Mystery Times Two... or Three

By Sandra Parshall

More and more mystery authors are producing two or even three series simultaneously, and I have to admit they make me feel like a slug. I admire their hard work and dedication to their writing careers, but I always wonder why they do it and whether it interferes with their personal lives. So I posed those two questions to a few friends who are on the fast track with multiple series.

Deb Baker began with the Gertie Johnson series set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, then added the Gretchen Birch Dolls to Die For series. She now writes the Queen Bee Mysteries as Hannah Reed. Don’t be surprised if she brings out yet another new series sometime soon. 

Why do you do it? Is your imagination overflowing with ideas that demand outlets, are you just a workaholic, or do you have another reason?

At the beginning, I couldn’t sell a thing and had multiple books circulating. Finally, a publisher offered a three book contract for one of them, and three weeks later another publisher made an offer for three books in another. How could I say no? That decision produced a long period of high stress accompanied by an insidious fear that I couldn’t do it. But somehow I managed. As my writing experience grew and my characters developed, the stories came faster and faster. It now takes me between 3 and 4 months to produce a novel, if I can stay focused.

How does the work load affect your life -- and do you ever wish you had more free time?

I love my work, so it’s all play for me! My family and friends are important, so I make time for them. But I never feel the need to go on vacation to escape my desk. Instead, I’m lucky enough to have arranged a life I don’t need to run from.

Clea Simon writes the Dulcie Schwatrz series for Poisoned Pen Press and the Pru Marlowe Pet Noir series for Severn. Both feature cats prominently.

Why do you do it?  

I began doing concurrent series by accident. I had one ms. out circulating (Shades of Grey - YEARS before the S&M erotica of the same name - my first Dulcie Schwartz feline mystery) and then I finished another (Dogs Don't Lie, my first Pru Marlowe pet noir), because that's what you do while you're waiting for something to sell. Then both sold, and both publishers wanted the books to be the start of a series. I love them both, so I said, sure. At the time, the scheduling seemed reasonable. I do try to keep notes for both series current, because sometimes I'll have a Pru thought while I'm working on Dulcie and vice versa. It's a little difficult to switch between the voices -- I get caught up in whichever I'm working on -- but it does keep life interesting.
How does the work load affect your life -- and do you ever wish you had more free time?

RIght now, I have no life. I have one ms. due May 31 and one due on June 1. I have one ms. fully drafted and another nearly drafted, so I'll switch off and revise one, then revise the other, but it's a little too close for comfort. 

I should have been working on these books much earlier, but I was both waiting for contracts to be renewed and also dealing with some family issues, and so... I put them off. So, well, I guess I had my free time! Once these are in, I'll be able to relax. At least until the edits come back.
 
Sheila Connolly began her career by writing the work-for-hire Glassblower Mysteries for Berkley under the pseudonym Sarah Atwell. The first in the series was nominated for an Agatha Award. Now she divides her time between the Orchard Series, the Museum Series, and a new series set in Ireland. 

Why do you do it?

Multiple reasons. (1) When I first started writing, I had to justify to myself (and probably to my husband, although he didn't voice it) that I was taking the whole writing thing seriously and working hard at it. (2) I wanted to explore different approaches within the genre, which is how I ended up with one series set in rural Massachusetts, one in center city Philadelphia, and one in another country altogether. (3) I think I must be a workaholic, because I feel guilty every time I do something that isn't writing related, like house repairs or gardening. But then, I find most (not all!) aspects of writing fun, so I'm not exactly suffering. 

I have to say, I did not start out with any plan in mind, because I had no clue how long it would take to write a book, much less how time-consuming all the secondary stuff would be. The multiple series kind of came organically, once I figured out my own pacing.

I should add that after the Sarah Atwell series, all mine are ones that I chose and developed. I'm sure Berkley would be happy to have me write another one of their pre-fab series, but I'm not interested.
 
How does the work load affect your life -- and do you ever wish you had more free time?

