Lori Armstrong Introduces a New Heroine

Interviewed by Sandra Parshall

Lori Armstrong, the Shamus Award-winning author of Snow Blind and three earlier novels in the Julie Collins private eye series, introduces a new heroine this month with the release of No Mercy, featuring former Army sniper Mercy Gunderson.

Lori’s first Julie Collins mystery, Blood Ties (2005) was nominated for a Shamus Award for Best First Novel by the Private Eye Writers of America. The second book in the series, Hallowed Ground (2006) was nominated for a Shamus Award for Best Paperback Original and a Daphne du Maurier Award, and it won the Willa Cather Literary Award for Best Original Softcover Fiction. Shallow Grave (2007) was nominated for a 2008 High Plains Book Award and a Daphne du Maurier Award and was a finalist for the 2008 WILLA Award. The fourth book, Snow Blind (2008) won the Shamus Award for Best Paperback Original. Lori is a fourth generation South Dakotan and lives in Rapid City with her family. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked in the firearms industry. Visit her website for more information about her books and her appearance schedule.

Q. Congratulations on your Shamus win! What does the award mean to you as a writer?

A. Since my character Julie Collins is a PI, for me, the Shamus Award, given by the Private Eye Writers of America, is “the” big award in the mystery world. Snow Blind was the third book that’d been nominated over the last four years, so I guess third time’s the charm! I was thrilled and stunned to hear I’d won. I couldn’t attend Bouchercon due to deadlines, and I accepted via cell phone when my name was announced at the award banquet. At first I thought my friend Judy was pulling my leg. She said, “You won, I’m on my way to the podium right now, what would you like me to say?” I sort of fumbled through thanks etc., because I honestly hadn’t expected to win. When I heard afterward that all my writing heroes, like Sue Grafton and Sara Paretsky, had been in the audience, it was probably a good thing I wasn’t there as I might’ve gone all geeky fan girl on them.

Q. Tell us about the first book in your new Mercy Gunderson series, No Mercy.

A. Mercy Gunderson comes home to South Dakota on medical leave from the army. Her father just died, leaving the fate of her family’s large 100-year-old ranch in her hands. Problem is, Mercy left home at age eighteen because she wanted nothing to do with the ranch or that lifestyle. A body shows up on their land and the local sheriff is dragging his feet investigating, so Mercy gets embroiled in all sorts of situations that are just as dangerous as the ones she faced in war, but the stakes are higher because it’s personal.

Q. Has the Julie Collins series ended?

A. Snow Blind is the last book in the Julie Collins series. Hopefully I’ll be writing Mercy books for a few years. Right now I’m contracted for one other book in the Mercy Gunderson series, which I’m working on now.

Q. How do Mercy and Julie differ? What kind of stories can you write about Mercy that you couldn’t write about Julie?

A. Mercy is as cool-headed as Julie is hot-headed. As career army, Mercy is used to following orders. Julie doesn’t like anyone telling her what to do. Mercy worships her recently deceased father and holds herself to his standard. Julie’s relationship with her father is irreparable and she refuses to be anything like him. As far as similarities, they both lost their mothers at an early age. They’re both loyal, opinionated, tough and smart. They both like to drink and are attracted to men that maybe on the surface aren’t the best match for them. Mercy is one quarter Sioux, but she’s never embraced that part of her heritage, so I can explore that racial identity aspect more in this series.

Q. Both your series have Native American characters and themes. Are you drawing on personal knowledge, or do you have to research the culture? Do you have Native American friends you can turn to for advice?

A. I do a ton of research, hands-on mostly. One of the things I love about living here are the opportunities to do research, either formally, talking to Native people, or observing them in social and public situations. What’s been both enlightening and disheartening is the learning curve I’ve undertaken in the last ten years. To be honest, when I started research, I realized I didn’t know much about the Lakota culture after being a South Dakotan all my life. I’ve tried to rectify that. I have several friends who have helped me out immensely with Lakota language, traditions, and are willing to answer my oftentimes bizarre questions. I try to make everything as accurate as I can, but that means touching on some of the issues on the reservations and within the culture that aren’t pretty.

Q. What kind of work did you do in the firearms industry? Has that background come in handy in your fiction writing?

A. My husband’s family owns a firearms manufacturing business and I worked as a bookkeeper for ten years. On one hand, it’s great because I have gun experts at my fingertips; on the other hand, some people look at the words “firearms industry” and think I’m a gun-toting redneck. But the pros definitely outweigh the cons and my husband doesn’t balk at my bizarre questions any more.

