Charmed and Fabulous: Rhys Bowen's New Book!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Trying to remember when I first met Rhys Bowen--it was at the St. Martins party at...Bouchercon? Or somewhere. And I've never told her this, but she was a vision. I mean--sorry for being sappy, but there was an aura around her. A real glow--of happiness and joy and genuine engagement. And we chatted, and clicked, and laughed and laughed, and there might have been wine involved,  and the next day, she was a Red. (Where was this photo taken, anyone remember? )

Since then, we have been real sisters--sharing success and disappointment and writer's craziness and family rites of passage--and always always, Rhys has a genuine enjoyment and appreciation and gratitude for everything that happens. Even the downs--she faces them with high sprits and optimism.

And her new book? Crowned and Dangerous comes out tomorrow! (Yay! Pre-order here, just saying)   Wow, Rhys--I have never read such glowing reviews! Except for your other books  :-) but anyway, one reviewer (in a  starred review!) called you a combination of Agatha Christie and PG Wodehouse. Well, that's quite a tribute. What do you think about that, dear Rhys? And --if this is even possible--was that a conscious decision?

RHYS: I have a confession to make, Hank. I was in awe when I met you. I mean so chic, not a hair out of place and those impossibly high heels. And then we clicked instantly and becoming one of the Reds was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. You guys are the sisters I never had.

HANK: Aw. xoxo. Meant to be.

RHYS: As far as Christie and Wodehouse. Wow, that is a little humbling and gobsmacking! I don't set out to write like anybody. Every book I have written has been a book I wanted to read and it wasn't on the shelf. I'm flattered that anyone should compare me to such giants but I think I still have a way to go!

HALLIE: Darcy and Lady Georgie are on their way to Scotland get married when Darcy's father is murdered, and so the book takes us to Ireland instead. And what an Ireland it is! Can you tell us about the wonderful settings for the book?

RHYS: Those who read the last book in the series (Malice in the Palace) will know we left Georgie and Darcy in a cliff-hanger, on their way to Scotland to get married. We know the course of true love never does run smooth in books so they run into a blizzard in Yorkshire and then Darcy sees a headline in the morning newspaper that sends him rushing to Ireland and leaving Georgie behind.

I adore Ireland. it's so fresh and green and the people are so warm. So I set the book in horse country, where there are lush meadows with thoroughbreds in them and sweeping hills and old castles. I've visited quite a few of those old castles, had a medieval banquet at Bunratty and even kissed the Blarney Stone (actually not really kissed it. Kissed air about an inch away. Think of all those lips who went before me!)

LUCY: Two questions for you Rhys. First is about lady Georgie's voice, which is one of the things I love most about the Royal spyness series. Did her voice just come to you, or did you have to work on imagining who she was first?

And second is a question about how to maintain such a grueling schedule and exceptional career over the long haul. It was so exciting to hear about your early children's book being fashioned for the London stage. Any advice for writers looking to stick this out through thick and thin?

RHYS: Lady Georgie's voice came to me when I first started to write. I didn't stop until I'd written 25 pages and she still won't shut up. I just listen to her and write it down.  I saw her and knew her instantly and she's been a joy to spend time with. It's such fun to sit at the computer and chuckle.

Second question: 2 books a year. Yes, I'm a crazy woman. The problem is I have two publishers and they both want a book a year. But then what would I do if I didn't write? I think the way for a writer to have a long career is never be satisfied, always wanting to do better than the last book, and being prepared to reinvent yourself. Oh, and to see the play of my book in London was such a thrill!

DEBS: Rhys, I am in awe of you. Two (at least!) very different books a year, and both so good. But I wonder if you look forward to Georgie when you're writing Molly, because Georgie is just so much fun? And another question, the Georgie books always seem so effortless. Do you ever find yourself struggling with the plot or lost in the middle? (And of course I'd ask if you'll ever let Georgie marry Darcy, but I don't think you'll tell us...)

HANK: Oh, that's such a good question! And yes, they do seem effortless. Rhys, do you work solidly on one, and then the next?  Or back and forth?

RHYS: Debs, when I'm writing Molly I always dream of writing Georgie, and the other way around. The grass is always greener, I guess. But I could never switch between them. When I'm writing Molly I am in New York, 1905. I sometimes snap at John because Molly is mad at Daniel! And when I write Georgie I am completely in her world. In fact it's hard to switch off. I do plenty of lying awake, staring at the ceiling and muttering to myself! I have to wait a few weeks before I am ready to switch to the other. I can tell I'm ready when I start getting little ideas for plot twists.

