocol adult series, takes my characters to India. It's really fun to explore world building in other parts of the empire, not only how vampires and werewolves are different, but also how the steampunk technology has evolved in different parts of the world.

3. Have you any thoughts on writing Lord Akeldama’s origin story?

I know it, and, since he's a famous historical person, so do you if you've studied ancient history. So I guess you could say: I don't need to write it because it already has been.

4. Some authors write highly detailed outlines when plotting their books, others write down vague ideas in note books and some simple sit down and let the words flow out of them without any plan at all. What style plotting do you do?

I’m a militant outliner, to the point where sometimes I plan for events to occur on specific page numbers. A Victorian era setting can get bogged down by social convention, so I have to watch pacing. I also came to writing via YA, so I like plot to be neat, tidy, and clear. I keep notebooks with timelines, chapter outlines, gadget listings, outfit & place sketches, battle scenes, historical research notes, and general ideas and inspiration. These also include cast lists and character profiles (once a character is written). Characters are one of the few things that aren’t planned. Sometimes a character will surprise me by becoming more important, or introducing himself/herself unexpectedly. They usually know what’s going on better than I do, so I let them do it in defiance of my outline.

5. Have you ever had to throw a whole book out because you couldn’t make it work?

Like many authors out there, I've had to throw away a lot of books. I think I am up to at least a dozen now.

6. Do you keep a hand in your previous career as an archeologist?

I keep in touch with them over social media and the occasional lunch, and I follow a number of arch specific news blogs, but I'm not longer as involved as I would like.

7. If you were stranded on a desert island with your favorite & least favorite fictional characters (outside your own series) who would they be?

I am in a quandary. Many of my favorite characters, while great in a fight, might be a little challenging to live with on a desert island (like Tamora Pierce’s Alanna or Tanya Huff’s Staff Sergeant Kerr). Are we on this island vacationing? Is it a pleasure jaunt? If so, then I’m going to choose quite civilized companions. P. G. Wodehouse’s Bertie Wooster, Mara from Feist and Wurt’s Servant of the Empire series, Terry Prachett’s Death, Douglas Adam’s Ford Prefect, and Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next. That ought to be quite the merry little gathering. And Jeeves would organize it all.

8. What is your highest pinball score?

Somewhere in the region of 800,000

9. Any question you wished to someone would asked in an interview and never have?

What's your biggest dorkiest obsession?

10. Any Final Words?

Kumquat

My 52 Weeks With Christie: John Connolly Interview

Thank you John for answering these questions for the blog!

If you'd like to know more about John Connolly and his books click here to go to his website or come in and meet him in the shop on November 10th!

1. How did the character of Charlie Parker form for you? Did you write some unpublished stories about him first, create extensive notes about him, or was the process more organic and he has slowly come into focus for you throughout the series?     

I'm not much for planning in advance.  I started the series - and my fictional writing, after years of writing only journalism - with what became the prologue to Every Dead Thing.  I just knew that it would concern a man who loses everything, and both the grief and the terrible liberation that might come with that.  After all, if the worst happens to you, then what have you got left to fear?  

2. Christie is said to have loathed Poirot from very early on in his career. Do you like Charlie Parker as well now as you did in the beginning? 

I understood him from the beginning, which is the important thing.  I knew why he was the way that he was.  There are two responses to great trauma.  One is to want others to suffer like you have done, or at least not to be unduly troubled if they do suffer, because you want others to feel the way that you do, and understand your pain, and suffer a little too.  Then there are those who, because of their own suffering, will do anything in their power to prevent others from suffering as they have, and the name we give to that is empathy, I think.  Parker starts out in Every Dead Thing as the first kind of individual, but ends the book as the second.

3. Christie wrote in a series of notebooks where she honed ideas for her mysteries, and a number of unpublished short stories were found within them. When you pass on at the ripe old age of 147 do you think scholars are going to find a trunk full of unpublished works - a western, poetry, cozy or perhaps the Great American novel (hehehe since you know you're Irish)? Since you are known for writing short stories and such (or at least among us)... 

No, I tend to be very disciplined about my work, and I leave nothing unfinished.  Everything I've written has been published.  No, hang on: there was one story for Nocturnes which I set aside because it didn't quite work, but that's it.  My cupboard will provide poor food for scholars when I pass on.

4. What do you find it easier to work on, short stories, novellas or full length novels? 

They're all very different disciplines.  Realistically, the novel is most difficult because of its length, and the discipline and commitment required to finish it, especially in the face of the doubts about its value that a writer will always have while working on it.  As for short stories, the more of them I write, the easier they become, but I tend to go through phases with them.  I've been fortunate to have had a few ideas for them over the past year or so, but until then I really had written very few of them since Nocturnes.

5. You have written non-fiction, young adult, kids and adult fiction - which would say is the most difficult to write? And Why? 

I tend to approach them all in the same way.  Whatever I write tends to be the thing that is nagging at me most profoundly at the time, and I view it simply as the book that has to be written.  The issue with books for younger readers is that they are adults in the process of formation (we're all adults in the process of formation, though, or should be), and they're not as far along that path as the rest of us.  On the other hand, they haven't given in to the moral grey areas that adults occupy, and their concepts of justice and injustice are less equivocal and compromised than ours.  The difficulty comes AFTER the books have been written.  Younger readers don't read reviews, don't look at book posters on subways, and when you go to a school to talk to them, you're just about better than math, at least until you start talking, and then math may start to look more appealing.  I think you have to work harder to bring young readers in, but it's very fulfilling if and when you do.

6. How did you tackle putting together all the pieces for Books To Die For? For Bonus Points: How did the idea for this great book on books come about? And is there a sequel in the works?         

It was the hardest thing I've ever done, and I think Declan and Clair would say the same.  The real difficulty lay in having to fact-check all of the essays, and put together bios of the authors in question.  That was hugely time-consuming.  As for the idea, I think we just wanted to give readers a basic guide to the genre, and writers seemed like the best people to ask.  I don't think a sequel is a runner, really, although I do wish that we'd managed to pull in more writers for whom English wasn't a first language.  Books To Die For was aimed at a very niche market, and will never make any money for the publishers.  Everyone involved did it as a labor of love, which is great.  These things are good for the soul.    

7. Agatha Christie is called the queen of poisons since she used them often. Do you have preferred method of murder in your books? And why?  

Gosh, I've never really thought about that - which is probably a good thing.  Because my novels have a hint of the metaphysical or supernatural to them, I think I can get away with doing some things that a more traditional mystery would tend to shun.  The Wolf in Winter has a pretty unusual death about three-quarters of the way in.  I don't think I've ever encountered one similar to it in another mystery, for good or bad...

