|  I
don't know about you, but I have a heck
of a time trying to keep up with what's
hot and what's not. Thank goodness
I have an eleven year old son who is more than
willing to inform me when I
am teetering too close to the line of geekdom.
Take for instance blogging. Honestly, do you
even know what the word means or more importantly,
how to join one?
A while back, I got an
e-mail from my good friend Michele Martinez (author of Cover-Up March
2007) telling me that she was joining The Lipstick Chronicles blog.
Of course, I congratulated her, but not before I clicked on the link that she
had sent me and figured out what she was talking about! Here at the library,
we, too, have a blog. (Here is the link if you'd like to check it out.)
But being technology impaired, I really didn't know much about the blogging
 world until now.
Within days, I was hooked
on The Lipstick
Chronicles and that's where I
first discovered Elaine Viets. Like I have said before, I judge a book
by its cover (and I'm not afraid to admit it!!) and Elaine's novel High
Heels Are Murder (Find
High Heels are Murder in our catalog. ) caught my attention.
Her latest release is Murder Unleashed which is just
as hilarious and entertaining as her previous books.
As part of this interview,
Elaine has generously donated five copies of High Heels Are Murder to
my loyal readers. So look for the link at the end of the column and answer
the question correctly. I hope you win!
Go grab a
glass of iced tea and get to know my friend, Elaine Viets.
Jen: Please tell us a little bit about your
educational and professional background.
Elaine: I started as a journalist. I was a newspaper reporter for more
than 25 years and wrote a syndicated column for United Media in New York.
My first career was a big influence on my work.
I still see my novels as reporting: What
is it like to work a dead-end job? What's it
like to be a mystery shopper? A single mother?
What's it like to live in South Florida?
 Jen: At what juncture in your life did you decide
to become an author and what made you take the
leap?
Elaine: I didn't leap. I was pushed. I'd been a newspaper columnist for
many years. I lost my job. I loved mysteries. I sat down in a fever and
wrote the kind of mystery I liked to read. I've been writing mysteries
ever since.
Find
Murder Unleaashed in our catalog.
Jen: What is your writing style? Plot first?
Characters? Outline form? Do you always know
whodunit before you begin writing or does the
story take on a life of its own?
Elaine: Characters. Definitely. If my readers don't care about the characters,
they won't follow them through 300 pages. I try hard to make my characters
believable, but also true to their environment. I can get by with much wackier
characters in Florida, where my Dead-End Job series is set, because it's a lawless,
rootless place. In my Josie Marcus series, which is set in St. Louis,
I have to have different kinds of people. They need to be part of a community.
I do 110-page outlines, where I have whole
pages of scenes and dialogue. I guess I get carried
away. And yes, I always know who the killer is.
I wouldn't want to accidentally fall into bad
company.
Jen: Please take us through your typical work/writing
day.
Elaine: I usually wake up about 3 a.m. and write until 6 a.m. My cat,
Harry, follows me into my office and sleeps by my computer while I work. I
write better when he's with me.
I love working in the early morning. It's so
peaceful. There are no phone calls or even emails.
My office overlooks the water, and I like
to watch the boats with no running lights go
past my window. I know there's another novel
going by.
Promptly at 6 a.m., Harry demands his breakfast.
I eat mine, too, and watch the sunrise. Then
I go back to bed until about 9:30 or 10
a.m. After that, I do rewrites and the business
of writing -- letters, email, etc.
Jen: From conception to completion, how long
did it take to write your first book? What is
the title? How did you get it published?
Elaine: Backstab took me about three months.
I wrote it in a white hot fever and loved every minute of it. A newspaper editor
told me about this hot new agent in New York, David Hendin, who was
also Miss Manners' agent. He took me on, and has been my agent through
thick and thin since 1997. (No, sorry folks, I can't give you a referral.
He's not taking on new clients.)
Jen: What is the most difficult part of a book
for you to write and why?
Elaine: The opening. I have to introduce the setting and the characters,
and make them believable. Once I have my new world set up and running,
the rest is easy. Except for the title. I'd rather write two books than one
title. Now that's hard.
Jen: High Heels Are Murder (which
I loved, by the way) is the second book in your
Josie Marcus Mystery Shopper series. How did
you come up with the premise for the series?
Elaine: My publisher, Signet, asked if I'd be interested in doing
a series about a mystery shopper. My mother was a mystery shopper, and she
used to shop with her best friend, very much like Josie and Alyce do in my
series. I was surprised to find out the mystery shopper questionnaire
has changed very little since my mother had the job in the 1960s. Mystery
shopping was considered a good job for a woman back when Mom did it -- she
could get the kids off to school, do her work, and be home in time to have
dinner on the table for her husband. I figured it would also work for my single
mother, Josie. Since I sort of grew up with mystery shopping, it was fun to
write about it.
