Clea Simon's Blog, page 34

A lovely surprise

In today’s mail. I was hoping to get Thisbe to pose with it, but she says if she’s not in a book, she won’t support it.

Five Questions with Linda L. Richards

Linda L. Richards is one of my inspirations. I forget if I first discovered her work through January magazine or through an online community, but in retrospect, it hardly matters. Back then, I was trying to branch out from straightforward cozies/amateur sleuth, Linda’s The Next Ex, or maybe it was her Death Was the Other Woman, showed me how a heroine can be tough and not necessarily nice and yet somehow irresistible. Linda herself is tough but also quite nice! And so I am thrilled to have her here today.

How does a book start for you?

It seems so different every time. One (The Next Ex) began with a headline. Another (Death Was the Other Woman) began with a ghost. The latest (Hitting Back) began with a hypothetical question: who would I need to be to kill someone for money?

Each one is different. A pearl, right? It begins with an irritating grain of sand that we spin stuff around. Sometimes this becomes gold. Sometimes something else.

Who in your latest book has surprised you most – and why?

I was surprised by the dog. Isn’t that funny? I was surprised when my heroine insisted on adopting the dog. Who would have thought? She was so independent. And also so cold, really. So broken. I did not anticipate her compassion for the puppy left behind after one of her hits. And yet? There is was. Suddenly she had a dog. I just did not see that coming.

When and/or where is your latest book set and is there a story behind that setting?

It is set in an indefinable place in the present. We never quite know where. Except (for some reason unknown to me) the part that takes place in Vancouver. And that part is included (mostly) in Vancouver Noir. The rest of it is still hunting for a home. 

What are you working on now?

I’m just finishing a non-fiction book about elephant seals that will be published by Orca Books in the fall of 2020. It’s aimed readers 9-13 and it’s important, I think, in this bad news world because it is a good news story that gives reason to believe in hope and personal empowerment. 

I am also working on a novel. And it’s lovely, I think. It’s making my heart sing. But it’s too early to say more than that.

Which question didn’t I ask you that I should have?

No, no: you know your stuff, dear Clea. You always know just what to ask.

Linda L. Richards is a journalist and the author of 15 books, including three series of novels featuring strong female protagonists. She is the former publisher of Self-Counsel Press and the founder and publisher of January Magazine. Her short story, “Terminal City” appeared in Vancouver Noir (Akashic Books) November 2018. She is the President of the Western Canadian Chapter of Sisters in Crime and a proud member of the organizing committee of Left Coast Crime 2019. Richards divides her time between Vancouver, Canada; Phoenix, Arizona and Paso Robles, California.

Come make a mystery with us!

Ever want to kill someone? Know where you’d hide the weapon? Come down to the Burlington Public Library tonight and make a mystery with me, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Gary Braver and Toni L.P. Kelner (aka Leigh Perry). We’ll be asking you – the audience – to give us your ideas as we plot out a mystery. No, we won’t have a finished book by the end of the night, but we’ll have an outline – and you’ll see how it’s done! Free.

Five Questions with Beth Kanell

I first came to know Beth through her reviews. Well considered, well written reviews are rare, so when I read a review of one of my own mysteries at Kingdom Books, the blog Beth keeps for her northeastern Vermont bookstore, I was overjoyed. Now I have the site bookmarked for reviews of others’ books as well. Looking for a good read? Curious about the hot new thriller? Trust Beth to explain as well as judge. I learned about her own writing later, but I’m thrilled to see that her own work – historical mysteries deeply rooted in the harsh, beautiful North Kingdom where she lives – is taking off. And I am thrilled to host her here today.

How does a book start for you?
Almost always with a particular character in a situation — lately, it’s always a teenager discovering that what she’s been taught about the world and/or life doesn’t hold up when she sees injustice or crime.

Who in your latest book has surprised you most – and why?
Alice Sanborn’s friend Jerushah is beautiful, and Alice admires her deeply. But there are two things she doesn’t know about Jerushah: that Jerushah has more than a “girl crush” on her, and that Jerushah’s anger about Alice’s new independence can splash over into sudden racism. I was shocked that Jerushah behaved that way! But it made perfect sense as it spilled onto the page. 

When and/or where is your latest book set and is there a story behind that setting?
THE LONG SHADOW is set in the mostly self-sufficient village of North Upton in northern Vermont in 1850, a time when people needed to take a stand on Abolition and learn how to fight for it. This happened because I discovered an enduring local myth of Underground Railroad involvement that had almost no basis in fact — but nobody wanted to give up thinking of the district as heroic. Hence, we have both conflict and an urge for justice, in the author as well as in the book!

