Interview with mystery novelist Kate Flora

Today's interviewee is multi-genre (but mostly mystery) writer Kate Flora. She's mostly talking about the Redemption: A Joe Burgess mystery the 3rd novel in her Portland, Maine-based police procedural series which is releasing in March.

Kate is the guest of honor this Sunday night (March 4) at Writer's Chatroom from 7-9PM EST. Feel free to stop on in and join the conversation. No password or registration needed. Writer's Chatroom is a 5-time winner of Writer's Digest's 101 Best Websites for Writers.

Bio:
Attorney Kate Flora’s twelve books include seven Thea Kozak mysteries, three gritty police procedurals including The Angel of Knowlton Park, a suspense thriller, Steal Away, written as Katharine Clark, and a true crime, Finding Amy, which was a 2007 Edgar nominee and has been optioned for a movie.

Her current projects include Death Dealer, a true crime involving a Canadian serial killer, co-writing two memoirs, a screenplay, and a novel in linked stories. Flora’s short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies, including the Sara Paretsky edited collection, Sisters on the Case. She is a former editor and publisher at Level Best Books, former international president of Sisters in Crime, and a founding member of the New England Crime Bake Mystery Conference. Her story, “All that Glitters” appears in Dead Calm, and her story, “Bone China” in the crime story anthology Dead of Winter.

Welcome, Kate. Please tell us about your current release.
Here’s the review from Booklist, which does a pretty good job:

When Detective Sergeant Joe Burgess of the Portland (Maine) Police Department finds his friend Reggie Libby drowned in the harbor, he is determined to bring the killer to justice. Reggie, a Vietnam vet who was mentally ill and had fallen on hard times, had apparently started a new job recently. Joe and his colleagues work to determine his place of employment and his movements before his death by interviewing Reggie’s fellow streetpeople and his relatives, including his vindictive former wife and indifferent son. On the home front, Joe’s live-in girlfriend wants to adopt two foster children, and Joe doesn’t feel ready to be a parent. As always, Joe immerses himself in his case, causing problems in his personal life. Framed by the challenges streetpeople face in large cities, this compelling, fast-paced police procedural offers a complex plot, rich with details of conducting a murder investigation and insight into the rigors of the cop’s life. — Sue O'Brien

What inspired you to write this book?
The first Joe Burgess was inspired by all the time I ended up spending with police officers, doing research for my Thea Kozak mysteries. I wanted to explore the police officers’ reality in more detail. I also wanted to set my new series in Portland, which is a city I’m fond of, as a proud 'Maine-iac'. For this third mystery, I wanted to explore the tension between Burgess’s dedication to detective work and his desire to live a more normal life with his girlfriend, Chris. Ratcheting up that tension was getting Burgess involved in investigating the death of a Vet, and friend, who never recovered from his experiences in Vietnam. The inspiration for the plot came, in part, from wondering what the effect of our poorly planned, unwinnable conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq was on those who had seen, and suffered from, another such war. That led me to the character of Reggie the Can Man. And the title, Redemption, a double play on the ultimate effect of the investigation for Burgess and others, and the fact that the place where cans and bottles are turned in for money is called a redemption center. At the heart of all my books are issues of greed, and lies, and what it is that allows some people to deviate from the social contract we’ve all committed to.

What exciting story are you working on next?
Actually, Lisa, I’m going in about three different directions right now. I’ve just done the final tweaks on a second true crime that I’ve been working on for about five years. Now I will have to sell it—NOT an exciting story. Then, back in the fall, I started working with some incredible people on their memoirs--one individual, and one family—and the stories are so powerful and compelling. One is an international child abduction, the other a 25-year memoir of a retired Maine Game Warden. And as though that weren’t complicated enough…I’m trying to carve out time for a final edit on a suspense novel that needs work. And I just decided to write the eighth Thea Kozak mystery, Death Warmed Over, which I’ve been carrying in the back of my head for about four years.

Overwhelming. Exciting. Wow!

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Some time after I finished my third or fourth mystery (I have three still stuck in the drawer) I began to admit that I was hooked. I don’t think I ever put “writer” instead of “lawyer” on a form asking for employment, until I’d published my third book. I always figured that it would suddenly go away. It’s a hard thing to trust. However, in my heart, I knew I was a writer, which is what sustained me through my ten years in the unpublished writer’s corner.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I write full time, sorta. That is, I don’t have a day job. But, like many writers who don’t have a lot of income, I also teach, and do manuscript consults.

Since “discipline” is among my favorite words, coming, somewhat ironically, right after “imagination,” I try to be in my chair with the time-wasters: e-mail, facebook, blog checking, ebay, and Scrabble all done, by 7:30 or 8:00. Then I write until my back starts to hurt, and go do stretches, take a walk, do laundry, run to the P.O. and grocery store, and then back in the chair for another few hours. Another one of my favorite words is “obsession.”

