Mary's Blog

From Poland with Love

Recently, I was interviewed by the Polish literary web site Zbrodnia w Bibliotece. They asked a lot of great questions, especially about my writing routine. You can read the Polish translation here, as well as a review, in Polish, of Defending Angels,. The English text of the interview follows.

Cieszą się!

You’re the author of many books. But we know only Defending Angels. Could you tell us shortly about your novels and short stories for adult and middle-grade readers, please.

My very first novel was a fantasy much like Watership Down. But instead of rabbits for characters, I used horses. I thought it would be easier to write a first novel from the point of view of a horse, instead of a human. I was wrong. It was much harder. Then I wrote a series of novels for middle grade readers (kids from 6 to 12 years old) for Scholastic called the Unicorns Of Balinor. I thought it would be easier to write a novel from the viewpoint of a child rather than an adult. I was wrong about that, too. Kids are even harder than horses. Finally, because I love reading mysteries, I decided to write one from the viewpoint of a thirty-three year old woman painter who became an innkeeper and I began writing the Inn at Hemlock Falls series. And that was a lot easier than pretending to be a horse or a little kid. Those mysteries were published under my nom de plume, Claudia Bishop. I chose to write the Claudia Bishop books under another name so I wouldn’t confuse my Mary Stanton readers.

Beaufort & Company, with Defending Angels as the first in the series, is the first time I’ve combined mystery and fantasy.

When did you decide to become a writer? And why?

I really think of myself as a storyteller. And I started telling stories as far back as I can remember. I would write plays for my little sisters, and we would stage them in our garage.

I don’t recall ever making a conscious decision about being a writer—it just evolved. I do remember thinking—just before I started my first novel, The Heavenly Horse From The Outermost West (Baen, 1987, Hodder & Stoughton 1988)—“okay, now it’s time to do this.”

Why do you write mystery fiction?

Hmm. I’m not really sure. One of the past presidents of the Mystery Writers of America (MWA) thinks we mystery writers write about killing people rather than actually doing it (ha-ha!) but I don’t think that’s it. I think it’s more along the lines of needing to keep the world coherent. Mysteries are about justice. It may be justice delayed. It may be justice denied. But it’s always about justice.

You are a professional writer now. Can you describe how is your workday looking like? Do you work every day? How long? Etc.

I’ve never felt like a professional writer, even though I’ve made my living at it since 1988. And my working day is chaotic. I usually start by going to the gym. Then I take care of my horse. Then I play with my goats, or mess around outside. Then I sit down to work about ten in the morning and play a card game on my lap top. Then I make breakfast and do the laundry and mess around outside some more. I actually start to put words down around two in the afternoon and work until about six. I work really fast when I actually write, so I usually get around five thousand words down in a day. I wake up early—between four and five am, so I’m usually asleep by nine-thirty or ten at night.

On days when I’m not working, I have the usual family stuff.

As a writer do you have any habits/rituals? (e.g. a glass of wine for the end of work?)

I buy six Sharpie pens and three legal-sized yellow pads before I began a new novel. I use the pens and paper to scrawl notes to myself. And I sit in the same spot, always. On the couch in the living room, with my knees up and my laptop balanced on my knees. And then there’s the food. I’m embarrassed to admit that I eat a lot of sugar when I work. Cookies, mostly, and sometimes those red licorice whips. (I buy those five pounds at a time.) I pile the food on top of the yellow pads.

How much research and plotting do you do before you’re ready to write a book?

That really varies. The Beaufort & Company novels take a lot of time. Bree, my main character, isn’t like me at all, so I have to do a lot of outlining before I begin. When I write the Claudia Bishop novels (The Hemlock Falls series, the Casebooks of Dr. McKenzie series) there is a lot of my own personality in the main characters, so I don’t have to twice about what my character Quill, or my character Austin would do in the circumstances I’ve set up, because I would do the same thing. But Bree smacks people around, has angels for employees, and is on a quest to find her true parents. None of that is every likely to occur in my real life! So where the Claudia Bishop books go very quickly—the Mary Stanton books take me three times as long, and there is a lot of background work.

Who is Claudia Bishop? ;) Why do you publish the Hemlock Falls and Dr. McKenzie series under this name?

My paternal grandmother was named Bishop, and it is my father’s and my sister’s middle name. I’m not sure why I chose ‘Claudia.” I like the sound of it. And I adore Roman history, and the Claudii were great contributors to the old Roman Empire. And I assumed the name because my editors didn’t want Mary Stanton readers to get confused about what kind of book they’d be buying.

How did you get the idea for Defending Angels?

My middle sister is a fierce and able advocate and a terrific lawyer. The first time I saw her in court, I thought: “Wow!” So the idea of a fierce and able defender of justice was born. As to the character of Bree herself—I began a mystery novel years ago featuring her as a character and set it aside, knowing I’d get to her at some point. As for the angels—I picked up a book on medieval art from the dump bin at Barnes & Noble bookstores and fell in love with the illustrations by the monks.

How well do you know Savannah? I read that town is full of haunted places, ghosts of victims and killers past, and cloak-and-dagger tales of terror. Is it true?

Everything you asked about Savannah is true. I visited the city many many times. Each time I find something new and weird. And Old Savannah is only a mile square. But the story possibilities are infinite.

Do you believe in ghosts? And angels?

No. But I believe in people’s need to believe.

Do you know someone like Mrs Winston-Beaufort?

No, I don’t. I think that’s what makes her hard to write.

You wrote another book about Bree, Angel’s Advocate. I hope this sequel will be translated soon. What kind of investigation does Bree make in this novel?

Angel’s Advocate begins when Bree takes on the case of a seventeen year old girl who’s robbed an eight year old kid, since Bree needs human clients with human money in order to pay her bills. The seventeen year old girl’s father is dead, however, and soon Bree is investigating his case, too.

What do you like to read? What are your favorite books? Do you like mystery and crime novels? Which authors dominate your bookshelves?

I read a lot—five or six books a week when I’m not working. I read biography, history, veterinary science, and lots and lots of mysteries. I just finished The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which was wonderful.

Who’s your favorite detective? Do you like Sherlock Holmes, like Bree?

My absolute favorite detective varies with whom I’m reading at the moment. I love Daziel and Pascoe, Reginald Hill’s police detectives. At right now, I just finished Arthur Upfield’s Pointing The Bone, so I’m thrilled with Napolean Bonaparte, his half-Aboriginal detective.

I know that you love horses. Have you any other pets? Can you tell us about them? (“goat aficionado” – hmmm ;) Do you have a dog like Sasha?

I have a horse named Sophie, and pet goats named Basil, Biscuit, Parsley and Onion. I don’t have a dog, because I travel a lot, and I spend half the year in Florida and the other half on our goat farm in upstate New York. A dog is a very personal pet, I think, and a dog owner should spend as much time with a dog as possible. My husband won’t let me have my goats in the house (or my horse, for that matter). I wish he would. Anyway—I don’t like to leave my horse or my goats, but it’s easier than leaving a dog. But if I did have a dog, it would be just like Sasha, I hope.

What’s your writers plan? What do you write now?

I’m writing a new Hemlock Falls novel, which is due in a few weeks. And I’ll be writing two more Beaufort & Company novels featuring Bree and her friends, which will bring the series total to five. The third one, Avenging Angels, will be out in February 2010.