Jen: An obvious question,
but one I must ask, do you love to shop? What
is your Achilles' heel?
Shoes? Handbags? Clothes?
Elaine: Clothes. Definitely. I'm six feet tall
and love Escada. It's one of the few labels
that fits me without alterations.
Jen: Josie Marcus
is a strong woman who has survived some unfortunate
events in her young life. What do you
like best about this character and why?
Elaine: I like that she accepts her mistakes and goes on. Josie wanted
her child, even though her mother disapproved because Josie wasn't married,
and she became a mystery shopper so she could spend more time with Amelia. Josie has
a great capacity to enjoy life, and takes her daughter to the zoo and other
fun places. I also like her loyalty to her friend, Alyce, and to
her mother.
Jen: How many books will be in this series and
when can we expect the next one to be published?
Elaine: The third book, Accessory to Murder,
will be out in November, 2007. I have a contract for two more after that.
Jen: Please tell us about your other series
called the Dead-End Job Mystery Series.
Elaine: My character is Helen Hawthorne.
Helen is on the run from her ex-husband, and winds up in South Florida, where
she works dead-end jobs for cash under the table. I work the same jobs as Helen.
I've been a saleswoman
(Shop till You Drop), a bookseller (Murder
Between the Covers), a telemarketer (Dying to Call
You), worked in a wedding dress store (Just Murdered),
a doggie boutique (Murder Unleashed), and for Murder
with Reservations, the book due out in May, I was a hotel maid.
The books are funny. In fact, they've been called "Janet
Evanovich meets the Fugitive," but they
are also a serious look at the minimum-wage world.
Jen: Comparing your first book to your latest
release, how have you grown as a writer?
Elaine: There is nothing quite like the passion of a first book. I don't
think that can ever be duplicated. But along the way, I've learned about pacing,
plotting and developing characters.
Jen: What has surprised you most about the publishing
business?
Elaine: How kind and supportive other mystery writers can be.
Jen: If you could do one thing over again in
relation to your career, what would it be and
why?
Elaine: I would understand that writing is both
an art AND a business. With my first series,
I paid attention only to the artistic side, and
didn't realize that once the books were written,
they also had to be sold. I learned about sell-through
and promotion the hard way.
Jen: I first met you on your awesome blog, The
Lipstick Chronicles that you
have with my friend, Michele Martinez. Please
tell us about the blog and how you became
involved in it.
Elaine: I did a guest blog about Male Romance novels that generated some
comments. When Susan McBride left the Chronicles, the other Book Tarts (Nancy
Martin, Sarah Strohmeyer, Harley Jane Kozak, and Rebecca the Bookseller) asked
me to join them. They're a grand group -- funny, talented and very supportive
off-list. We email one another several times a day about our writing,
deadlines and touring, etc.
Jen: Please tell us
about your Website. What
do you like best about it?
Elaine: It was designed by Laura Parker, mystery
writer Barbara Parker's sister. Laura believes
the Website should match the author's books.
She gave mine Florida colors and a lighter feel
because I write humorous mysteries.
Jen: Do you have a mailing list? Email notification
alerts for new releases? Fan club? Bookmarks?
Elaine: Yes. I'd love to add you all to my mailing list. I send out notices
of my tours and new books, or you can check out the Events on my Website at www.elaineviets.com. No
bookmarks, but I do give away signed bookplates for readers. Just email me
at eviets@aol.com
Jen: Do you have Reading
Group Guides for your books? If so, where
can we find them? Are you available for Author
Phone Chats? How can you be contacted to arrange
one?
Elaine: Each book has its own guide. You can find them on
my Website, www.elaineviets.com.
Just click on the novel cover you want, then click on the reading discussion
questions guide. I enjoy author phone chats. The best way to reach me
is by email at eviets@aol.com.
Jen: Thank you so much,
Elaine, for agreeing to be interviewed. I love
your writing style, strong female characters,
and definitely your blog. I wish much success
in your future. Please stay in touch!
Elaine:
Thank you for letting me be one of Jen's Jewels.
Write hard -- die free!
I hope you have enjoyed my interview with Elaine.
Okay, here we go!
The first five people to e-mail me at jensjewels@gmail.com with
the correct answer to the following question
will win a copy of High Heels Are Murder. Good
luck!
What is the name of the sixth title in the Dead
End Job Mystery series due out in May 2007?
Next month, I will be interviewing Patry
Francis,
author of the phenomenal book, The
Liar's Diary. You won't
want to miss it!
Until next month……Jen |
Meet
the Author: featuring Jen's Jewels