Clea Simon's Blog, page 35

Five questions with Kate Flora

You know how it is when you walk into a room for the first time? When you’re not sure if you belong or who will talk with you? But then one person comes up to you and says, “Welcome! Come on and meet everyone. Let’s share some stories…” Well, Kate Flora is that person. A veteran of big publishing and small, nonfiction/true crime as well as mystery, Kate has done it all and is always willing to reach out and share. Plus, she’s a kickass writer, as her numerous honors will attest. It is my honor, then, today to introduce her – and to grill her about her many books and ongoing projects.

How does a book start for you?

Books usual begin with an idea that stirs wondering. Who is this character? Why is she or he in this situation? What happened before that caused this situation. From there, the plot starts to build. For example, in my Joe Burgess police procedural, Redemption, the story came from wondering what the experience of Vietnam vets was when the country got into wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and sent another generation of American youth off to ill-reasoned conflicts. My character was a vet who had never fully recovered from his experiences in Vietnam and his troubles were exacerbated by these new wars. That question shaped my victim, and then the question was: why kill someone so harmless and who has nothing? Or the wondering for my Thea Kozak mystery, Death Warmed Over, involved a murder victim, Thea’s realtor, who turns out not to be who she says she is, and no one knows anything real about her. She’s using a dead woman’s name and her life, on paper, has started only three years before. Are there clues to her identity to be found in careless comments she’s made in conversation? What happened in her past that fueled this need to disappear, and is it something from her past that caused her death?

Usually, I do what I call “cooking” where I carry the plot and characters around for a few months, imagining them, before I actually start writing the book.

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

This is a fascinating question, Clea. I think I’ll have to answer for the forthcoming (some time in 2019) book, book 6 in my Joe Burgess series, A Child Shall Lead Them. The central character in that series, Burgess, is a gruff long-time detective in Portland, Maine whose monkish life being devoted to his work is derailed when he falls for a woman who wants children, and in short order, finds his house full of kids. Burgess has a team including two other detectives, Terry Kyle, divorced and marriage-shy, with custody of his two daughters, and Stan Perry, who is the young, hot-shot stud and womanizer. Perry’s life is rapidly being turned around when his girlfriend, Lily, gets pregnant, but until the day she gives birth, he’s still on the fence about marriage and family. The arrival of his daughter, Autumn, is transformative. Even as the writer (and thus the inventor) of Stan Perry, I didn’t know until that event how he would react to parenthood.

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

My latest Thea Kozak mystery, Schooled in Death, takes place at a boarding school in Massachusetts that has a very green, very ethical culture. The story opens when a sophomore girl gives birth in a school bathroom and discards her infant in the trash. The baby is rescued by another student, but the girl who gave birth insists that the baby can’t be hers because she has never had sex and never been pregnant. I wanted to work with the challenge of explaining the girl’s reality and how she could be telling the truth in the context of a truth-telling culture where taking responsibility is highly valued and she appears to have violated many of the community’s norms. Thea, as a consultant to the school brought in to handle this crisis, has to explore what has actually happened, how Heidi’s certainty that she’s never had sex could be true for her, and in the midst of the investigation, Heidi disappears and the question becomes whether the person responsible for that pregnancy has done her harm. Part of the fun/challenge of working with a closed community like a boarding school is exploring how information spreads, who has secrets, and whether the “grownups” in charge are being positive role models.

What are you working on now?

I’m about eight chapters into the next Thea Kozak mystery, Death Comes Knocking, where I deal with the challenge of having a rather pregnant protagonist, and how that handicaps Thea, who has previously had no hesitation about mixing it up with bad guys. Now, responsible for another life along with her own, how will she go about solving the mystery of the pregnant woman next door who has suddenly disappeared, and the ill-tempered men in a black SUV who are looking for her.

