SJ Rozan and The Murder of Mr. Ma

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I am a big fan of SJ Rozan's Bill Smith and Lydia Chin books (loved the latest, THE MAYORS OF NEW YORK) so when I began to see the buzz for THE MURDER OF MR. MA, written with co-author John Shen Yen Nee, I was so intrigued. Not New York, and not contemporary--it's set in 1920s London! 

And what buzz this book is generating, with starred reviews in Library Journal and Publisher's Weekly just the beginning! So of course I wrote to SJ to say, "Tell me more!!" and here she is to explain this latest adventure.

   

Wait, How Did This Happen?

SJ Rozan

 

Deborah Crombie, in inviting me to do this guest blog (Thanks, Debs!) around the publication of THE MURDER OF MR. MA, thought folks might be interested in how the collaboration between me and John Shen Yen Nee, former publisher of Marvel Comics, began. Did we know each other? Did we develop this idea together, and then assign roles? Were we both devotees of Judge Dee and Lao She? Did we both always secretly harbor a desire to write books set in London, books set in the 1920's?

The answer to all but one of those questions is no. Separately, John and I had both long since discovered and devoured the Judge Dee books and films. But neither of us had ever looked longingly at London, or the 1920's. I, for my part, had heard of but never read Lao She.  And we'd never heard of each other.

John's one of those people whose mind is like an explosion in a fireworks factory, if ideas were fireworks. And he's more widely read than anyone else I've ever met. Early in the pandemic, when one thing we all pretty much had on our hands was time alone, John worked on developing this one idea: that Judge Dee would move forward about 1,000 years (he was a real jurist in Tang Dynasty China) and partner with Lao She (a real 20th century Chinese novelist) and they'd solve crimes. In London, in 1924.

Covent Garden, 1920s

At least, starting in 1924. Lao She was in London then, beginning his writing career. It was a time of great change in China, full of events little known in the West. John envisioned a series that spanned the history of modern China and wove some of that history in with murder, detection, and martial arts. A Holmes-and-Watson-y vibe from a Chinese angle. Plus kung fu.

But John, as he'll be the first to tell you, is not a narrative writer. He'd put together an outline (spanning sixteen single-spaced pages: remember that fireworks factory explosion) and needed someone to make it into a novel.

Luckily for me, he knew Alex Segura, from the comics world. Alex recommended John call Josh Getzler, his agent. Josh is also my agent, and when John told him what he needed, Josh called me. When I said I was interested, Josh suggested John read some of my books. He did, and they worked for him. He sent me the outline.

The outline worked for me, in a big way. Though "big" also describes the outline. John and I talked, and talked. I knew we could work together when he told me what in the outline was really important to him, and what was negotiable. It wasn't which things were which; it was that he could separate them.

So we started working together, by which I mean, John started to send me books, and I started to read. Chinese modern history, British literary criticism, books about Lao She, books by Lao She. I also started researching London in the 1920's. Clothes, cars, food, books, music. Finally, as I read and we trimmed the outline, came the moment I was ready to write a sample chapter.

London, George Alley, 1920s

The day I sent the sample chapter to John was a big deal. Writers will recognize this: The voice I was writing in, the narrative voice of our fictionalized Lao She, had spoken in my head. It was unchangeable. If John didn't like it, the collaboration had no future.

He loved it.

So we began seriously to work. Based on the outline, I'd write, ask questions, he'd give answers -- or say he didn't have an answer, so I'd invent one and run it by him -- he'd read and make suggestions, I'd take them or explain why I thought they weren't a great idea. We also hired a kung fu consultant, Master Paul Koh of Bo Law Kung Fu School, to choreograph the fight scenes, which I then put into Lao She's voice, or occasionally Judge Dee's, as he takes over the narrative sometimes.

Sifu Master Paul Koh

Yes, the outline and original characters were John's. Yes, the words as written are mine. But beyond those facts I'd be hard put to tell you what was John and what was me.  Someone recently asked John how the collaboration went. He said, "Like butter." I'd have to agree. Though throughout the process -- and even now, as we work on Book 2 -- I had to duck, every now and then, to avoid getting hit by a flying idea.

DEBS: Everything about this is right up alley--excuse me, I have to go read now! 

Here's more about SJ: Born in the Bronx, SJ Rozan lives in lower Manhattan. She's a graduate of Oberlin College and was a practicing architect. Her novels and short stories have won multiple awards, including the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, Nero, Macavity, and Japanese Maltese Falcon. She's received Life Achievement Awards from the Private Eye Writers of America and the Short Mystery Fiction Society. Her stories have appeared in "Best Of" collections, and she's edited three anthologies. She teaches a fiction writing workshop in Assisi, Italy, in the summer and she wants you all to come there. SJ's newest book, co-written with John Shen Yen Nee, is THE MURDER OF MR. MA. www.sjrozan.net

And more about THE MURDER OF MR. MA

London, 1924. When shy academic Lao She meets larger-than-life Judge Dee Ren Jie, his quiet life abruptly turns from books and lectures to daring chases and narrow escapes. Dee has come to London to investigate the murder of a man he’d known during World War I when serving with the Chinese Labour Corps. No sooner has Dee interviewed the grieving widow than another dead body turns up. Then another. All stabbed to death with a butterfly sword. Will Dee and Lao be able to connect the threads of the murders—or are they next in line as victims?

DEBS: Readers, Mr. Ma has a bit of Holmes pastiche, fascinating history and culture, some mouth-watering descriptions of food, and brilliant fight scenes. I love this kind of genre-bending. Share some of your favorites crossover novels with us, and stop in to chat with SJ!

PS One more bit of business! Flora, you are the winner of Susan Shea's MURDER AND THE MISSING DOG! Get in touch with Susan at scsauthor@mac.com.