HANK: Let me sneak in a little about CROWNED AND DANGEROUS--and yes, let's see that wonderful cover again!

 Nothing is simple when you’re thirty-fifth in line for the British crown, least of all marriage. But with love on their side, and plans to elope, Lady Georgiana Rannoch and her beau Darcy O’Mara hope to bypass a few royal rules...

With Darcy driving me out of London in a borrowed motor car, I soon discover that he isn’t planning to introduce me to the pleasures of sinning in secret—as I had hoped—but to make me his wife!

Of course, there are some quibbles to be dealt with, such as my needing special permission from the King to marry a Roman Catholic and the question of where we might live after the honeymoon. Though he will inherit a title, Darcy is as broke as I am. Even his family’s Irish castle has been sold to a rich American who now employs Darcy’s father as a hired hand.

Throwing these cares to the wind, nothing could deter us from our mission—except perhaps the news that my future father-in-law has just been arrested. It seems the rich American was murdered and Darcy’s father had more than enough motive to do the deed. With the elopement postponed, we head for Ireland where he insists he’s innocent, and it’s up to us to prove it—for better or worse.

JULIA: No question - just pure admiration. I adore the Lady Georgie books and have put so many in the hands of readers. I simply say, "Imagine one of those sparkling 1930's comedies crossed with Agatha Christie" and bam! Who could resist?

I'm also, like Debs, in awe of how Rhys manages two wonderful books a year, traveling with John, book tours and conferences, close relationships with her grown kids, grandkids, and granddogs...and still stay eminently sane and healthy. One begins to suspect a portrait in the attic.

(Rhys: not so sure about the sane part, Julia!)

Congrats on Crowned and Dangerous, Rhys!

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Let me add my congratulations! Rhys, I've never met you in person, but have nothing but respect for your writing, not least the speed at which you write not one, but two series! Hearty congrats on CROWNED AND DANGEROUS!

HANK: Cannot wait or the entire Red contingent to be together, Susan! Whoa. Pick a date--our house! 

So, dear Reds and readers--what questions do you have for Rhys? About when she met the Queen? When she sang with --who was it, Rhys?  And what--can you tell us?-do you love the most about writing CROWNED?

RHYS:  Thank you all so much for this, darling Reds. I feel so blessed to have you all.  One thing I loved about writing Crowned was some new and very eccentric relations. I loved how Georgie and Darcy's relationship is almost shattered and hangs on anyway. And a really complex plot!

And I'll give a signed copy to one lucky commenter!

Five ways to KILL Suspense

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I met Meg Gardiner in a cab. Well, outside a cab. We were at--something in New York, I forget, going somewhere, I forget, and she was about to take the subway. Come with me! I said. I have on heels!  I'm getting a cab.

So we talked the whole way to wherever it was--she was hilarious and personable and wonderful.  I confess that in these situations, meeting a best-selling Edgar-winning author, I always think--here's a successful writer, I bet she could teach me a lot. But that's not the kind of thing you can ask.

So, isn't this clever? I invited her to JRW, so we can all learn.   And I'll give a copy of Meg's new RANSOM RIVER to a lucky commenter! And an ARC of THE OTHER WOMAN to another.

And now..I don't want to keep you in suspense, but here's--well, no. I DO want to keep you in suspense. And here's how. Um, how NOT to.

Five Ways to Kill Suspense

by Meg Gardiner

Suspense is vital to storytelling. It keeps readers turning pages, desperate to learn what happens next. As a building block of drama, it’s as old as literature itself—Aristotle said suspense consists of having some real danger looming and a ray of hope.

The word comes from the Latin suspendere—to hang up—and writers are the hangmen. We keep readers dangling. But if we do it wrong, we kill the story.

Here are five surefire ways to do that.

1. Sacrifice tension for surprise. Unexpected twists can delight or terrify readers. But if you don’t build up the tension beforehand, readers will be bored senseless long before you get to Boo.

Hitchcock put it this way: an audience experiences suspense when they expect something bad to happen and know more than the characters do—but can’t intervene to stop it. Say characters are talking in a restaurant. If all the scene shows is their chitchat, it’s tedious. But if the audience knows that a ticking bomb is planted beneath the table, it’s suspenseful.

The writer’s job is to create tension and then let it build for as long as possible. Be cruel. The page is the one place where cruelty’s a good thing.