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

I suppose that one thing about my writing career is how nonlinear it has been. I started out thinking I was writing strong women mysteries with amateur protagonists who rescue themselves—think Nancy Drew comes of age. Along the way, I was sidetracked by the adventure of moving to the publishing/editing side of the table with Level Best Books and seven years of short story collections, and then, when the Thea Kozak series was dropped, venturing into police procedurals. With the Joe Burgess series, I moved from a female protagonist to three male protagonists. I was just learning my way around writing police procedurals when the police lieutenant who was my “go-to” guy for answers had a real murder he was supervising and he wanted to write about it. That led to my collaborating on a true crime, Finding Amy. After living with the victim, Amy St. Laurent, constantly in my head for a couple years, I went back to fiction, until one of the Maine game wardens who had helped find Amy’s body said he had another story for me. That one, up in Miramichi, New Brunswick, took five years and produced another true crime, Death Dealer.

Then I was truly done with nonfiction, until one of the game wardens who had used his cadaver dogs on both searches retired, wanted to write a memoir, and asked for my help. Help involved riding around in a pickup truck on Maine’s backroads, holding a tape recorder while he talked. That became A Good Man with a Dog. Then I truly retired to a life of fiction, included getting to write a really fun story called Michelle in Hot Waterfor an anthology called The Obama Inheritance, and had Maureen Corrigan read my story on NPR. One last nonfiction project, and I’ve retired to the world of fiction. Most recently, that has included a collection of short stories, Be Careful What You Wish For, and a novella about a woman’s book group taking revenge on men behaving badly called Be My Little Sugar.

But the question that rambling discourse answers is: What is your writer’s journey, and how did that journey come about?

Kate Flora’s fascination with people’s criminal tendencies began in the Maine attorney general’s office. Deadbeat dads, people who hurt their kids, and employers’ discrimination aroused her curiosity about human behavior. That curiosity led her to the world of crime. The author of twenty books and more than twenty short stories, Flora’s been a finalist for the Edgar, Agatha, Anthony, and Derringer awards. She won the Public Safety Writers Association award for nonfiction and twice won the Maine Literary Award for crime fiction.  Death Warmed Over , her 8 th Thea Kozak mystery, was a finalist for the Maine Literary Award. Flora’s nonfiction focuses on aspects of the public safety officers’ experience. Her two true crimes,  Finding Amy: A true story of murder in Maine and  Death Dealer: How cops and cadaver dogs brought a killer to justice , follow homicide investigations as the police conducted them. Her co-written memoir of retired Maine warden Roger Guay,  A Good Man with a Dog: A Game Warden’s 25 Years in the Maine Woods,  explores policing in a world of guns, dogs, misadventure, and the great outdoors. Her latest nonfiction is  Shots Fired: The Misconceptions, Misunderstandings, and Myths about police shootings  with retired Portland Assistant Chief Joseph K. Loughlin. Her latest fiction is  Schooled in Death,  her ninth Thea Kozak mystery. In 2019, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the New England Crime Bake. Flora divides her time between Maine and Massachusetts. 

Boskone recap

I confess, I was a bit concerned. Sure, many of my book feature fantastical elements – talking cats, witch craft, ghosts. But would they – and I – fit into a science fiction/fantasy convention? Were my mysteries really “speculative fiction”? But more than one reader, as well as fellow crime fiction authors Toni L.P. Kelner, Dana Cameron and Sarah Smith had suggested I give Boskone a chance. Plus, a childhood friend (and longtime SF fan) was coming up from NY, so … I signed up

Reader, I loved it. To backtrack a little, Boskone – New England’s longest-running science fiction convention – is a three-day party brought to you by the New England Science Fiction Association. It’s book- and art-oriented, extremely friendly to newcomers, smart and proactive in its approach to LGBTQIA (and both cis and trans women), and proactively inclusive in its outreach. Just … wonderful.

When I signed up, I offered myself up for any and everything. Even though I’m a total newbie, I ended up on two panels and moderating two more, which is more than I could have dreamed of (and just might have been too much), as well as getting a reading slot and a table at the Saturday night book party. So, yeah, I got to gas on about magical cats and why I believe in articulate animals. But basically these were great spurs to get me out there – to the panels spread across two floors of the Boston Westin. Which meant I got to hear former lawyer-turned-horror author Bracken MacLeod discuss the legal implications of superpowers, while other writers/readers/humans traced the origins of Tolkien’s One Ring back through not just Wagnerian folklore roots but out to Plato’s Republic), and in the next breath how Bugs Bunny can be traced back to the Trickster and Brer Rabbit. There were in-depth discussions of how folklore of different cultures/continents came to influence our concepts of the future, what role cities play in our subconscious, and so much more… In short, nerd heaven.

