Elly Griffiths

The Traveling Interview

/ Lisa / 3 Comments

Author Susan Schreyer ( http://writinghorses.blogspot.com/) asked if I would like to be part of a ’round robin’ author interview. The questions stay the same so you can follow the trail and see what each author thinks.

What are you working on right now?

Book #2 in the Mountain Mystery series, Sparrow’s Silence, is due soon. Book #3 is beginning to simmer in the depths of that space where ideas come from. Oddly enough, the first new character to spring to life is a troublesome dog. And then there’s this story in a different genre plaguing me.

How does it differ from other works in its genre?

Well, let’s see. Sparrow’s Silence is set in Wallace, Idaho, which is such a unique setting. One thing I strive for is a setting that becomes as important as the characters. I want the ‘place’ to be so real, that it pulls at you and haunts you. That’s what I like in books I read, too. I want to be swept away, not just by the plot and characters, but by wherever the author wants to send me.

What experiences have influenced you?

Moving to the woods was a huge influence. The mountains seem so mysterious. I just know there are endless stories up there in the areas few people go. Every time I try to write a story in a different landscape, say for instance the badlands where I have family, the story falls flat. If the setting doesn’t give rise to an almost homesickness for me, it sure won’t for the reader.

Why do you write what you do?

Well, the easy answer is because I love to read mysteries. The harder answer is that I love when a story pulls me in with questions. Not just plot twists, but character questions, too. I always want to know why things happen, why this person is who, and where they are.

How does your writing process work?

I have to say I envy Susan Schreyer, because she plots and outlines. That seems so organized and professional. I tried it once. And failed. I’m an ‘organic’ writer who always knows the very last line of the story. I may not know all the characters, I rarely know the plot. But I know how it is going to end. So writing becomes figuring out how to get to that ending.

What is the hardest part about writing?

Oh man, being able to find time. I want, and know I need, a set schedule. But just like my inability to outline, I also fail at schedules. I’m pretty good at setting aside weekend time, but I need more than that.

What would you like to try as a writer that you haven’t yet?

The non-mystery story I’m attempting is one with multiple points of view. I’ve never written that way, and am intimidated by the scope of multiple voices. I’m not sure I can pull it off, but at the same time even if it never gets published, it’s going to make me stretch and learn as a writer.

Who are the authors you most admire?

Elly Griffiths. She is a master at the haunting landscapes. Try her first book, The Crossing Places.

Elizabeth Peters. I’ve been reading her books for many years. I love all her series, but especially the Amelia Peabody books. These are written in first person, but she does a fantastic job showing the point of view character through the eyes of other characters, even in first person.

Meg Gardiner. All of her books, but especially the Evan Delaney series. Meg knows how to write action and tension and how to grab the reader immediately.

S.J. Bolton. I love how she keeps me wondering what is myth, what is fact, what is ghost story, what is real.

Then there are the authors I love to read: Carol O’Connell’s Mallory series, C.J. Box, Val McDermid, Sharyn McCrumb, P. J. Parrish’s Louis Kincaid series, and Patrick McManus. He writes mysteries, now, too, but when I want to laugh, I pull out his earlier essays on growing up with quirky characters. Try They Shoot Canoes, Don’t They?

Who are new authors to watch out for?

Kaylan Doyle, Susan Shreyer, Lisa Harris. Wonderful writers. And then there are the poets, Sabrina and Pat. I’m not using their last names as they are not ready (in their minds) to be public. But when they send out their poems, you’re going to be blown away.

What scares you?

My son is now driving. Enough said.

And here, for those who want to continue with these travels, is a link to the next person to get interviewed, author Lisa Harris. Lots of humor, quirky characters, and romance…if you like that mix in mysteries you’ll like her writing.  http://www.peaceloveandallthegoodstuff.blogspot.com

Where did this little guy go?

Where did this little guy go?

Titles

/ Lisa / 13 Comments

What makes you pick up a new book? Usually it’s the title that catches my eye first.

Here are some titles that have resulted in the discovery of a great story: The Crossing Places (Elly Griffiths), Though Not Dead (Dana
Stabenow), Crocodile on the Sandbank (Elizabeth Peters), She Walks These Hills (Sharon McCrumb), and many, many more. I’m sure when  I blow out the kerosene lantern I’m going to remember several I should have listed. And it would be interesting to see what titles you like.

