Interviews

Communicating with mystery novelist Marshall Karp is a bit like reading his books.  You never know when the joke will reach out and slam you in the gut until you realize you’ve been chuckling for the last half hour.  Karp allows his keen sense of humor to infuse his novels.  His latest release, FLIPPING OUT, picks up the lives of L.A. cops Lomax and Biggs, and the repartee between the two flows fast and furious.

Karp honed his craft in the cutthroat world of advertising and television writing, so it comes as no surprise that his novels focus on character development and getting the reader to sympathize with the protagonists.  Karp’s plot unfolds seemlessly, but we writers know it’s hella-hard work to make it look effortless.

Want another opportunity to win a free autographed copy of FLIPPING OUT?  Be the first in our mailbox at writerunboxed at writerunboxed dot com.  Only those who live in the continental U.S. please.

****UPDATE***** We have a winner!  Thanks for playing, everyone!

In addition to writing, Karp also supports Vitamin Angels, which is dedicated to providing nutrition to children in need.  Find out why below the jump.
Enjoy part two of our two part interview with Marshall Karp.

Q:  What should writers keep in mind if they hope to write a successful series?

MK:  I learned this in the TV business, and I believe the same thing applies to books. Readers expect your plot to be new and inventive, but they come back to your series time after time, because they know that the characters will give them a predictable emotional experience. Characters drive a series. Listen to your characters. They may know what they want to say or do before you do. Sometimes my characters will take over in the middle of a chapter. When that happens, I just sit there and type and let them do all the work.

Q:  What’s your writing process? Are you a plotter, or do you fly in the mist?

MK:  I am the consummate index-cards-on-the-corkboard plotter. For me writing a book comes easy. It’s like painting a house. Plotting it out is like designing one. You don’t know what you want to build, but you know you have a deadline to get it done. I need the structure of a tight outline. But structure doesn’t mean I can’t fly. Once I have the blueprint, I can approach each chapter knowing what I want to accomplish, then trying to figure of what’s the most innovative way to say it.

With three titles under your belt, how have you evolved as an author? Did you have an ah-ha! moment which helped you put it all together?

Did you say I was an author? I always told people I was a writer. Only after three books do I occasionally refer to myself as an author. I think that’s called the early stages of confidence. I think you might see how I evolved by reading Book 1 then jumping to Book 3. I kept a lot of the good stuff, but I write leaner. As for an a-ha moment, it happened early on.

How’s this for high concept: two soccer dads who happen to be cops solve crimes in Los Angeles.  No?

In Marshall Karp’s gifted hands, this mundane logline is deceptively simple and hellaciously funny.  His third novel, FLIPPING OUT, had me laughing the whole way through and kept me glued to the pages.  Part police procedural, part satirical take on L.A.’s glossy celebrity culture, Karp’s gift for the unexpected zinger made this novel a big bag of surprises.  No wonder he’s been compared to Janet Evanovich and Carl Hiaasen.  His protagonists Lomax and Biggs are neither jaded nor emotionally wrecked nor morally ambiguous.  They are normal people thrown into abnormal situations, and Karp milks each scene for laughs in a totally organic way.  I was delighted with the novel, and even more delighted when Karp turned out to be as funny as his novels suggest.

Want to experience the Marshall Karp magic?  Be the first to e-mail us at writerunboxed at writerunboxed dot com for a free signed copy of Karp’s latest release FLIPPING OUT.  Must live in the contigious U.S.  First one to land in the in-box is the winner!

UPDATE: We have a winner!  Thanks to all for playing!  Kath

Meanwhile, enjoy part one of our two part interview with Marshall Karp.

Q:  What drew you to mysteries?

MK:  You write what you read. Or at least you should. I started reading mysteries as a kid. My dream was to grow up to be a Hardy boy. And what do you do, Mr. Karp? I’m a sleuth. Cool. I’m sure if I had read Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, I’d have come up with a completely different set of characters. They’d be frail, hopelessly in love, and consumptive. But they’d still be funny.

Q:  Tell us about your road to publication.

