BURL BARER BARES ALL (MOST)

We recently sat down for a conversation with an author who is one of the quickest men with a quip that I know. I asked, he answered--mostly. Yes of course! We are actually a thousand miles apart. Never mind, here's what he had to say.


When someone asks you what kind of book do you write? What’s your answer?
(The famous elevator speech)
True crime, mysteries, thrillers -- pop culture -- movie tie-ins, the stuff you see on your supermarket shelves.

Have I ever read anything you've written?
Yes, and you loved it.

When did you know you were going to be a mystery writer?
When I was in Junior High School, now termed Middle School, I wrote my first mystery. By the time I was 16, I “knew” that someday I would write about Maverick and The Saint. I was right.

Tell us a little bit about your family background.
I was born and raised in Walla Walla, the youngest of three kids. My sister, Jan Curran, is an author and retired journalist; all four of her kids are authors (Lee & Tod Goldberg; Linda Woods & Karen Dinino). My brother Stan is a retired attorney and Regent at the University of Washington. His daughter has a PR firm, and his son, a relentless entrepreneur, just invested his efforts in a forthcoming child with his lovely wife.

My mom was a former newspaper woman, and my father ran a scrap metal business. Both parents are gone now.

What is your educational background?
I graduated from Walla Walla High School, then attended the University of Washington.
Talk a bit about your present family situation.
Presently I am single, have two adult offspring―a daughter, Anea, who is a data rock star in Austin for AMD, and a son, Jordan, who works for Fred Meyer. Happily, my previous spouse, Britt Barer, and I get along fine.

What did you read as a child?
As a child? Dick, Jane, Spot...then Hardy Boys, followed by The Saint books by Leslie Charteris, and one of the great all time social satire books, Harry Vernon at Prep by Franc D. Smith. Naturally I read all the hot parts of whatever naughty books were in circulation at the time.

What surprised you most about the writing community once you became a part of it?
What pleasantly surprised me the most was the incredible kindness and generosity of other authors. I recall when my first book came out -- the one for which I received the Edgar -- I was seated at Left Coast Crime next to Larry Block. Well, he had a line of fans from here to Modesto; I sat there playing with my pen. Heck, even if they wanted my book, it was bargain priced at about $55.00. Not exactly a price point inducement for purchase. He was kind and supportive of my situation. I had fun with Larry in a literary way by inventing books by him that don't actually exist. These books are featured in my fiction book, HEADLOCK. For example, he is credited with having the first mass market paperback to extra money via title product placement: “The Burglar who had Butterfingers.”

A few years later we were featured together on the Smart Ass Authors panel at B-Con, and that was great fun. There are so many wonderful writers who have been good to me—from GM Ford and Tony Fennelly to Meg Chittenden and Sparkle Hayter and so many more!

What’s the hardest thing about being an author?
Making money.

Let’s talk about promotion and marketing.
Sure, let's talk about that! I have been called the King of BSP -- Blatant Self Promotion, often to the aggravation of other, more shy authors. When at conventions, I hawk my books with all the subtlety of a Vegematic salesman at the State Fair. I make Mr. Sham-Wow seem taciturn.

Do you blog? How frequently? Is your blog a group or single effort?
Yes, I have more blogs and sites than I keep track of. Primarily I use http://burlbarer.net and http://outlawcrime.net These automatically hype the new posts on Facebook.

How frequently do you organize or participate in book tours?
I have never organized a book tour. I can't even organize my desk. I will gladly tour. I'm easy. I'll go around the world on my first date. I have not done an extensive tour since 2000. I have been bouncing back and forth between Los Angeles, Seattle, and Austin, Texas...but I don't know if that would qualify as touring.

What’s your daily routine when you aren’t touring?
I am on tour 24/7―I tour from here to the 7/11 and back. Then I tour on the bus to see friends. On Saturdays I take my tour to Outlawradio.tv to do TRUE CRIMES with co-host Don Woldman.
Basically, I sit in front of the computer and avoid writing. I send email, surf the net..and when all else fails, I write. Oh, I do take breaks to watch movies.

What kind of events or signings do you do?
I'll do any event, and I'll sign anything. Sometimes I sign Sidney Sheldon's books. Sid is too busy to do them all himself. I have done some signings with my nephews, Lee and Tod Goldberg, but it has been a while.

In a typical year, how many times did you appear for your book?
Well, if you count Metro Transit, several times a week. actually, I appear every week on the TRUE CRIMES radio show, and on Matt Alan's Outlaw Radio. I will also be on SNAPPED on the Oxygen Network in October for the Season Finale discussing my book, MOM SAID KILL. I will also be on Investigation Discovery's DEADLY WOMEN in December discussing the strange case of Rhonda Glover and Jimmy Joste, the subjects of my forthcoming book.
How many fan conferences such as Bouchercon will you typically attend in a year?
I used to attend Bouchercon and Left Coast Crime every year, as I had a new book to promote every year. There was a gap between BROKEN DOLL and MOM SAID KILL, and a financial gap as well, so I have not attended recently. I loved particpating in the Palm Springs event a year or so ago. I was scheduled for two panels in Las Vegas. The second day, the taxi driver got lost. I had him stop at a pay phone so I could call and get him directions, and he drove off and left me standing in a service station parking lot! I'm sure that cost me several reputation points. I reported him to the taxi company, and I think his career suffered more than mine.

Now, however, with BROKEN DOLL and MOM SAID KILL selling briskly, the radio show gaining popularity, my monthly presence on In Cold Blog, and another book coming out next year, I will be attending events again.

Any specific recommendations?
Courtesy is always in style.

Do you have a web site and/or other Internet places you routinely participate in, such as Good Books or Face Book or Twitter? List them.
Facebook
MySpace
Twitter
CrimeSpace
PolicePulse
and several other Ning social networks related to crime and crime blogging.

Do you like to travel?
I LOVE to travel!

What surprised you the most when you became a published author?
I was surprised that authors don't have groupies such as the ones who pursue rock stars and famous actors, or even disc jockeys. Never be an author to pick up chicks.

Do you think you’ll change direction or spread out a bit? Write a different kind of crime novel? If so, what kind.?
It has been my literary dream to do new things in different genres. I believe I accomplished that with THE SAINT: A Complete History, MAVERICK, MAN OVERBOARD, and HEADLOCK (crime fiction). The true crime books I do for Pinnacle are research intensive, follow a rigid template, and do not offer much opportunity for literary experimentation.
I hope to have some fun with new SAINT novels and short stories once there is a market for them. If the forthcoming SAINT TV show goes well, the market will be there. Also, I intend sequels to HEADLOCK, my Jeff Reynolds, PI mystery series.

Especially since 9/11, how do you respond to the accusation that you are trying to make money on a phenomenon in society we call murder? Or heinous crime?
I don't think 9/11 made much difference in the never ending accusation that true crime writers are bottom feeders. This is, of course, nonsense. True crime is a much maligned genre written by underpaid authors. Every true crime book is an emotionally and socially dangerous enterprise. The families of victims either love you or hate you, as do the families of the killers. I get hate mail from both, and sometimes the same person who sends me hate mail will, years later, send me a thank you letter and an apology.

I wrote a fiction story, GIVING SHELTER, written from the perspective of a psychopath. I am not a psychopath, honest. I am not a serial killer. But I have had people regard me as such because I write about serial killers. The map is not the territory. The actor is not the character. As an author, I want to create characters that resonate as real to the reader. Jack Olsen said I wrote so realistically that the characters leap off the page. That sounds rather scary, considering some of the characters' social habits.

If you could be anything else in the world, have any other career, what would it be?
When I was a youngster there were people on TV who, it seemed to me, were famous for being famous. That sounded fantastic to me. I would like to earn a living by being famous simply for being famous.

What career would you least like to do, if writing was to become impossible?
Work in a fabric store or a crafts store. For some reason, I almost panic in those places. I have sold fine jewelry, however, and enjoyed it tremendously.

Have you ever collaborated on a novel? Would you consider it?
Yes, I collaborated on a novel (unpublished) with someone who wasn't a writer. I would love to collaborate with someone who is a writer. I did contribute to one of Lee Goldberg's pulp fiction novels that he wrote under an assumed name. I helped him with one of the sex scenes. He was, at that time, not as experienced with that topic as he has since, no doubt, become. When his Nana complained that the book was nothing but sex and violence, Lee wisely shifted the blame to my brother and me. My brother deflected criticism by insisting that he only helped Lee with the legal/courtroom scenes. When Mom called me, she asked How could you pervert your little nephew that way?
I told her Mom, I only helped him write one sex scene, honest!
She replied, It was the one with the ice-cream wasn't it? She was right. It was.

Who are the authors who you feel have had the most influence on your writing career.
Leslie Charteris, Jack Olsen, and Franc Smth.

Tell us one or two authors or books you absolutely universally recommend.
Last Man Standing by Jack Olsen. (Incredible!)
Saint's Getaway by Leslie Charteris
anything by my family members and friends!
Who is your favorite mystery author?
Leslie Charteris

Where do you want your career to go?
To the bank.