The author’s desk!

What are you working on now?
I like a complicated writing life! So I’ve just finished the sequel, THIS ARDENT FLAME, and am sketching out book 3 in this Winds of Freedom series; revising a set of up-to-date short stories around women’s 12-Step recovery; and wrestling with a poetry collection.

Which question didn’t I ask you that I should have?

How do I set the amount of violence for my “young adult crossover” novels?

It should be enough to shock, and to knock the protagonist and her friends into taking risks in order to stop what’s happening. But that doesn’t mean it has to be gory — just really scary!

Beth Kanell , co-owner with her husband Dave of Kingdom Books in northeastern Vermont, writes Vermont-based mysteries and poetry, reviews mysteries and crime fiction, and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. 

“A Spell of Murder” is a winner!

Pleased as punch to announce that A Spell of Murder, the first in my new Witch Cats of Cambridge series, has been named a Certificate of Excellence winner by the Cat Writers Association. That’s an honor in itself, but it also means this mystery is a finalist for the Muse medallion – to be announced on May 18.

Revisiting Henry in the Hub

With my Boston rock noir World Enough coming out in paperback next month, I thought I’d re-post this interview Henry Santoro – aka “Henry in the Hub” – did with me.

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Henry was on indie rock station WFNX back in the day, so he remembers too… (Listen or read a transcript here.)

Five Questions with Mollie Hunt

Mollie Hunt and I are cat writers. No, we don’t have whiskers or fur, but we are members of an international (yes!) organization, the Cat Writers Association, which includes science writers who cover the latest veterinary and genomic news and fiction writers, like myself and Mollie. She’ll be presenting this year at our 25th annual conference, to be held in May. I’m not making it this year, but I’m pleased as punch to introduce you to Mollie and her work here.

How does a book start for you?

A title, a dream, a snippet that inspires. Stories are everywhere; sitting down for a year to put them into book form is the trick.

Who in your latest book has surprised you most – and why?

Characters often surprise me when they suddenly run off doing their own thing. In my third Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery, Cat’s Paw,my hero Lynley was suddenly found to have an anxiety disorder.  And in the second book, Copy Cats, it was revealed that Lynley’s eighty-four-year-old mom carried a gun, and know how to use it! In my recently published Cat Café, I was definitely surprised when the killer turned out to be… Oh, but that would be telling.

When and/or where is your latest book set and is there a story behind that setting?

The Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery series is set in Portland Oregon, my home town. I am a Portland native myself and enjoy giving glimpses of the city that has grown up around me. Portland is a bit of an enigma. People are moving here thinking it’s an artistic, easy-going community of nonconformists. Often they find it’s nothing like that at all.

What are you working on now?

I’ve got three more Crazy Cat Lady mysteries in various stages of existence. (Six, if you count the thumbnail ideas I have yet to write.) Cosmic Cat, the 6thin the series, and Cat Noel, a Christmas novella, will publish later this year. Cat Summer, the first of a cat sci-fi fantasy tetralogy,  also will be out this year through Fire Star Press, and I’m hoping to continue with the other three soon after.

Which question didn’t I ask you that I should have?

Why cats?

Cats are a huge part of my life both on and off the page. I love that I can use my knowledge of cats in my stories and pass on a few tips about the feline species. But why cats? What other species is gorgeous yet comical; soft yet sharp; enigmatic yet simple; spiritual yet pagan? Cats complete me, a feeling that cat people will understand.

Thanks, Clea, for giving me a chance to answer your #fivequestions. I must sign off now; my cat just drooled on the keyboard.

About Mollie Hunt:Native Oregonian Mollie Hunt has always had an affinity for cats, so it was a short step for her to become a cat writer. Mollie is the author of THE CRAZY CAT LADY COZY MYSTERY SERIES, featuring Portland native Lynley Cannon, a sixty-something cat shelter volunteer who finds more trouble than a cat in catnip. The 3rdin the series, CAT’S PAW, was a finalist for the 2016 Mystery & Mayhem Book Award. Mollie also published a non-cat mystery, PLACID RIVER RUNS DEEP, which delves into murder, obsession, and the challenge of chronic illness in bucolic southwest Washington. Two of her short cat stories have been published in anthologies, one of which, THE DREAM SPINNER, won the prestigious CWA Muse Medallion. She published a little book of her Cat Poemsat the end of last year.