Of course, I caught a cold (the infamous “con crud” that results from too many close conversations and too little sleep). And so I’m not being as eloquent as I should be. If I have a chance to write more, I will, but I want to get this down while I’m still buzzing (if sneezing).

Five Questions with Elisabeth Elo

Elisabeth Elo understands the dark side of cold climes! Her stunning debut was set North of Boston and with her long-awaited second book, which Publishers Weekly calls a “gripping thriller,” she shows us a side of Siberia that I know I’d never even thought of . Finding Katarina M. comes out next month, when winter draws to a close, but I can’t wait to go back into the deep dark with Elisabeth…

How does a book start for you?

My first two novels started with a fully formed character, but this one started with a place, Siberia, and the feeling that I had to go there to confront something.  Like a lot of westerners, I thought of Siberia as cold and dark, a region where history’s nightmares were stored.  I was wrong, of course: modern Siberia is vibrant and constantly evolving, with a really diverse population.  It’s part of Russia, but it also has its own identity.  In the end, I realized that what the protagonist had to confront and triumph over was a certain darkness in herself.    

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

That’s easy—the protagonist, Natalie.  At first I didn’t have a strong sense of who she was and, since I’d had such certainty about my protagonists before, I worried that the novel would never get off the ground.  As I continued to write I realized that, even though Natalie wasn’t as flamboyant as my other characters, she had an inner strength that made her perfectly capable of directing events.  This is her story—her ordeal—and she owns every bit of it, just as she should. 

Where is your latest book set, and is there a story behind that setting?  

On a trip to Siberia, I visited a Sakha village about a five-hour van ride east of Yakutsk.  My hosts had a lot of questions for me.  One of the first things they asked was “What really happened with Bush v. Gore in 2000?”  I was pretty surprised, until I realized that what they were really asking was, Does democracy work?  They follow American politics very closely.  We really are a beacon of hope to people around the world.

What are you working on now?

A WWII spy book featuring a mid-twenties British woman from an upper-class family who goes undercover in Paris in 1943 to help organize the Resistance in preparation for the Allied invasion.  The fact that I can write that sentence is an accomplishment, considering the paltry level of knowledge I started with.  

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

What did you learn from writing this novel?  Answer: How to keep opening up the story.  How to avoid the impulse to keep running back to the beginning, looking for answers in what went before.  Sounds deep, doesn’t it?  Really, it’s just another way of saying that I got more confident about plot. 

Elisabeth Elo i s the author of FINDING KATARINA M., coming in March from Polis Books.  Her previous suspense novel, NORTH OF BOSTON, was chosen by Booklist as a Best Crime Novel Debut: 2014 and was published in six countries.  Elisabeth grew up in Boston, attended Brown University, and earned a PhD in English from Brandeis.  She worked as a children’s magazine editor, a high-tech marketer and product manager, and a halfway house counselor before starting to write fiction.  To learn more, visit  www.elisabethelo.com .

Talking books, cats, rock ‘n’ roll…

With Max Bowen of Citywide Blackout podcast. Officially, this is a lead in to Boskone this weekend, but we just chatted about everything… check it out here: https://citywideblackout.podbean.com

Five Questions with Ruth McCarty

Ruth McCarty is a force of nature. A past president of Sisters in Crime, she’s one of the founders of the New England Crime Bake, our annual celebration of all things mystery. Plus, she’s a founding editor of Level Best Books, which publishes an annual anthology of New England (and New England-related) short crime fiction (yes, I’ve had a few stories in there!). What I didn’t know was that Ruth, a master of the short story, was working on a full-length series. I’ll let her tell you more…

How does a book/story start for you?

Tess Gerritsen once said she doesn’t write about what she knows, she writes about what bothers her. I write about the missing. My cousin’s niece, Kari Nixon, disappeared and was later found murdered.  Then Molly Bish disappeared from a lake not to far from where I live and was later found murdered. Sarah Pryor – found murdered. The list is endless. This bothers me big time. So, I write about Madison McKenzie whose daughter has gone missing. Madison will do anything to find her daughter and to bring other missing cases to closure or better yet, to bring the missing home. 