Q. A lot has been written and said recently about violence against women in crime novels. Is this an issue you ever consider when you’re writing? Do you have any strong feelings one way or the other about crime novels in which women are usually the victims?

A. No. I have to turn off the internal editor, aka, worrying about what family, friends, readers, etc. might think when I’m working on a book and stay true to the story/characters/plot as I see it. I don’t back away from detailing violent acts. In most instances everything happens right on the page, rather than having my main female characters “hear” about a murder. Why? Because for me as a writer, it makes the stakes and reaction to the brutality more real, more immediate, and more dangerous, especially since I’m penning a darker rather than a lighter type of mystery. Violent death is horrible, regardless if the victim is a woman or a man.

Q. In addition to crime fiction, you’ve published a number of contemporary erotic western romances under the name Lorelei James. Why do you use different names in the two genres?

A. I get that question a lot, if I took another name because I’m embarrassed to write erotic romance (erotic romance is completely different than erotica, by the way). My answer? Absolutely not, I am just as proud of the romances as I am of the mysteries. The books have a plot, intriguing characters, a believable conflict and a world I can explore since I’m in essence writing a western saga, featuring members of the same family. I took on a pen name for the romances strictly for shelving purposes in bookstores and libraries.

Since I started writing toward publication in 2000, I knew I’d need a counterbalance in my writing life; switching back and forth allows me to write in first person point of view (mysteries) and multiple third person points of view (romances). Plus, writing mysteries takes me to some dark places. I figured if I was going to write about the worst aspects of life and humanity, murder, hatred and violence, then I wanted to write about the best aspects too, finding love, happiness with a happily ever after and the added bonus of some smokin’ hot sex scenes. I’m lucky I don’t have to choose one genre over the other and can write in both, but it does make for incredibly tight deadlines.

Q. Do you feel at all constrained in the way you can depict sexual relationships in your mysteries?

A. Yes. I took some hits on Shallow Grave for the very explicit sex scene. But it wasn’t gratuitous, and I won’t apologize for it because the scene furthered several important plots in the story line. My (former) editor at Simon and Schuster requested changes in the early edit stage of No Mercy, regarding a scene or two and I had no problem changing them. So the level of intimacy allowed in a series is subjective based on individual editorial preference. I’ll be working with a new editor for the second Mercy book, so it’ll be interesting to see what her editorial style will be when it comes to allowing me to explore the intimate side of relationships.

Q. What are your writing habits?

A. I write every day, without exception. I’ve been under extremely tight deadlines for the last few years, so I’ve had no choice but to hit a certain word count every day or risk being late on my deadline. I’ve taken very little time off. But with the state of the publishing industry, I will be the last person to complain about too much work! And I love it; I have the best job in the world.

Q. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who are still struggling to break into print?

A. There is no muse. Don’t wait to be inspired. Sit down, get to work and finish a project. Edit. Then edit some more. Rinse, repeat!

A Conversation with Ann Parker

Interviewed by Sandra Parshall

Ann Parker has deep family roots in Colorado, the setting of her acclaimed Silver Rush historical mystery series – her ancestors include a great-grandfather who was a blacksmith in the silver boomtown of Leadville, a grandmother who worked at the bindery of Leadville's Herald Democrat newspaper, a grandfather who was a Colorado School of Mines professor, and another grandfather who worked as a gandy dancer on the Colorado railroads. When she decided to write mystery novels, her family history made Leadville a natural choice for her setting.

Ann’s first novel, Silver Lies, won the Willa Award for Historical Fiction and the Colorado Gold Award. The second in the series, Iron Ties, won the Colorado Book Award. Both books were short-listed for other awards and appeared on various best-of-the-year lists. Leaden Skies, out this month, is already receiving rave reviews.

Ann writes fiction at night and spends her days earning a living as a science, technical, and corporate writer. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area.

Q. Tell us about Leaden Skies.

A. With pleasure! Leaden Skies is the third in the Silver Rush historical mystery series; it picks up just about where Iron Ties (the second book) leaves off.

It's July 22, 1880, and Ulysses S. Grant—former president and Civil War general—has just arrived in Leadville for a five-day visit. He's in town to visit the silver mines, with an eye to investment, to meet with the city's Union veterans, and be feted by Leadville's upper crust. As his visit commences, Inez Stannert, part-owner of Leadville's Silver Queen Saloon, strikes a backroom deal with upscale brothel madam Frisco Flo. The deal turns deadly when one of Flo's women turns up dead and Inez discovers that Flo has a secret third business partner. Meanwhile, some folks are "playing politics"—at the local level and much higher—and some are playing for keeps. The title refers not only to the darker atmosphere that permeates the book, but the weather as well. According to historical records, the weather during Grant's visit was truly nasty for those five days: lots of rain, some hail, and unusually cold for late July.