Not really, because it's kind of a seamless life. Genealogy has long been my primary hobby, and at times my professional occupation, and in all of my books I get to indulge that (although not so much for my own family tree). I love to travel, and I've found a way to visit all my favorite places--and make it tax-deductible! I love being my own boss and keeping my own hours, but in fact that may take up more time than any full-time job outside the home did, since I'm at my desk by eight most days, and I work weekends. But I do it because I love it--and when it all comes together, it's better than sex, drugs and rock and roll. Occasionally.

Lorraine Bartlett/Lorna Barrett began with the Jeff Resnick series, written as L.L. Bartlett. She now writes the Booktown Mysteries as Lorna Barrett and the Victoria Square Mysteries under her own name.
    

   



















Why do you do it?

I have tons of ideas for new stories/series, and I am most definitely a workaholic. (On my last vacation in January, I wrote 46,000 words spread over four different projects (and in 3 weeks). Three of those projects are already for sale as e titles.)

How does the work load affect your life -- and do you ever wish you had more free time?

What’s free time?

 


Leslie Budewitz, a Montana attorney, won an Agatha Award for Books, Crooks, and Counselors, a guide for authors who write about crime and the law. Her first love is fiction, though, and although her first mystery in the       Food Lovers Village series won’t be out until August, she’s already under contract to write the Seattle Spice Shop Mysteries (coming in 2014).

Why do you do it? 

Ever since I was a small girl, my dream has been to write fiction. Now that I have the opportunity, I want to make the most of it. I have always been a very “placed” writer, aware of how strongly setting influences our perspective and experiences. Writing two series allows me to explore that more deeply.

How does your heavy writing schedule affect your life? Do you ever wish you had more free time?
 
I can write two series only because my day job is winding down and I’d rather write than find another. My conversation does seem to revolve around writing, though! And I’m hoping for a garden fairy to show up soon and plant a few veggies. Truth be told, I’m a better, happier person when I spend a good deal of my time with people who only exist because I made them up. With two series going, I should be really happy –so far, so good!

Clea Simon: Cats, Dogs, and aTouch of Noir

Interviewed by Sandra Parshall
 

 

Clea Simon is the author of the Theda Krakow mystery series, the Dulcie Schwartz series, and the new Pru Marlow Pet Noir mysteries. She has published short stories as well as many articles on music, relationships, feminism, and psychological issues. She lives in Boston with her husband, writer Jon S. Garelick, and their cat Musetta. Visit her website at http://www.cleasimon.com.

SP: Two new books in the same month! You’re going to make the rest of us feel like slugs. Would you tell us a little about each novel?

CS: Gladly! Dogs Don't Lie is my first "pet noir" mystery. What's "pet noir"? Think tongue-in-cheek hardboiled, with a bad-girl detective, Pru Marlowe, who just happens to be able to hear what animals are thinking. Her first case involves a rescue dog, but her sidekick is a grouchy tabby cat. I seem incapable of writing a mystery without a cat in it. Grey Zone is the third Dulcie Schwartz feline mystery. This is a cozier series with grad student Dulcie and her ghost cat, Mr Grey. Dulcie is studying Gothic literature, so I figure a ghost cat makes sense. In this, third book, a student goes missing and a professor dies mysteriously just as Dulcie really should be grading midterms...

SP: How would you answer readers who think any book that involves clever pets and a woman who “hears” the thoughts of animals must be light and humorous?

CS: I was reading a lot of the new female-centered true noir, authors like Patti Abbott, and I was caught up in the voice. I love tough women! But when I write, it comes out softer. So my pet noir (a play on "bete noir") is tougher  than my usual, but still fundamentally cozy. Think of it this way - if you live with a cat, you know how your cat gets pissed off at you? How sometimes you KNOW your pet thinks you're stupid? Yeah, that's the attitude of a lot of the animals in pet noir.

SP: Where did Pru Marlowe come from? Is she a character you've had in mind for a while, or did you create her to tell this story?

CS: She just came out of the ether as the right voice for this story. I've been working on this book for about three years now, so she's had a little while to get her personality together. I think she's a side of me that not many people see.