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a second book in my missing series, Gone Missing. (My literary agent, Paula Munier, is shopping my first, Presumed Missing) While researching where a body would end up on Cape Cod if it was dumped in Lewis Bay, I came across a real unsolved murder in Provincetown, MA, The Lady of the Dunes, and may have found out her identity. The trooper in charge of her cold case thought the similarities such as weight, height, age and facial reconstruction were close enough to request her dental records from the Michigan Department of Corrections. Unfortunately, the trooper can’t discuss the case with me and has recently been reassigned. I’ve also been in contact with the Provincetown Police Department and they agree the likeness is uncanny.

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

My protagonist, Madison McKenzie, is attending a community college to get her private investigators license. While naming her professor, I checked the internet to see if there was a real professor by that name, Dr. Bruce Jackson, and found there was and he had taken his students to the Lady of the Dunes grave to test for DNA, just as I had planned for my professor. I changed his name, and have him taking his students to the Lady’s grave to test for Touch DNA. Very strange coincidence. 

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

 Gone Missing, takes place mostly in Provincetown, MA, but the series is set in Lewiston Bay, a fictional setting somewhere near Hyannis, a small town where Madison McKenzie helps find the missing. Everything about the Cape, from the crashing waves, the close-knit communities, the back streets and characters who live there make for the perfect setting.

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

I guess I would have to say: Is there a third book planned in your series? 

Child Missing is the title of my third book. Stores today have Code Adam, in memory of six-year-old Adam Walsh who was tragically abducted from a department store and later found murdered. Before Code Adam, the department stores would announce over the loudspeaker that a child was missing. I, like my protagonist wants to save the missing.

Ruth McCarty’s short mysteries have appeared in Level Best Books anthologies, Flash Bang Mysteries, Kings River Life Magazineand Over My Dead Body! The Mystery Magazine Online.She won the 2009 Derringer Award given by the Short Mystery Fiction Society for her story “No Flowers for Stacey” published in Deadfall: Crime Stories by New England Writers.She is former editor at Level Best Books, a past president of SinCNE, a member of MWA and a founding member of the New England Crime Bake. For more information about missing children, she suggests: http://api.missingkids.org/home

http://www.doenetwork.org/

https://www.namus.gov/

Finally, WORLD ENOUGH in paperback!

Since it’s U.S. release in 2017, my World Enough https://amzn.to/2CnZ163has only been available as a fairly pricey hardcover and an e-book (though there are good sales on the e-book occasionally). I am thrilled that finally the trade paperback of my rock ‘n’ roll noir will be out, as of April 1 (no fooling!). You can pre-order your paperback copy here.

Five Questions with Edwin Hill

I first heard of Edwin Hill when we were both included (along with Dennis Lehane!) in a Strand Magazine piece on “Five Reinventions of the Boston Crime Novel,” calling us the heirs of George V. Higgins. From the description of his hard-hitting debut, Little Comfort, I expected someone a little scary. The man I finally met couldn’t have been more charming. Plus, he’s got a dog (named Edith Ann)! All the more reason I am thrilled to introduce him to you here today.

How does a book start for you?

I really love this question. For me, a book starts with a series of images or dramatic scenes, and I ruminate over those images for a while: many years, in the case of my first novel, Little Comfort [link to: ] or a few months in the case of my other novels. Once I’ve imagined the scenes, I start to build out an outline. For Little Comfort, which is inspired by the Clark Rockefeller case, the scene that got that novel started involved a man named Sam who was sitting at a bar on Beacon Hill in Boston contemplating leaving town. When I first imagined the scene, I knew that Sam had to leave town because he’d done something terrible to someone, but filling in the details of what those things were made up most of my creative process. I wound up cutting that scene from the final novel because it was really a means to the end!

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

My second novel is called The Missing Ones and will publish on August 27. I just turned over the final edits last week, so it is pretty fresh in my mind! Most of the action in this novel takes place on a small island off the coast of Maine that was inspired by Monhegan Island, and the plot involves two missing children and the opioid crisis (really light stuff!)

