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- Author interview - |
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  In conversation with Natalie Buske Thomas, creator of the Serena Wilcox Mysteries, author of Gene Play (August 1998) and Virtual Memories (March 1999). Her latest novel Camp Conviction will be released in September 2000. Her newest project, a children's mystery series beginning with Magic Camera will be published in May 2000. Virtual Memories was recently on the reading list of OPRAH's Reading Cafe (virtual book club). The Cafe can be accessed on AOL with the keyword OPRAH. Read rave reviews for Virtual Memories on About.com. Virtual Memories is now available through Amazon.com. Interview by Charlotte Austin. CHARLOTTE AUSTIN - How is the concept for the Serena Wilcox Mysteries different from other mystery series? What inspired you to develop this idea? NATALIE THOMAS - I like books with a Hitchcock-like quality to them, twists and turns without graphic violence. I wanted to avoid hate crimes, sex crimes, drug related crimes and, most of all, crimes against children. I really felt that I could create mysteries that involved intellectual, high tech, sci-fi and/or original crimes. No violence, no blood. Also, I wanted my private detective to be a different kind of character. She's feminine and funny, friendly. She loves pizza, never carries a gun and is a little bit lazy. Serena has teamed up with friends who do a lot of the grunt work for her. I was seeking a character who is different from the female private detectives I'd been reading. Serena is not hard, masculine or a loner. I wanted my detective to be a little more like me. It's fun to throw myself into these books and be a sleuth for a few hours a day. The second in the series, VIRTUAL MEMORIES received rave reviews, was featured on the television show Bookwatch and was recently recommended for the Oprah Online Book community reading list. What do you attribute this success to? I put a lot of myself into Virtual Memories. For example, while writing the scene in which Jack relives a memory of being with his late father, I describe what it felt like for Jack to see his father again. It was two in the morning when I was writing this and I was thinking about my own father who died when I was sixteen. I don't cry easily, I'm not one to shed tears over sad movies or to break down at funerals. But I weeped until I was sobbing. Every time I edited that scene I'd cry again. I threw myself into the funny scenes too, laughing like a fool all by myself in the dark, with only the glow of the computer monitor keeping me company. The book came alive because I threw myself into it. OPRAH's Reading Cafe can be found at keyword OPRAH. Virtual Memories was nominated to the Harpo staff by a reader. The Harpo staff selected the book in a group of titles to be voted on. Readers of Oprah's virtual book clubs voted their choice for the fall reading list. My book made the list. As a result, I was invited to be a guest author for two OPRAH online chats. I was very surprised, because I had no idea that my book was being considered for the Reading Cafe. It was exciting news. I did enjoy doing the author chats and I am thrilled to have a connection to the Oprah book clubs, even if it's only a virtual connection! Tell us about CAMP CONVICTION, the forthcoming third book in the same series. Camp Conviction is a completely different kind of mystery from Virtual Memories, but the same quirky characters are on the case. Jack (from Virtual Memories) attends a bizarre religious family camp. He and his family are kicked out of the camp after they are labeled a "problem family". Jack thinks that something is not on the level with the camp and tells his story to Serena Wilcox. Serena gets a huge kick out of sending her neurotic sleuthing partner Karyn to the camp to check things out: Husbands and wives leave the camp ready to make changes in their lives. No more TV, no more rock music, no more public schooling for their children. And a sudden interest in protesting the sale of a few acres of land. Camp Conviction involves the Internet, Millennium phobia, and religious groupthink. Typically, how long do your novels take to research and write? I am grinning over this question. I loathe doing research and I love to create crimes of pure fiction, so my research time is minimal. I take about six months to write a book, longer if I procrastinate or feel overwhelmed by other projects - especially parenting my six year old and my toddler. What kind of research is required? So far the foundation for my mysteries has been a figment of my imagination, but I do study people. I join listserves, participate on message boards and attend chats. I need to understand people if I want to write about them. Many of my characters are based on thoughts or feelings that I have myself, as those are the emotions I have real knowledge of. My composition teacher used to say: Write what you know. I think that's great advice. What do you plan on writing after the Serena Wilcox Mysteries? I also write a children's educational mystery series. Each mystery has a theme, like photography or painting. A workbook on that subject is included for use in the classroom or at home. I plan to continue adding to both the children's series and the Serena Wilcox Mysteries. I haven't really thought beyond that, but one day I'd like to write something socially profound, when I've really lived and have something clever to say. What is your biggest challenge as a writer in today's challenging marketplace? It's hard to be new today. Big business wants a sure thing, someone who is already a best selling author. I have to believe in my work and love what I am doing. Readers will spread my name around by word of mouth when they like what I write. One day I won't be new anymore. How is the Internet helpful for your work? Oh wow, I can't overemphasize how important the Internet is! It's my lifeline. I have many online friends who nag me to work on my books. I really need that kind of push to keep plugging away. Also, the Internet is the fastest and biggest way that the word is getting out about my books. I teach computer classes and workshops, I write a column about the Internet, and I am usually the first one in my group of Net friends to have the latest technology figured out. However, there is a downside: the amount of time I spend messing around with my web site, checking e-mail, surfing eBay for good deals and posting on message boards - gee, I'd have another book or two written. What advice would you give to an aspiring author? Be willing to work without pay. Volunteer to write newsletters and articles, submit queries on a regular basis, join a writer's group. Call yourself a writer *before* the money comes. If you say you are something, you'll become it. Learn about the publishing business. Never ever give up. Giving up was the only way I would fail, because I knew I'd never stop trying. What new project are you working on now? I'm finishing the third book in the Serena Wilcox mysteries Camp Conviction. I'm also getting the children's mystery series ready to be launched in the year 2000. The first book in the children's mysteries is called The Magic Camera, to be followed by The Magic Paintbrush. I'm attending conventions and trade shows for the first time this year. I'm not traveling very far from home yet, but it's a start. Next year I will be more adventurous. Any closing thoughts or comments? I thought that my life would change completely when I started to see my dreams come true. But I've lived with the passion of my dreams for so long that they have always been real to me. Life feels pretty much the same, except that I feel busy and frazzled much of the time. I work on my books late at night when the house is asleep. My house is usually a cluttered pit that I clean up in a panic when I know someone is coming. As I write this, toys are under my feet, a plate with toast crumbs is to the right of me and my mouse pad boasts scribble marks from one of the many times my two year old found a pen. Life feels hectic, but I wouldn't have it any other way. |
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