Author Interview ~ Libby Hellmann

Libby Fischer Hellmann's sixth crime fiction novel, DOUBLEBACK, was released in October, 2009, by Bleak House Books. In it PI Georgia Davis is paired with video producer and single mother Ellie Foreman, the protagonist of Libby's other 4-book series. Libby also writes short stories and edited the acclaimed anthology CHICAGO BLUES. She lives in the Chicago area. More about her at www.libbyhellmann.com.

How long did it take you to get published?

From the time I started writing seriously, it took about 5 years – those years included 3 unpublished novels. The 4th one I wrote was the one that got published.

Do you think an author is born or made?

Made, for the most part. I believe in the proposition that writing well is 95% craft, which can be learned, and 5% inspiration or talent, which can’t be. But I do think a writer needs to have a love of language and a good grasp of grammar. Most writers also love to read, which is how I started.

What is the first book you remember reading?

It was something about a little girl and a train. I used to make my mother take me to the library to get it – repeatedly. That was followed by Blueberries for Sal. I still love “plink, plink.”

What common qualities do you find in the personalities of published authors?

As I said above, a love of language, and, in my genre, a love of story and suspense. The authors I know are also remarkably unpretentious and generous.

How do you know if you have a seemingly “stupid” book premise that is doomed to fail versus one that will fly high?

I don’t believe there are any stupid premises… just ones that are less exciting than others. When I hear the premise for a book, I know instantly whether it has possibilities. There’s just something that captures my imagination – that makes me aware how many different directions the story could go. However, having said that, there are often premises that sound trite or unoriginal that end up being quite fresh and appealing because of the execution. It all depends on the writer’s voice and style.


What is the theme of your latest book?

Doubleback is a thriller that explores what happens when quasi-military groups try to duck accountability for their behavior. It also explores how easy it is to game the system, as well as the contrast between two very different women and how they manage to work together. My last book, Easy Innocence, was quite different. It examined peer pressure among suburban high school girls, and showed how far they would go in order to be accepted.

At what point did you stop juggling suggestions and critiques and trust yourself?

Great question. I actually don’t believe I’ve reached that point; although I do read other peoples’ manuscripts and I see how far I’ve come. I’m very much aware of authenticity in my characters, and try very hard to make sure they are advancing the plot in a way that’s believable and credible. And I am in a writing group. Our “guideline” in critiquing each other is that if something in the plot or character development “stops” us, then we should point it out. I would guess that 9 times out of 10, I take the feedback. Simply put, I figure that if it stopped them, it might stop readers too. And the last thing I want is readers tossing my book across the room, complaining, “Oh that would never happen.”

Are takeaway messages (in your book) important to you?

Generally, yes. Crime fiction is an excellent way to explore social issues without preaching. I love a story that gives me more than I expected.

When do you know you’ve got the finished product and it’s your best effort?

Never. I’d keep revising forever. Editing is my favorite part of writing. The only thing that ends the process is a deadline.

Any anecdotes about the research or writing of your books?

So many.. where to start? Here’s one. When I was writing Easy Innocence, my daughter was a sophomore in high school, and I needed help with teenage fashions, accessories, and toys. I asked her if she’d help, and she said, “Under one condition.”
“What’s that?” I asked cautiously, expecting demands for a car, cash, or other goodies.
“You have to dedicate the book to me,” she said. “Not to my brother. Just me.”
You see, she has a brother, and in the past, I’ve dedicated by books to them both – together.
That was the easiest bargain I’ve ever made.

How would you pitch this book to your intended audience?

Doubleback pairs two women (my series protagonists) in a cross-country thriller that starts with the kidnapping of a little girl and ends with drug smuggling, private security contractors, and illegal immigrants.

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Interview with Tim Maleeny

Publishers Weekly says, “Tim Maleeny smoothly mixes wry humor and a serious plot without sacrificing either." His award-winning Cape Weathers novels are known for their unconventional characters, irreverent humor and mysterious titles, including Stealing The Dragon, Beating The Babushka, and Greasing The Piñata. His latest novel is a comedic thriller called Jump. Crimespree Magazine declares, “Maleeny gives readers a fresh and fast take that enthralls.” He lives and writes in San Francisco and can be found online at www.timmaleeny.com.

Welcome to Novel Journey, how long did it take you to get published?

When I count the months it took to refine my first manuscript, find an agent, and then finally sell the book, it probably took close to two years. And that doesn't count the year from the time it sold to when it was finally published and in bookstores.

Do you think an author is born or made?

I think writers grow up as readers — passionate readers who get lost in books in a way that casual readers don't. At some point a subset of those readers decide they have a story inside them, and then it becomes a question of stamina and commitment. And long hours in front of a keyboard for many, many years. So I guess I'd have to say a writer is made at that moment when a reader decides there's a great story waiting to be read, only this time they have to write the story first. That's what writing is...telling yourself a story.

What is the first book you remember reading?

Other than Dr. Seuss, my earliest memories of books that I had read myself would include A Wrinkle In Time, the Narnia series, and anything by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

What common qualities do you find in the personalities of published authors?

Writers are constantly learning and seem interested in everything, no matter how trivial or obscure. They are sponges, soaking up information that will one day be regurgitated in some other form, little bits of detail or trivia that define a place, a character or a plot.