8. While not an extensive reader of Christie's mysteries, is there any book or solution of hers you wish you'd thought of first? 

I think we all look at The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and consider it a marvel of narration.  Okay, there is some sleight of hand involved, but still...

9. How do you think Christie influenced the modern mystery novel? 

Surprise.  We all want to wrong-foot the reader to some degree, and have him or her finish the novel with the sense that, well, they hadn't seen coming whatever the end was...

10. Any Final Words?

Don't trust anyone who dismisses Christie.  She was far more subversive than she's often given credit for, but in many ways the least interesting thing about her books is the solution.

Monday November 10^th at Noon - John Connolly signs The Wolf in Winter

Prosperous, ME, is as wealthy as it sounds and guards itself carefully. It doesn’t accept strangers, only begrudgingly allowing tourists to come to look at the ancient church, moved there and reconstructed stone by stone, from England. But there is something ugly and morbid going on – a dead hobo and a missing girl – and PI Charlie Parker is heading their way. The results ripple far and wide. 12th in the series by the Irishman, a series highly recommeded by JB, Fran, and Adele.

My 52 Weeks With Christie: Kelli Stanley Interview

Kelli will be in the shop signing her new book on Thursday August 21^st at Noon!

Reserve your copy today!

Kelli Stanley (Click Here to Go To Her Website!)

1. You have won a Macavity a Bruce Alexander awards for your writing, and have been  nominated for a Shamus and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Is it still thrilling to get a new book published like CITY OF GHOSTS and get some really great reviews for it?

Thank you! J And let me tell you—hearing that people like what you create never, ever, ever gets old. Most creative people are incredibly insecure—I’m no exception—and at the same time we’re public figures, even if it’s on a relatively minuscule level by comparison with actors or household-name writers like Stephen King or Anne Rice.

As public figures, most authors get attacked, abused and belittled just like the “big” celebrities—except that we don’t have the paychecks to make up for the pain. We have to swallow it, and try our best to ignore it. I’m not talking about actual criticism—I’m talking about internet abuse that gets slung in the name of “review” by people who don’t know the meaning of the word.

So when someone you greatly respect, like Tom Nolan in the Wall Street Journal, or Oline Cogdill for Associated Press, or Joe Hartlaub for Bookreporter, praises your work—as has happened with CITY OF GHOSTS—and when you meet fellow writers who read you and readers who tell you how much they enjoy your books or love your writing—well, like I said: it never gets old. In fact, I think recognition becomes more precious the more books you write. And it certainly helps you deal with the more unpleasant facets of publication.

2. In CITY OF GHOSTS there is a possibility Miranda Corbie will go to London in a later book. If she does, will Mirada visit places where Christie set her books? Or possibly meet a certain spinster or dapper Belgian while there?

I’m afraid not. I don’t write the same sort of books Christie wrote. She was a brilliant author of traditional mysteries; I write literary hardboiled/noir. Although Miss Marple has always struck me as a little noir, to be honest. ;)

 Miranda could certainly encounter some of the iconic settings Christie used: the Orient Express, classic London hotels, Harrods, etc. I can see her at Brown’s Hotel … ;)

3. What do you find easier to work on, short stories, novellas or full length novels? Does it depend on the topic you are writing about? And why?

Short stories are difficult for me, because they tend to turn into novels. Macro is easier for me than micro. J

Novels are a long, long grind, but I get a chance to immerse myself in the setting and the character. Short stories require absolute, laser beam focus, and the plot and structure need to be commensurate with the length. In other words, not too complicated, more a “slice of life”. A novella is like a more complex short story, which is great, because it takes some of the pressure off, length-wise. Because I cherish character above all else (I was a drama major and an actress before I was a writer), novels are my preferred cup of tea.

4. Christie used a series of notebooks to sketch out characters, plots and ideas - what is your method of forming ideas for your books? Bonus Question - How did you form your character Miranda Corbie?

I use notebooks as well—big and little, one by my nightstand (so that if I get a sudden idea before sleep, which sometimes happens, I can jot it), some in my handbag. The notebooks themselves are usually Claire Fontaine or Rhodia, French brands with beautiful graphics and paper. Somehow, the quality of the notebook itself makes it easier for me to organize and think.

Thoughts bubble up in funny places … the bus, a shower, basically when I’m not actively trying to chase them down, so I like to be prepared.

I also use Scapple, a sort of mind-map program from Scrivener. Because I tend to draw diagrams and charts when I’m brainstorming, this little program is perfect for me, and I love working with it.

As for Miranda … well, her progenesis was a reaction to the misogyny of film and literary noir. I wanted to create a woman with all the tropes of a femme fatale—intelligence, beauty, courage, sexual power, ambition, etc.—but make her the hero and not the demonized female villain. A femme fatale in the shamus role. She was born from that thought, and took over from there. ;)

5. Agatha Christie was writing contemporary mysteries during the 1940’s, the period in which your Miranda Corbie mysteries are placed - my question is this, has Christie’s sense of this time period influenced you at all when writing your historical mysteries?

Not at all. I write in a completely different style about a completely different economic class in a completely different environment in a completely different country. Even in Christie’s war books (N or M springs to mind) the war seems rather far-off, even though the English went through absolute hell with the Blitz for more than a year and a half before Pearl Harbor brought America into the conflict.  Her goals as a writer were very, very different from mine: she wanted to give people an escape from the war in the form, more or less, of a puzzle. I want to make people aware of the past—and the cultural and political truth of the historical record. I would not be successful at my job if Christie were influencing my history in any way.

6. You noted in your essay in BOOKS TO DIE FOR that Christie’s audacious solutions have been imitated over and over again through the years, so much so that I have heard people (even avid mystery readers) call her books “derivative” even though her books are where the solutions originate, and that’s why some people refuse to read her books. What would you say to those people to persuade them to read them?

I’d tell them that they are choosing ignorance over enlightenment, which is something no reader should ever do. Agatha Christie was the inspiration behind much later imitation, like Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett in my genre. That doesn’t make her less noteworthy or even less readable. If anything, it makes her far more important—crucial, in fact, to anyone who wishes to develop a sense of how the genre developed.  She was an original; she wrote over 80 novels, not all of them masterpieces, but most of them damn fine books and all of them worth reading—the Poirots, the Marples, the Tommy and Tuppence stories, the Parker Pyne and Harley Quinn collections and non-series books. I’ve even read her Mary Westmacott romances and her autobiography. She was a great writer, period,  not just a plot spinner.