MK:  My road? That’s like saying to a lab rat who finally got to the center of the maze, tell us about your Road to Cheese.

Historical romance novelist Jo Beverley has set a high bar for writers in the romance genre to emulate.  Prolific to the point of incredible, she’s the recipient of five RITA awards and is a member of the Romance Writers of America’s Hall of Fame.  Known for her scorching love scenes and compelling characters, Beverley’s legion of fans gobble her books up as soon as they hit the stores.  One of the characters in her popular Malloren series, the Marquis of Rothgar, has an enormous fan base, garnering her another RITA for his story in DEVILISH.

It’s a solid career any writer would envy.  But Beverley doesn’t rest on her laurels.  She keeps pushing the boundaries and writing books that keep surprising her fans.

We are so pleased to present part two of our two-part interview with Jo Beverley (missed part one?  Click HERE).

Q: You’re known as someone who has broken boundaries in the genre. Did you ever have an editor tell you to dial something back, or ask you for a re-write? What do you think about writers making safer choices because they may be fearful of the marketplace?

JB: I’ve been very fortunate in my editors. The only rewrite I can remember is when I self-censored myself at the last minute, thinking the book too dark. That was Lord of Midnight, a medieval. My editor came right back to say she felt there were huge problems with it. I’d come to my senses by then and sent her the original version, which she loved.

If I had to take a poll among my friends and acquaintences who write in the romance genre, they would without fail cite historical romance novelist Jo Beverley as among a handful of their top influences.

A prolific writer of over 30 novels and countless novellas and category novels, Beverley’s been a risk-taker in a genre that has been politely known as risk-adverse (though that has changed in recent years).  JoBev, as she’s known fondly in the circles, busted open a few doors with atypical heroes, unconventional plots, and scorching sex scenes.  In the 1990’s, her Georgian-period series The Mallorens broke the stranglehold of regency-set historical romances on the market.  She’s written sci-fi, fantasy, medievals and dominates the regency-set historical market.  In short, she’s a wonder who firmly marches to the beat of her own drum and doesn’t worry about trends or taboos, because she’s certain to break both.

Settle back and enjoy part one of our two-part interview with Jo Beverely.

Q: What is your writing process? Do you plot extensively first or do you tend to “fly in the mist?” Has your process changed over time?

JB: I’m an inveterate flyer into the mist. I’ve tried pre-plotting, but it just doesn’t work for me. It takes my attention away from the now of the book and into what’s going to happen next.

Q: And do you approach your story with having detailed the characters in advance or do you let the story dictate the character?

JB: I usually know something about the characters, but as they are at the beginning of the book. This includes something of their life to then, but not everything. It’s a bit like meeting someone for the first time and quickly learning the basics, plus forming my own opinion from appearance, action etc. But then there’s so much more to learn. So I would say that story reveals character.

Q: How has the romance genre changed since you started writing? Where do you see the genre heading?

His moniker is unusual, but his debut novel even more so.  Ara 13‘s book DRAWERS AND BOOTHS is the first metafiction-genre novel I’d read, and it was wild.  Genre switch-ups, characters that speak directly to the reader, deliberate authorial intrusions make Drawers and Booths both unsettling and exhilarating.   It’s a slim novel, almost a novelette, but each page packs a punch.

(Missed part one of our interview with Ara 13?  Click HERE)

We’re pleased to present part two of our interview with Ara 13.

Q: DRAWERS AND BOOTHS is as unorthodox a book as they come. How do you market the unboxed book?

Ara 13:  Primarily, word of mouth will determine the marketing success of Drawers & Booths. I feel great about the product, as well as my next two books; and it is easy to speak with enthusiasm about work one genuinely loves. I can only hope my sincere desire to produce a great product will translate into book sales. But, I imagine any following to be akin to a grassroots endeavor. I would be startled to find myself mainstream, particularly because I am unimpressed with most forms of entertainment that is a mainstream phenomenon. This doesn’t mean I do not have respect for the general audience; I just know that commonality of taste tends toward the common. I will be content with any audience that is sincere; and I rely on happy readers passing my name on to their friends. I won’t produce work I don’t respect. I can only hope this attitude translates into sales.