To what organizations related to your writing career do you belong?
Mystery Writers of America
Authors Guild

Who is your publisher? What’s your current book?
Kensington Publishing's PINNACLE TRUE CRIME imprint.
Most recent book: MOM SAID KILL
I'm working now on another true crime book, but it doesn't have a title.

Are you agented?
I was. I am looking now for new representation to handle both literary and film/tv

If you could change one thing about the world what would that be?
Replace disunity with unity.

Do you have any pithy (or other) words of advice for aspiring authors?
FINISH IT.

Tell us about your next or upcoming book or other project.
I am currently working with Dr. Ata Egrari on a little book about life, science and the future entitled How Big is the Moon? (and other questions)
Recently finished working with Thomas Hodgins on The World According to Fraser, a memoir about how he responded when his best friend was suddenly afflicted with schizophrenia. It is, I must admit, a delightful book filled with humor, insight, and valuable information for anyone with a friend or family member afflicted with any form of mental illness.
I am also in the middle of a project of high international sensitivity. It is an historical document, of sorts, which I am not at liberty to discuss, but something about which I am very proud, and will be of significant value to future generations in understanding one of the most volatile social upheavals in modern history.

On a more commercial front, I am at the half-way mark of a new true crime book. I have also been asked to consult on the new SAINT TV project. My knowledge and understanding of the character, while not at the level of Templar's creator, is firmly established. Hence, my suggestions are every bit as influential in the development of this project as were his in the development of previous projects.

Private Eye Fred Wolfson and I have some projects in the works -- one in France, and one in USA -- but nothing is real until the check clears the bank.
New Saint novels, and new Jeff Reynolds mysteries are on the back burner until my current true crime book is completed in August.

Thanks, Burl, I hope to see you in line at the bank.

RED HOT ON THE RV HIGHWAY

Some Like It Red Hot
by Robin Merrill
Acacia Publishing, Inc
ISBN: 978-0-9774-306-4-2
2008, Trade Paper, 276 pages

Lotsimina Hannon (Lotsi to her intimates) is forced by an evil corporate empire to retire before her time. Lotsi, for want of something else to do, decides to start a whole new life. What better way to do so than buy an old RV and a new motorcycle and hit the road? The fact that she’s never in her life driven either a large recreational vehicle or a high-powered motorcycle is no deterrent.

Since she’s looking for a little excitement in her new life, she heads to Las Vegas, home of opulent RV parks, saunas and hot tubs. And men. Oh yes. Older and retired, but far from sedentary, Lotsi has the heart and the attitudes of a much younger woman. You might say the fires are low but still burning. All it takes is a delectable hunk with the wit and the knowledge of the desires of the more mature woman, and a certain level of experience, to bring those embers to a raging inferno. It also may be said that starting a relationship in a hot tub can get things off to a quick start.

Then of course, murder and associated chicanery intrudes and Lotsi is forced into a game of clues, a game that soon turns deadly. What’s worse, Lotsi becomes a target of the killers even while desperately learning to ride the motorcycle and speed out of trouble.

Smartly written, with tongue firmly planted in cheek, author Merrill presents a romp through the RV culture with pokes at aging baby boomers that is just askew enough to keep you reading and chuckling all the way along. While the story is realistically presented with enough straight and freaky characters to keep readers guessing, this frank romantic mystery is not aimed at fans of the realistic or the noir. A fun read. I hope the author is able to bring us further adventures of the mature.

UNCAGE ME: The Monsters among us

Uncage Me
ISBN: 078-1-60648-015-1
Editor, Jen Jordan
Bleak House Press.
Hard Cover, $24.95,
295 pages, 2009

This is a collection of short fiction about the monsters around us. Make no mistake, they are all around us. Monsters. It’s just that they act and even look like ordinary people. Like you and me. Mostly. But inside they aren’t the same as we. Are you?

Twenty-two stories, dark, bleak, unsettling, yet many are affirming in odd ways. You find yourself unaccountably rooting for whoever the central character is, even while you know that the end result may be—is likely to be—mayhem, murder along with painful destruction. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

Twenty-two stories in five sections: The section headings are a useful indicator: Love Me, Lie to Me (Or Yourself), Get Back at Me, Fetishize Me, Destroy Me. Like any anthology, there are stories by some popular writers in the mystery community and by relative unknowns. Like most anthologies, the power and the quality of the stories is uneven. But all are moving, probing and persist in poking at raw basic emotions and attitudes; at emotions that are among the fundamentals of human existence. Attitudes are here in considerable variety, in all the colors of the visible spectrum. We all know that individuals vary widely in their world views. Authors are not immune from such variety. Whether the stories in this anthology are successful in changing some readers remains to be seen, of course, but there is definitely power here. and these stories have the potential to illuminate variances in our perceptions of the world around us as well. This is the mark of good literature, to not shy away from the bitter, from the blackness that often besets us. One can, I suppose, go to lengths to avoid that which challenges us, that which makes us exceedingly uncomfortable. One should, in my view, at least occasionally step outside our individual comfort zones. Put a toe in the icy water.

Some of these stories are deeply disturbing, “Fire Girl,” by Victor Gishler, “Ten Gallons of Infected Saliva,” by Scott Phillips. Others, not so, but the attraction of the collection is that each story is likely to affect the reader in wildly different ways. Whatever that may result, Uncage Me is a thoughtful collection worthy of careful attention. The collection is for the most part well-written and well-edited. I’m not prepared to offer an opinion as to whether the stories are well-chosen. Readers will decide. But you need to be ready to park your middle class attitudes about life and human relationships at the curb if you are going to truly appreciate these stories. When you park, be careful you don’t step in the blood running in the gutter.

On the other hand, you’re free to shut the door on stories like these. In my view readers who avoid this anthology will miss some powerfully visceral literary experiences. This is a challenging collection. An anthology with attitude. However, choice is what we’re all about, right? Just watch out for the ghoul hanging off your right shoulder there.

A WASTELAND OF STRANGERS

Author: Bill Pronzini
Publisher: Walker & Company.
ISBN: 0-8027-7560-8
Price: $8.95 (hard cover)
pub. date: 1999
257 pages


www.thrillingdetective.com/trivia/pronzini.html

This is another of Bill Pronzini’s intensive, commanding, explorations of current social ideas and concerns which move a national colloquy in many forums. But this is not a social treatis full of statistics. This is a moving, intense, crime novel, that will captivate and enthrall the reader. Take one large, dangerous looking, individual, John Faith, by name. He’s a traveler, a seeker, a man on the move. Insert this stranger into a small resort community during the off season. This community happens to be in northern California, but such are the author’s skills, it could be anywhere. It could be your hometown.

John Faith is the immediate object of suspicion, because he’s a stranger and he doesn’t look like he belongs. His presence gradually reveals and widens long-standing cracks in the comfortable, biased attitudes and ideas of almost everyone in town. Why has this man come to town? What are his motives? His answers are enigmatic, and even at the end we are left with questions. John Faith’s encounters with the police chief, the bigoted lake-side resort owner, some local Native Americans, and a bartender or two, are like pebbles dropped in a placid pool. The ripples expand and expand until they reach the edge of the pool and die. Except in this case, the ripples grow larger, intersect and become irresistible waves that begin to tear at the base fabric of the town.

This psychological thriller is tightly plotted, and intricately presented. It’s pace is irresistible. “A Wasteland of Strangers” is a thoughtful, satisfying crime novel. Artist Doug Henry has presented a handsome, evocative cover illustration. Highly recommended.

ANTHONY NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

The Bouchercon Awards committee has just announced the nominees for Anthonys to
be awarded at Bouchercon in October:

Best Novel
Trigger City by Sean Chercover [William Morrow]
The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly [Little, Brown and Company]
Red Knife by William Kent Krueger [Atria]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson [Knopf]
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny [Minotaur]

Best First Novel
Pushing Up Daisies by Rosemary Harris [Minotaur]
Stalking Susan by Julie Kramer [Doubleday]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson [Knopf]
Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet [Midnight Ink]
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith [Grand Central]

Best Paperback Original
The First Quarry by Max Allan Collins [Hard Case Crime]
Money Shot by Christa Faust [Hard Case Crime]
State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy [Berkley]
In a Dark Season by Vicki Lane [Dell]
South of Hell by P.J. Parrish [Pocket Star]

Best Short Story
"The Night Things Changed" by Dana Cameron from Wolfsbane and Mistletoe [Ace]
"A Sleep Not Unlike Death" by Sean Chercover from Hardcore Hardboiled [Kensington]
"Killing Time" by Jane K. Cleland from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (November)
"Skull and Cross Examination" by Toni L. P. Kelner from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (February)
"Scratch a Woman" by Laura Lippman from Hardly Knew Her [William Morrow]
"The Secret Lives of Cats" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (July)

Best Critical Nonfiction Work
African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey [McFarland]
How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries by Kathy Lynn Emerson [Perseverance Press]
Anthony Boucher: A Biobibliography by Jeffrey Marks [McFarland]
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale [Walker & Company]

Best Children's/Young Adult Novel
The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein [Random House]
Paper Towns by John Green [Dutton Juvenile]
Kiss Me, Kill Me by Lauren Henderson [Delacorte]
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart [Little, Brown]
Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash by Wendelin Van Draanen [Knopf]

Best Cover Art
Death Was the Other Woman designed by David Rotstein and written by Linda L. Richards [Minotaur]
Death Will Get You Sober designed by David Rotstein and written by Elizabeth Zelvin [Minotaur]
The Fault Tree designed by David Rotstein and written by Louise Ure [Minotaur]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo designed by Peter Mendelsund and written by Stieg Larsson [Knopf]
Money Shot designed by Steve Cooley and written by Christa Faust [Hard Case Crime]

Special Service Award
Jon and Ruth Jordan
Ali Karim
David Montgomery
Gary Warren Niebuhr
Sarah Weinman

DENISE DIETZ, AUTHOR

When someone asks you what kind of book do you write? What's your answer?
(The (in) famous elevator speech)

Books that entertain and have no socially redeeming values whatsoever.