And her novels that are masterpieces—AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, SLEEPING MURDER, ENDLESS NIGHT, etc.—are must-reads for anyone professing to be a mystery or crime fiction lover.

No, the idea of not wanting to read the original because you’ve read too many truly derivative books is inane. A book is much more than a plot twist. Why read at all, with that argument? Most plots distill down from The Epic of Gilgamesh or Homer or the Bhagavad gita or the Bible. Should we give up writing and reading?

7. Christie is called the queen of poisons since she used them so often in her books. Do you have a preferred method of murder in your books? And why?

Murders in the Miranda Corbie novels tend to be violent affairs, less planned out and more spontaneous, because that’s a bit closer to how it works in real life. Murder weapons in my previous books have involved guns, scarves, hands, knives and ice picks, and this time around in CITY OF GHOSTS, a garrote (a method that I personally find fascinating).  I don’t really have a preferred method; I try to let the weapon fit the criminal and fit the crime.

I’ve always admired Christie’s knowledge of poisons—she certainly made me beware of any “bitter almond” smell when I was a kid! And her description of strychnine poisoning is vividly horrific.

8. Is there any book in the Christie canon or plot twist you wish you thought of first?

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE. I think it’s her most brilliant work, psychologically deep. It’s also the most noirish of her novels, along with the splendid ENDLESS NIGHT (one I like to recommend to people who think Christie and cozy are synonymous.). I loved MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, as I wrote in BOOKS TO DIE FOR—and it was also the first Christie I ever read.

9. Is there a Christie mystery which you did not like, or didn’t feel lived up to her standards?

All of the Marples are terrific. Not so the Poirots. When Agatha was going through the dark period of her life—before she married Max—her books and stories suffered, as was natural under the circumstances. DEATH IN THE CLOUDS is one unfortunate example. At her best, she combined the puzzle with psychological insight. When stressed, she seemed to just rely on the puzzle, contrivance and all. Still, with over 80 books published, she had very few misfires.

10. Any final words?

I love Agatha. She influenced me at a young age (9 or 10), and instilled in me, as a writer, the importance of psychological plausibility. It’s really not about the locked room puzzle, the circumstances and the red herrings. It’s about who is capable of murder—the most severe and heinous of crimes—and why. That’s what Agatha taught me, and continues to teach me when I read her … and I am forever thankful.

My 52 Weeks With Christie: A.Miner©2014

Author Post: Candace Robb (aka Emma Campion)

 

Late morning on a gorgeous, sunny, warm Saturday in Seattle I stepped out of the Sinking Ship garage and paused to let a long line of tourists pass. Underground Seattle Tour? Finally able to cross the street, I felt the delicious cool breeze off the water playing in the tall trees, and felt a little skip in my walk as I passed a man playing a jaunty tune on his banjo, accompanying himself on harmonica. Swung round the corner and up the hill about 15 steps and entered Seattle Mystery Bookshop just in time to hear Adele say, "Well, why don't you ask her?" And Sandy Dengler turned around and asked, "So why Emma Campion?" I hadn't seen Sandy in years! And so my delicious time in one of my favorite bookstores began. Reunion, chatter about writers we know, what we've been doing--she completed a PhD in paleontology! (I feel such a slacker), and a group chat about books we're reading, with Adele and Janine chiming in. And oh, yes, I did sign books! And then.... I was free to browse. Browse in a bookstore. A realio trulio bookstore, a place in which I can pick up a book, read the back cover, consider it along with the other titles on the shelf, feel the weight of it, the interesting texture of the cover. And with staff who can tell me whether or not I need to begin at the beginning for a particular series, who can help me remember the last name of an author, who can suggest other WWI series.... Bliss. BLISS! I walked out with about $100 worth of books and a smile on my face that had strangers on the street smiling back at me.

There are a few more copies of A TRIPLE KNOT and THE KING'S MISTRESS signed by my alter ego here at the shop--grab them!

Candace Robb (aka Emma Campion)

Author Interview: Chevy Stevens

We had a great time with Chevy when she was in our shop! We still have signed copies of her new book That Night in stock, get them before they are gone!

Want to know more about her books? Click here and go to her website!

1. How many rejection slips did you get before your first novel was published?

My publisher at Saint Martin’s Press bought my book in a pre-empt offer.

2. Have you ever thrown away a book that you just couldn't make work?

No, but I have had to scrap ideas or large sections of a book. STILL MISSING was rewritten numerous times but I never threw it out because the premise was always strong. It was plotting, structure, and some characters that needed work. If the premise didn’t hold up, I may have had to try something else. With my current project, which will be released next summer, I struggled with the first draft and had to go back to the drawing board with the second half of the book because it just wasn’t working. I lost a lot of time, but I think if I hadn’t gone in the wrong direction, I wouldn’t have found my eventual solution

3. Is it still exciting to publish a new book?

Yes, absolutely! It’s always thrilling for me to see something that I have worked so hard on go out into the world. I love hearing from fans as they are reading it.

4. Do you get ideas for new books all the time and you keep them written down, or does one come to mind when you need one?

When I am working in a book, all of my creative energy is going into that book. Sometimes I will see something, or hear something that lodges in the back of my mind, or there are feelings or styles I’d like to explore, but I don’t really start thinking about a new book until I am finished my current project. Then I begin brainstorming. During that process, lots of ideas get thrown out.

5. Do you have entire story mapped out when you begin your books?

I work from an outline but things changes during the course of writing a novel. Sometimes plot twists happen organically or my research will take me in a new direction. As I get to know the characters, the book may also evolve differently.

6.  Is there any kind of book you would like to write but haven't?

I’d love to write a dark comedy one day. I enjoy reading those sorts of books and I think it would be fun to write in a really sarcastic voice.

7. If you could have written any single work – novel, screenplay, stage play, poem, history, biography – that you most admire and adore, what would it be?

That’s an interesting question. I would have loved to have written Good Will Hunting, or The Lovely Bones, or The Power of One by Bryce Courtney. I think the creation of Good Will Hunting is an especially great “rags to riches” story. Two best friends write a screenplay, star in it, and win Oscars!

8. Anything you’ve always wanted to be asked about your writing but no one ever has?

I never get asked if anyone in my family was a writer. My grandfather on my father’s side wrote a memoir called “The Red Pilot: Memoirs of a Soviet Airman.” He wrote about his escape from Russia. We used to have the Russian copy but lost it in a house fire. I found an English copy on the Internet. I dreamed of one day placing my first published novel next to his, and when that dream came true it was a very special feeling. My father, who passed away when I was twenty-two, also loved books so I know he would be proud.

