Today I'm participating in a blog tour called The Next Big
Thing. The Internet is full of blog tours but this one looked like fun when I
learned I could "tag" some of my friends and give them some
well-deserved publicity--all three are terrific writers, and I've learned lots
from all of them. I've given their
links below.
My thanks for inviting me to participate go to June Shaw,
whose work you can find at http://murderousmusings.blogspot.com/ Many
people who read mysteries already know her blog, and for those who don't you'll
be glad of the introduction.
The purpose behind this tour is to give writers a chance to
talk about our "Next Big
Thing." And to keep us all on track, we have a list of questions to
answer. (Some things in life really are easy and fun.)
What is your working title of your book?
My current book is the sixth book in the Chief Joe
Silva/Mellingham series. I chose the title Last Call for Justice because Joe's father, now a very old man, he wants
to settle a crime from almost forty years ago. Joe's father has little time
left and is determined to see this through.
Where did the idea come from for the book?
Some years ago at a conference a reader asked me about Joe's
family. She was quite concerned that I never introduced his family in any of
the Mellingham books. I hadn't thought about it because I wanted Joe to be the
quintessential outsider in a small town, someone who could concentrate on the
crime and the citizens; I didn't want the story to be about him. The reader
said, "So what's the story about Joe's family." She was so certain
there was a story that I started thinking about all the little things I'd said
about Joe's family scattered throughout the books. The story grew gradually
until the day came when I knew I had to write it.
What genre does your book fall under?
This is a traditional mystery. It's not really a cozy,
though not far from it, because it's not as light as most cozies are.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a
movie rendition?
That kind of question stumps me. Joe is tall and
handsome--Portuguese with dark hair and dark eyes. Gwen is Irish American and
looks it. She's not beautiful, but she's good looking and her character and
personality shape people's reaction to her.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Joe's father brings together all his children in order to
settle the question of an old crime only to find that a family reunion is
fertile ground for a new crime.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I offered this book to Five Star just when I was starting
the Anita Ray series, and the editor wanted me to focus on one series or the
other. I held back the Mellingham book and focused on Anita's adventures. But
the story about Joe's family kept coming back to me, so I decided to publish it
myself--this is my first self-publishing effort.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your
manuscript?
A first draft usually takes me three to six months. I write
about 1500 words a day but I then do a lot of editing before I feel I have
anything that is strong enough to consider a "first draft." And then
the real editing begins. I usually do at least 6 or 7 drafts after that.
What other books would you compare this story to within your
genre?
My books are like some of the traditional British mysteries
and perhaps some of Margaret Maron's work.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
In addition to the reader who was insistent on knowing about
Joe's family, Joe himself pushed me to write this book. I wanted to know more
about him and his family, about how he grew up and what his siblings were like.
I kept notes on some of the comments I'd made about him and his family
throughout the five other books, and there were enough loose ends there to
suggest I had ideas I could easily develop. The inspiration, I think, really
came from writing about Joe for so many years. (When I first wrote this last
sentence, I wrote, "came from working with Joe." I guess that's how I
feel about it. He's my co-writer in all of this.)
What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
When ethnic groups come to the United States they are safe
to be who they are, to preserve the parts of their culture that matter most to
them. In some cases the traditional culture is better preserved in the United
States than in the home countries. But when people within an ethnic group begin
to move outside, their choices tend to be consistent across their own culture.
That was something I wanted to explore. I also wanted to look at how different
relatives handle the same loss over time.
One of the comments I made about Joe at a talk drew a very
strong response from the audience, and if I'd had a thousand copies of the book
I could have sold every one of them in a nanosecond. I described Joe as a chief
of police and a very decent guy. When I began writing I didn't feel I had to
make him the typical protagonist who is forever struggling with alcohol,
depression, a conveniently flexible interpretation of the law, and the rest of
the flaws writers have given their characters. I felt he could be a good cop
and a good protagonist and a good man. Part of this was because I was bored
with the predictable cops and detectives I came across in crime fiction, and I
wanted something different. I wanted a sense of realism in my stories. And I do
think Joe is realistic. In my other life working in a social service agency I
have encountered several police chiefs and police officers who are like
Joe--decent people doing a difficult job with kindness and firmness and without
all the literary flaws.
The best part of doing something like this blog tour is the
unexpected turns in the process. Until I came across the last question I'd
forgotten about the way people responded to my casual remark that I wanted to
write about a policeman who was a decent guy and not an alcoholic or anything
else. It reminds me of how much I enjoyed writing about Joe even when I was
struggling to get something in the story to work.
And the other best part is finding out how my fellow
writers will answer the same questions. Next week you can follow Skye
Alexander, Rae Francoeur, and Kathleen Valentine.
Skye Alexander is the author of more than thirty fiction
and nonfiction books. www.skyealexander.blogspot.com
Rae Padilla Francoeur's memoir Free Fall: A
Late-in-Life Love Affair was published by
Seal Press in 2010. She's working on a new memoir, "Partial Recall,"
while operating her arts and nonprofit creative marketing business New Arts
Collaborative and publishing weekly book reviews. http://freefallrae.blogspot.com
Kathleen Valentine is the author of over ten books including
fiction, knitting, and a cookbook/memoir about growing up Pennsylvania Dutch.
Her fiction has been number 1 in Amazon's Horror category. http://kathleenvalentine.com
Kathleen is also the designer of my cover for Last Call for Justice.
