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- Author interview - |
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 Interview with Laurien Berenson, winner of 4 Maxwell Awards for Fiction from the Dog Writers Association of America, author of 19 books including Hush Puppy (1999) and the forthcoming Unleashed (Kensington, September 2000) the seventh book in the Melanie Travis mystery series.Feature by PJ Nunn PJ NUNN - I hear the newest Melanie Travis mystery UNLEASHED is due out in September. Can you tell us about it without spoiling it? LAURIEN BERENSON - UNLEASHED continues some themes that I started in last year's book, Hush Puppy. In that book, Melanie's fiancé Sam's ex-wife showed up to try and woo him back. She's still around in UNLEASHED and has now become a partner in a new dog magazine - a sort of National Enquirer for dog show folk. This tabloid is on the verge of being launched when the book opens. That's about all I can tell you without spoiling things. How many is this now? How do you keep them so fresh? UNLEASHED is the seventh in the series. IOne of the things that keeps these books fresh is that I really enjoy these characters as people, and I'm never sure what they're going to do next. If I'm sometimes surprised, I hope that readers will be too. Also, since I'm working with a fairly extensive cast of characters, I try to concentrate on different aspects of Melanie's life in each book - except for the main four characters who are pretty constant: Melanie herself, her son Davey, Aunt Peg, and Sam. That gives me a slightly different perspective to work from each time. Are you feeling the itch to do something new and different? Actually, no. Not at all and there are two reasons for that. First, before I started this series I wrote 12 stand-alone books, so I certainly don't feel as though I've been "locked into" the Melanie Travis books for my whole career. I've had a chance to explore other options and I really enjoy what I'm doing now. The second reason is that, due to my own background in dogs, these are the books that I always wanted to write. I'm so thrilled that they're being published and well received. At least for the foreseeable future, I'm very content with what I'm doing. How has your writing changed since that first book? I hope my writing has gotten smoother and more readable. I know I'm working harder at it. Especially when you're writing a series, it's so important to watch out for all those little "writer's tics" that almost everyone falls into at times, because anyone who reads a couple of books in a row will certainly notice them. Writing is one of those things that improves with practice, so hopefully I'm getting better as I go along. Has your writing won any awards? My books have won 4 Maxwell Awards for Fiction from the Dog Writers Association of America. One of my short stories entitled Sleeping Dogs Lie, based on characters from the series, was nominated for the Agatha and Macavity Awards. Who are you when you’re not writing? What kind of work do you do? What are your hobbies? I'm lucky in that writing is my only job. Aside from that, I'm also a wife, mother, retired dog show exhibitor, and owner of six Poodles. As for hobbies, I love to read, and I spend an indecent amount of time riding my horse. Who or what has most influenced your writing? I think the biggest influence on my writing have been other writers. To me, there's nothing more inspiring than a good book. I really think that most of writing is simply slogging through the process in the hope of achieving that all too rare epiphany where you actually succeed in making language soar. That's what makes the work worthwhile - that and hearing from readers who have enjoyed my books. As a writer, where do you see yourself in 10 years? Do you know, that's a great question and I have no answer. I guess I've reached the age where I've stopped making predictions that far ahead. All I can say is, I hope to be surprised. What do you enjoy most about writing? There are a lot of things I enjoy about writing. I feel compelled to put my thoughts down on paper, so I'd be a writer even if I never managed to get published. Writing gratifies me in ways that are difficult to explain. I love the satisfaction of holding the finished product in my hands. I also get a real thrill out of hearing from people who've read and enjoyed my books. And since I don't take direction well, having a career where I can work for myself is ideal. What do you find most difficult? The most difficult thing about writing is that it's damn hard work. The second most difficult thing is finding a publisher, and knowing that that publisher thinks you're only as good as your last set of sales figures. This isn't a career path for the faint of heart. Best advice for new writers? Don't give up. Never give up. Believe in yourself no matter what, until you can finally convince someone else to believe in you, too. If your first book doesn't sell, write a second. If your ninth book doesn't sell, write a tenth. If that sounds like too much work, find another career. By the way, the first book I sold was approximately the sixth I'd written. Other writers got there a lot quicker, but they're the lucky ones and not the norm. Tell us about your previous publications. I've written 19 books so far, including September's UNLEASHED. Some were romances, one young adult, two psychological suspense. All the titles are listed on my website. I've also written a whole bunch of magazine articles and I used to freelance for the New York Times. |
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