9. Any Final Words?

Thank you very much for having me to your store in June! It was wonderful to meet you all. And thanks for the great questions.

An Interview

According to Edgar-winning Author Bruce DeSilva, Writing a Novel is Easier Than You Think

By Naked Authors.com

(click the link to see the interview!)

Come See Bruce On

Saturday March 15^th at Noon - Bruce DeSilva signs Providence Rag

Blackberry Pie Murder - Joanne Fluke

Enjoying life -just off a train from Portland - basking in  our usual warm welcome from Seattle Mystery Bookstore. Multiple Berry cookies galore with Gina (our freind) kickin down with "Blackberry Lemon Sage " variations on a theme, and our friends at SMB showing us the love. Thanks guys, we always love coming in to sign and munch with you!

Joanne Fluke

What I Love About Seattle Mystery Books

1.  Setting: Side hill down to Pioneer Square in the oldest most historic part of Seattle: Red brick, and quarried stone, sea gulls pinwheeling over the waterfront, and ships coming and going carrying cargo.

2. Character: Character: the staff at this store Starting with J.B. and Adele are true afficianadoes in the bullfighting sense of the word I suppose.  It's what makes going to a book shop so far superior to buying on line.  Talking to someone who has read a book gives you a sense of whether you are going to like a book or not.  You can read it in their face and their body language when they tell you about it with they say a book is, "Okay"  or "Fine" you will know. 

3. Plot:  They treat you great here.  Always.  I've never had a bad experiance. But it is never what I expect, I always come out with something unexpected but it alwawy turns out good.  Every time. 

Seattle Mystery Books is a "Must See" when in Seattle.  Not far from the Public Market and the Art Museum.  Not far from the Sea Hawks.  You have no excuse not to stop by. 

Highly reccomended, for all Alaskans, all earthlings. 

John Straley

Interview with Cate Culpepper

 

1. You've been successful in the e-book world. How hard was it to get published in the paper world?

I’ll carbon date myself by disclosing my first efforts to find a publisher involved snail-mailing hefty, phone book-sized manuscripts to the one publishing house in the country that produced lesbian fiction. We’re talking late 80s. Those early efforts came to naught, but I was given enough encouragement by friends to stick with it. I scored my first contract by winning a short story contest sponsored by a local publisher. When that house went out of business, I trudged through the slough of despond until I was rescued by Bold Strokes Books. Windigo Thrall is my eighth novel with Bold Strokes.

2. Have you ever thrown away a book that just wasn't working?

Never. But then I’m incapable of throwing away a book I’m reading, too. I’ve waded through some of the worst literary dreck ever published because I refuse to give up on a novel, any novel. If I discover I’m writing a bad story, I shake it hard and scream “Live, damn your eyes, live!” until it works.

3. Is it still exciting to publish a new book after all this time?

Not really. Mostly I use the author’s copies of my new novels as doorstops. I might read one in the shower occasionally, or use it to clean up after my dog in the yard. Of course it’s exciting to publish a new book after all this time! The elaborate altar containing copies of all my books has pride of place in my house. It’s illuminated only by lava lamp, it’s that sacred.

4. Do you write down ideas for books or do you just make it up as you go?

I’ve been consistent in structuring each of my books. I always start out knowing how I want to begin the story, and how I want it to end. And I never have a high holy hell’s notion how to get from one to the other. Luckily I’ve had the same excellent beta readers and editors at Bold Strokes for years, and they manage to keep me focused and inspired.

5. Will you be writing more in the Grady and Elena series? Which ties into 6. Will we get to see more of the PNW ladies?

I loved working with these characters in my earlier stories, and it was a kick to bring them all together in Windigo Thrall. I feel a sense of completion with these women now that wasn’t there before the last book. Grady and Elena, and Becca and Jo have been well launched, and I’m reasonably sure their love will be binding and their lives happy. I’ve learned never to say never when it comes to sequels, but for now I’m ready to channel some new voices.

7. If you could have written any single work -- novel, screenplay, stage play, poem, history, biography -- that you most admire, what would it be?

The Bible. Leviticus wouldn’t make the cut. Sorry, didn’t mean to type that out loud. Oddly enough, my head keeps coming back to Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends. It reminds me of a great time in my life, the years I spent in children’s theater. Silverstein was irreverent, but he portrayed kids and their world with an astute and humane eye. I’d love to be responsible for bringing a gift like that to young readers.

8. Have you considered writing suspense work without the supernatural element?

Do I have to? I’m afraid I might secretly suck at suspense without a supernatural element. Or romance, sans ghosts. Or speculative fiction. Etc. I love ghost stories and myths, and I would probably insert other-worldly plotlines in every genre or sub-genre I attempted. I think I’ve settled on paranormal romance as my comfortable home turf. All the stories I write are romances too, so I’m calling my personal imprint Aww/Boo.

9. Have you considered writing under a pseudonym?

Having one or more pseudonyms sounds like so much fun, I regret that I barely write fast enough to use one nym. I admire authors so prolific they use a different name for every genre they write in, but I type at the speed of sludge. And I’ve always been lucky enough not to need a pseudonym for protection—to reside in a city that doesn’t force queer writers to disguise their identities.

10. Is there one thing you've wanted to have been asked about your writing, but no one has?

I’d love to drop the microphone and just have a conversation with you about how we can make lesbian fiction more accessible and welcoming to women of color. While there are wonderful authors out there representing different races and ethnicities, we haven’t made enough inroads in terms of diversity to ensure all our readers see their lives reflected honestly in our books. Our main characters (mine included) skew toward white, young, able-bodied, cis-gendered women, and our community holds a great deal more variety and nuance. How can we let more diverse voices speak out, those of both writers and readers? Discuss.

Cate Culpepper

Author Interview: Michael Robertson

Signed copies are still availible!

--> How many rejection slips did you get before your first novel was published?

I lost count. If you include screenplays, short stories, and novels, it's in the hundreds. If you include just novels, it's only a dozen or so. 

--> Have you ever thrown away a book that you just couldn't make work?

I threw away my very first draft of The Baker Street Letters, because I'd written it in the wrong voice, and with the wrong plot line, and--well, just about everything. I never showed that draft to  any publisher, and I didn't keep anything from it. I started from scratch, wrote a new first draft that had some elements worth keeping, and then another revision after that, and then another. 

--> Is it still exciting to publish a new book even after all this time?