My main character is a woman named Hester Thursby, and anyone who read Little Comfort knows that I put her through quite a bit in that novel. While she’s tough and can take on pretty much anything that’s thrown at her, she also has a soft side that she doesn’t like to admit to. Without giving too much away, what surprised me most about this novel were some of the choices Hester makes, especially toward the end of the book. Her decisions around two characters in particular gave me a lot of insight into who she actually is – and I made her up! This was a particularly nice thing to happen as a writer of a series, since it’s important for ongoing characters to continue to grow.

On the lighter side, I was also surprised by a decision that Hester’s longtime partner Morgan makes regarding a dog named Trouble. Morgan, who is a veterinarian, has a big heart, and he makes sure that all creatures great and small lead their best lives.

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

Hester and Morgan live in Somerville’s Union Square, and the action in the series takes place in the Boston area and New England. In Little Comfort, the action extends to the lake region in New Hampshire. As I mentioned above, the second book takes place in Maine. In the third book, which I’m working on right now, the action stays in Boston.

One very practical reason for choosing New England as a setting is that I know it well. I work a full-time job in addition to writing this series, so choosing a location that doesn’t involve having to invest time in research – or at least only involves day trips – is helpful. I also love New England: it’s beautiful, historic, and varied, which are all helpful when writing a story. In New England, you can go from urban to rural very quickly, and the landscape and challenges characters might face change quickly with it, which helps with dramatic storytelling.

What are you working on now?

The third book in the Hester Thursby series is tentatively called In the Blind. It’s about a family who runs a troubled for-profit university in the Boston area, and the story is inspired by some of the events surrounding the closing of Corinthian Colleges. The story also delves into Morgan’s childhood and we meet more of his family.

I am at the very beginning of drafting, so I’ll have more details in the coming months.

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

A lot of people ask my why I write a series from a woman’s point of view! My answer is pretty simple: she’s the character who came to me as I created my first novel and took over the story. Originally, I didn’t know if Little Comfort would be a series or not, and at first the main character was Sam, the guy I mentioned above who was inspired by Clark Rockefeller. Once I decided I wanted to write a series, I realized Sam needed a foil, and Hester was born. I needed Hester to be strong and independent, and decided to model her (very loosely) on characters like Ellen Ripley and Sarah Connor, women you don’t want to mess with. I hope you enjoy getting to know her!

When not writing, Edwin Hill currently serves as the vice president and editorial director for Bedford/St. Martin’s, a division of Macmillan Learning. A Duxbury, MA, native, he now lives in Roslindale, MA, with his partner Michael and his favorite reviewer, their lab Edith Ann, who likes his first drafts enough to eat them. 

Say hi! (Boskone mini interview)

In the lead up to Boskone 56, the Boskone blog is running mini interviews (three questions) with each participant. I’m up today along with E.C. Ambrose and Steven Popkes, talking about C.S. Lewis, Edward Gorey, Sue Grafton and more.

Here’s a teaser: What is your favorite memory of a fan interaction at a convention?

“I got to meet the late great Sue Grafton at a crime fiction convention about eight years ago. I’m such a fan, I was stammering as I approached her, but …” (Read the full interview – and everyone else’s – here.)

Boskone bound!

Okay, it’s right in Boston, but still… very excited to be participating in my very first Boskone, Feb. 15–17!

What is Boskone? Boskone (February 15-17, 2019) in Boston, MA is New England’s longest running science fiction and fantasy convention. With over 300 program items, including panels, readings, workshops and special events, Boskone 56 is shaping up to be a weekend you won’t soon forget! It’s going to be a fun weekend filled with discussions of books, art, games, film, music, and more. For more information, visit the Boskone website: http://www.boskone.org/

I’ve already got a busy schedule (see below), but in addition to these events, I’m really looking forward to hearing Arwen Curry, whose film documentary Worlds of Ursula LeGuin premieres at the 44th annual Boston Science Fiction Film Marathon, the week before Boskone. (The Friday evening Q&A is free! Check out the schedule for details!) And there’s so much more….

Here’s my schedule. Come by and say hi! But please check out the full schedule. This is going to be amazing!