Q: Where does independent literature fit into today’s publishing culture, especially when publishers are under pressure to produce more commercial work?

I’ve read a lot of unboxed fiction in my service to WU, but I have to be honest.  DRAWERS & BOOTHS, the debut release of author Ara 13, takes the box and shreds it.

When we were first offered the opportunity to interview Ara 13, we were told that he writes in the literary genre of metafiction, and I’ll admit, I’d never heard of it.  I had to look the genre up on Wikipedia, where I learned:

Metafiction is a type of fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction. It is the literary term describing fictional writing that self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact in posing questions about the relationship between fiction and reality, usually, irony and self-reflection. It can be compared to presentational theatre, which does not let the audience forget it is viewing a play; metafiction does not let the reader forget he or she is reading a fictional work.

Intrigued, we said yes.  The book is unconventional, hilarious, heartbreaking, and odd.  Ara 13, however, is incredibly down-to-earth.  A former Marine and journalist, he has a clear-eyed view of the industry, choosing to be published independently to avoid compromising his storytelling.  The gamble paid off, and DRAWERS & BOOTHS garnered an IPPY Award, which recognizes excellence in independent literature.

We are pleased to present part one of our two-part interview with Ara 13.

Q: Had you always wanted to be a writer? Who were some of your early inspirations?

Ara 13:  As a kid, I wanted to be an actor, though I remember being discouraged by the school plays. Everything was a musical, but I craved riveting dialogue. Perhaps, this early longing planted the seeds for what would be my future profession. Though I was a poor reader in high school, I devoured Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman, even though I wasn’t taking the class reading it. I loved mixture of humor and logic. But education was wasted on this youth, and I didn’t develop a fire for literature until my mid-twenties. Once it was ignited, I took off reading … everything. I initially read a lot of nonfiction, a lot of science and law. I am still a very slow and deliberate reader. My favorite in the arena of the novel is Graham Greene; however, as with actors, it is hard to find a writer whose body of work can be revered in entirety. Particular books inspire me. The Remains of the Day, The Crying of Lot 49, Things Fall Apart, Bread Givers, Candide. Then partial moments from Vaclav Havel, Woody Allen, Bertolt Brecht, James Joyce, Henry James, and on and on.

Q: What was your journey to publication like?

Ara 13:  Intentional.

Missed part 1 of my interview with YA author A.S. King? Click HERE, then come back. Her debut novel, The Dust of 100 Dogs isn’t your average high-concept book (teenage pirate cursed to live the lives of 100 dogs before returning to a human body with all of her memories intact…including where the treasure is buried), it’s a story with complex, interwoven narratives and nearly as many layers as the floor of the deep blue sea.

Today, we talk about pushing the boundaries of Young Adult literature, A.S.’s fabu website and book trailer, using song lyrics to inspire characterizations, and more.

Enjoy!

Interview with A.S. King: Part 2

Q: My guess is that a lot of people will argue over whether yours is a true YA novel-because it’s dark and mouthy and authentically pirate. What do you say to those critics? Who do you see as your target audience? And do you think the book will appeal to adults as well as adolescents?

ASK: I think The Dust of 100 Dogs has a wide audience. I think Andrew Karre, my acquiring editor at Flux, said it best when he said that it’s “a book that would be many things to many people.” I didn’t know there was a YA genre when I started writing this book, and though I’ve read a few YA books since landing here, I still don’t aim for the YA airstrip. (Though I really don’t believe YA = one type of writing/plot/cover/story.) But as to whether its characters speak to teens? I think they do.

I’m not sure what to say to those people who want to “soften” all literature for teenagers. I think they’re overlooking the fact that teenagers have great brains and much more experience than the world gives them credit for. I have equal trouble understanding the call to wipe out challenging literature for teens, because as a teen reader, it’s what I craved the most. Plus, I’ve never appreciated the dumbing-down of anything.

Q: What do you see as the most challenging aspect of storytelling? Conversely, what comes easily to you?