It's always a thrill. A nervous thrill, because while I always get into a writing mode where I think the current book is the best one of all, I always then start worrying that maybe nobody will get it at all.

--> Do you get ideas for new books all the time and you keep them written down, or does one come to mind when you need one?

I almost never write an idea down for later use.  The few times I have, I've always lost the cocktail napkin or the back of whatever used envelope I wrote the note on. I keep ideas in my head, and I let them develop and connect with other things.

--> Do you have entire the story arc mapped out when you began this series?

Partly. I knew at the start that the relationship between Reggie Heath and Laura Rankin would evolve in major ways over the course of the first four novels, and that has happened, very naturally. I constructed the plot lines of each individual book to fit that evolution.

--> Do you know how a book/series is going to end when you begin it?

This is my first series, and no, I don't know how I'm going to end it. I have a couple of ideas in mind for a major transition that might take place at book six or seven, but I haven't decided yet. As to individual books--yes, I always know, or at least think I know. I don't begin writing until I know the beginning, at least one major plot point, and the ending. Or at least one possible ending.  I'm not above changing my mind, and I have done.

--> Would you consider writing a screenplay for your books if asked?

The series began as a screenplay, which I shopped about in Hollywood in the early 1980s (yes, that long ago). When I published The Baker Street Letters in 2009, a production company finally got interested and bought an option--and then renewed it--and then renewed it again, while they hired someone else to write the screenplay. I didn't object, because that first novel was a little more introspective than the others, and I thought it would be a challenge to bring it to the screen (and it was). But the three novels since are much more cinematic, and it would be great fun to adapt them into a feature and sequel.

--> Have you considered writing something that is non-Sherlockian?

Yes. I may find time to do that between books five and six.

--> Is there any surprise you've got planned in upcoming books that you're willing to leak?

Yes, there's a surprise. Or two. No, I won't leak them, because I reserve the right to change my mind.

--> If you could change anything about your writing career, what would it be?

I suppose I would have spent less time pushing scripts in Los Angeles in the 80s. Hollywood is a hard nut to crack, and you can come tantalizingly close without actually making a living at it. My advice to any writer is to write the novel (or the stage play) first, and turn to the screen only when the opportunity presents itself.

--> If you could have written any single work – novel, screenplay, stage play, poem, history, biography – that you most admire and adore, what would it be?

I know I should name something Sherlockian. Or at least a mystery. Or something that I studied in my college lit courses. But I really wish I had written The Princess Bride (both the book and the movie). Of mystery novels, my favorite of all time is The Thin Man.

--> Is there anything you’ve always wanted to be asked about your writing but no one ever has?

I keep expecting someone to ask who the characters are based on, especially the Laura Rankin character, who, in my mind anyway, is really the center of attention in the first four novels.  Even in the first novel, which I wrote entirely from Reggie's point of view, when Laura was not on screen, Reggie was thinking about her. I give Laura all the best lines. But since no one ever asks who she is based on, I guess that spares me the risk of naming any names.

Michael Robertson

A conversation with Yasmine Galenorn

1. Are you still excited about writing the Otherworld sisters' stories?

I still love writing Otherworld, though it’s more complicated than it used to be. I’ve often joked that OW is my “Pern”…but it’s true, really. The world just keeps expanding in my mind, and apparently, my writing. ~laughs~ I have many ideas I’d like to implement in the future and I can see quite a ways ahead in each sister’s path/destiny. If my readers keep buying the books, I’m happy to keep writing them.

2. Do you see the sisters being heavily involved in the Otherworld war?

They’re on the outskirts. It affects them, it hits them in the gut, but they can’t be over there fighting when they have to stay here to watch out for what Shadow Wing is pulling next. They’re very torn, because they love their homeworld, but they also realize that sometimes, you have to go where you’re most needed and best able to help. And right now, that’s Earthside.

3. How do you come up with all the unique names in this series?

Most of my characters name themselves, so um…the names are just there. Some are based on the origins of certain words. And others, I go for the ‘feel’ of the name—the sound of it and how I think it would sound for…say…the Svartan race, or the Elfin race.

4. You have an enormous cast of characters. Is it hard to remember who everyone is and where they are? 

I keep notes on that—for some scenes, I’ll make a list of who is there. ~grins~ I’ve been caught more than once by my editor including someone who wasn’t around, or I’ll sometimes realize I left someone in the middle of a fight doing nothing. Luckily, I manage to fix these mistakes before they hit print!

5. How important is music to your writing?

Very. Each book has a playlist, and each series seems to have a theme song. Each major character has certain songs that I associate with them. I don’t always listen to music while I write, but a good share of the time, yes, I do.

6. You're ending the Indigo Court series. Will you miss the people you've created there?

Yes, but it’s time to close the doors on it. The Indigo Court Series was always designed to be a closed story arc. I knew there would be either five or six books, and it happened to be five. While I love that world dearly and feel it’s some of my best writing so far, it was harder to write—much like following bread crumbs through a forest. But I love the sparkling frozen world Cicely lives in, and yes, I will miss it.

7. Might we see an Indigo Court/Otherworld crossover?

No, that really can’t happen. The worlds are different—they aren’t in the same altaverse.

8. With your new, parallel Otherworld series, will the sisters make guest appearances?

You may just see them from time to time. ~winks~ And you get a glimpse of Shimmer in Autumn Whispers and mentions of them in Crimson Veil. You’ll certainly see old standbys like The Supe Urban Café (and Marion), and the Supe Community Action Council and maybe the Seattle Vampire Nexus (and possibly Erin) in the Fly by Night Series. The FBN Series takes place in Seattle in the same time frame as the Otherworld Series, so the world will be familiar. You will definitely see more dragons and vampires, considering the two main characters are from those races.

9. Will you have a single protagonist in the new series, a la Cecily, or an ensemble, like the sisters?

While the main character will be Shimmer, a dragon shifter exiled Earthside, and the books will be from her POV, Alex—her boss (a vampire who’s more like Crocodile Dundee than he is Dracula)—will be prominent and they are basically paired up in a lot of the cases. Their crew of friends will be a little more off the wall than the sisters’ crew. The Fly By Night series will be more oriented toward standalone books within the overall series. Alex and Shimmer aren’t really aware of the demonic war that’s going on, and their focus is quite different. Although I think Shimmer’s love life, or attempts at one, will be a lot of fun for the readers to follow along. The heat level will be about the same as Otherworld, so don’t expect a change in that in this series (yes explicit sex and violence).

