FAQs

Q: How disciplined are you as a writer?

A: A little. There are days I'd rather have a tooth pulled than write. I lose at least half of those arguments. Before I start writing, I do loose outlining and know where I want to end up, but I also modify the outline and ending if something changes.

Q: Do you rewrite?

A: You bet. Sometimes as many as ten times. I love to rewrite. For me, the first draft is the zero draft. It just means that you can get from the first chapter to the last. Maybe it's that the story telling happens with the first draft, which is getting the basic story down on paper. The real writing begins with the rewrites.

Q: Do you do a lot of research for your novels?

A: I did a lot of research for Listen to the Mockingbird because it's historical. But it's my opinion that writers can get hung up on their research. They write scenes to show off their research rather than to advance the plot or add color to a character. Obsessing about details isn't good either. I do enough research to be believable, but not so much that I become preoccupied with the "facts" rather than the fiction.

Q: Any advice for someone who wants to write a novel?

A: If you don't have to, don't. It's a long grueling slog that doesn't end when you finish your first draft - or last draft. Some novelist once said that when he hears "When I have time, I think I'll write a novel", he actually is saying, "When I have time, I think I'll become a brain surgeon".

Q: How hard is it to get published?"

A: Ten years is the typical time people spend writing novels before finding a publisher. It's not hard to imagine there are a lot of drop outs. There are exceptions, but not many. Based on reports from my first publisher, Poisoned Pen, odds are about 1000 to 1 against you. I am not making this up.

Tidbits:

*  I love to listen to ragtime, jazz

*  The most recent movie I loved:  "UP", anything by Pixar

*  Films I loathed:  Sweeny Todd, Gangs of New York, The Dark Knight

*  I'm currently reading:  Fatherland by Robert Harris

*  Must see TV show:  The Colbert Report

*  I'd love to see:  the new Parthenon Museum in Athens

*  I'm curious about:  how entertainment was substituted for journalism

*  My top wish:  surviving the release of my latest book

*  Favorite artists:  Rodin, Picasso, Miro, the classical Greek sculptors, the Dutch masters

*  Favorite film genres:  suspense, historical; also those made in Ireland or New Zealand

*  Favorite actors:  Derek Jacobi, Angelina Jolie, Colm Meany, Meryl Streep

*  Favorite places:  Paris, London, Auckland, New York City, national forests

*  Interests:  hiking, camping, photography, archeology, ethics issues, animals, ancient history

*  Political affiliation:  independent, a little left of center, Obama (I used to be a registered Republican; go figure)

*  Religious affiliation:  none, not fond of organized religion, especially the fundamentalist variety

*  Professional affiliations:  International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America