A.S. King is the author of The Dust of 100 Dogs–a high-concept YA novel that explodes the box on that particular genre. Even though this marks her first novel, A.S. is no stranger to the world of fiction. She was a top-runner in the Washington Square fiction contest as well as for the Glimmer Train Very Short Fiction Award, and she’s been nominated for inclusion in the Best New American Voices 2010 anthology. Her work has appeared in the Dublin edition of the Sunday Times magazine and literary journals like Quality Women’s Fiction. In short, she knows more than a thing or two about stringing a sentence together.

I was excited to read about A.S. King’s novel through Publisher’s Marketplace, many months ago, and hugely intrigued by its premise: This was a modern-day pirate story, about a girl who’d been killed in the 17th century and then–through a little voodoo magic–lived 100 lives as a dog before returning to a human body…but with every awareness of where she’d left that treasure. How cool a concept is that? The book was not a disappointment, though it was a surprise. It was darker than I thought it would be, but it was also richer–full of layers that make you think and a storyline that will stay with you long after you’ve closed the cover.

I was thrilled when she agreed to this Q&A. Enjoy!

Interview with A.S. King: Part 1

Q: The Dust of 100 Dogs is a clever high-concept novel. What sparked the idea, and how did it evolve for you?

ASK: Thank you! The idea was sparked by my realization that Oliver Cromwell’s army might have used the road I lived on [in Ireland] during their 1649/50 invasion. The rest evolved over time – usually while I walked my dogs. I started to write both storylines at the same time, but I had no idea how they would link. The connection finally came when I read a bit more about the white slavery trade from Europe to the Caribbean during the mid 1600s.

Q: Tell us a little bit about your journey to publication. How long did you work on The Dust of 100 Dogs? How did you find an agent? How did you find an editor?

“Unputdownable.”

“Reading this book was a treat, and I didnt want to put it down until I found out what happened and how the story ended.”

No doubt about it, novelist Hallie Ephron knows how to write page-turning mysteries.  A member of an illustrious writing family, Ephron came to writing fiction later in life.  But when she did, the results were amazing. (Missed part one of our interview with Hallie?  Click HERE).  Ephron’s knack is to take an ordinary occurance in middle-class suburbia — a garage sale — and turn it into a scenario that leaves readers gulping page after page to the resolution. 

She’s a master of her craft, having written five novels under the pen name G. H. Ephron, and the highly-regarded WRITING AND SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL: HOW TO KNOCK ‘EM DEAD WITH STYLE.  She also offers workshops for aspiring mystery novelists.

We’re so pleased to present part two of our interview with Hallie Ephron.

Q: NEVER TELL A LIE is a deliciously eerie book about how a pregnant wife’s life turns upside down overnight – a soccer mom’s nightmare. What gave you the idea for this book?

Hallie Ephron: Thank you! The idea came to me at a yard sale—where else? I’m addicted to them. This one was around the corner from me at a house that had been recently renovated. I was talking with the woman throwing the yard sale, peppering her with questions about the renovations, when she invited me to have a look around inside. I let myself in. Being a mystery writer, as I’m wandering around this knock-down-dead gorgeous interior, I’m thinking: What if a woman goes to a yard sale. Somehow she manages to talk her way into the house. She goes inside. And she never comes out.

Q: The destructive power of secrets is a major theme in your novel. Do you determine your themes from the outset, or let them unfold organically?

The reviews for Hallie Ephron’s debut suspense novel, NEVER TELL A LIE, have been raves:

“Lovers of classic mysteries will adore Hallie Ephron’s Never Tell a Lie … You can imagine Hitchcock curling up with this one.” — USA Today.

“Ephron doesn’t miss a searing beat as she plunges the Roses into an abyss of suspicion. A surprise toward the end provides the perfect twist to this deliciously creepy tale of obsession.” — Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review.

Pretty good for someone who never wanted to become a writer.

Ephron came from a famous writing family (sisters Norah, Delia, and Amy are noted screenplay writers) and her parents were screenwriters Henry and Phoebe Ephron, who wrote classic movies like The Desk Set and Carousel.  An illustrious writing pedigree had been bred in her bones, but Hallie avoided the family industry for years.