10. Do you miss writing non-fiction?

No, I don’t. I never set out to write nonfiction, and while I’m proud of what I wrote in that venue, it wasn’t my original goal. Someday I might like to write a book on writing, but what writer doesn’t want to do that?

Yasmine Galenorn

Yoga, Dogs, and Murder. What Could Be More Fun?

It felt a little surreal to walk into Seattle Mystery Bookshop this morning and see a table stacked with my first book, Murder Strikes a Pose. I felt downright giddy sitting in their huge leather chair. I’ve attended other writers’ book signings; I’ve seen similar tables; but I never, ever thought I’d be sitting on the author’s side of the desk. In fact, three years ago I would have told you that I didn’t have the stamina, patience, or passion to write a short story, much less a book. The authors I loved had more talent in their left pinky toes than I possessed in my entire five-foot-two-inch body.

I can only blame a grueling workout, my temperamental German shepherd, Tasha, and a writer named Susan Conant for my transformation.

The key ingredients of my mysteries were already percolating inside of me, I just didn’t know it. I love dogs—especially German shepherds—so much that my husband calls me the “creepy puppy lady.” I’ve read cozy mysteries since long before I knew that there was a genre by that name. And my lifework is teaching yoga.

One day, while trying to distract myself at the gym, I read a passage in Susan Conant’s Black Ribbon that made me burst into laughter. I jumped off the exercise bike, ran home, got online, and tried to learn more about my new favorite author. I surfed my way to a site about cozy mysteries.

That’s all it took.

I began to wonder, what would happen if a yoga teacher with a huge, crazy dog got mixed up in murder?

Feisty Seattle yoga teacher Kate Davidson popped into my head a few days later. She insisted that I tell the story of how she found the love of her life—a German shepherd named Bella—while solving the murder of her homeless friend, George. Kate is one stubborn woman. She refused to leave, no matter how much I begged her to.

The first draft poured out of my fingers in three weeks, though the subsequent thirty-odd drafts took significantly longer. Before I even typed “the end,” Kate had gone and found another body, so I wrote that story too.  I’m now on book three. I have a feeling that Kate, Bella, and their quirky counterparts will be telling me stories for many years to come.

At least I hope so. What other excuse will I have to sit in that comfy leather chair?

Tracy Weber

Lights, Camera, Action...by Drew Chapman

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION…SMB!

You’re on the whirlwind book tour. Self-promotion at its most shameless: Good Morning America, New York, DC, LA, radio interviews, book signings. Kind of glamorous, kind of exhausting. You get asked the same questions over and over again, you reformat the same answers. You tell yourself that this is what it takes to sell books, and you remind yourself that you are lucky to have the attention. There are plenty of new authors out there that would kill for this publicity. And the truth is—you enjoy the spotlight. It’s fun. And flattering.

Then you walk into the Seattle Mystery Bookshop, and all of a sudden you remember why you wrote the book in the first place. Because you had a fun story to tell, and you wanted people to read it. SMB is what writing a thriller is all about: a huge selection of mysteries and thrillers, a staff that’s read practically everything that’s ever been written in the genre, and readers who care.

You sit back in the big brown leather chair, bottle of water at your side, your book laid out in front of you…and you meet your audience. Up close and personal. You find out why they came into the store in the first place. What kind of read are they looking for, which covers attract their attention, what part of the pitch for your novel excites them. Or bores them. You’re at the point of sale moment: when the buyer makes that fateful decision to spend their money on your book…or not.

They scan the cover, peruse the blurbs, the author bio, check out your picture. Some of them pull out their wallets. “Looks fun.” “I’ll give it to my husband as a late Christmas present.”  Others don’t. “I’ll wait for paperback.” “I’ll get it at the library.”

It’s an amazing learning experience. You’re not talking about your book to some faceless radio audience. Your audience is three feet away, your book in their hands. And then it comes clear to you: it’s not about how many books you sell. It’s about each individual reader’s experience of the story you wrote. The fun they have, what they learn from it, how it touches them. That’s what matters. That’s why you do what you do.

In the end, SMB blows GMA out of the water.

I can’t wait to sit in the big brown chair again.

Drew Chapman

Interrogating Brad Taylor about writing and Colonoscopies.

1. How many rejection slips did you get before your first novel was published?

Rejection slips?  Not that many, precisely because most people simply didn't bother to respond at all.  I learned fairly quickly that if I heard nothing in a couple of weeks, I was probably rejected.  A slip would have been a badge of honor because at least someone took the time to reject me, but for the most part I apparently wasn't worth officially rejecting.

2. Have you ever thrown away a book that you just couldn't make work?

No.  Well, not completely thrown away.   I've certainly changed the plot and direction wildly from what I first envisioned, usually because of two competing interests, forcing me to choose one over the other.  One thing I've found, though, is that nothing is ever completely thrown away.  Nine times out of ten, I'll end up using it somewhere else.

3. Is it still exciting to publish a new book even after all this time?

Ha!  Seriously?  I still take pictures when I'm grocery shopping and see my book in the rack, amazed that it's there.  Yes,  it's definitely exciting.  I hope that feeling never, ever leaves.

4. Do you get ideas for new books all the time and you keep them written down, or does one come to mind when you need one? 

I get ideas all the time, but I rarely write them down.  My wife says I'm Walter Mitty, constantly coming up with stories - usually to get out of trouble - and that's pretty much how I write.  I see something that sparks an idea and I'll toy with it over and over. Sooner or later, all of those little stories end up as scenes in a book. 

5. Do you have entire story arcs mapped out when you begin a trilogy or a series of related books?

No.  I write a series but I don't have an overarching arc in my head.  What I want the characters to do is grow naturally, like real life, based on the stories I'm creating.  In other words, the story will drive how the character will grow, but each book is a standalone.  I will say that the series does form an arc, completely on its own.  I'd like to take credit for some genuis thinking, but it just happened. 

6. Do you know how a book/series is going to end when you begin it?

Yes.  Well, in a perfect world, yes.  For me, it sure makes it easier.  Some writers let the book just take them where it will, but that would drive me insane.  I knew the last sentence for Enemy of Mine before I knew the first, and had the ending for The Widow's Strike mapped out in my head before I even had an antagonist.  Unfortunately, that's not always the case.  I didn't know how The Polaris Protocol would end, and it gave me fits, because the ending radiates out, reverberating throughout the book. 

7. Would life be easier if you published under just one name?

Are you suggesting I should start publishing under a different name?  What's wrong with my single name?

