INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

Q: Why do you write mystery fiction?
A: In mysteries, evil invades someone’s ordinary world and hurls everyone into chaos; but as the story progresses, evil is gradually revealed and, at least partially, explained. Unlike what can happen in the real world, evil in mystery fiction is exposed to the light, overcome, and order prevails again. We seek order in our lives, so mystery fiction appeals to us.

I relish creating suspense in mysteries, and I love developing characters who have to overcome serious problems. In Nine Days to Evil, Meredith Laughlin faces a deadly snare and has to dredge up repressed courage.

Forever Fatal is the humorous story of what happens when loveable but klutzy Aggie Mundeen, the over-thirty graduate student desperate to avoid aging, stumbles into murder at her health club and decides to catch the killer. SAPD Detective Sam Vanderhoven, her secret love, sets up roadblocks to thwart her outlandish schemes.

Q: Which comes first, character or plot?
A: Either can generate a story. My husband was musing about possible events at the San Antonio medical center. I subsequently read a newspaper account of a bizarre incident in California and combined the two ideas to create the plot for Nine Days to Evil. I considered what type of person would be most affected by these events and created my protagonist, Meredith Laughlin.

Mystery writer Marilyn Wallace describes it this way: “Something gnaws at you and refuses to go away. It’s like a grain that serves as an irritant….As a writer, I am compelled to probe it, consider it, and expand it.”

Forever Fatal is planned as first in the Aggie Mundeen series: Life After Thirty Is Murder. Aggie, the “mature” graduate student, has a tendency to stumble into murder. Determined to solve the crime, she creates chaos.

While I was writing Nine Days to Evil, Meredith’s friend, Aggie Mundeen, repeatedly invaded my thoughts until I knew I had to write more about her… a series, in fact. Forever Fatal is the first of Aggie’s escapades. Meredith Laughlin and Detective Sam Vanderhoven provide support, but it’s Aggie’s series. Aggie captured my imagination.

Q: How much writing success is due to luck, perseverance, or talent?
A: Luck is essential in getting the right piece of work to the right agent or editor.

Perseverance is key. If a writer constantly works to improve her writing, she will succeed when she develops sufficient skill to draw readers into her fictional world and hold them to the end of the story.

Talent is probably a fascination with stories and language--fascination strong enough to keep a writer happily spending hours reworking plots, deepening characters, and re-crafting sentences. Maybe talent is simply a sensitive inner ear that tells a writer when something works.