JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: All authors, if they're not lying, will confess they can be afflicted with cover envy, that grasping sense of covetousness when you see a book with a cover that will lure browsers from all the way across the bookstore. Friends, I felt cover envy when I saw Tim Maleeny's BOXING THE OCTOPUS. Then I read Kirkus's review: “Maleeny moves his colorful cast around with giddy panache." Now I have quote envy. Then I read the cover copy: "Boxing The Octopus is a runaway tour of San Francisco’s
underworld which reminds us that when things get out of hand, having
eight arms is always better than two." How can you not want something like that?All I'm saying is, it's a good thing we mystery writers are as nice and friendly as Tim says we are.
Julia,
a big thanks to you and all the Jungle Red Writers for inviting me to stop by.
It was great seeing you all at Bouchercon—what a weekend! I’m always amazed at
how friendly, generous and supportive the mystery community is, and you definitely
feel that at Bouchercon, maybe because we were all readers and fans long before
we were writers.
I
admit to being a bit nervous the first time I attended a big mystery
conference, marveling at my proximity to so many writers whose books I’d devoured
over the years. After a while, a far more experienced writer wandered over to
where I was standing and asked if this was my first conference. (Yes, it was
that obvious.) She then put it all in perspective by saying: “Look, mystery
writers spend all day getting their aggressions out on the page—killing people,
torturing them, getting their revenge—so in real life they are the nicest,
kindest people you’ll ever meet.” After a pause she added, “There are only two
or three jackasses, and we all know
who they are.”
I
instantly relaxed and realized I was now part of a community, and as we walked
over to the group she said, “But you’d better watch your back with those
romance writers!”
I’ve
been having a ball writing mysteries ever since, not only because I love to
tell stories, but because every new story makes fresh connections across this
incredible community of mystery lovers.
Speaking
of having fun, I was originally asked to write about the use of humor in
mystery novels, but since I was feeling nostalgic at the start of this post, I’ll
keep this part brief, even though it’s one of my favorite subjects. The great
thing about the mystery genre is the myriad of sub-genres, from psychological
suspense to domestic thrillers to spy novels or even supernatural sleuths.
There are characters and stories for every kind of escape.
My
own novels have been called comic noir, comedic thrillers, capers, and even
“zany” by reviewers, and my latest was recently described as a “Hiaasen-esque
delight,” which I took as high praise. No doubt that’s because my plots go
sideways at every turn, largely because of missteps by characters more than
capable of getting in their own way. Some mysteries are driven by a master
criminal with a master plan, but I’ve
always believed plots should be propelled by things going horribly wrong.
Elmore
Leonard, Donald Westlake, Carl Hiaasen, John D. MacDonald and Ross Thomas are
some of the authors that led to my addiction to crime fiction, as I found
myself rooting for a morally ambiguous cast of characters with a common goal
but competing agendas. Those collisions can lead the reader on a breakneck
chase with surprising turns and, sometimes, hilarious detours. We can see
ourselves in the human failings of a bank robber who forgets to fill his
getaway car with gas, and we almost feel sorry for the thief who leaves the
loot on the train. How many of us have lost phones, umbrellas or briefcases
behind, and what would you do if the stakes were much, much higher? Or simply the
lifelong dilemma of not knowing whom you can trust when things go against you.
Seeing
how ordinary people react in extraordinary circumstances is the heart of
character development. And if you can do that with a smile, the opportunities
for empathy, social commentary and reader involvement are endless.
Watch
I Love Lucy, Seinfeld or Friends
through the lens of a mystery reader and you’ll find countless plots driven by
misunderstandings, puzzles or outright mysteries. And the characters aren’t
laughing, because for them the social awkwardness or potential consequences are
deadly serious. But at home, we’re laughing out loud because we’ve been in that
kind of pickle, and we’re relieved that we’re not the only ones who screw up
every once in a while.
The
mystery community is fun group of wonderful people, and every time I get
together with other writers, we make each other laugh. Maybe that’s where my
writing voice comes from, an unconscious desire to channel all that positive
energy onto the page.
See
you at the next conference!
JULIA: Okay, dear readers, it's your turn. Do you like funny mysteries? What are some of your favorites? And are we really all as nice as Tim says? One lucky commentor will win a copy of BOXING THE OCTOPUS!
TIM MALEENY is the award-winning author of the Cape
Weathers mysteries and the bestselling comedic thriller JUMP, which Publishers Weekly called “a perfectly
blended cocktail of escapism.” His latest caper is BOXING THE OCTOPUS, which Kirkus called “a Hiaasen-esque delight”
and Bookreporter described as “a
great mystery novel, but it is also terrific literature.” A past winner of the
Macavity Award, Tim has also won the Lefty Award for Best Humorous Mystery. He
lives and writes at an undisclosed location in New York City. You can read more about Tim and his books at his website, friend him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter as @TimMaleeny.