When did you know you were going to be a mystery writer?
I didn't. I wrote what I thought was a general fiction book about dieters getting killed off at goal weight. My first agent, who wanted to call my book "The Diet Club Murders," told me it was a mystery. I kept my original title, THROW DARTS AT A CHEESECAKE, but my agent had a point. Many people thought Throw Darts at a Cheesecakee was a cookbook.

Tell us a little bit about your family background.
My father was an artist/photographer. Among other things, he shot a layout for Playboy. His model: Marilyn Monroe. My mother was Beatrice Brooks, an actress. She was also Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were. Among other things, she often marched for civil rights and started the first integrated Girl Scout troop in Queens, NY.

What is your educational background?
Undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin. Graduate courses at New Mexico State University. Tutor for the NMSU football team...and let me tell you, that was a dream job.


Talk a bit about your present family situation.
I'm married to the incredibly talented Gordon Aalborg (Dining With Devils). We "met" through an on-line writers' loop, decided to collaborate on a romantic suspense, and fell in love, sight unseen. He was writing Harlequin romances as Victoria Gordon. He wooed me with words, and I can honestly say that you've never been romanced until you've been romanced by a romance author.

What did you read as a child?
I started with Walter Farley's Black Stallion series, then began "borrowing" books from my mother's bookcase, i.e. her first-edition 1935 GWTW, which my third grade teacher confiscated, then Forever Amber. Everything Updike. Howard Fast and John Steinbeck. Since I was very young, I liked books that began with kids, so I wore out a copy of Jane Eyre and An American Tragedy and East of Eden. Then I read William Goldman's Boys & Girls Together and decided I wanted to write books when I grew up.

What's your daily routine when you aren't touring?
Slug down some caffeine and hit the computer. Insert intravenous line from coffee pot. Read what I've written the day before so I can get back into the story. Try to ignore e-mail. Begin writing new paragraph. Take frequent breaks to stretch body. Eye evil exercise equipment parked outside my office and swear to use it during my next break. Remember how my grandmother always said a lady should never swear.

How much touring do you do?
I once asked my first editor what I could do to guarantee a second press run. He said, and I quote, "Take out a second mortgage on your house, fill your car trunk with books, and go on tour." But to get a second mortgage, one must have a first mortgage, so I continued to write during the day and wait tables at night. I'd give out bookmarks with the tab (I worked for The Olive Garden and Red Lobster). That ploy led to my first best-seller status.

What surprised you most about the writing community once you became a part of it?
The generosity of my fellow authors with their time, their advice, and their blurbs. I always try to be a better person after spending time with the writing community.

What's the hardest thing about being an author?
Waiting for reviews! You send your "baby" out into the world and hope someone doesn't say, "What an ugly baby!"

Let's talk about promotion and marketing.
I didn't do any promo for The Landlord's Black-Eyed Daughter (by Mary Ellen Dennis), a paranormal history-mystery-romance inspired by Alfred Noyes' "The Highwayman," and yet it went into 4 printings. I was tempted to let the marketing for STRANGLE A LOAF OF ITALIAN BREAD ride, as well, but caved as the press date sped closer. A friend offered to make a book trailer and within 48 hours I had over 200 hits on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQcEZZOME9Y. I was gobsmacked. Who the heck looks at that stuff? I mean, Susan Boyle I can understand, but Denise Dietz?

Do you blog? How frequently? Is your blog a group or single effort?
I used to blog weekly, but since I can't write an email without editing it a minimum of 5 times, I found that it was taking 6 days of editing and re-editing to post one blog. So now I guest blog on Jeff Cohen's There's a Dead Guy in the Living Room. And once or twice a month on NINC (Novelists Inc).

What kind of events or signings do you do?
I do library events. I do indie bookstore events. I love libraries and librarians and indie bookstores. My idea of purgatory is perpetual mall booksignings. My booksigning karma isn't all that great. Here's a poem I
wrote that kind of explains why:

THE NIGHT NO ONE CAME
I'm really sorry, Deni dear,
I cannot fathom why no one's here.
We put the date in "Main Event"
And hundreds of invitation were sent;
The wine is chilled, the cookies baked,
Your books are stacked, the yard's been raked!
Oh wait, there's John at the TV;
He's calling us to come and see
A car chase...cops...a celebrity.

True story. My booksigning was in California the night the cops chased OJ.

In a typical year, how many times did you appear for your book?
I'm not being facetious when I say there's no such thing as a typical year. But since I'm a free-lance editor for a major publisher, as well as an author, I often accept guest editor gigs at writers conferences. At one conference I picked up five new authors.

Any specific recommendations?
Left Coast Crime and Malice Domestic are, in my opinion, the best fan conferences. [Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers] Colorado Gold and Love is Murder are my favourite writers conferences.

Do you have a web site and/ or other Internet places you routinely participate in, such as Good Books or Face Book or Twitter?
I've had a website - www.denisedietz.com - since 1993. I participate in Face Book.

Do you like to travel?
Yes and no. I hate the hassle of airports, love visiting new places.

What surprised you the most when you became a published author?
The amount of promotion required. I had this dumb idea that, if a publisher contracted a book, paid an advance, paid a copy-editor, and paid to print copies of the book, the next step was promoting the book. Not! I was also surprised that I didn't get rich and famous overnight :-)

Do you think you'll change direction or spread out a bit? Write a different kind of crime novel? If so, what kind?
I've always wanted to write a thriller set at the Kentucky Derby. That way, I could attend the Kentucky Derby. I would have written The Black Stallion's Filly, but Walter Farley beat me to it. Recently I've spread out a bit by writing a "glitzy mystery" called SOAP BUBBLES. Two of the protagonists, both extremely pregnant, search for the killer of a soap opera director. The release date is April, 2010.

Especially since 9/11, how do you respond to the accusation that you are trying to make money on a phenomenon in society we call murder? Or heinous crime?
I've never been asked that question.

If you could be anything else in the world, have any other career, what would it be?
A superstar singer. However, in my next life I want to be a stand-up comedian. Or the first woman to win racing's Triple Crown.

What career would you least like to do, if writing was to become impossible?
Anything that requires wearing pantyhose.

Have you ever collaborated on a novel? Would you consider it?
I collaborated with my husband Gordon on the romantic suspense, FINDING BESS, about a Colorado author who flies to Tasmania to collaborate with an Australian author.

Who are the authors who you feel have had the most influence on your writing career?
William Goldman, John Steinbeck, Susan Isaacs, Dean Koontz, Anya Seton, Ira Levin, Leon Uris, Fred Mustard Stewart, Celeste De Blasis and Rosemary Rogers.

Tell us one or two authors or books you absolutely universally recommend.
Exodus by Leon Uris and Cat Tracks by Gordon Aalborg.

Who is your favorite mystery author?
A tie between Carol O'Connell and Marshall Karp.

Where do you want your career to go?
To the movies! I optioned my first book, Throw Darts at a Cheesecake. Option money is nice. I can live off option money for a long time. Gordon has written a screenplay for my crime fiction novel, Fifty Cents For Your Soul, which PW called "Hollywood noir." I'd love to see it filmed.

To what organizations related to your writing career do you belong?
MWA, Sisters in Crime, CWC, NINC.

Who is your publisher? What's your current book?
My publishers have included Walker, Kensington, Delphi and Harlequin. My current publisher is Five Star, my current book, STRANGLE A LOAF OF ITALIAN BREAD - an Ellie Bernstein/Lt. Peter Miller Mystery - is the fourth in my "diet club" series, but Wildside Press is reissuing new, updated editions of my backlist: Throw Darts at a Cheesecake, Beat Up a Cookie, and Chain a Lamb Chop to the Bed.

Are you agented?
Yes.

What's your take on the rise of electronic publishing?
I think it's great. But since I do so much editing on the computer screen, I prefer to read curled up in a comfy armchair at night. I don't own a laptop and haven't bought a hand-held reader yet, but that's just a matter of time.

