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| Interview with Julie Wray Herman, author of Three Dirty Women and the Garden of Death. Read our review. Author's email: juliewrayh@aol.com Interview by Susan McBride. Clad in a yellow cardigan and beribboned straw hat, Julie Herman looked every inch the genteel Texas author as she smiled and graciously schmoozed her way through the conference scene at Malice and then Mayhem in the Midlands these two weekends past. One could easily envision her at home in Cypress, Texas - just outside Houston - overseeing her five acres of land and tending her garden of roses, sage and assorted perennials that thrive in the Gulf Coast heat. But she doesn't have a single azalea bush on her property even though the pink blossoms adorn the cover of her first published novel Three Dirty Women and the Garden of Death and the murder victim is found buried beneath such a plant. Turns out she doesn't like them - gasp! Julie Wray Herman is nothing if not honest. She's a modern day Scarlett O'Hara with a voice like honey, a warm smile and the cool of a cucumber. She could tell you that your hair's on fire without quickening her drawl or batting an eye. I spoke with Julie at the Mayhem in the Midlands conference in Omaha about her debut novel, the amazing reaction to it, and her new life as an author. SUSAN McBRIDE - What gave you the idea for this book? Did it come out of nowhere or was the seed based in reality? JULIE HERMAN - I actually have a group of friends I garden with and we call ourselves the Dirty Women. One of them was talking about her divorce while we were up to our elbows in dirt. She remarked, "You know who I'd like to put right here, right now?" When I went home that day, I thought I had a good idea for a short story. Then I put it aside, because I was working on another book at the time. When Silver Dagger got in touch because they were looking for Southern mysteries, I dug out the idea and sent them a proposal - I had all of three pages done! Though the setting for THREE DIRTY WOMEN is a fictional small town called Pine Grove, I don't mention the state. Still, people think it's Texas, since that's where I'm from. Actually, I used Atlanta, Savannah and Charleston as reference points. It could be anywhere in the South. How has promotion been going since the book's release several weeks ago? Surprisingly well. I've been attending conferences for a while, but Malice was my first as a published author. There are lots of really good authors out there who do not get the attention they deserve. I was really lucky at Malice this time. [Note: THREE DIRTY WOMEN sold like hotcakes!] To try to put things in perspective, another writer once told me about "the giant claw theory." You know those machines where you put in a quarter and then drop the claw down to try to pick up a toy? It's just the luck of the draw. That's the publishing business. What have you learned about the business that you didn't know before your book came out? I didn't realize how much fun it can be. People who would never have come up to me before now stop and say hello. I've met a lot of really interesting new friends this way. How do you go about writing on a day-to-day basis? Do you set aside certain hours for writing? What works for you? I impose a page quota on myself during the four months prior to the deadline. Otherwise it's a free for all - which means, of course, that I get very little actual writing done. What does your family think of Mom being an author? My husband carries my bookmarks around in his pocket just so he can answer the question, "What is that pink paper in your pocket?" My children have been absolutely wonderful about making me work instead of playing games with them. I think they got all their teachers lined up to buy a copy at the signing. Then there was the infamous "My Mom the Author" email that my then 12-year-old son sent to all his friends who then turned around and sent it to all their friends. It reached - at last count - 4,279 people. What's your schedule like this year? More signings? Conferences? I'll be signing in Houston, Dallas, Boise via telephone, Cincinnati, Nashville and several spots in North Carolina in June. I write from 5-7 a.m. and do the family thing the rest of the day during summer vacation. We have two children who stay with us during the summer as part of the Children of Chernobyl program, so that's four active and intelligent kids to squire around. The next conference up is ClueFest in July in Dallas, then I have to buckle down and get the second book to my editor. What's up next for you? Another DIRTY WOMEN book with Silver Dagger? Funny you should ask that. I'm working on the second book called THREE DIRTY WOMEN AND THE BITTER BREW. Korine sets out for Charleston, South Carolina, for a landscaping conference, only to find herself saddled with a roommate from hell. Thinking to escape the woman for a little while, she takes the tour of the Charleston Tea Plantation, but finds her roommate is there ahead of her. Guess who dies? It is tentatively set for an April 2001 release. Where do you hope to be in another five years? Or even ten years down the road? I see myself right here in five years. Houston is home now, and I will always write, even if the books aren't hitting the shelves. Anything else about Julie Wray Herman that you'd like readers to know? I like to make friends and, while I'm lousy at writing snail mail, I'm usually pretty good with email. How can readers reach you? juliewrayh@aol.com |
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