8. Do you have to enter a different mind-set to write different stories for different names/characters?

Yes, definitely.  I strive to make all characters three dimensional, and to do that I definitely have to be in a different mind-set.  A female Chechen terrorist has a different world-view from Jennifer Cahill, and in order to get that world view out, I have to be in a different frame of mind.  Conversely, it would be very easy to write a Middle Eastern terrorist as some ridiculous parody of what Americans believe he or she would act like, but I'd prefer more nuance, and that requires a different mindset. 

9.  Is there any kind of book you would like to write but haven't?

 Not yet.  If I ever had that problem, I'd simply write it.

10. If you could change anything about your writing career, what would it be?

Nothing.  I have been blessed to be allowed to write for a living, and very few get this opportunity.

11. What’s the most interesting question you’ve ever been asked about your writings, and what was your answer?

I was laying face-down, butt naked from the waist down, four minutes out from beginning a colonoscopy, when my doctor put One Rough Man in my face and said, "Would you sign this?"

I told him, "After we're done..."

I figured he needed the incentive.

12. If you could have written any single work – novel, screenplay, stage play, poem, history, biography – that you most admire and adore, what would it be?

Honestly, I'd be afraid to pick one.  I write in my style and would never pre-suppose I could write someone else's book.  I like other writers precisely because they're not me.

13. Anything you’ve always wanted to be asked about your writing but no one ever has?

"When's it going to be a movie?"

Brad Taylor

Author Interview: Nikki Loftin

   

1. Where did you get the idea for writing Nightingale’s Nest?


When I first started writing for children, I wrote what I assumed were picture books: short, moody, quiet almost-poems that came from my deepest childhood memories. Even when I figured out they didn’t work as picture books, I couldn’t stop thinking about one or two of them in particular. Turns out, they were the seeds of my next two novels! I took the first one, called “The Treasure Nest,” wrapped it around one of my favorite, strange fairy tales (“The Nightingale” by Hans Christian Andersen), and it grew into Nightingale’s Nest.

2. Was writing Nightingale’s Nest easier or harder that Sinister Sweetness?


Both! Nightingale’s Nest seemed more organic – like I was uncovering a story that already existed, rather than creating something from scratch. I wrote it fairly quickly, and was more pleased with the first draft of it than I usually am! I had to change a lot more while revising Sinister Sweetness – although that one was great fun to write. Witches, candy all day long, a happy ending – what’s not to love?

The writing of Nightingale’s Nest was far more emotionally difficult to say the least. As I wrote, I felt more and more that the characters on the page were in a way  – this may sound strange – my own children. I loved them. I still wonder what Little John and Gayle are up to these days…

3. Do you have a favorite character from your books?


Not yet! I may someday look back on my body of work and think “I liked that character best,” but right now I am in the thick of it. If I didn’t become utterly fascinated with each character (the good and the bad), then I don’t think I could spend the time needed to write and revise their stories for years and years.

4. Are you planning a sequel to Sinister Sweetness? (Please?!..)


Oh, thank you! It’s very gratifying to know a reader wants more of my stories, but right now, there are no sequel plans in the works.

If my publisher decides to ask for one, I DO have some ideas… but they are very dark and twisted and not quite ready to write. Anyway, I am having such a good time playing with other fairy tales and magical realism, it would be a while before I could get back to the world of Splendid Academy… and it might have to be a prequel, anyway. (I don’t want to give away the ending, but, um, there are a lot of characters no longer around by the end of SINISTER SWEETNESS. Who would the new main characters and villains be? Feel free to write me with your ideas!)

5. What project are you currently working on?


My third book, which should come out in early 2015! It’s got a working title of WISH GIRL, and it’s magical realism again, but more pronounced than NIGHTINGALE’S NEST. It’s about an introverted boy who moves to the countryside, near a valley that seems utterly magical. He meets a smart, bossy girl who may or may not make wishes come true…and also may need him to help her stay alive.

I’m still revising, so I don’t want to say too much, but I think readers who liked my first two books will like this one, too. It’s full of magic and danger and a pinch of tragedy, too.

6. I see you bake when you are stressed, what is your favorite thing the bake during these times?


Cookies! I’ve made my favorite four or five types of cookies so many times, I don’t even need the recipes anymore. I think the familiar act of baking cookies, and the immediate joy of sampling one or two (or twelve) helps make the stressful days less so.  

7. What was your favorite childhood book as a kid?


I’d have to go with Pippi Longstocking. I slept upside down in my bed for a long time after I discovered these books – and spent the rest of my time daydreaming about breadfruit and tropical islands. I wanted to be Pippi, to be strong and unafraid to speak my mind, and to have a treasure chest full of gold coins I could hide for my friends to find. Oh, and a monkey.

8. What is your favorite book to read to your boys now as an adult? And is it the same as their favorite?


I adore this lovely picture book called Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran, about the imaginary, magical worlds children invent and populate, and how memories of those places stay with us until we are very old. It always makes me cry, and the boys have to help me read those last few pages out loud, but I love it more than anything.

My youngest loves Neil Gaiman’s Odd and the Frost Giants, and my teenager still has a soft spot for The Velveteen Rabbit. (Maybe he likes watching his mom cry? That book is ridiculously hard to get through!)

9. What is your guilty pleasure reading?


I feel no guilt about reading – and I fiercely believe no one should! The thought that some genres or books are more worthy than others, and that the stories you may like are somehow shameful, is the sort of thing that turns reluctant readers away from books forever.

I proudly read tons of children’s books - from picture books to YA. I devour anything by Charlaine Harris, adore Neil Gaiman, immediately race out for the newest Robin McKinley… and I’ve been known to buy steamy romances in supermarket checkout lines, if they looked funny or had well-written first pages.

Here, let me step off my soapbox now…

10. Any final words?

Nitwit? Blubber? Oddment? Tweak!

(Sorry, I couldn’t help quoting Dumbledore.)

How about… Thank you! I love sharing my stories with you and your readers, and I feel incredibly lucky to have the chance to give some small insights into the writing process. I hope your 2014 is filled with amazing books and ideas, too.

Click here to go to Nikki Loftin's Blog!

Author Interview: Laura Levine

Killing Cupid will be released on December 30^th!

Reserve Your Copy Today!

1. Where did you get the idea for Killing Cupid?

Being the highly creative person I am, I got the idea to write a Valentine’s mystery when my editor said to me, “Laura, how about writing a Valentine’s mystery?” In spite of much begging and pleading on my part, however, my editor refused to supply me with a plot, so I had to come up with that on my own.