Mollie is a member of the Oregon Writers’ Colony, Sisters in Crime, Willamette Writers, the Cat Writers’ Association, and NIWA. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and a varying number of cats. Like Lynley, she is a grateful shelter volunteer.Y

Hard at work…

Sorry I haven’t posted much lately. I’ve sent off AN INCANTATION OF CATS (Witch Cats of Cambridge #2) and am taking some time to revisit another manuscript. It’s been a few months since I re-read this, so of course I’m finding all sorts of bloopers, repeats, and fidgety timeline problems to fix. Luckily, I’ve got the best in-house editor of all…

This part is repetitive, Clea. Fix it!

Hope to have some news for you all soon! Until then, I’m thrilled to continue my “Five Questions” series with guest authors. I’ve got some great surprises lined up for the Mondays to come!

Five questions with Laurel Davis Huber

I had to go to Nacogdoches, Texas, to meet Laurel Davis Huber, but I’m so glad I did! The occasion was the wild and wonderful Pulpwood Queens Girlfriends Weekend, one of the warmest and, well, weirdest book events I’ve ever attended and one that brings readers and writers together like no other. While there, I also was introduced to Laurel’s amazing book, The Velveteen Daughterh, historical fiction about the real-life daughter of the woman who created the childhood classic, The Velveteen Rabbit. The  Velveteen Daughter was awarded the 2017 David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction, and it’s my honor and pleasure, now, to introduce her to you!

How does a book start for you?

Well, so far I’ve only written one book and finished the first draft of a second, and I can tell you they were very different “starts.” The first, The Velveteen Daughter, was historical fiction and that journey began when I just stumbled over the first piece of the story, a child prodigy artist named Pamela Bianco, and began to research her. When I discovered that her mother was Margery Williams who wrote the classic children’s book, THE VELVETEEN RABBIT, I knew I had to put all the pieces together. On the other hand, my second novel is contemporary fiction and all I can say is that, honestly, it just seemed to float into my consciousness.

What surprised you most?

The more I did research on a minor character, Gabriele d’Annunzio, the more he surprised me. I didn’t know a thing about him, but in the early 1900’s he was the most revered man in Italy – a poet, novelist, and war hero. His love affairs were numerous and very public. Countesses and duchesses threw themselves at him (quite literally). He lived in a villa that was beyond strange. I could write a whole book about him. However, he only appears for a few paragraphs in my book!

When and/or where is your latest book set and is there a story behind that setting?

THE VELVETEEN DAUGHTER is set in London, Paris, Turin, Wales and New York City. Fairly early on, the Bianco family—Margery is English and her husband is Italian—moves to Greenwich Village, so most of the action takes place in New York. I had no choice in the various settings (not complaining!) as they were dictated by the Biancos’ real life adventures.

What are you working on now?

My new book is called Dune. It is about a woman who gives away Dune, the dog she loves. Six years later she find herself the center of two gut-wrenching dramas in very different worlds—as the defendant in a wild and surreal courtroom populated by a cast of exceedingly strange characters, and a sister returning to a home where a long-ago family tragedy resurfaces, revealing secrets and shattering misconceptions.  

Which question didn’t I ask you that I should have?

Does THE VELVETEEN RABBIT have much to do with your novel?

Yes! While technically speaking, THE VELVETEEN RABBIT appears only briefly, themes from that poignant story resonate throughout the novel. Like the rabbit in the children’s story, Pamela, the child artist, spends much of her life struggling to be Real.

Thanks you, Laurel!

Thank you SO much Clea, for inviting me to your blog. It’s been a lot of fun!

Laurel Davis Huber grew up in Rhode Island and Oklahoma. She is a graduate of Smith College. She has worked as a corporate newsletter editor, communications director for a botanical garden, high school English teacher, and senior development officer for both New Canaan Country School and Amherst College. She has studied with the novelist and short-story writer Leslie Pietrzyk (the 2015 Drue Heinz Literature Prize winner for This Angel on My Chest) and has participated in several writing residencies at the Vermont Studio Center. She and her husband split their time between New Jersey and Maine.

Witch cats #2

Witch Cats #2, tentatively titled An Incantation of Cats, has been sent off to my editor. Phew! In it, Becca becomes a bit more adventurous in her new role of witch detective – and her three cats (led by Clara, of course) will have to learn to work together if they’re going to keep her safe. More as I know it, of course. But now, it’s nap time!