Friday, Feb. 15:

The Other Others in Urban Fantasy

15 Feb 2019, Friday 15:00 – 15:50, Harbor II (Westin)

Urban fantasy sections in bookstores are filled with zombies, werewolves, and especially vampires (sparkly and otherwise) almost to the exclusion of other entities. Indeed, too many times those creatures define urban fantasy. But there are a plethora of other fantastical beings from the myths and legends of Europe — and every other continent. Authors like Seanan McGuire and Laura Anne Gilman revel in the variety, using it to populate the back streets of their chosen cities. Let’s join them (and our panelists) to explore the road less traveled. 

With Elwin Cotman (Vanguard Classical East), Nicholas Kaufmann, Clea Simon, John Langan, and moderator Leigh Perry

Saturday, Feb. 16

Crossing Genres

16 Feb 2019, Saturday 11:00 – 11:50, Marina 2 (Westin)

Some writers work in more than one genre — not just crossing the hallowed boundaries of our three genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, but dabbling in mystery, romance, westerns, or even (gasp!) mainstream literature. Does working in one area influence the way you write in another? Also, some of those writers have the audacity to mix genres. When they do so, do they expose the readers of each genre to the other, or reduce their readership to those who love both? Are there mixes that work well, like rum and cola? Are there others more like oil and water?

James Moore moderates panelists Leigh Perry, Clea Simon, Craig Shaw Gardner, and Brendan DuBois

The Shadow of the City

16 Feb 2019, Saturday 12:00 – 12:50, Harbor III (Westin)

What are the challenges and benefits of using a real-world city in your urban fantasy or other spec fic? How accurate do you need to be before natives cry foul? Both London and New York have served as settings for innumerable novels. How would these stories change if the Tube were replaced by the New York subway, or vice versa? And if the setting were Paris, New Delhi, or Sydney, how different would the fiction feel?

I’m moderating this panel! With Mur Lafferty, Karen Heuler, Roberta Rogow, and Cindy Pon

Boskone Book Party

16 Feb 2019, Saturday 18:30 – 19:20, Galleria – Stage (Westin)

Come join the fun at Boskone 56’s Book Party — and meet the presses and authors who have new books coming out at the con! This is your chance to see what’s new from writers you already love, as well as those you have yet to discover.

Sunday, Feb. 17

Reading by Clea Simon

Starting the day with my WIP? Hmmm… 17 Feb 2019, Sunday 09:30 – 09:55, Independence (Westin)

Fantastical Crime and Punishment

17 Feb 2019, Sunday 10:00 – 10:50, Harbor III (Westin)

Must people with magical gifts or superpowers follow the rule of law? Or should new rules apply? How might the existence of special abilities require us to alter the criminal code? We’d probably need new ways to investigate, process, and punish magical malefactors or supercriminals. And prepare to take your moral compasses for a spin.

I’m moderating this one too! With Christopher Irvin, Bracken MacLeod, Leigh Perry, and James Moore

“A fun book…” Thank you!

Another insightful blog review of A Spell of Murder, this time from Laurie’s Thoughts (thank you!):

I really enjoyed this unique cozy told from a cat’s perspective and the heroine’s point of view. I loved the way in which the author gave the three cats different personalities, mannerisms and physical characteristics. Clara’s interactions with her feline siblings gave this story added punch. Clara’s primary focus, though, is being a staunch ally to Becca; guiding her, protecting her, and providing much needed comfort during stressful times.

Becca is at a bad place in life having recently been dumped by her boyfriend and then becoming unemployed due to budgetary constraints. The topping on her cake is when she discovers a dead body and she becomes a person of interest in the murder investigation. Becca is determined to find the killer and their motive. There are too many people with too many secrets in her estimation. She is doggedly unwavering in her quest to find out everything she can in order to expose the murderer. Clara, meanwhile, tries to keep her person safe even though Becca thoughtlessly puts herself in increasingly dangerous situations when she confronts people with pointed questions, refusing to be sidetracked.

I liked the way in which the mystery was solved, but I particularly loved the interactions and shenanigans that transpired between Clara and her sisters. It was a fun book! 

Published Jan. 29, 2019 here.