FIVE QUESTIONS I WISH SOMEONE WOULD ASK ME @ ConnieCBerry

LUCY BURDETTE: We really love it when students we've witnessed studying the craft of writing in our classes end up publishing a book and appearing here. Today, I'm delighted to introduce Connie Berry, author of the Kate Hamilton Mystery Series!

CONNIE BERRY: I've been a fan of crime writers much longer than I've been one myself. With the second book in my Kate Hamilton series now out (I'm still a rookie), I look back with gratitude on all the author panels I've attended over the years. I learned so much, grew as a writer, set my standards higher, and felt part of a warm, inclusive community. Thank you to the Jungle Reds and other authors who teach with passion, welcome newcomers, and respond patiently to the same questions over and over again. 

How long did it take to write your first book?

Are you a pantser or a plotter?

How did you get your agent? your publisher?

Where do you get your inspiration?

Are your characters based on real people?

Great questions. I've asked them myself because we all want to know how authors do what they do. But now, looking forward to my own panel at Bouchercon, I've begun to wonder about the questions authors wish someone would ask them. In every book there are hidden gems we hope someone will discover. There are stories about the writing process we'd love to tell. Here are the top five questions I wish someone would ask me—with answers!

1. What period of your life most inspires your writing?
Anyone who's read my books knows that like my protagonist, Kate, I grew up with antiques. My parents were collectors first, eventually opening a shop, not because they wanted to sell antiques but because they needed a plausible excuse to keep buying them. The house I grew up in looked a bit like a disorganized museum. As a child, I learned to read the marks on antique silver, to distinguish authentic Gallé glass from reproductions, and to identify Chinese and Japanese porcelain. Much of what I write comes from my background, raised in the antiques trade by a pair of endearing eccentrics who were always ready to take life's intriguing detours. 

2. Which character was the most challenging for you to write?
One of the major characters in A Dream of Death is Bo Duff, a gentle, intellectually challenged man who is suspected of murder. Bo is loosely based on a young man I knew growing up, a mechanical genius. In the first few drafts of the book, Bo had his own point of view, and I struggled to get his thinking and speaking right. Eventually, I kept only Kate's point of view, but writing in Bo's character proved to be invaluable in understanding him as a person. He's still very dear to my heart.

3. Were there any scenes or characters that didn't make it into the final version? Are you kidding? There are way more words in my outtakes file than ever made it into my books. Two characters in particular were hard to delete—a young couple raising sheep. I hope they'll resurface one day, perhaps in a short story.

4. What's the weirdest or scariest research you've done while writing your books? Readers may not realize that most crime writers have online browsing histories that could be used against them in court. I've Googled the symptoms of Paraquat poisoning, how long it takes a body to decompose in fresh water, and where to fatally shoot someone with a bow and arrow. The scariest research I've done was scrambling around on the slick, lead roof of a stately home in the Scottish Highlands—with acrophobia.

5. What little-known writer most influences your writing—and why? Have you read Miss Read (Dora Jessie Saint), writer of novels set in the English countryside? You should. She's gone now but has left a legacy of more than forty-five novels and three collections of short stories. You couldn't honestly call the Miss Read books page-turners, but she introduced her readers to such unforgettable characters as Mrs. Pringle, the temperamental cleaner of the village school; the Lovelock sisters, three elderly spinsters who maintain a dignified penury with a spot of shoplifting; old Ma Curdle, the gypsy matriarch who visits the village of Thrush Green every spring; and Dottie Harmer, whose herbal tonics give everyone the collywobbles. She taught me that every character must shine.

Thank you so much, Lucy, for welcoming me to The Jungle Reds!

Reds, what are your favorite questions to ask writers?

Like her protagonist, Connie was raised by antiques dealers in a home filled with objects of the past. Connie loves history, mysteries, cute animals, travel with a hint of adventure, and all things British. She lives in Ohio with her husband and adorable dog, Millie.

About A Legacy of Murder (Crooked Lane, Oct 2019):
Kate Hamilton arrives in the Suffolk village of Long Barston, dreaming of log fires, steaming wassail, and Tom Mallory, the detective inspector she met during a recent murder investigation in Scotland. Kate also looks forward to spending time with her daughter, Christine, an intern at Finchley Hall, famous for the unearthing in 1818 of a treasure trove known as the Finchley Hoard. But when the body of another intern is found floating in Blackwater Lake, romance takes a back seat. Long Barston is on Tom Mallory’s patch, and the clues to the killer’s identity point backward more than four hundred years to a legacy of murder and a blood-red ruby ring.

Stay in touch with Connie:

website: www.connieberry.com

FB: Connie Berry, Author

Twitter: @conniecberry

Amazon: https://amzn.to/33yio8p

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/32hcLLE

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2oHgTpB

Maya Rock on Agents, Editors, and Writing

LUCY BURDETTE: When I saw Maya Rock post on an alumni list for writers, my first thought was--what a cool name! My second thought (after hearing that she's worked as an agent for Writers House, an editor and a writer): we have to get her to guest on Jungle Red. So, Maya, welcome to our blog! To lead off, since you spent five years working at a literary agency, we'd love to hear some of your thoughts about what makes a query or a book jump out of the email box and catch an agent's attention?

MAYA ROCK: There is a certain format—hookish brief first paragraph, second paragraph that goes more in depth but is not overly detailed, conclusion paragraph with information about the author. What I looked for most in a letter was at the quality of writing. I also knew if a letter was bloated and long, the book probably was, too. I definitely paid more attention if the author mentioned something about my clients or my agency’s clients. And also if they compared themselves to other authors/titles. Those kinds of things felt like they were “entering my world” a little and made it slightly more personal.

LUCY BURDETTE: And now that you're in the editing business, can you talk a little
about the most common mistakes you see in the manuscripts you're working with?

MAYA ROCK: I have been surprised by how much flexibility there is with point of view. I’m not sure if that’s a mistake, but it seems like people really get into having different perspectives, in a way that I usually find disorienting. I also think people go long a lot. Understandable. I do too when working on first drafts. I think also a lot of people identify with their characters too much, and those characters sometimes start seeming like they’re fulfilling authors’ fantasies—they are a little flat and too perfect.

LUCY BURDETTE: I realize this is an impossible question, but we're all puzzled by
where the publishing business is headed. What role will agents play? and publishers? any theories or predictions?

MAYA ROCK: Hmmm. Well, I’m not good at those things. I guess in a sort of distanced, objective way I think ebooks will become the predominant form, but I’m not sure what that will mean to the industry. I did used to think Amazon was going to lure authors into their publishing house and manage to dominate because they seemed to have a more sophisticated sense of the internet than the traditional publishing houses. But I really don’t know anymore—the traditional houses seem to be catching up a little. I feel like something parallel must have happened to the music industry although in a much quicker way. I actively try not to think about these things except in a casual way because I feel like too much plotting about the industry drains my actually ability to plot a book.

LUCY BURDETTE: And that sounds like a good plan to me... Last but not least, you have two YA novels coming out in soon. Tell us a little about those please!

MAYA ROCK: Oh gosh, well one is coming out in 2013 and I think the other will hopefully be 2014. So it’s awhile off. The first one which is tentatively called SCRIPTED is “about at teen girl who starts to question her place on Bliss Island, where everyone’s lives are broadcasted to the mainland as a TV reality show." That description is taken from the contract. The second is a sequel to that.

LUCY: Congratulations--we'll be looking forward to those! Questions or comments JReds? Maya will do her best to answer....