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Golly…what an interesting question, Lisa. I’m not sure that I have one. Perhaps, recently, that I’ve figured out that when I’m stuck in a chapter or a scene, I can grab the sticky bit out of it, start a new file, and just play around, giving my characters their heads to see what they will do. It’s great for getting unstuck, making new discoveries, finding interesting dialogue etc.

Or maybe my quirk involves shoes. When I’m stuck and frustrated, sometimes I go buy shoes. The upside of this is that I only buy second hand, so I can indulge on a writer’s income. The downside is that I own too many shoes. Anyone who wears a size 7 and feels in need of a box of shoes might want to get in touch with me.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A writer. Of course.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Always a great, and difficult question. Recently, in the writing world, the question of “branding” floats around a lot. Building a publishing platform, and identifying and protecting and promoting a writer’s particular brand. So recently, I blogged about this, and I’ve been giving it some thought…and I still come down to this: It’s awfully hard to identify a particular brand when I write strong women amateur PI mysteries, police procedurals with male protagonists, short stories, and true crime. And now, it seems, memoir. But what I think I’ve figured out is that all my work, what draws me to the stories that I write, whether fiction, nonfiction, or a collaboration, is the ripple effect. What are the stories of those left behind—the family members, the public safety professionals, etc.

But I don’t really know if that’s a brand. I just know it’s where my interest lies.


Thank you so much for being here Kate. And I look forward to hosting you as a guest this Sunday at Writer's Chatroom where we can expand on this interview and take questions from the audience.

Peg Herring's Blog Crawl - "Losing the Spice"

Thanks to Lisa for hosting Peg’s Blog Crawl today! Here is yesterday’s post, “Names Into Words”.

The Perpetrator - Peg Herring writes historical and contemporary mysteries. She loves everything about publishing, even editing (most days). Peg’s historical series, The Simon and Elizabeth Mysteries, debuted last year to wonderful reviews. The second in the series will be available in November from Five Star.

The Presentation - Losing the Spice

To quote John Mellencamp, “Life goes on, long after the thrill of livin’ is gone.”

Sometimes series do the same thing. Television series often run out of good material, and it’s usually easy to see when that happens. There’s even a term for it: jumping the shark. It comes from an episode on “Happy Days” where Fonzie — well, jumps over a shark. On waterskis. The metaphor now applies to the moment in a TV program's history where the plot spins off into absurd storylines and unlikely actions.

It can happen in books, too, and most of us have given up on a series or a character that goes too far. As an author, I recognize that it is hard to keep writing fresh and interesting with repeating elements. As a reader, I tend to space out my favorite authors’ books so I don’t notice quite so much the fact that this one ALWAYS gets beaten bloody halfway through the book or this one ALWAYS has to deal with the same relative pulling some dopey trick.

Some writers come to despise their own characters. In an interview I heard a few years ago, Martha Grimes told of wanting to kill off Inspector Jury. She had new ideas she wanted to pursue, but of course her publisher would not hear of it. Profit is king at publishing houses, and readers apparently don’t think Richard Jury is done, even after twenty-two novels.

Some authors try to keep readers’ interest by putting their characters through unbelievable and often bizarre events. It may keep the series going, but it doesn’t work for me. As soon as the character isn’t likeable any more, as soon as I can’t accept what she has done or become, I look for new authors to read.

It might be that authors need to rest from their characters. With the demands of publishing, it’s harder for writers than for readers to “space out” their books, but working on something else between series entries could be restful. Steve Hamilton said a few years ago at a presentation that he might go back to Alex McKnight someday, but needed a break from him for a while. He’s done all right with his move in new directions, winning an Edgar nomination for his latest effort, The Lock Artist. Even if a writer is not sure the new work will be published, turning to something different for a while might give a fresh approach when he returns to his tried-and-true sellers.

Whether we call it “losing the spice” or “jumping the shark” writers know when they’ve lost interest in their characters. The question a writer must ask herself is, “Do I keep cranking them out, or do I take a chance and try something new?” For me, there has to be spice. If it isn’t fun to write, I won’t be writing it.

The Poser - Name three thriller protagonists who once served as government agents but don’t now.

The Prizes - Weekly prizes (your choice of The Dead Detective Agency in e- or print format) drawn from the names of those who comment on the blogs as we go. Comment once per day, but the first commenter each day gets entered twice in Saturday’s drawing!

The Pathway - The next entry and the answers/comments to the Poser will be up at Chris Redding's blog.

The Pitch - The Dead Detective Agency, first in The Dead Detective Mysteries, paranormal mystery. Tori Van Camp wakes in a stateroom on a cruise ship with no memory of booking a cruise, but she does have a vivid recollection of being shot in the chest. Determined to find out what happened and why, Tori enlists the help of an odd detective named Seamus. Together they embark on an investigation like nothing she’s ever experienced. Death is all around her, and unless they act quickly, two people she cares about are prime candidates for murder.

Read more about this book and the author or buy the book.