2. Commit howlers. I don’t mean minor errors about arcane facts. I mean clanging mistakes about common knowledge. Writers should know that the capital of Brazil is not Rio de Janeiro. That the president’s airplane does not have AIR FORCE ONE painted on its flanks. That Interpol doesn’t strafe fugitives from fighter jets (to name three errors I’ve seen in books or movies). Ludicrous mistakes kill suspense by pulling readers from the story, thinking, Oh, come on. Do your research. And after you’ve done it, have knowledgeable people check it.

3. Write idiot plots. Plots that depend on characters acting like idiots kill suspense faster than cyanide. You’ve read this story: an unarmed woman fails to call SWAT and instead wades into the swamp alone, at midnight, in heels, to rescue her best friend from the maniac with the chainsaw. Go on, honey. Readers will be cheering—for the maniac.

4. Mistake mystery for suspense. Mystery propels our genre. But withholding facts from readers doesn’t always increase suspense. Sometimes it just annoys. Say the hero keeps everything he’s learned to himself until the final pages, when he reveals all. This is meant to make him sound brilliant and the revelation seem huge. But if the audience hasn’t struggled along with him as he digs for the truth, they haven’t experienced the story. They’ll feel shortchanged. (This is another reason to show, don’t tell.)

Or say you hide the identities of characters in a scene. “Two men sat at the dingy bar, scowling.” Maybe the scowlers are assassins, circling for a kill. But if they’re your hero and his brother—and it’s the tenth time you’ve used this ploy—it’s not suspenseful. It's a cheap trick.

5. Put the main character in a tight situation where the only question is whether she’ll survive. Here’s the problem: Readers figure that in mysteries and thrillers, the protagonist is going to live. If your novel’s in first person, they know it. So don’t have the bad guys abandon the heroine in the desert, then spend 50 pages depicting her trek back to civilization. There’s no question she’ll make it, so her tough slog to town contains no suspense.

But what if you truly want to abandon your protagonist in the desert? Then create real, looming danger… to other characters. And put a clock on it. The heroine must get to a phone by sundown—or the puppy farm will be blown up. Otherwise, cut everything after the bad guys dump her in Death Valley. Skip to her stumbling into the 7-11, dehydrated, covered in cactus needles, and hauling the corpse of the rabid skunk that attacked her.

Now, a confession: I’ve committed all these sins.

Sometimes I’ve caught these mistakes when revising. Sometimes an editor has noted, “Tiresome…” And sometimes I’ve decided a cheap trick is exactly what I need.

In my novel Ransom River, a juror finds herself fighting for her life when gunmen storm the courtroom. Then Rory Mackenzie discovers the attack is connected to an old case that was never solved. It's connected to her, and dark skeletons in her family's history. And bringing the truth to light might destroy her and those she loves.

My first draft opened with a long, procedural courtroom scene in Rory’s point of view. Then, boom—gunmen burst in. (Hello, surprise without tension.) I rewrote it to add scenes in a gunman’s POV. Now, while Rory hears testimony about two cops gunning down a teenager, the attackers circle the courthouse, arm themselves, and stalk toward the building. Readers know something bad’s coming, but they can’t tell Rory: Get out of there.

Then, to create a sense of real danger that would loom over the whole book, I revised again—so the story doesn’t open in the courtroom. It opens when Rory is nine years old. Late one night, she and her best friend see something they shouldn’t—something that scares them. They don’t understand it. They only know something's wrong. Something bad. But what—and how does it come back to haunt her twenty years later?

I’d tell you, but I’ve gotta keep you in suspense.

HANK: Thanks Meg! I'm off to look at my WIP one more time... How about you, Reds? Do you go back and add the suspense? Or write it a you go? I find when I'm in the suspenseful parts, somehow, I'm typing as fast as I can.

The most suspenseful thing I've ever read? Hmm. Dracula? The Stand? The most suspenseful movie I've ever seen? Hmm. The Vanishing? Rear Window? How about you, reds?

Remember--you can win!

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 www.meggardiner.com 

Meg Gardiner writes the Evan Delaney and the Jo Beckett novels, best-selling series that have been translated into twenty languages. China Lake won the 2009 Edgar for Best Paperback Original. The Nightmare Thief won the 2012 Audie Award for Thriller/Suspense audiobook of the year. Meg practiced law in Los Angeles and taught at the University of California Santa Barbara. She lives near London. Her latest novel is the stand alone, Ransom River.

Her blog: Lying for a Living.

Twitter: @MegGardiner1