I’ve always been fascinated by old-fashioned matchmakers, the kind of gals who take out ads in the back of local magazines and newspapers. Usually the ads feature a picture of a hardened blonde, shot through layers of Vaseline, promising to hand-pick the soul mate of your dreams.  Call me a cynic, but I always figured these gals had to be on the shady side, and thought it might be fun to kill one off. Hence KILLING CUPID.

2. Do you have a favorite book in the Jaine Austen series? And why.

My favorite book is always the one I’ve just finished writing, mainly because I’ve just finished writing it and can take a vacation.

3. Has anyone in your family or circle of friends ever given you an idea for a story?

For years, my nephew urged me to write a book set on a cruise. I was hesitant to do so, because up until then I hadn’t set any of my books outside of Los Angeles. But my nephew and my husband convinced me to go ahead with it, and I’m certainly glad I did because I wound up writing KILLER CRUISE, which, in a truthful answer to question #2 (above) is one of my favorite books in the series.

4. Do you have an ornery cat in your life, like Prozac in Jaine’s?

Our darling cat, Mr. Guy, was Prozac’s total opposite. A sweetie pie of the highest order.

5. When receiving feedback on your books, do you prefer compliments or critiques?

Compliments. Life is hard enough without zingers.

6. Do you prefer writing full length mysteries, novellas or short stories? And why?

Novellas are much easier for me than full length books. Having spent so many years writing sitcoms in a half-hour format, shorter stories come more naturally to me.

7. What is you favorite Agatha Christie story & character? (since I see you are a fan of her work!)

It’s been a while since I’ve read her books, but I certainly loved DEATH ON THE NILE. And I remember being absolutely gobsmacked by the surprise ending of THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD.

8. What is your guilty pleasure reading?

Everything I read is for pleasure. I hate struggling through difficult books. (I spent enough time doing that in school.) I’m not a trash reader, though. I like reading writers who are better than I am, on the dubious theory that somehow by reading their books I will miraculously absorb their writing skills. (I regret to say it hasn’t worked yet, but I keep trying.)

9. Do you cheat when you read? (cheating meaning you read the end of the book before you naturally get there)

I can’t cheat when I read because I read most of my books on my Kindle.

10. Any final words?

Thank you for inviting me to chat. It’s been a pleasure.

Author Interview: Mike Lawson

1. Where did you get the idea for Rosarito Beach?  The idea started when a TV producer who likes the Emma character in my DeMarco novels asked me to work on a made for TV movie with a strong female protagonist, ala Emma.  Instead, I ended up writing Rosarito Beach and, unlike the DeMarco novels, which are usually inspired by some real life event, Rosarito Beach, for better or worse, was solely a product of my imagination.

2 . How do you like your new protagonist, Kay Hamilton?  Kind of a strange question.  I obviously like her since I created her.  I like that's she doesn't particularly play well with others.  I like that she's flawed; sometimes she's apologetic about those flaws and other times, not so much.  I like that she's driven and fearless.  I like that she has a sense of humor (like DeMarco),  that she has .. well, let's say, a rather flexible moral code (like DeMarco), but unlike DeMarco actually likes a fight.  Anyway, I like the character and enjoyed writing her.  I should also add, since this is all about self-promotion, that at least a couple other people liked the character too since Rosarito Beach has been optioned for television.

3  Was she easier to write than Joe DeMarco?  Kay wasn't easier to write than DeMarco because DeMarco is basically me: my thought process, my way of reacting to situations.  Writing Kay Hamilton was more like writing from Emma's perspective in the DeMarco books: an strong independent female with a mind and agenda of her own.  The hardest character to write in Rosarito Beach was the fifteen year old girl - I don't want to say more about this character as that would tend to give away the plot - but that character was really tough for me to write as I don't have daughter and rarely encounter fifteen year old girls.  A lot of rewrites went into trying to convey the girl's perspective and attitude.  

 4. Was there a strategy behind being listed as M.A. Lawson, vs. Mike Lawson, as the author of this book? Or is it simply to differentiate between these two series?  We actually started out thinking about using a pseudonym - by we,  I mean myself, my agent, and my editor.  We finally settled on M.A. Lawson for the reason you said - to distinguish Rosarito Beach from the DeMarco books yet at the same time allowing me, hopefully, to retain those readers who like DeMarco.  I sometimes think that maybe I should have gone with a pseudonym.  It's been my experience that when some readers really like an author's original series they sometimes tend to react negatively to a book outside the series just because they were basically expecting the same book as the ones in the original series.  If that makes sense.  

 5. What does the A. stand for?  The A stands for Anthony - the name of my minor mafioso Sicilian grandfather.  I'll have to tell you about my grandfather one of these days, the time he put on his fedora, pulled out a revolver, and …  True story, for another time.

6. When receiving feedback on your books, do you prefer compliments or critiques?  By "critiques", I assume you mean negative criticism.  Well, since I receive the critiques - and most often in some public forum - after I've published the book and when it's too late to change the book, I'm not usually delighted as they might hurt sales.  I do read the critiques and sometimes - though frankly not very often - I learn something that I might change for a future book.  In general, however, I'd naturally rather hear people tell me how much they love my books as opposed to not loving them, and fortunately most the feedback I get is positive.

7. What project are you working on now?  The second Kay Hamilton book and the tenth DeMarco book.  The ninth DeMarco, House Reckoning, will be out in July 2014.  I'm not sure when the next Kay Hamilton book will be released as I'm waiting for comments from my editor.  

8. Is there any topic or plot you refuse to write about?  The only one I can think of, off the top of my head, is books involving harm to children.  Child abuse dismays and depresses me so much, I could't stand writing about that subject.  The only other thing I could never imagine myself writing is a romance novel - because, as my wife has frequently told me, I shouldn't write about things I don't understand, i.e., romance.  

9.  Do you have a favorite fictional character? In your books, or in someone else’s books.  In my books, I suppose my favorite fictional character is Mahoney.  In other people's books I like the Arkady Renko character in Martin Cruz Smith's books (I'm reading Tatiana right now).  I like Lucas Davenport in John Sandford's books.  I like Mallory in Carol O'Connell's books.  As you guys know, as I buy books at SMB, I like many authors - particularly the one's recommended by the staff at SMB - and I never say anything disparaging about another author (at least not in public, and when I do so privately, it's usually because I'm jealous of his or her success).

10 Any final words?  Only Merry Christmas, thanks for having me in the store, and keep up the good fight of the independent book seller. 

Saturday January 4^th at Noon, M.A Lawson signs Rosarito Beach

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