What's your favorite word?
ChocolateCoveredCustardDonut.

What's your least favorite word?
Impossible.

If you could change one thing about the world what would that be?
When I was a kid I'd pretend I had 3 wishes. The first would be for World Peace. The second was more complicated. I'd wish cars had never been invented so everyone would have to ride horses. My third wish? Three more wishes.

Do you have any pithy (or other) words of advice for aspiring authors?

Yes. It's my mantra: "If you drop a dream, it breaks."

Tell us about your upcoming book or other project.
I've recently finished polishing a "doorstop of a novel," circa 1893 to 1923, that encompasses the Cripple Creek gold rush, the Ludlow Massacre, the rise of Denver's KKK, and Colorado's silent film industry. Unfortunately, sagas are a hard sell. Publishers keep telling me readers don't read them. I've also written a 3-book proposal for my "Apothecary series." The first book, EYE OF NEWT, was published by Five Star and did very well. The second in the series, TOE OF FROG (aka "The Da Vinci Toad") has a reincarnated Rottweiler named Matthias. Matthias is afraid of doorbells and songs from the 1970s.

Thanks for an interesting insight into your life and times.

MALICE 21 AGATHA WINNERS

Best Children’s/Young Adult
“The Crossroads,” by Chris Grabenstein for Random House

Best Short Story,
“The Night Things Changed,” by Dana Cameron for Penguin Group

Best Non-Fiction
“How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries,” by Kathy Lynn Emerson for Perseverance Press

Best First Novel
“Death of a Cozy Writer, by G.M. Malliet for Midnight Ink

Best Novel,
“The Cruelest Month” by Louise Penny for St. Martin’s Press

Author Julie Hyzy

When someone asks you what kind of book do you write? What’s your answer?
(The famous elevator speech)
My usual answer is that I write mysteries. But if someone seems particularly interested, I expand with: I write about a White House chef who feeds the First Family and saves the world in her spare time ;-)

When did you know you were going to be a mystery writer?
I decided to write mysteries when I was about eleven. I started my own series, Mary King mysteries because I reasoned that because “Ma-ry King” has the same syllabic beat as “Nan-cy Drew,” my stories were sure to be a major hit.

Tell us a little bit about your family background.
There are just two in my family me and my younger brother, Paul. My parents were really greeat, lovely people. We had a lot of laughs in our house and nobody was allowed to take themselves too seriously. My brother and I weren’t sports kids, and we found entertainment in weird ways. We found a treehouse (long story) and adopted it. We put on neighborhood shows, tried our hand at songwriting, and sold neighborhood newspapers we wrote ourselves. Our house was on a busy street and Paul (who is an electrical genius) hooked up a speaker so that we could entertain the passing cars. There’s a whole story there I llook back on those years and think about how tolerant my parents were.

What is your educational background?
All Catholic schools. From grammar school through my all-girl high school, through Loyola University. I majored in marketing and graduated with a degree in business administration, but I really wanted to major in English. My family and friends talked me out of it because they insisted I would starve as a writer. That’s true ;-) And the business major was a good thing because I learned a lot about analysis and decision-making. I joined a business fraternity (I was part of the first pledge class of my chapter to admit women) and I met a lot of lifelong friends there. I think the business major has served me well.

Talk a bit about your present family situation.
I’ve been married to Curt (who I met at Loyola and who is one of my fraternity brothers) for 25 years. We have three daughters, Robyn, Sara, and Biz (Elizabeth). Robyn graduated from the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida in 2008 and is pursuing a career as a freelance artist. She’s currently living in NY, but should be returning to Chicago next month. Sara is a sophomore at NIU, studying special education for the visually impaired. Biz is a junior in high school. We’re currently looking at colleges for her. She thinks she would like to be an FBI profiler some day. In the meantime she’ll be studying psychology. At least that’s the current plan. She may also look into becoming an actuary. We have a thirteen-year-old black lab/mix named K’Ehleyr who curls under the desk next to my feet when I’m writing.

We’re into movies big time in our family and Curt and I decided a long time ago to introduce the kids to classic movies. Although we haven’t been able to see as many as we’d like, my kids have seen lots of good ones. They know and appreciate Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Gregory Peck, Jimmy Stewart, and Humphrey Bogart. They love Danny Kaye, Gene Kelly, and old TV like the Dick Van Dyke show and I Love Lucy. They’ve seen quite a few of Audrey Hepburn’s movies (Roman Holiday is a huge favorite here) and we make sure to sprinkle in a bunch of great war films. They love The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, and Bridge on the River Kwai. There are lots more we just think it’s important for kids to know somme of the history of films. Biz asked us to Netflix all the “Thin Man” movies. We did. They’re a blast.

My kids are great. The best. I love being with them and so far, they don’t seem to mind being around mom and dad, too

What did you read as a child?
My number one favorite book as a child was A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I went through a phase where I read that book three or four times a year. As a very little kid I took out A Fly Went By from the library just about every chance I could. I loved the rhythm of the words on that one. My mom eventually bought me my own copy which I still have today.

I also read Nancy Drew books incessantly. For my eleventh birthday I received five new Nancy Drew books. The party was on a Friday. By Sunday I’d devoured them all.

What’s your daily routine when you aren’t touring?
I get Biz to school by about 7:00 in the morning, then come home and read the paper with a cup of coffee. Some people like to buy their morning coffee. I enjoy the process of making it for myself every day. After the paper, I hit the computer to check e-mail and do any tasks that have been waiting for me. I then start writing. At around 11:00ish, I take a break to do any outside running around (shopping, errands) I need to do, then come home and write until Biz comes home. Her schedule depends a lot on whether it’s marching band season, or whether she’s in rehearsal for one of the plays. I try to have a vegetarian snack ready for her when she arrives. Sometimes we’ll spend some time with Wii Fit. I like the hula hoop and boxing games best and I’m not bad. But I’m a total loser when it comes to heading soccer balls.

When Curt gets home we have dinner, do evening tasks (if any), and then we either read or watch something. We took tennis lessons for a while and we’re thinking about starting up something else soon. I used to write at night too, but I realized how much I was missing family time. When we’re couch potatoes, we prefer movies to regular TV. The only TV shows we watch are LOST and Criminal Minds.

How much touring do you do?
Touring? I don’t really “tour” as much as visit bookstores and libraries when I can. Lately, that hasn’t been much. I plan to do a lot more next January when Eggsecutive Orders comes out.

What surprised you most about the writing community once you became a part of it?
The writing community is exceptionally generous and kind. I remember the first conference I attended, I was panicked about meeting people and terrified that I would be ignored or shunned because I wasn’t part of the in group. You know who scared me a lot? Debbie Brod. Not her fault, of course. She did nothing to frighten me off. It was me thinking that she wouldn’t give me the time of day and that’s what had me nervous. Debbie, of course, was the picture of kindness.

I guess I was surprised to find that I fit in. I was a geek/nerd as a kid. That hasn’t really changed I’m a geek/nerd adult too. And it’s great to find out that so many authors were in that same place as kids. Jeffrey Deaver described his childhood at Love Is Murder. Except for the fact that I’m female, he could have been describing me.

Another big surprise was how everyone is willing to help. Everyone is willing to share. I love this community. Great people.

What’s the hardest thing about being an author?
Time management. I think the hardest thing is knowing I can’t write as many books as I want to. I have a thousand ideas floating around all at once and I can only produce about two books per year. I’d like to try to up that output to three. But not this year. Too much MWA stuff to do.

Let’s talk about promotion and marketing.

Do you blog? How frequently? Is your blog a group or single effort?
I do blog, but it’s infrequent. My site, “Julie Hyzy and her blog” (ooh, clever name, huh?) is a single effort. I don’t believe I have anything particularly fascinating to say on a daily basis, so I use the blog to announce book news. I’ve considered using it to promote other authors interviews, etc. That would be a lot oof fun, but I don’t have the time yet. Maybe next year.

How frequently do you organize or participate in book tours?
“Book tours” sounds so official. It sounds as though there’s a master plan and I’m participating on a schedule. I’m not. I had been doing bookstore signings, but it’s tough when no one shows up. I’ve actually been doing more book discussion groups. Now those are a lot of fun because everyone there has read the book. The questions are the best!

What kind of events or signings do you do?
I’ve done several library book discussion groups, and I’ve done a few library presentations on writing craft. Those are fun. I’ll be at Malice Domestic in May, and I have a couple of appearances scheduled in the coming months at book festivals, including the Kerrytown Book Festival in Michigan. The Tinley Park, IL library is doing a “dinner with the author” late in the year. I’m excited and even though my books are “culinary thrillers,” I don’t have to cook!

The Lifeline Theatre has asked three of us: Sara Paretsky, Sean Chercover, and me, to appear at their annual benefit. We’ve all been given a Dorothy L. Sayers short story for which we’ve written alternate endings. The theatre group will perform these at the event. This will all take place on April 16th at the Chicago Cultural Center, across from Millennium Park in the city. I’m very, very excited about this appearance.