Q. It seems like a big leap from writing about science to writing mystery fiction. Had you tried to write fiction before? Were you an avid reader of mystery novels?

A. I've always been a reader since those synapses "clicked" in first grade. I can still remember reading the word "morning" and having some amazing switch flip in my mind. After that, there was no stopping me. I read anything and everything—including an entire set of children's encyclopedias bought one volume at a time from the grocery store. I recall I was a big and early fan of Edgar Allen Poe and Sherlock Holmes. I wrote my first novel when I was about 12 years old. It was a pseudo-Western, strangely enough, featuring a woman physician, circa 1880, set in … of all places … Maine. (I guess Maine sounded pretty exotic to a kid who'd never been further east than Colorado!) I didn't turn my hand to fiction again until I was in my forties.

Q. What prompted you to write historical mysteries? Were you already a history buff? And why did you choose Leadville, Colorado, as your setting?

A. I've read all over the map throughout my life, including historicals. (I recall with great fondness the "We Were There…" series as a youngster, particularly "We Were There on the Oregon Trail.") I wasn't a history buff per se, although I loved digging in the trunks full of old photographs, letters, clothes, hats, fans, etc., in my maternal and paternal grandparents' basements in Colorado.

I came to writing mysteries set in Leadville through my family history, actually. When I was about 45 years old, there was a family reunion in Colorado (my grandparents on both sides were Coloradans of various degrees). At the reunion, my Uncle Walt told me that my paternal grandmother—the original Inez Stannert—had been raised in Leadville. Now, Granny had NEVER talked about Leadville, although I'd heard plenty of stories about Denver. Surprised, I asked Uncle Walt, "What the heck is Leadville?" He got very excited and told me a bit about Leadville's silver-boom and mining history, then said, "Ann, I know you've been thinking about writing a book. I think you should research Leadville and set your novel there."

Well, I followed Uncle Walt's advice and that's what led to the Silver Rush series. I was simply seduced by Leadville's stories and history and, later, by the physical beauty and depth of the place itself.


Q. Did you visit Leadville before you started writing? Were any of your characters inspired by your research?

A. I wrote about half of Silver Lies before I finally visited Leadville… and boy, am I glad I finally did! Even though I had photographs and maps, it turns out I had formed an entirely erroneous mental picture of the topography. Just goes to show, all the paper research in the world can't supplant being "on the ground."

As for the characters, I certainly drew on bits and pieces of the people I read about. I very much admired Mary Hallock Foote and her writings. Many of the women who came early to Colorado had fascinating stories and amazing resilience: Dr. Susan Anderson ("Doc Susie"), Isabella Bird, and others. Malinda Jenkins (whose story is told in Gambler's Wife) was quite the tough, resourceful woman. My fictional city marshal Bart Hollis has many similarities to real-life Mart Duggan, who was Leadville's city marshal in 1879. Other characters are similarly an amalgam of real folks and my imagination. And I was inspired to add a few "real people" here and there as a result of all that research. In Silver Lies, Bat Masterson makes an appearance as does Denver madam Mattie Silks. In Iron Ties, the chief engineer of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway, J.A. McMurtrie, wanders through. Ulysses S. Grant is much in evidence throughout Leaden Skies. I take my character inspirations wherever I find them…

Q. You set a daunting task for yourself – not just writing a novel for the first time, but making it a mystery with all the demands of the genre, plus giving it a historical setting that required extensive research. Which has been most challenging for you: learning to write fiction after a career as a science writer, mastering the mystery form, or transporting yourself imaginatively to a different time? Which has been the most fun?

A. Actually, science writing uses many of the same writing tools and mindset as fiction writing, only in a different venue. As a science writer, I had to quickly come up to speed on new scientific or technical subjects to the point where I could write articles that were accurate and engaging to a general audience. I learned early in the profession to interview experts, listen closely to what they say, and look for that "hook" that will bring the topic to life. As for imagination, well, I've always been a daydreamer (check the reports from my first-grade teacher Mrs. Kildebeck…), so transporting myself mentally to a different time and place is no problem. Probably the most difficult part of the whole writing process for me is getting the clues right (not too many, not too few, not too obvious, not too obscure) and making sure the mystery—the "who done it and why"—holds up under scrutiny. It's a learning process with each book.