SP: One of your animal characters is a pitbull refugee from a dogfighting operation. Do you think a lot of people have a distorted and unfair view of pitbulls?

CS: Probably. I confess, I am not a huge fan of pits -- they are bred to have lower reaction thresholds: like, other dogs will do more role-playing to figure out who is submissive, who is not. Pits are bred to just react. And they are very, VERY active, energetic dogs that should not be kept by people who do not have the time to exercise them. But nine times out of 10, problems originate with the owners. Just like with most animal problems! And in the book, I make it clear that Lily is a very gentle, abused dog.

SP: Do Pru and Dulcie share an ability to communicate with animals? What else do they have in common? How are they different?

CS: Well, Dulcie can't really communicate with animals. The ghost of her late, great Mr. Grey talks to her sometimes, but he didn't as a cat -- only as a ghost. Pru has this strange gift -- she can hear what animals are saying at times - but she's not that comfortable with it. It's odd and feels intrusive to her. At first, it caused her to doubt her sanity. Even now, she'd rather not always know, you know? Other than that, Dulcie is an academic, a little sheltered (despite her odd upbringing by her hippie mother) and very bookish. Pru is a hard drinking wild girl. One's a house cat, the other... definitely not!

SP: Did you write the two books at the same time? What is your writing schedule like?

CS: I had Dogs Don't Lie fully drafted when Severn House commissioned the third Dulcie book. Then DDL sold (to Poisoned Pen) and so I had to work on revisions while finishing up Grey Zone. It was a little crazy! When I'm writing (most of the time), I try to give myself word limits -- 1,000 or 1,500 words a day, usually. When I'm revising, I try to work to page limits. In reality? I don't know how it all gets done!

SP: I'm sure fans will want to know if you’ve ended your Theda Krakow series. Have you wrapped it up, or do you plan to return to it?

CS: I'd love to return to Theda at some point. I did get her to what seemed like a good place: she has been offered a steady job and her boyfriend has proposed to her. Odds are, she'll accept both but... well, I may have to write another book to find out!

SP: What are you working on now?

CS: I'm revising the draft of my next Pru book, tentatively called Cats Can't Shoot. After that, I'll tackle a fourth Dulcie book. That's a good year's work booked for me!

Clea Simon: Cat Mysteries with a Difference

Interviewed by Sandra Parshall


Clea Simon is the author of the Theda Krakow mystery series as well as three nonfiction books: Mad House: Growing Up in the Shadow of Mentally Ill Siblings, Fatherless Women: How We Change After We Lose Our Dads, and The Feline Mystique: On the Mysterious Connection Between Women and Cats. She is also a journalist, writing for the Boston Globe and other publications, and a member of the Cat Writers’ Association. Her third mystery, Cries and Whiskers, will be released December 15, and her first two, Mew Is for Murder and Cattery Row, are available in trade paperback. Clea and her husband, writer Jon S. Garelick, live in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with their cat, Musetta, who appears in the mysteries as Theda’s pet.

SP: Let's get to the most important question first: Is that your cat, Musetta, on your new book cover?

CS: It is! The designer asked for a photo of her, just for inspiration. Then he ended up doing some computer manipulation and – voila – she's a cover girl! The others are stock photos, alas. Pretty cats, but no real character.

SP: Your books can be called "cat mysteries" because they're mysteries involving cats, but they're far more serious than other novels in that subgenre and deal with some difficult topics. Has this brought you any interesting feedback from readers?

CS: Every now and then I get a gratifying "You go, girl!" from a reader, or a group like Animal Rescue League up here in Boston. Some feedback comes in the form of silence: My first mystery, Mew is for Murder, won some very nice awards from the Cat Writers Association, including their annual President's Award, which among our small crowd is quite a big deal. But my second mystery, Cattery Row, which dealt with breeders, was shut out. Now, maybe the judges just didn't think the writing or the plotting was that good. But I wonder.

SP: Why did you make Theda a music critic/reporter instead of giving her an animal-related job?