But this is more about the difficulty in catching just the right title for your own work. What an impossible thing. I’ve recently sent a story off for editing, with no title. Here are a couple failed ideas.

There’s a line in the story about a small house up against a canyon wall, with rocks scattered on its roof ‘like some weird mountain rain’. I love that line and thought ‘Mountain Rain’, great title! Until I realized that this is part of the ‘Mountain Mystery series’, which is just way too many mountains. The title and subtitle could almost form a mountain range on their own.

Then I thought about the name of some liquid libation that shows up in the story: Silver Mist. Because the liquid is distilled in a silver mining area. But honestly that title did nothing for me.

So I’m still wandering around waiting for inspiration. The right title will show up eventually. In the meantime, I’m pondering what makes a good title. Why one works and another doesn’t.

In some ways it’s obvious. A book called Encrypted won’t be picked up by me. Neither will Lady Sophia’s Rescue (but my sister will snap that one up). So the title clues me in that the book is a genre I like to read. Like I said, obvious.

Yet there are a lot of mystery titles I don’t pick up. So just as obviously, the title is simply luck of the draw. There’s something in the words that I as a reader respond to. The mystery reader standing next to me might pass up the same book I just felt an urge to read.

If it’s all so arbitrary  then why is it so hard to come up with a title? Seems like it should be the easiest part. Or at least a little easier than writing the whole story to begin with.

I wonder if anyone has ever titled their book, ‘Pick me! Pick me!’

Some more titles

Some more titles

Present Tense aka Book Review

/ Lisa / 4 Comments

Have you ever come across one of those books you can’t escape? I did with The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths. The first time I saw it was at a thrift store. The title caught my eye, the cover of a stormy gray beach did, too. It looked like a book I’d really like. Until I picked it up and glanced inside. It was written in present tense. You know…’I sit down’ instead of ‘I sat down’.

I don’t like present tense as it seems to keep me from immersing myself in the story.

Some time later I saw the book at the library. I thought ‘great title’, picked it up, and then thought, ‘oh, it’s this one again’. That happened several times. Finally I got the message that maybe I should give it a try. Within the first three pages I read this:

‘The wind is whispering through the reeds, and here and there they see glimpses of still, sullen water reflecting the grey sky. At the edge of the marshland Ruth stops, looking for the first sunken post, the twisting shingle path that leads through the treacherous water and out to the mudflats.

At the henge circle, the tide is out and the sand glitters in the early morning light. Ruth kneels on the ground as she saw Erik doing all those years ago. Gently she stirs the quivering mud with her trowel.

Suddenly everything is quiet; even the seabirds stop their mad skirling and calling up above. Or maybe they are still there and she just doesn’t hear them. In the background she can hear Nelson breathing hard but Ruth herself feels strangely calm. Even when she sees it, the tiny arm still wearing the christening bracelet, even then she feels nothing.

She had known what she was going to find.’

I read the book, and the next one, and the one after that. It took only a few pages for me to no longer notice the tense it was written in. There are a few reasons for this.

One, the author does an excellent job of making the setting a character in the book. The crossing place is that area between sea and land, and in Griffith’s hands the area becomes as vital to the story as the people. I felt the haunting magic and the ancient mysteries and loved how the story was strong because of where it took place.

Two, the characters were so real. With their flaws and humor and fears and loves. I wanted to spend time with them, which is why I bought the sequel. I cared about what happened to them all, even the ones I didn’t like.

Three, Griffiths wrote present tense in such a subtle way that I quit thinking about it. As I read I no longer felt it cumbersome and quit looking for mistakes. Present tense is very difficult to write because it’s not the way we speak and I don’t think it comes naturally to a writer. It would be interesting to ask Griffiths why she chose to write that way. Whatever the reason, she handles it with a deft, gentle pen so it is no longer a tool or affectation, but simply how that story had to be told.

Don’t get me wrong; I still don’t like present tense and would never consider writing that way. But Elly Griffiths has figured out how to make it work and I hope she keeps it up.

I also wish I’d bought the book in the thrift store when I first saw it. If I’d listened to my instincts I would have saved some money…