In a typical year, how many times did you appear for your book?
Tough question. If you don’t count conferences, I’d guess about 25 appearances per year. Average once every two weeks sounds about right.

How many fan conferences such as Bouchercon will you typically attend in a year?
I’ll be at Malice, as I mentioned, and Bouchercon this year. Next year Love Is Murder takes a year off, but that one is always on my “definite” list. I used to attend more conferences, but the cost is prohibitive.

Any specific recommendations?
Love Is Murder in 2011. That’s my favorite conference of all time. I just love everybody there.

Do you have a web site and/ or other Internet places you routinely participate in, such as Good Books or Face Book or Twitter?
I’m so happy with my website: www.juliehyzy.com Beth at Cincinnati Media helped design it and it looks fabulous. My daughter painted the White House in the corner of the opening page and there’s a link to her website on the site, too.

I had a MySpace account, and it’s still active but I don’t ever visit it. It’s just too hard to make that system work for me. I do Facebook and I enjoy that. The attraction of Twitter eludes me. Maybe I just need to get to know it better.

Do you like to travel?
I love to travel. I’ve never been to Europe, but I hope to get there shortly after Biz starts college. Of course, at that point we’ll have no money left.

What surprised you the most when you became a published author?
I didn’t have an agent when I had my first book published. Nor for my second, third, or fourth novels, even though all were published traditionally. I guess I just assumed that with novel publication came validation. I thought, at that point, agents would be more willing to take a look at me. I thought I’d broken through the barrier. Mind you, I never expected agents to welcome me with open arms and beg for my business, but I guess I thought I’d get shut down less often – or at least receive acknowledgement of my submissions. But that didn’t happen until recently. I must write terrible query letters.

Do you think you’ll change direction or spread out a bit? Write a different kind of crime novel? If so, what kind?
Yes. I have ideas running around through my head for a more serious crime novel. Mind you, my Ollie and Alex books aren’t exactly fluff but I’d like to tryy to stretch my wings and shake things up a bit.

Especially since 9/11, how do you respond to the accusation that you are trying to make money on a phenomenon in society we call murder? Or heinous crime?
First of all… make money??? Let me know when that’s supposed to happen. I put every penny of my advances back into promotion and then some.

But I get your point. Are we making light of murder? Killing characters for entertainment’s sake?

I wrestled with those questions after 9/11 but I came to realize that the stories I write, and the stories I read, are not gratuitously violent. They don’t offer murder for murder’s sake. The stories I write, and read, are about how people deal with the aftermath of death, and how some characters (an amateur sleuth, for example) rises above his/her limitations to make the world right once again. Read any of today’s headlines: There is almost nothing we can do as individuals to make a difference. Can we turn the economy around? Not single-handedly. Can we stop the war in Iraq? Not likely. Collectively, we can do much, but alone we’re limited. Mysteries are good for the soul because we get to see real people, regular people making a difference. I. I think it helps.

If you could be anything else in the world, have any other career, what would it be?
I wouldn’t want to be anything else. But if I could appear in a feature film I’d jump at the chance.

What career would you least like to do, if writing was to become impossible?
I would not want to be one of those workers who stands on the expressway holding a “Slow” sign all day.

Have you ever collaborated on a novel? Would you consider it?
I collaborated with Michael A. Black on our novel, Dead Ringer. This brought his kickboxing private eye, Ron Shade together with my amateur sleuth Alex St. James. We had a lot of fun writing this, but it isn’t something I’d want to do regularly. I prefer flying by the seat of my pants as I write, and when collaborating, there’s less room for improvisation.

Who are the authors who you feel have had the most influence on your writing career?
Mike, for sure. He was a member of the writing group I joined in 2000 and helped me navigate the waters by critiquing my early short stories and advising me on submissions. He also encouraged me to write my first novel. There’s no question that I wouldn’t be as far along I am if it weren’t for him.

Also Dean Wesley Smith and his wife Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Kris Nelscott). I participated in a two-week master class at their home in Oregon back in 2002 with twelve other writers. Those two weeks were life changing. One of the best investments I’ve ever made in myself.

Tell us one or two authors or books you absolutely universally recommend.
I always recommend Ray Bradbury. Love his short stories. I first discovered him in eighth grade and I’ve loved him ever since.

I also universally recommend the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. If I tell you it’s time travel, and history, and romance, you may roll your eyes. But, wow. Probably the best series of books I’ve ever encountered.

Who is your favorite mystery author?
Sue Grafton. I’ve learned so much by reading her Kinsey Milhone series.

Where do you want your career to go?
I’d like it to continue to move forward. I’d love to have two series going at once and then occasionally take time out to write a standalone. I’d like to be 80 years old and be able to look back on dozens of novels and still be writing.

To what organizations related to your writing career do you belong?
Mystery Writers of America, Sisters In Crime, International Thriller Writers, Southland Scribes.

Who is your publisher? What’s your current book?
I’m published by Berkley Prime Crime. My current book is Hail to the Chef, second in the White House Chef series.

Are you agented?
I am. My agent is Erin C. Niumata of Folio Literary Management.

What’s your take on the rise of electronic publishing?
I think the market for books delivered electronically will continue to grow. By the time I’m at that 80 year old position, I expect I’ll be reading everything electronically.

What’s your favorite word(s)?
So many to choose from. Can I pick more than one?
“Secren” and “obsule” (made up words from childhood)
Effusive
Twit
Petunia

What’s your least favorite word?
Bucks - and - chores. As in: “I’ll give you ten bucks if you do your chores.” I think “bucks” is so slang-y and crude. I sometimes catch myself using that term, but I don’t like it. And I’ve always hated “chores.” Just a yucky word.

If you could change one thing about the world what would that be?
I would make prosecutors and defense attorneys strive for truth and justice and not just aim to win their cases. Speaking of truth -- I would make it a requirement that those reporting the news tell the truth at all times. So often the news we read or see on TV is manufactured to scare -- or otherwise overwhelm -- viewers. If reporters could only report what was true, I think society would be a lot more cheerful.

Hey, while I’m at it, can I change a couple more things?

Of course.
I would force schools to return to teaching phonics.

And, I would impose a $10 fine on anyone who posts a sign with a misplaced apostrophe!

Do you have any pithy (or other) words of advice for aspiring authors?
I’m not a particularly pithy person. I guess I would just suggest that aspiring authors remember that perseverance makes all the difference. And I would warn all would-be authors to be careful of scams. They’re everywhere.

Tell us about your upcoming book or other project.
My next book is Eggsecutive Orders. This is the third book in Ollie’s White House Chef Mystery series and this time her mom and grandmother visit from Chicago in time for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. Of course, things don’t go according to plan and Ollie finds herself in the middle of trouble when a big shot White House guest doesn’t survive dinner.


After reading your interview responses I have one more question.

Will we ever read more of Alex St. James' adventures?
That's a good question. I guess my answer is: I hope so. Right now, however, I have no plans to write any more Alex novels because my time is being taken up with the chef series and MWA-related tasks. I would like to think that some day I could help Alex find her birth parents and maybe even a love life... But for now, the poor girl's life is on hold.

Thanks a lot, Julie.

MINNESOTA BOOK AWARDS GALA

Saturday, April 25, the twenty-first annual Minnesota Book Awards.
Held at the Crowne Royal Hotel in Saint Paul

More than 700 people attended the event, organized and managed impeccably by the Friends of the Saint Paul Library under the steady hand of the glamorous event director, Alayne Hopkins.

Emcee of the even was Tom Crann, award-winning host of Minnesota Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”

Winner of the award for Young People’s Literature was Brian Malloy, for “Twelve Long Months,” published by Scholastic Press.
Winner of the award for Minnesota literature was Barbara W. Sommer, for her work entitled “Hard Work and a Good Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota,” published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press.

Winner of the 2008 award for Children’s Literature, Susan Marie Swanson. Her book, published by Houghton Mifflin, is titled “The House in the Night.”

Each year an award named for one of Minnesota’s premier bookbuyers and supporters of reading, the Kay Sexton Award, is presented to a significant worker in the book business. This year the award went to Patrick Coleman, archivist and books curator for the Minnesota Historical Society, a long-time tireless promoter of the book industry and reading.

Paulette Meyers-Rich was honored as the Book Artist of the Year.

Catherine Friend won the award for general non-fiction for her work, “The Compassionate Carnivore: Or, How to Keep Animals Happy, Save Old MacDonald’s Farm, Reduce Your Hoofprint, and Still Eat Meat.” It is published by Da Capo Press/Perseus Books Group.

Heid Erdrich won the Poetry Award for her book published by Michigan State University Press, titled “National Monuments.”

The award in the Novel and Short Story category went to Louise Erdrich for “The Plague of Doves,” from HarperCollins.

The Readers’ Choice Award went to Kao Kalia Yang for “The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir.” This work also won the annual award for Memoir and Creative Nonfiction. “The Latehomecomer,” was published by Coffee House Press.