How do you know if you have a seemingly “stupid” book premise that is doomed to fail versus one that will fly high?

The ideas that can drive a story immediately lead to questions. What happens next? Why did she do that? Who killed him? What would you do under similar circumstances? If a premise doesn't lead to an endless series of questions, it won't sustain a novel-length story.

What is the theme of your latest book?

My latest novel is called JUMP, and although reviewers have praised it as a fast-paced mystery, I actually think of it as a romance. Sort of a how-to guide for finding true love in the midst of a multiple homicide.


At what point did you stop juggling suggestions and critiques and trust yourself (as a writer)?

I think when you're writing the first draft you have to trust your instincts and not let any noise from readers, friends or critics distract you. You're the best navigator for your own story. But once the words are on the page, then you have to be willing to let other voices in, friends or readers that you trust. Listen for patterns, look for gaps, then get down to the most important task for any successful writer, which is editing.

Are takeaway messages important to you?

I want the characters to stay with you after you've closed the book, and I think the changes in those characters sometimes carry a message or reason to reflect. But generally I'm writing books that are meant to be unapologetically entertaining, so I'm not looking to pound people over the head, and I believe every reader will take away something different.

When do you know you’ve got the finished product and it’s your best effort?

You really have to learn to detach yourself from your writing, once the story is on the page, and read it as a reader would. If that means setting it aside for a few days to get a fresh perspective, then start writing something else. Then take a look with a new set of eyes and see if it works for you, because if you're not feeling it, the readers won't, either.

Any anecdotes about the research or writing of your books?

I've had the unnerving experience of making things up for a story, only to find out when I did more research that what I had invented was actually true. My first novel had several scenes in underground tunnels in San Francisco's Chinatown. It was only when I was adding details about the neighborhood that I stumbled upon a book that revealed the tunnels actually existed. That's happened with other books, as well, so maybe as I write my subconscious is grasping at details half-remembered. It's a little spooky.

How would you pitch this book to your intended audience?

The best description of JUMP came from The Boston Globe:
"If you threw in the air the pages of Agatha Christie’s 'Murder on the Orient Express' and Elmore Leonard’s 'Get Shorty,' and then invited Monty Python to stitch them back together, you might end up with something like 'Jump,' Tim Maleeny’s hilarious novel."

I couldn't have said it better myself...

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Author Interview with Jeff Markowitz

Jeff Markowitz is the author of the Cassie O'Malley Mysteries, an amateur sleuth series set deep in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Jeff is a proud member of Sisters in Crime and the Mystery Writers of America. He loves to write early in the morning. "You can usually find me at my computer at 5:30 in the morning," he says, "plotting someone's murder."

Welcome to Novel Journey, how long did it take you to get published?

It took me thirteen years to write my first manuscript. Twenty-seven years if you count the re-writes. Of all the things that I've written, The Last Bodhisattva is probably my favorite. But it will never be published.

I began writing the book in 1975, at the age of 23, and wrote on-and-off for thirteen years, completing it (for the first time) in 1988. Believing I had a publishable novel (and knowing nothing about agents, or publishers, or, frankly, anything at all about the book business), I bought a Writer's Handbook and began sending out queries. I spent the next year collecting rejections. Actually, I considered it a promising sign when I received a rejection. Mostly, my queries went unanswered. I tucked the manuscript away in a file cabinet and went about my life.

Every few years, for the next fourteen years, I pulled the manuscript out of the cabinet and did a re-write. The last time I attempted a re-write, I had just turned fifty and I was having a very hard time relating to the character that I had first written nearly three decades earlier. I did a complete re-write, framing the story as a memoir. Satisfied that I had successfully finished the story, I put the manuscript back in the file cabinet where it will remain.

But that final re-write did something I hadn't anticipated. It motivated me to start writing again. I had an idea, something about putting a character on a back road in the New Jersey Pine Barrens in the hour before the sun comes up. Five months later, I had finished the first draft of a murder mystery. Six years later, I’ve authored three Cassie O’Malley Mysteries. So I guess I was supposed to be a mystery writer. My latest book, It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder, was released in October by Five Star.

Do you think an author is born or made?

I think that story tellers are born, but authors are made. There’s a line in The Gates of the Forest. It's the last line of a Hasidic parable that Elie Wiesel recounts as a preface to his novel The Gates of the Forest. “God made man because he loves stories.”

I think man is born to tell stories. It is part of who we are, part of what makes us human. But there’s a pretty big jump from telling a good story to writing a publishable book. Being an author is hard work. In that sense, I definitely think that authors are made.

What is the first book you remember reading?

The first book that really motivated me to be a reader was And to Think that I Saw it on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss. The funny thing, in the context of your previous question, it’s the tale of a young boy’s penchant for making up stories.

What common qualities do you find in the personalities of published authors?

Beyond some of the obvious things like a love of the written word and a fondness for whiskey, I have found authors to be extraordinarily generous with their time and their talent. Authors seem to take genuine pleasure in helping aspiring authors on the path to publication.

How do you know if you have a seemingly “stupid” book premise that is doomed to fail versus one that will fly high?

I don’t. And if someone else does, I hope that they’ll share their secret with me.

What is the theme of your latest book?

Holidays are murder.

How would you pitch this book to your intended audience?

If you’ve ever been to a shopping mall during the Christmas season, you understand the urge to kill.

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