What's the most fun? Entering that magic state where the scenes, dialogue, and action are rolling through my brain faster than my fingers can type. I love being in "the zone." And I've come to enjoy my interactions with readers. It's fun to hear what they get out of the books. Creating a story is like creating a painting or any other work of art: the artist may have one thing in mind during the creation; the observer/reader brings his/her own interpretation to the finished piece.

Q. Your protagonist, Inez Stannert, is a saloonkeeper who’s having a secret affair with the town’s preacher. Why did you develop this type of main character instead of using, for example, the wife of a Leadville prospector or businessman (or the preacher)? What possibilities does a character like Inez open up that you wouldn’t have with a more conventional woman of that era?

A. There are always, of course, many choices when starting something like this. I knew from the start that I wanted a protagonist who was a woman in a "man's world." (In the 1880 Leadville census, three women were listed as saloonkeeper/bartenders, whereas 288 men laid claim to that occupation.) I initially considered having Inez be a member of the "fourth estate," working on or perhaps publishing a small newspaper, rather like Serena Clatchworthy in Leaden Skies. (This would have also fit my initial criteria, as there were 30 male journalists to the single female inkslinger in town, per the census.)

I finally decided I wanted a female protagonist who, while originally from a higher social strata, had easy access to the "seedier" side of town and could also be, in some ways, "invisible" to a large swatch of society while still in their midst (think of what people say as they drink and how much attention they pay to the person behind the bar…). I wanted my sleuth to be morally ambiguous, sometimes leaning toward the light, sometimes shifting toward the dark. In some ways, Inez is much like the Silver Queen Saloon itself, which stands at the intersection of Leadville's red-light and business districts. I have plenty of precedent: the heady atmosphere of a boomtown in boom times encourages folks to believe that anyone—including themselves—can become rich overnight. People take chances and gamble on long shots that they might not even consider under more sober circumstances.

Q. What does your research tell you about law enforcement in the time and place you write about? Did the real Leadville have a functioning justice system, or was it pretty much anything goes?

A. Certainly at the beginning, it was "anything goes." Fortune seekers flooded in from all parts of the world: Leadville was the place to be in the 1879, 1880 time frame. Leadville had a police force and a justice system—how well it functioned is another story … there were many instances of corruption. Police and the appointed city collector collected fines. There was an interesting relationship between the law, the justice system, and the prostitution "industry," for instance. Basically, prostitutes and the madams paid monthly "fines" and the law looked the other way (unless things got too rambunctious). Another strange thing: Gambling was, technically, illegal in Colorado, but it went on, every hour of the day, in Leadville. There was also a "Vigilantes Committee," 700 strong, who took justice into their own hands more than once, so apparently a number of locals felt that the law wasn't doing its job.

Q. Did you ever watch the HBO series Deadwood? What did you think of it? Was it historically accurate?

A. I loved Deadwood! I think it presents a different side of the "Old West" that counters what we saw on TV in the 50s and 60s. If I were to draw a spectrum, the older, squeaky-clean, morally black-and-white Westerns would be at one end, with "spaghetti Westerns" (sometimes called anti-Westerns or revisionist Westerns) of the mid-1960s and early 1970s claiming the morally ambiguous middle ground, what with their anti-heroes and more cynical view of law and the West. Deadwood is the antithesis of the early Westerns, occupying even darker regions still. Was it historically accurate? Heck if I know. The producer claims so. Some of the things I've read about and researched have me believing that the language used in the series was probably authentic (although I don't know about the frequency and ease with which it was bandied about).

Q. Poisoned Pen Press has a well-deserved reputation for publishing superior books that, for one reason or another, the big New York publishers thought were too risky to take a chance on. Was that the case with your series? Did you try the NY route first, or did you approach PPP without submitting to the bigger houses? What do you feel are the advantages of being published by PPP?

A. I did indeed try to break into New York first. I had an agent who submitted to the major houses—they all passed. (However, I do have some very encouraging, nicely worded rejections on fancy letterhead in my files!) Then, my agent went out of the agenting business! I was faced with either 1) putting Silver Lies aside and moving onto the next or 2) trying to find a home for it myself. I tried to "move on," but my heart wasn't in it. So, I researched smaller presses, asking those I knew in the mystery field what publishers they'd recommend. Poisoned Pen Press was always at the top of everyone's list. When I saw they were located in Arizona, I thought, well, maybe they'll understand this book. I went through the submittal process, and boy, was I thrilled when I got that great email from Barbara Peters, saying, "Yes, we want Silver Lies. Are you working on a sequel?"