The award for Genre Fiction for 2008 went to debut novelist, Julie Kramer for her crime novel titled “Stalking Susan,” published by Doubleday.

Author Peter May

Peter May is a mystery writer with journalism training that supports his passion for writing. He has extensive contacts inside the law enforcement community, including China, amply reflected in his novels. Although he lives in France with his award-winning wife, Janice, he travels extensively in the U.S. When he comes your way, don’t miss an encounter with this charming Scot. I am pleased to present his answers to my questions.

When someone asks you what kind of books do you write? What’s your answer?
Good ones

When did you know you were going to be a mystery writer?
When my publisher told me I would have to change my name to write in another genre.

Tell us a little bit about your family background.
My Great Aunt Belle was a direct descendant of the famous Scottish outlaw, Rob Roy Macgregor; my father's great, great uncle was a disinherited earl; my parents have both gone to the great library in the sky (where, I am sure, they still cast a critical eye over my latest offerings); my wife is the award-winning playwright and screenwriter, Janice Hally; and my daughter insists I will never be a grandfather.


What is your educational background?
I got kicked out of school, and after a year selling cars in the university of life, studied journalism in Edinburgh.

What did you read as a child?
When I was eleven, my uncle's wife committed suicide and he came to stay at our house, displacing me from my bedroom. I slept on the sofa in the living room, and woke up each morning to look at all the books on the shelf beside it - Ernest Hemingway, Aldous Huxley, Raymond Chandler, Earl Stanley Gardner, Walter Scott, John Steinbeck, Lewis Grassic Gibbon. Strange names, and even stranger titles - Eyeless in Gaza, The Grapes of Wrath, The Case of the Black-Eyed Blond, Sunset Song, For Whom The Bell Tolls... Eventually, my curiosity got the better of me and I started reading them, working my way along the shelf. I was far too young for them, of course, but since I didn't know that I had no preconceptions. And in a way, these books shaped the rest of my life.

What’s your daily routine when you aren’t touring?
Research reading, cooking, wine-tasting, relaxing in the garden.


How much touring do you do?
I tour the States once a year these days. But since I live in France, and my books are published here, I get invited to book fairs all over the country, and usually do ten to twelve events a year.

What surprised you most about the writing community once you became a part of it?
The camaraderie, I guess. That shared sense of vulnerability and isolation.

What’s the hardest thing about being an author?
The next book.

Do you blog? How frequently? Is your blog a group or single effort?
I have a blog, but generally only keep it up to date when I am touring in the US - partly to keep a record for myself, and partly to keep friends and family (and readers) in touch with where I am and what is happening.

How frequently do you organize or participate in book tours?
My wife organises my annual book tours in the States. She is brilliant at it, producing a "book" with a daily itinerary, all our travel tickets and arrangements, car rental, hotels etc. She now knows the US hub airports by heart and most of the booksellers, and can plan a mean tour.

What kind of events or signings do you do?
In the States I talk to readers at as many independent mystery stores as I can fit into my itinerary - which can be as many as twenty. In France, almost every town has its own annual book fair. Authors are invited to attend, and all expenses are paid from the public purse. These events usually consist of contributing to one or more round table discussions in front of an audience, and sitting at tables piled high with your books to sign for readers. The biggest events can attract as many as a quarter of a million people over the course of a weekend. In Paris it is nearly half a million over four days.

In a typical year, how many times did you appear for your book?
Anywhere between 30 and 40 times.

How many fan conferences such as Bouchercon will you typically attend in a year?
Living in France, it is a very expensive business going to these events, so I try to arrange my US tours to coincide with one of the fan conferences - usually Left Coast Crime, although I have also been to Bouchercon.

Do you like to travel?
I love to experience different places around the world, although I hate the actual mechanics of travelling.

What surprised you the most when you became a published author?
How little promotion and support a writer receives from his publisher. My first book was published more than 30 years ago. I was very excited, waiting to hear from my publisher what my promotional itinerary would be, what newspaper and radio interviews I would do, and what papers I would be reviewed in. But when the book actually appeared, it seemed to vanish into a black hole. It had very few reviews, there was virtually no promotion, and I did one single radio interview. I quickly learned that if you wanted to achieve a profile for yourself and your books, you were going to have to do it yourself.

Do you think you’ll change direction or spread out a bit? Write a different kind of crime novel? If so, what kind?
I think it is quite hard to change direction as a writer, once you are establish in a genre. Publishers, and readers, always want more of the same. However, I have recently written two very different types of crime book - one set in a virtual world, the other a slow-burn psychological thriller set on a remote Scottish island. I found the latter very hard to sell in the UK, but my French publisher has snapped it up, buying world rights, and it will be published in French even before it appears in English.

Especially since 9/11, how do you respond to the accusation that you are trying to make money on a phenomenon in society we call murder? Or heinous crime?
I have always enjoyed reading crime books and thrillers, as well as movies of the same genre - something I have in common with many other people around the world. I write what I enjoy reading, and fortunately a lot of other people enjoy reading what I write. So I make no apologies for that. But, in the end, a crime story is only ever a vehicle for an exploration of the human condition. Which is what writers have always written about. An interesting coda to this is that one of my China Thrillers, "Snakehead" won a French literary award where the judges were panels of prisoners in French penitentiaries. I felt it was quite an accolade for a crime writer to get the thumbs up from criminals.

If you could be anything else in the world, have any other career, what would it be?
A professional musician.

What career would you least like to do, if writing was to become impossible?
I once worked as a civil servant in the UK, calculating the interest in the bank books of investors in the Department of National Savings. I sat in a huge shed, with hundreds of other people, having to achieve a target of ten bank books an hour, monitored by eagle-eyed senior functionaries. I had to ask to go to the toilet. After three months, I stood up one morning and simply walked out, never to return. I find it hard to imagine a worse job.

Have you ever collaborated on a novel? Would you consider it?
No, and no. As a script writer and story editor on TV series and serials, I worked as part of a team. Which was stimulating, and fun. But, for me, novel writing is a singularly solo occupation.


Who are the authors who you feel have had the most influence on your writing career.
The four most influential writers who shaped my style and ambition were Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway, H. E. Bates, and J. P. Donleavy.


Tell us one or two authors or books you absolutely universally recommend.
The most inspirational book, I think, that a writer can read is Ernest Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast". The only book I was ever moved to read twice was J.P. Donleavy's "The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B" - which made me both laugh out loud and weep copious tears.


Who is your favorite mystery author?
I think one of the best mystery writers around today is William Kent Krueger - simply for his marvelous characterisation, sensitivity, and observation of the human condition. These are qualities I rarely find in many contemporary mysteries and thrillers.

Where do you want your career to go?
I spent twenty years writing for television before turning to writing books full time. I would love now, to see some of my books adapted for the screen - big or small. I am fortunate in that the first of my China Thrillers series, "The Firemaker", is to be made into a movie - a French/Chinese co-production made in English for the international market, and directed by award-winning Chinese director Wang Chao. The third of my Enzo Files series, "Blacklight Blue", is currently being developed as a TV movie.


Who is your publisher? What’s your current book?
My US publisher is Poisoned Pen Press. My current books are "Blacklight Blue" (the Enzo Files), and "Snakehead" (the China Thrillers). The second of the China Thrillers, "The Fourth Sacrifice", is also just out in paperback. The fourth Enzo book, and my virtual thriller will both come out early next year.

Are you agented?
I have literary agents in New York and London.

What’s your take on the rise of electronic publishing?
An interesting development that could ultimately free the writer from being tied to a publisher.

What’s your favorite word?
"Smirr". It's a Scottish word meaning rain so fine that it is almost a mist (the Scots have more words for rain than anyone else in the world, I think). The reason I love it is that it always confuses the hell out of my English editors.

What’s your least favorite word?
"But" - particularly when following the phrase, "I loved your book".

If you could change one thing about the world what would that be?
While adjusting my bikini and freshening my lipstick, I'd put in my tuppenceworth for world peace.

Tell us about your upcoming book or other project.
The fifth book in the Enzo files is in the early stages of development. I have also been commissioned by a French publisher to write a short story of around 12,000 words using only the Latin-based vocabulary of the English language in an attempt to create something written in English that can be read by the French. It is an interesting idea, and I am going to use it as a vehicle for revisiting my characters from the China Thrillers series, Li Yan and Margaret Campbell.

Thank you for an interesting and insightful interview.

An Interview with author Mary Logue

Mary Logue, an award-winning poet and crime fiction writer agreed recently to an interview. She is the author of the fine series starring Deputy Sheriff, Clair Watkins. The most recent book in that series is “Point No Point.” It was recently published in hardcover by Bleak House Press. Here are her responses to some of my impertinent questions.

****

When someone asks you what kind of book do you write? What’s your answer?
(The famous elevator speech)

I say I write mysteries and poetry and kid's books. If they push a little harder about the mystery, I might say I write a hybrid of a cozy and a hard-boiled set in a small town in Wisconsin, featuring a female deputy sheriff.