CS: I wanted her to be a real character, like a lot of single women I knew when I was younger. We all had pets, which we loved and which sustained us, but we had other aspects of our lives as well. And in the spirit of traditional mysteries, I wanted to set my books in a village-like subculture, which the rock world is. So, I guess I wanted to combine a bunch of elements. Focusing only on the animals would have seemed a little lopsided to me.

SP: You have a two-writer household with only one cat. This sounds like a recipe for ugly rivalry. Who does Musetta hang out with when the writing's being done?

CS: This made me laugh out loud! I'm lucky. My husband spends most of his days at his office; he works at the Boston Phoenix, an alternative arts weekly here in Boston. So I get all Musetta's attention during the day. But today is Sunday, we're both at work – and she's under his desk purring. I'm a little hurt, frankly. But I figure I'm old hat. I'm always at my computer. Jon only works at home on the occasional night or weekend, so she probably figures he needs more help.

SP: The very thought of one of our cats going missing is enough to give me nightmares. Was writing about Theda's missing cat in Cries and Whiskers difficult for you?

CS: Yes, it was. I kept checking to make sure Musetta was on her usual perch behind me. When she wasn't, I'd go around the house looking for her at various points. But my agent told me she thought I should up the suspense for this third book, and I thought: What am I most afraid of? So I had to have my heroine face death, alienation from her friends and ... the loss of her cat.

SP: You've written honestly about growing up with mentally ill siblings. Have you used any of your childhood/teen experiences in your fiction, or do you plan to?

CS: Well, you know, what you learn about human nature always comes into play when you create characters and you start thinking about motivation, blind spots, etc. Specifically, in terms of using my family history and my research, it's a catch as catch can (or catch as cat can) situation. I did have a character in Mew is for Murder who had schizophrenia. He was the adult son of the murdered "cat lady," and, of course, a suspect, and I tried to be true to his situation.

SP: Did journalism help you develop any skills that are useful in fiction writing?

CS: Oh, definitely: Writing on a deadline is great discipline. You can't have writer's block when you're paid to produce for a daily paper! Other than that, it introduced me to a lot of characters. I also worked as a copy editor for about a decade, and that was great in terms of learning to cut out the fat. As we used to joke, we could get the Ten Commandments down to six.

SP: Was the first novel you published also the first one you wrote, or do you have some unsold "closet manuscripts" like a lot of writers?

CS: I have half a closet manuscript. I was in love with it, and in retrospect I wish I'd at least finished it. But I showed it to a man I was dating at the time, and he read it and then said, "Honestly, it's not very good." I was crushed. It was years before I attempted fiction again -- and not until I was in a much more supportive relationship!

SP: How do you divide your time between fiction and nonfiction writing?

CS: Nonfiction can take over, largely because I have more immediate deadlines -- and more immediate paydays. So I have to make an effort every day to put aside some time for the fiction. I'm pretty good at this by now, but at times it is only an hour or two. On my best days, I wander around the house and work on the fun stuff until around 1 or 2. Then I go outside (this is important - especially as the days get shorter), do some errands, get some air, and come back and do the nonfiction until dinner.

SP: Do you have any other mystery series or standalones in mind, or would you prefer to stick with Theda for a long series?

CS: I do have another book I'm working on, which could be a standalone or the beginning of a new series. It features an English lit graduate student named Dulcie Schwartz. She's doing her thesis on the original Gothic novelists -- the pop fiction writers of the late 1700s. Of course, she ends up with a ghost and some other fun complications. I'm not sure what will happen with that, though. I certainly don't want to give up on Theda! I don't know how long she'll be around, but certainly for at least one more book.

SP: What advice do you have for aspiring writers who are still struggling to find an agent and/or a publisher?

CS: Persist. Sometimes I think perseverance more than talent wins out. At least, that's what I tell myself, because we don't have control over talent or inspiration. But we can decide to give up -- or not. At any rate, you'll never get published if you give up!

SP: What’s next for Theda and Musetta?

CS: Well, I don't want to give away too much – but Theda's connection to the cops is gone, so she's certainly more vulnerable now, isn't she?

Visit the author's web site at www.cleasimon.com .