I love the sense of camaraderie and community among the Poisoned Pen Press authors, as well as the accessibility to the folks who run the company. Some more tangible advantages: the backlist doesn't go out of print, so it's always possible for a reader to start at the beginning of a series, and PPP is always trying new things, such as offering books on Kindle and audio and so on. Plus, my editor is Barbara Peters … I count myself lucky in that regard: editors don't get any better or more insightful than Barbara!

Q. Are you still working as a science writer? How much time are you able to devote to fiction writing? Do you have a writing routine, or do you fit it in whenever you can?

A. I'm still working as a "word slinger," although I'm now a contractor/consultant with my own business. In this particular incarnation, I'll tackle anything to do with words: employee handbooks, patents, web content, science or technical writing and/or editing … you name it, I'll do it. That's what 30 years of writing and editing experience provides, and believe me, these days, I don't complain in the least. You could say that, instead of having one employer or client, I now have several that I need to juggle along with everything else. The time I can devote to fiction varies greatly. I usually end up writing late at night … right about now, actually. (It's 11 p.m. and here I am, still cranking out the words).

Q. What do you see as your greatest strengths as a writer? Are there any aspects of craft that you’re still trying to master?

A. Hmmm. I'm not certain I have the right perspective to answer this. It's rather like trying to perform surgery on oneself. I'd have to fall back on what reviewers and others say are my strengths: bringing the time and place "alive," and creating convincing characters. The thing I need to work on: writing faster!

Q. Mystery authors whose books are set in the present day have to worry about getting police procedure and forensic details right so their stories will be believable and they won’t face the wrath of sharp-eyed readers. Does setting your books in the past free you from such worries, or do you still have to deal with a certain amount of crime scene and forensic detail?

A. It's true I don't have to worry about sending DNA samples out for analysis. But the details still need to be correct. Inez may not know about "blood splatter pattern," but if we're looking at a scene through her eyes, it's nice to get that part right, just so the scene is more or less "real." I also try to keep in mind other, simple things, such as not sending a character reeling backwards when shot with a Colt 45 (or some such). Doesn't happen; the bullet doesn't have that much momentum. (Don't believe me? Check out Mythbusters Episode 25 http://mythbustersresults.com/episode25 ).

Q. What fiction writers, in any genre, have inspired you and taught you by example? Whose mysteries do you rush to read as soon as they’re published?

A. Picking favorites is difficult, given that I read so widely and voraciously. I was a big fan of the Lord of the Rings epic fantasy … loved the world that J.R.R. Tolkien created (I wasn't big on The Hobbit, though). I very much enjoyed Dianne Day's Fremont Jones historical mystery series. One current-day mystery writer I admire greatly is Martin Cruz Smith—I'll drop everything to grab a new one by him!

Q. Do you hope to continue the Leadville series indefinitely, or do you have a plan for concluding it after a certain number of books?

A. I don't have a specific number of Inez books in mind. But there are certainly "variations on the theme" that might be fun to explore, such as taking a secondary character from the series and creating a story around him/her.

Q. Are you working on a new book now? Can you give us a hint of what it’s about?

A. I'm stepping into the shallows of the fourth book … haven't started swimming yet. It's hard to provide a hint without giving away spoilers about Leaden Skies!

Q. Where can readers find information about your signings and conference appearances?

A. My website has all that at http://www.annparker.net/app.htm.

Q. In parting, do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

A. If you are aspiring to write, my first bit of advice is: Read. Read the kinds of books you want to write. Silly, I know, but I've run into plenty of folks who want to be writers but … don't read.

Second bit for writers: Write the story that you feel passionate about. And then be willing to revise and "kill your darlings."

If you are aspiring to be published and you have the writing part of the job wired, my advice is: Learn all you can about marketing, promoting, branding … all those things that published authors these days must do in addition to writing a great story. If you have a background in marketing, PR, advertising, you already have an advantage. (Many pre-published hopefuls hate to hear this, but … sorry! It's true!)

My second bit of advice to those who want to be published: Persevere. It's not easy to find an agent or publisher in the best of times, and these are definitely not the best of times. Be prepared to collect a stack of rejections, and remember: Every "no" you get brings you closer to "yes."

Ann wants to alert readers that an Author's Note which should have appeared at the end of Leaden Skies sadly went astray in the printing process. Those who are curious about the story behind the novel (and what's real and what's not) can download a copy of the mysteriously missing Author's Note at www.annparker.net/book.htm.