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- Author interview - |
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  Interview with Laura Belgrave, author of In the Spirit of Murder (Overmountain Press - A Silver Dagger Mystery, 2000). Read Laura Belgrave's full biography. Interview by Nancy Mehl -Author's e-mail: wordbiz@bellsouth.net "Detective Lieutenant Claudia Hershey left her home in Cleveland to live the kind of life that Norman Rockwell painted. She thought that Indian Run, Florida would provide the type of all-American existence that she wanted for herself and her 13 year-old daughter, Robin. But instead of living her dream, Claudia has stumbled into a horrifying nightmare." - From our review by Nancy Mehl - NANCY MEHL -In the Spirit of Murder is your fifth novel. What was it about this effort that brought it out of your closet and into publication? LAURA BELGRAVE - I can probably tell you what it WASN'T - more readily than I can tell you what it was. It wasn't a mainstream novel. It wasn't an attempt to mimic the style of some other author I admired. Those are things I'd done with what I think of as "Novels One, Two, Three and Four." Mind you, I don't consider those earlier novels bad. In fact, most of them got quite close to publication. But they all missed something important. They weren't straightforward genre novels, which are typically the kinds of books that publishers are most willing to try out with an unknown writer. In the Spirit of Murder has its own unique style and plot, but it's very clearly a mystery, and mysteries are something readers can wrap their arms around. This is something I know about - because there's little in life I like more than nestling in a fat armchair with a cup of coffee at my side and a good whodunit in my lap. Where did the idea for this novel come from? LB - You know, I've always admired the kinds of writers who could spin out plot ideas during the commercial breaks of their favorite TV shows, but ideas have never come that way to me. I have to incubate everything I do, and the idea for this novel was no exception. As a matter of fact, SPIRIT took shape over the course of many years, although I doubt I knew it. The story revolves around a community of psychics and mediums - people I've regarded with skepticism for most of my adult life. I don't know, that may be because of my journalism background. Anyway, I happened to meet a psychic once who just about took my breath away with her ability to know things about me that she couldn't possibly know, and to predict events in my future that have turned out precisely as she said they would. This was a little old lady who looked like she could've stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting. She worked by feeling a sealed envelope into which I had placed a folded piece of paper with twenty questions. She'd finger the envelope and then answer the questions inside. If there were smoke and mirrors, I didn't see them. Much later and on two occasions, I visited a Florida community of psychics and mediums. I can't say they impressed me in the same way, but somewhere in all of those experiences, the idea for SPIRIT took hold. How did you research your novel? LB - Research seemed endless to me. I talked to a number of spiritualists, of course - and to people who visited them - and I pulled whatever information I could from books and journals. But I think that just as much research went into oddball details in the story that had nothing whatsoever to do with psychics. For instance, the setting for SPIRIT is in Florida. Just because I've lived in this state for a long time doesn't mean that I necessarily know the name of every tree or shrub that grows here. I had to find out about that, about police procedures, weapons, weather patterns - for a while I was overwhelmed. And you know, writers always wind up with so much more detail than ever goes into their final stories. Research is far more a component of fiction writing than I think most people realize. It's not glamorous work, but in my mind it's hugely important. Describe a typical writing day for our readers. LB - This won't make me sound very exciting. The truth is I worked for so many years in corporate office settings that I've pretty much carried the same "clock habits" forward into my writing life. In other words, I'm kind of a nine-to-five writer. I treat writing like any other job. I told you! Dull. What is the biggest challenge facing writers in today's marketplace? LB - There are probably as many opinions on this as there are writers. I think one huge hurdle is finding publishers still willing to nurture the careers of new authors. For most authors, it takes years to get established, to get name recognition. Big publishers don't want to wait, which considerably limits the options for new writers. What advice would you give to an aspiring writer? LB - I can only answer this in two parts. On writing - Write what makes you feel comfortable, what makes you smile, what makes you passionate. It doesn't have to be what you know. For instance, I've never killed anyone. I've never known anyone who did. Nor am I a police detective. But did that stop me from putting murderers and cops in my book? Hell no! On getting published - Persist. Push. Be patient. Be realistic. For me, this meant I had to make space on my closet shelves for the books that never went anywhere so that I'd have space on my desk for the one that eventually did. (Also, don't use expensive paper for drafts!) What projects are you working on now? Any future plans for Claudia Hershey? LB - I'm incubating again. I have a half-baked idea for another Claudia Hershey novel and I confess I'm toying with a few other mystery ideas as well. Eventually, the scraps of paper that are floating around all over my house will turn into something. Hopefully, this time they'll turn into something sooner rather than later. Any closing thoughts or comments? LB - If you're a reader, try not to break the spine. Use a bookmark. If you're a writer, don't get too isolated. Break away from your make-believe world and go to lunch with actual human beings every now and then. Reality checks are good. |
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