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| Interview with Janet Evanovich, author of the popular mysteries High Five (St. Martin's Press, 1999) and Hot Six (June 2000). Hot Six picks up where High Five left off with the continuing adventures of the likeable bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. Read our review of High Five. Interview by PJ Nunn. PJ NUNN - After writing all the romance, what inspired you to create a mystery with Stephanie Plum? JANET EVANOVICH - I actually was forced out of romance. I wanted to write bigger books with more action, sort of like the movie Romancing the Stone, and I couldn't get any of the romance editors to give me a contract. So I took a year off and reinvented myself. For the most part, I'm writing the book I wanted to write as a romance writer, but I'm calling it a mystery. Truth is, the Plum series is probably neither romance or mystery. I think the Plum series is adventure. Stephanie's evolution and ongoing relationships with Joe Morelli and Ranger keep fans coming back for more. Without spoiling anything, how long do you plan to keep the tension going? As long as possible. I just take it one book at a time. Some say that carrying a series of characters beyond 5-6 books gets increasingly difficult. Do you plan to continue the series indefinitely or is there something else in the offing? I think it's easier for me to continue this series because I have so many secondary characters. Each book features one or two of these secondaries and that adds some variety to both the writing and the reading. And because Stephanie is a bounty hunter, and bounty hunters usually work more than one job at a time, I'm allowed to include a few small satellite stories that don't always relate to the main plot line. So I guess what I'm saying is that my basic formula has kept the series fresh for me so far, and there are no new projects in my CPU right now. As a writer, where do you see yourself in 10 years? I think the writing will probably be very much the same. I think my fan involvement will most likely change. Right now I'm really enjoying the contact I have with the reader, but it's becoming clear that in the very near future I'm going to have to get help with the mail and possibly change some of my book signing event policies. What is the most enjoyable thing about the process of writing? I like being alone in my room (just me and the dog and the monster parrot) left to the business of making something. What is the most difficult? Meeting expectations. The constant fear that this time out I might disappoint the reader. Who or what has most influenced your writing? Carl Barks, who created and wrote Uncle Scrooge comics and gave me a life-long love of the adventure story. Robert Parker, creator of the Spenser series, and the best technician who ever held a pen. And Tom Clancy, who showed me the value of timing and writing for the market. There was talk of a movie option. Has anything come of that? Six years ago, TriStar Pictures bought ONE FOR THE MONEY for Wendy Finerman to produce. The project has been in preproduction ever since but has never gone beyond the script-writing stage. You've achieved a status as a writing professional that many of us can only hope to achieve. Is it worth all the effort? If I was an absolute failure (and I was unpublished for ten years!) I'd still put in the same effort. So the status is icing on the cake. And at this point in time, I'm not able to decide if I have no life at all or too much life altogether. With the publishing industry in a state of upheaval, what is the best advice you can give to an unpublished writer today? Don't worry about things you can't fix. Ignore the state of upheaval and write your book. Pay attention to tomorrow's market and respect the reader. Drink some beer and eat a lot of junk food. |
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