Stints as a teacher, a technical writer, and education consultant ensued.  But when she teamed up with Donald Davidoff, a neuropsychologist at Harvard’s McLean Hospital, to create fictional forensic neuropsychologist Dr. Peter Zak and investigator Annie Squires, she found her love of fiction. Under the shared pseudonym G. H. Ephron, they published five series mystery novels.

Her solo effort, NEVER TELL A LIE, is smoothly professional, incredibly nail-biting, and deceptively spare.  A story about a pregnant woman whose life is turned upside down by a chance encounter at her garage sale, NEVER TELL A LIE is a novel I inhaled in about two days — because I couldn’t put it down.

We are pleased to present part one of our interview with Hallie Ephron.

Q: When did you realize that writing was the career for you? How bumpy was your road to publication?

Hallie Ephron: I spent a lot of years—decades in fact—insisting that I was NOT a writer. Because…I didn’t write. Then I got a call from a journalist asking if she could write a piece about me because I was the only sister who didn’t write. That did it. I figured if anyone was going to write about me not writing it was going to be me.

The first thing I wrote was for a creative writing assignment: “The history of my hair.” I submitted it to NPR and they took it. I thought, “This is easy.” Not! Fortunately that one success fueled me for years of rejection. I wrote a gazillion essays, short stories and an unpublished novel before I sold my first book.

Q: You were the second half of a writing duo with Donald Davidoff and wrote five mysteries under the pen name G.H. Ephron. Why did you decide to collaborate for your first novels? What are some of the things writers who are thinking about a partnership should know?

We’re pleased to bring you part 2 of my interview Sarah Addison Allen, author of “a quirky book of Southern-fried magical realism” called Garden Spells and her second mainstream novel (also quirky, Southern and possessing a rich wallop of magical realism), The Sugar Queen.

If you missed part one of my interview with the delightful Ms. Allen, click HERE, then come back. This week, we dish her next works, what she wishes she’d known about the industry, promotional efforts and more.

Enjoy!

Interview with Sarah Addison Allen: Part 2

Q: How long do you take to write a first draft? How long do you take for editing? Have you noticed any changes to your process over the course of the last books?

SAA: The process has taken longer with my more recent books because I’ve had to juggle touring and promotion with writing. Garden Spells took about four months to write, with two more months to edit. The Sugar Queen took about nine months total to write. My third book is currently well past the year mark.

Q: How involved are you in the marketing of your work? What steps do you take? What promo efforts have you found to be the most successful?

SAA: I was very lucky with Garden Spells. It was chosen as a Barnes and Noble Recommends book, and received a great deal of exposure because of that. But I found, even after the B&N spotlight faded, the book still had legs. And word of mouth was the reason. Word of mouth is one of the greatest, but unfortunately one of the most mercurial, promotional tools out there.

Q: You must have had fun with the enchanted foods and drinks described in Garden Spells, like honeysuckle wine and its ability to help people see in the dark, and recognize things they hadn’t before. You also provide a “Waverley Kitchen Journal” at the end of your book, including certain garden flowers and herbs-like dandelion, lemon verbena, rose petals and squash blossoms-and describing their magical properties. Did you imagine all of these properties, or was there any research and folklore involved? Do you have any food stories of your own to share?

Born and bred in Asheville, North Carolina, Sarah Addison Allen grew up with a mother who knew how to turn out a seriously delicious meal and a musician father. It was no wonder that she, too, was bitten by the creativity bug or that food became a central part of her storytelling. Her first mainstream fiction novel, Garden Spells, “a quirky book of Southern-fried magical realism” was wildly successful. Here are just a few of her reviews:

…Spellbindingly charming, Allen’s impressively accomplished debut novel will bewitch fans of Alice Hoffman and Laura Esquivel, as her entrancing brand of magic realism nimbly blends the evanescent desires of hopeless romantics with the inherent wariness of those who have been hurt once too often.
Booklist (Starred review) – Carol Haggas

With enough grassroots buzz, Allen’s mainstream debut…could become a best seller…It’s refreshing to find a Southern novel that doesn’t depend on folksy humor or stereotypes but instead on the imaginative use of magical realism. Just buy it, read it, and recommend it to others.
Library Journal (Starred review) – Rebecca Kelm

…The blending of horticultural folklore, the supernatural and a big dollop of Southern flavor should find favor with a wide swath of readers.
Publishers Weekly

We’re thrilled Sarah took time out of her busy schedule to discuss her novel and her process with WU. Enjoy!

