Everything you ever wanted to ask a Mystery Writer

Mystery fans, armchair detectives and aspiring writers were treated to a fascinating panel discussion by mystery authors from Sisters in Crime/LA during the latest "Coffee and Conversation" series at the Burbank Public Library on June 6, 2009.

The Mystery Panel titled "Sassy Sleuths," featured authors, DOROTHY HOWELL ("Handbags and Homicide"), KATE CARLISLE ("Homicide in Hardcover") and M. M. GORNELL ("Death of the Perfect Man"), all of whom write about resourceful, determined and humorous (if not sassy) female protagonists who solve murderous crimes.

JACKIE VICK, a short story and children´s book author ("Logical Larry"), moderated the panel and kept the ladies hopping with her rapid-fire, wide-ranging and detailed questions.

Asked for an overview of her book´s plot, MADELINE GORNELL said her heroine began a journey to Atlanta from Puget Sound, but ran out of gas – and into murder – in the Mohave Desert.

Asked about their book´s setting, KATE CARLISLE said that as a little girl she loved to make small (blank) books. Today she is fascinated with the restoration of rare volumes. A bookbinders shop seemed the perfect place for her murder.

With a love for designer purses and a daughter in retail, it was inevitable that DOROTHY HOWELL hid her corpse in an upscale handbag store.

JV: Did you write your main character with a series in mind?

HOWELL: No, but I quickly changed my mind when my agent suggested it.

CARLISLE: Yes, to me the characters are greater than the plot. I wanted to continue with them.

JV: All your protagonists are amateur sleuths. What motivated them to get involved with murder?

CARLISLE: Mine was thrown in to the situation. She found her mentor dead in the bookshop.

GORNELL: My heroine was asked by others to get involved and reluctantly agreed.

HOWELL: My protagonist was forced to investigate the murder to help herself – she was the chief suspect.

JV: What actor would you like to play your main character(s) in a movie?

GORNELL: I´d like Leah Thompson from the Hallmark "Jane Doe" series.

HOWELL: I don´t know who could play my sleuth, but the male lead would be the guy who plays Captain Kirk in the new "Star Trek" film.

CARLISLE: I can see Gwyneth Paltrow or a young Helen Hunt for my gal, and Daniel Craig as the annoying British Security Agent.

JV: What do you wish you´d known when you started writing?

CARLISLE: That it doesn´t get any easier and that I should write every day.

HOWELL: That I´d be this successful. I would have been less anxious and enjoyed it more.

GORNELL: I wish I´d spent more money sooner… on a writing coach, and on copy editors and proofreaders.

JV: How do you research facts outside your area of expertise?

HOWELL: I toured the garment district and outlet stores, and I asked my daughter who´s in the business.

GORNELL: I got 99% off the Internet.

CARLISLE: I visited San Francisco (where my book is set) and took classes on bookbinding.

When asked what let them to the mystery genre, both KATE CARLISLE and MADELINE GORNELL said they wrote what they loved to read. DOROTHY HOWELL said she´d written twenty-three romance novels and thought she´d said it all.

JV: What´s your writing schedule?

HOWELL: I write 4 hours a day, 5 days a week for 3 months on each book.

GORNELL: My brain is "writing" all the time, but sitting at the PC? Whenever I feel like it.

CARLISLE: Several hours every day – even weekends. If I don´t, I forget how to write.

All three writers said they wrote outlines (and character sketches) before beginning the book. Some of them followed it loosely, others meticulously. Two mentioned that their agents/editors wanted to see extensive synopses before beginning the book.

JV: What do you have coming in the future?

CARLISLE: The second in my bookbinding series is coming soon, with #3 in the works. I also have a short Romance coming out on July 10!

HOWELL: "Purses and Poison" (#2 in the series) is coming out in July. I was invited to write a romance novella.

GORNELL? I have two books in progress, both stand-alones. One has a male protagonist; a psychologist, and the other is about a female doctor. Both experience significant life changes.

JACKIE VICK next opened the discussion to audience questions.

How did the authors keep track of their characters´ details? (All three keep a book or log.)

How did they come up with the titles, or did the publisher chose them? (Publishers have the last word, but the author can make a strong case for a favorite title.)

Copies of the books were available for purchase, and the authors gladly stayed to sign and chat.

The next "Coffee and Conversation" panel with Sisters in Crime authors will be on July 11, at 2:00 pm. "Too Hot to Handle" is the title, and the event will feature three sizzling authors; Sue McGinty, Harley Jane Kozak, and Pamela Samuels-Young. Debra Thomas will moderate.

The Buena Vista Branch Library is located at 300 N. Buena Vista Street in Burbank, CA. For more information call (818) 238-6520 or visit www.BurbankLibrary.com

The events are sponsored by the Friends of the Burbank Public Library who really do supply coffee, tea, juice and cookies.