When did you know you were going to be a mystery writer?

Not until I was in my early thirties, but I wrote my first mystery in sixth grade.

Tell us a little bit about your family background.

Oldest of five children, mom was a social worker and dad worked for 3M. Lived in the country outside of St. Paul. Bucolic childhood.

What is your educational background?

French and English degree.

Talk a bit about your present family situation.

I'm shacked up with the wonderful Pete Hautman and we are raising two intense toy poodles.

What did you read as a child?

Anything I could get my hands on. Some faves: Wrinkle in Time, all of Dickens, of course Trixie Belden.

What’s your daily routine when you aren’t touring?

Try to write most days, no real routine. When I'm cranking hard on a book I aim to get 3 pages done.

How much touring do you do?

As little as possible. Actually I'm starting to enjoy it again. But I like to stay relatively close to home. Traveling in Wisconsin and Minnesota suits me fine.

What surprised you most about the writing community once you became a part of it?

I think I grew up with this writing community. I taught at the Loft when I was a pumpkin and it was just starting.

What’s the hardest thing about being an author?

Getting paid twice a year and not knowing in advance what you will get.

Lets talk about promotion and marketing.

Do you blog? How frequently? Is your blog a group or single effort?

I lean toward being a Luddite. I have little to do with blogging--either looking at others or contemplating my own.

How frequently do you organize or participate in book tours?

Only when I'm asked and paid.

What kind of events or signings do you do?

I love to go to local bookstores and to do bookclubs.

In a typical year, how many times did you appear for your book?

Between twenty and thirty?

How many fan conferences such as Bouchercon will you typically attend in a year?

Maybe one.

Do you have a web site and/ or other Internet places you routinely participate in, such as Good Books or FaceBook or Twitter?

I have a website.

Do you like to travel?

Sometimes. Not in winter.

What surprised you the most when you became a published author?

That I still had to keep working.

Do you think you’ll change direction or spread out a bit? Write a different kind of crime novel? If so, what kind.?

I don't see such definite divisions between what I write. I'm working on a more mainstream romance that has a strong suspense element.

Especially since 9/11, how do you respond to the accusation that you are trying to make money on a phenomenon in society we call murder? Or heinous crime?

I've never been accused of that. If I was, I might say so do cops.

If you could be anything else in the world, have any other career, what would it be?

I think, at this moment in my life, a textile artist.

What career would you least like to do, if writing was to become impossible?
Not sure.

Have you ever collaborated on a novel? Would you consider it?

Yup. Pete Hautman and I wrote three books together in the Bloodwater series. Might do it again.

Who are the authors who you feel have had the most influence on your writing career.

Early influences are definitely: Ross Thomas, Ross Macdonald, Raymond Chandler, Dorothy Sayers.

Tell us one or two authors or books you absolutely universally recommend.

Winnie the Pooh. “Leaving Cheyenne,” by Larry McMurtry. All of Rumi's poetry.

Who is your favorite mystery author?
I'm very fond of Frances Fyfield's mysteries.

Where do you want your career to go?

I like it the way it is working with a well-respected small press, having a modicum of say in what happens to my books, and enjoying my writing every day.

To what organizations related to your writing career do you belong?

MWA and the Loft.

Who is your publisher? What’s your current book?
Bleak House Books. They just published POINT NO POINT and have agreed to publish both the next Claire Watkins book, plus go back and reprint my first three titles in the series.

Are you agented?

Not currently, except for my children's books.

What’s your take on the rise of electronic publishing?

Not sure yet. I don't think anyone knows what's going to happen, even if they think they do.

What’s your favorite word?

It's a French word: semblable. I love the way it sounds. I'm also especially fond of made-up words.

What’s your least favorite word?

Can't think of one I don't like.

If you could change one thing about the world what would that be?

My mother always warned me not to want to change something about someone, for in so doing you might change the very thing you love the most.

Do you have any pithy (or other) words of advice for aspiring authors?
Persist.

Tell us about your upcoming book(s) or other project.

It's set in the depths of winter.

Thank you for a most illuminating interview.

Gordon Aalborg: author

Canadian author Gordon Aalborg agreed to sit down and answer a few questions about his past and present life as a romance and crime fiction writer.

When someone asks you what kind of book do you write? What’s your answer?
(The famous elevator speech)
Mysteries, romance ... whatever will pay the bills and/or satisfy my need to be a storyteller - which is an honorable profession, historically.

When did you know you were going to be a mystery writer?
When I finished my second mystery, DINING WITH DEVILS, and realised that despite how hard it was, I could actually *do* this.

Tell us a little bit about your family background.
Oldest of two children, born in Canada, went to Australia in the '70s, came back in 2000. Reading was always important in our house, and Xmas wasn't Xmas without book gifts!

What is your educational background?
Finished high school. Got into journalism at age 22, still there 40+ years later.

Talk a bit about your present family situation.
Married to fellow mystery (and romance) author Denise Dietz, whose influence doubtless had something to do with me switching from writing romance to writing mysteries. We actually did one book together, sort of. It ( FINDING BESS) came out as a sort of romantic suspense, complicated by the fact that we wrote it via email with me in Tasmania and her in Colorado. Good book, but she kept wanting to kill people off and I kept wanting to get them in the sack together. I won. Or she did - we ended up moving to Canada and getting married, partly as a result of that book. :-)

What did you read as a child?
Anything and everything. Mostly animal stories, westerns, sci-fi. I had to get a letter from my mother to get me into the *adult* section of the library at the age of 9, just so I could read Max Brand and Zane Grey ... among others. And you'd be surprised just how salacious some of those early westerns really were.

What’s your daily routine when you aren’t touring?
Get up, have coffee, brekkie, off to computer ... except when the garden or carving studio beckons and the weather's good. I do hate staring at a computer screen when a good day calls with an excuse to avoid the work.

How much touring do you do?
As little as possible. I am like old wine - I no longer travel well. Deni, by comparison, is a mystery conference fanatic and tries to attend all we can manage. Maybe just trying to buy a bit of breathing space from me? :-)

What surprised you most about the writing community once you became a part of it?
I once (being a hopeless romantic) actually believed there were people in the industry who genuinely *cared* about writing and books and *story* and stuff like that. There are - they're called writers. Everything else is run by bean-counters who read nothing that doesn't involve balance sheets and bottom lines. When I met my first romance editor, back in the '80s, I was gob-smacked to hear her casually refer to "the page 18 dinner." Now, of course, I have become grudgingly accepting of the concept that publishing is a business, like any other business, and profit is all that *really* matters - except to the writers, of course.

What’s the hardest thing about being an author?
Somebody once said it is a profession that only gets harder the better you become. I agree. And, coming out of the *write it today, read it tomorrow* culture of conventional journalism, I found it difficult (and still do) to maintain enthusiasm for a book that I've half-forgotten (having written a new one in the interim) by the time I actually see it in print.

Let’s talk about promotion and marketing.

Do you blog? How frequently? Is your blog a group or single effort?
I contribute to "Hey, there's a dead guy in the living room" www.heydeadguy.typepad.com
- Jeff Cohen's blog, but only infrequently. To be perfectly candid, I am still unsure if there is any real value in blogging and/or if it will even persist over time. Books (he said, hopefully) are forever.

How frequently do you organize or participate in book tours?
Never, if given the choice. Unless somebody else is paying, which seldom happens.

What kind of events or signings do you do?
The occasional library event (I am a huge fan of libraries!).

In a typical year, how many times did you appear for your book?
Not many. Preferably none. I'm lucky enough to have Deni to be publicity maven for the family, because I am hopeless at it.

How many fan conferences such as Bouchercon will you typically attend in a year?
None, with luck. I am not a conference person and I sleep with the only fan I think I have.

Any specific recommendations?
They are all good if you like that sort of thing. I would think about ThrillerFest if I had the time and energy.

Do you have a web site and/ or other Internet places you routinely participate in, such as Good Books or Face Book or Twitter?
Not really.

Do you like to travel?
Not anymore. Not afraid of flying or anything, but the nonsense of wasting hours and hours in airports being frisked and treated like a geriatric terrorist or public nuisance isn't worth the effort. To me. Also, no matter where I visit, after three days all I really want is to get home to *my own* comfort zone. Maybe I'm getting old?

What surprised you the most when you became a published author?
At the height of my romance writing career, when it was still the stated principle that no man could write romances (and I was living on a hobby farm in Tasmania with neighbors who were *real* farmers) and I had no available peers and not much moral support -- this is before the internet provided such wonderful, instant networking for authors -- I recall getting a pretty damned-fine-splendid check and wondering, "Is this all there is to this business?" Because I'm a *real* romantic ... to me the *story* is everything. And of course I was writing under a female pseudonym! So what I had was money without recognition, without prestige, without ... significance. I went to an RWA conference once and was warned by my editor: "Keep your head down and your mouth shut and remember you don't exist."