Interview with Sarah Addison Allen: Part 1

Q: Your debut novel, Garden Spells, was released in 2007. Please tell us about your journey to publication. Did you always want to be an author? What about this concept grabbed you? And how did you progress from concept to published work?

SAA: Despite a lifelong love of writing, I didn’t always want to be a writer. When I was a kid, my most fervent hope was to become a trash man when I grew up. I would daydream about it.

But I gave up on my dream of waste management and decided to pursue writing as a career when I graduated from college. I wrote for about 12 years, sold a few small things, but then I went through a very long dry spell during which I wrote like a fiend, trying to follow what was hot in the market, and couldn’t sell a thing. That’s when I decided to write the story I wanted to write, not the story I thought would mostly likely get published. I followed my voice, not the market. I wrote Garden Spells. And that’s when my big break occurred.

Occasionally, though, I still daydream about how fun it would be to ride on the back of a garbage truck.

Q: You mentioned chasing the market for a while. What did you learn about this approach while you were doing it? Do you think it can ever be successful?

In a case of ‘write what you know’, UK-based author Nick Stone set his first novel in Haiti, the birthplace of his mother, and delved into the world of voodoo and island mysticism. His second novel, KING OF SWORDS, takes place in a Miami during the fading days of the disco era, where Caribbean cultural influences run deep. The tarot plays a major part in the plot, and Stone deftly weaves threads of a gruesome crime novel, island superstition, and a love story together in a chilling thriller. Turns out, Stone has had encounters with both voodoo and the tarot. When reading KING OF SWORDS, I found the scenes discussion the history and application of tarot completely fascinating. Stone then upped the ante by having the tarot cards become a . . . well, I won’t give the twist away. Noir fans will not be disappointed by Stone’s inventiveness.

Please enjoy part two of our two-part interview with Nick Stone.

Q: You’ve used the occult as a theme in both MR. CLARINET and KING OF SWORDS, and you’ve had some first-hand experience with tarot cards and the mysticism of the Caribbean islands. Can you tell us about it, and how it inspired your fiction?

Nick Stone: They say that in Haiti the people are 90% Catholic and 100% Voodooist. I don’t practice voodoo, but the religion is very much woven into my DNA, and I have a great deal of respect for it.

I’ve been to voodoo ceremonies in Haiti and Miami. There are differences in the way they’re conducted. The ones in Haiti can go on all night and well into the morning, whereas the ones in Miami are shorter. They’re great fun. Unless you’re a chicken. Chickens get sacrificed a lot.

Needless to say, they’re really nothing like the ones I’ve described in Mr Clarinet or King of Swords. Those are both perversions of voodoo, black magic basically.

When I was in Haiti, I visited my late great uncle Fritz’s fortune teller. Amazing guy. He was 90 plus. We sat down and, without any kind of cod-mystical shenanigans, he told me exactly how my life would turn out. He told me that I’d forgot everything he’d told me as soon as I was half way down the road, but that I’d remember he’d predicted it after it had happened. He’s been very accurate so far. For example, he told me when I’d meet my wife – the exact date. When I asked what she’d look like he said “You’ll see her in a dream before the day you meet her”. And guess what? The day before I met her, I had a dream about meeting a stunning woman in a beige coat. The next day my future wife came into my life, dressed in a beige coat.

I also used to read tarot cards. I started in school, with a friend of mine called Jane Kenyon. She taught me to read them.

Really nothing to it. Once you know the full meanings of the cards, you can pretty much read them by sight. And I do believe there’s something in them, that they […]