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- Author interview - |
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In terview with M. Diane Vogt, author of Silicone Solution(Sterling House, 1999) an intriguing story with a well-crafted plot, multi-faceted characters and plenty of clues. A successful first mystery introducing Judge turned sleuth Willa Carson. Author's web site: www.mdianevogt.com Read our review of Silicone Solution. Feature by PJ Nunn. PJ NUNN - Welcome Diane. You're an attorney and a busy lady. How did you ever get started writing mysteries? M. DIANE VOGT - I love reading mysteries. I grew up on Nancy Drew and Helen McInnes, followed shortly by Agatha Christie, Rex Stout and John D. McDonald. Mysteries are, to me, just wonderful "brain candy" and I love the puzzle aspect of it. It seemed like the logical next step to write them! Is SILICONE SOLUTION your first book? Yes. It is my first mystery and my first series. The second novel in this series is Justice Denied, dealing with an army general who gets appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court but is killed before he gets confirmed. Whudunit? And why? The case you feature in SS is so detailed, was it inspired by something that really happened? Sort of. I'm a lawyer and I've practiced law for 20 years. For much of that time, I defended manufacturers in breast implant cases. This story is a conglomeration of all of the things that happened in the case. I love the concept of a protagonist with a view from the bench. Will you be continuing the series? Yes. Justice Denied is the second in the series. Gasparilla Gold is the third. I was interested in creating a series character with the opportunity for many, many stories. I hope Willa goes on forever! What kind of cases are in Willa’s future? Justice Denied deals with court packing, gays in the military, and other Supreme Court appointment issues. Gasparilla Gold involves the currently prevalent practice of individuals who hide assets and disappear from the authorities. Other big legal issues of our time will form the backdrop for the rest of the Willa series. Are you still practicing law? If so, does the writing interfere? I practice part time now and I also have a consulting business called PeopleWealth that focuses on improving job satisfaction for lawyers. Writing is something I'd like to do full time in the future. Many writers seem to write the kind of books they like to read but there really isn't anything that closely compares to Willa. Whose work inspires you? Thanks for saying that! I tried to create a unique and unusual series that was "the same, but different" from others out there. Sue Grafton, Sarah Paretsky, Margaret Maron inspire me. I read a lot of current fiction, and I like most of it. If you could secure a private hour with any writer, living or dead, who would it be and what would you like to discuss with them? Living: Sue Grafton. I have so much admiration for her writing, her talent - and her success! Dead: How can I specifically say? John D. McDonald was a HUGE influence on me, as was Rex Stout. I'd love to spend some time with both of them. And how can any mystery author deny a desire to talk to Dame Agatha? What I'd like to talk about is how they felt as a writer and how they sustained their desire to write in the face of the issues of their days. What do you love most about writing? The creative process. I really, really enjoy the story when it flows from my fingers to the page. I've had the blessing of a number of readers telling me that my story was so compelling to them that it kept them up all night. Now, THAT'S what I'm going for! What comes hardest for you? Revision. I have to fight the tendency to think it's God's will that it stay the way it originally hit the page. I love that! Wonder how many writers can relate to that feeling? In today's publishing arena, promotion seems to be every author's nightmare. What do you find easiest about promoting your work? Most difficult? I read that the Chicken Soup authors did one radio interview a day and sent out five review copies of their book every week for two years and eventually sold over 50 million copies of their books. In the face of such overwhelming evidence that promotion works, how can I really object to it? The thing I like best about promotion is the opportunity to talk directly to readers. The thing I like least about it is how much time it takes away from writing. Are you working on another book now? Yes. Gasparilla Gold is the third in the Willa Carson series. I hope to have it to the publisher later this year. Do you plan to write something different anytime soon? I spent last year completing a non-fiction book entitled Keeping Good Lawyers with my co-author and business parner, Lori-Ann Rickard. I also do a monthly newsletter for our business, PeopleWealth, and I just became editor of The Rap Sheet, the quarterly newsletter of the Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. That's about all the time I have for writing right now! Have you written any short stories? As for short stories, so far, I haven't tried that form, although it interests me. It seems to me a short story is sort of like a short trial - a lot more work in a shorter time frame. It is a challenge I'd like to take at some point. What advice can you give to those who are still struggling to get published? There are so many opportunities for unpublished writers these days that my best advice is don't give up. The public is hungry for stories. Write the best ones you can and then look for the right publisher to publish them!! Readers can devour a story a lot quicker than writers can produce them. There's a lot of room for good work. |
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