Tuesday, August 25, 2009

A Few Questions with Mary Anna Evans--


Shortly before our last book club, I decided I'd chance a quick email to writer Mary Anna Evans about her book Findings. It is a newer edition of her Faye Longchamp mysteries after reading her website (her photo comes from that site). I had hoped to hear from her at some time but she was able to write back shortly after I had emailed her.

I asked four questions and I shared her responses with the book club. I'll do the same here:

What do you hope we talk about with the book club regarding your book?

FINDINGS is an interesting place to start my series, if your members haven't read my work before. I write all my books so that they can be read independently, but FINDINGS is the culmination of the slowly developing relationship between Faye and Joe, so it's special to me because of that. I was also very fond of my historical couple, Jedediah and Viola. They were fun to write and people seem to respond well to them. My books are mysteries. To me, mystery is the literature of justice, in the way that some people call science fiction the literature of ideas. In a mystery, the world is set akew and it takes everything the protagonist has got to make things right. Things are not as they were--the victim is still dead--but justice has been done in a way that isn't always possible in real life. In a mystery, you can explore the boundaries of justice and right and wrong; what is just is not always right, and what is right is not always just. So, if asked what my first three mysteries were about, I would say, "Justice." Imagine my surprise when I wrote the last chapter of FINDINGS and realized that this book was not about justice. It was about love. There is no character who is not touched, for good or ill, by romantic love.

I've been looking at your previous interviews and user friendly webpage for talking points for the book club. Any special challenges for writing this book?

This book took me back to the setting of my first book, ARTIFACTS, so I didn't have to create a new setting. I did, however, need to communicate the setting and the recurring characters to people who hadn't read ARTIFACTS, without boring long-time readers. And I had to decide how to resolve Faye's and Joe's relationship...or whether to resolve it at all.

What is your writing and book promotion schedule like?

When my daughter is in school, I write from the time I take her to school until it's time to pick her up--basically 8 to 3. On non-school days, it's very hard for me to get creative work done, but I'll write then if I'm on deadline. More often, I do business or promotional work during the time when I can't be alone in the house. I promote heavily during the first few months after a book comes out, then I focus more on writing the next book. I still do events, but I tend to just go where I'm invited, instead of actively seeking appearances. It works out to about an event a month.

And how did you come to write mysteries?

I write in many genres, but Faye's stories are the ones that captured the attention of my publisher. And I'm glad, because I enjoy writing Faye. She's become almost like my invisible twin. :-)

[Hope this helps! Mary Anna]

Yes, it does. Thanks.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Mystery Graphic Novel


One of my job responsibilities has been to process new graphic novels coming to my library branch and recently I ran across the title Britten and Brulightly, an engaging yet somber graphic novel of a private detective named Fernandez Britten. Set in England, this noir title follows the Ecuador native (you look like you're French, he's told) as he latches on to a possible murder case of a man judged to have died by suicide. Britten, who describes himself as a "researcher" and is nicknamed "The Heartbreaker" for handling numerous cases of couples and infidelity.

The story follows the expected private investigator fiction traits of secretive snooping and personal threats or attacks. The book also goes an unexpected route with Britten's partner, Brulightly, who is not just another body to help manage a case.

Muted colors and the frequent rainfalls add to the gloomy mood of Hannah Berry's book, but why not? This is just not the type of situation to find people with a sunny disposition, although Berry successes in presenting a memorable graphic novel.






Saturday, August 15, 2009

Local writer doing good--


During a recent short family trip--or an attempt at slipping in a few mental health days--we hit the road for South Carolina beaches (the hotel was on the beach) and I was pleased to find a local mystery writer had her works on prominent display at the hotel's gift shop. Writer Kathryn R. Wall had a nice display with autographed copies of books from her "Bay Tanner Mystery" series.

I was pleased to see that since I believe this is an excellent way to give a visitor a quick and lasting (you can keep the book) flavor of the local community. (And it worked in my case, I purchased the first book of the series.)

Wall's books are set in the coastal South Carolina area which is where she currently resides with her husband in their retirement home. I was also glad to find her titles on shelves of my library at work.

This pix of Wall is one from her website and book jackets and her "Bay Tanner" series is reaching the double digits in number of novels with Covenant Hall earlier this year.