Do you think you’ll change direction or spread out a bit? Write a different kind of crime novel? If so, what kind.?
If I live long enough, I may yet write the Great Canadian Novel. Do not hold thy splendid breath.

Especially since 9/11, how do you respond to the accusation that you are trying to make money on a phenomenon in society we call murder? Or heinous crime?
Can you spell NONSENSE?

If you could be anything else in the world, have any other career, what would it be?
Some other form of storytelling. It's about all I'm good at, except maybe editing.


What career would you least like to do, if writing was to become impossible?
Telemarketing. I would sell my body in the streets, first.


Have you ever collaborated on a novel? Would you consider it?
I think I answered this earlier.

Who are the authors who you feel have had the most influence on your writing career.
Too many to count. John D. MacDonald might have been the earlier, mystery-wise. Edgar Rice Burroughs had a world-class imagination but wasn't perhaps the greatest writer of his generation. Still ... imagination is the keystone.

Tell us one or two authors or books you absolutely universally recommend.
Carol O'Connell, Jeffrey Deaver, John Sandford, James Lee Burke.

Who is your favorite mystery author?
Any and all of the above. Deaver is the master when it comes to unexpected twists. He leads the reader into thinking X will happen or A is the bad guy, then seamlessly (and perfectly) does a u-turn to reveal that what's really happening is Y and B is the bad guy.

Where do you want your career to go?
Forward, upward, onward, somewhere.

To what organizations related to your writing career do you belong?
International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers of Canada,

Who is your publisher? What’s your current book?
Five Star, a division of Cengage Learning. "DINING WITH DEVILS - A Tasmanian Thriller."

Are you agented?
Been there, done that, didn't get a t-shirt, got no satisfaction, either. There are, of course, excellent agents, but without getting into stereotypes or anything I would mention words like parasite, tapeworm, fleas, lice, leeches, et al.

What’s your take on the rise of electronic publishing?
Damned good thing.

What’s your favorite word?
"Bugger-bugger," as used in Australia to mean, "Oh my goodness gracious Aunt Matilda."

What’s your least favorite word?
Not for your tender, virgin, shell-like ears. Today, actually, it is *Customs* - as in the governmental, bureaucratic insanity that insists on a pound of flesh just so I can actually *see* the author copies of my own book!

If you could change one thing about the world what would that be?
The insanity caused by organised religion, which is responsible for more misery and war in the name of peace than I find possible to imagine.

Do you have any pithy (or other) words of advice for aspiring authors?
No sense to this. Writers *will* be writers if they are fated to be, and usually don't listen to any opposition and/or common sense on the subject.

Tell us about your upcoming book or other project.
I am tip-toeing gently into a third Tassie thriller, but I've been away nearly ten years, now and it is ... difficult. Fortunately, the alternatives are mostly even more difficult. "Real" work? Telemarketing? Ugh! Better to write ... write anything, tell stories, even lie a bit if necessary. LOL

Mr. Aalborg’s novels, including “Cat Tracks,” “The Specialist” and “Dining with the Devil,” (coming soon) are available in various bookstores in Canada and the US.

Bits and Pieces

Music in the city.
Farewell concert for the long-time (20 years) concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra last Friday evening. Jorja Fleezanis is taking a position at the Jacob school of music at Indiana University. She’s a phenomenal violinist and a champion of modern orchestral music.

The concert was a little light, except for the piece Ms Fleezanis soloed, Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1. It’s a moody, subtle piece in a single movement, with bits of up-tempo songs interspersed. The audience rose almost as one to give Ms. Fleezanis an extended ovation. She was clearly moved.

The rest of the evening included a Renaissance piece by Gorecki, and after intermission Dukas The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and a light piece by Strauss, Til Euenspiegel’s Merry Pranks.

Conductor for this program was a Londoner, Gilbert Varga. The orchestra sounded fine, although none of the pieces allowed the orchestra to show off its brilliance.

The weather at the top of the map is slowly improving. Spring may finally arrive in time for Summer.

I’ve posted there will be longer interviews with authors who are of interest, and although that was a while ago, I assure readers, it will happen. My lengthy questionnaires are out and presumably being dealt with on several fronts.

Reading value is up. I just finished a dandy addition to Mike Hayes series set in Benteen County, Kansas. That’s the series from Poisoned Pen Press about Mad Dog and his brother with the family name English. If you aren’t familiar with the reference to the English Public House song, email me and I’ll explain.

I’m just starting a new anthology from Bleak House edited by Jen Jordan. Twenty-two mostly disturbing stories about the monsters that live among us. Be afraid……

Looking forward to yet another Kerry Greenwood/Phryne Fisher romp.

Server Down a fine addition to the series

Server Down
By J. M. Hayes
ISBN:978-1-59058-627-3
HC from Poisoned Pen Press
May, 2009, $24.95

Poisoned Pen Press is probably the elite crime fiction publisher in the nation right now. Their standards are very high and under Barbara Peters gimlet eye and firm editorial hand, they rarely stumble. Having Bob always around to beat the drums doesn’t hurt, either. In fact, their growing power in the crime fiction community allows them to support authors who are interested in stretching their personal visions as authors.

SERVER DOWN, is a good example. J.M Hayes is engaged in writing a series set in the flatlands small mid-Kansas, largely rural, community in Benteen County. The series, this one is the fifth episode, is a gentle tongue-in-cheek riff on an old and rude English public house song with the refrain, “Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon day sun.” Principal fellow is a part Indian Kansan who yearns to be a Cheyenne shaman. His adopted moniker is Mad Dog. His brother, the Sheriff of Benteen County is named English. It’s a family name. So naturally, people here and there refer to the Sheriff as Englishman. Mad Dog is a militant pacifist who is forever getting involved in causes, peaceful protests. That of course sets him against movers and shakers who’d like to develop the hell out of Benteen County.

Among his other interests, Mad Dog is a gamer. He apparently satisfies his bloodlust with a computer game called War of Worldcraft. Unfortunately, it turns out the massive violent game has more to it than mere pixels on a screen.

Mad Dog is in Tucson to witness classic Indian Easter ceremonies when life goes off the rails. His home back in Kansas is blown away and he’s now accused of murdering a local officer. Things spiral out of control until his entire family is at risk and the bodies begin to fall with such rapidity that it becomes difficult to keep track. It’s where the author has begun to take risks. Will his audience, used to the slightly off-kilter amusing antics of the Benteen characters, moving in generally placid currents, accept the grittier, more violent and hard-edged tone of this novel? I hope so, because this is a dandy novel. Of course the press is taking a risk as well. Author Hayes is an excellent writer and if the novel gives short shrift to the compute game that is part of the fundamental functionality of the plot, the characters and their trials are far more interesting anyway.

An eminently satisfying story, the characters perform viciously or admirably as are their roles and of course there’s Hailey. Everybody’s favorite wolf. Excuse me? You haven’t met this creature? Too bad. You’re missing one of the most interesting, effective, and silent law enforcement figures to come down the pike. Tall dark and handsome, Hailey is something else and he’s mostly silent in the bargain. Even with the focus mostly in Tucson, rather than Benteen County, Kansas, this is a fine addition to the series.

RIDING THE RAP

ISBN-0440-21441-6
A Dell/Bantam paperback
by Elmore Leonard
1996
Yes, of course it's old and probably not available except as used. Can't help it. This demonstrates the hazards of collecting books. I keep 'em around and sometimes re-read. What a waste of energy, but this is another too-good-not-to-remind you.

Some call it crime thriller, others mystery. I’d call RIDING THE RAP a crime caper novel. Who cares? This is wonderful tragic-comedy. The writing is excellent and the plot works all the time, all the way through the book.

Then we have the characters. With a single exception, Leonard has made us like and even care about all the characters, good and evil. From the psychic Reverend Dawn to the pitiful spoiled Chip Ganz, to Joyce the ex-dancer, Leonard looks at each as a fully-developed individual. Even the Puerto Rican gardener-cum-mob enforcer Bobby changes shape as we move around him.

It’s a bad idea, this terroristic kidnapping, conceived by a Miami Gold Coast druggie and carried out by two mismatched low-lifes. Whom do they snatch, but a retired bookie, figuring he’s got millions stashed somewhere. It turns out the money’s there, but terrorism in Lebanon doesn’t travel well to south Florida.

Enter Raylan Givens, gun-toting Stetson-wearing U.S. Marshall. Straight-arrow Raylan (well almost straight-arrow) polite to a fault, goes looking for the snatched bookie, Harry Arno. It’s not an assignment, you understand. He starts investigating because his lady friend, an ex-topless dancer, asks him to look. So, in between regular assignments in court and transporting convicted felons here and there, Raylan looks for Harry.

As his non-case continues, Raylan has to deal with an astonishing array of characters, nearly all of whom have a hand out one way or the other. The steely-eyed, upstanding marshal wades through these cross-currents until he resolves the case...well almost. The ending is another one of Leonard’s masterful sleights-of-hand. And you love it. And you’ll read the next one. And I think you’ll have a good laugh more than once while you’re RIDING THE RAP.