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- Author interview - |
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  Interview with Sarah St. Peter author of Murder.com (Dageforde Publishing, 1999). The novel received rave reviews, and is also available as an e-book from Peanut Press and from Amazon.com. Read our review of Murder.com. Interview by Charlotte Austin. CHARLOTTE AUSTIN - How does a professional standup comic become a writer and a successful author? Explain the transformation you had to go through on this difficult journey. St. PETER - I believe a successful standup has to be a prolific writer. Material gets dated or stolen by other comics. One night, during a comedy show on a Denver stage, the emcee ripped off a big part of my main bit 10 minutes before he introduced me! When I confronted him after my tapdancing routine, the vermin denied me remorse because he had changed a few words. So, as Leno says, "You’ve just got to write faster." I learned a ton writing comedy routines. There are time limits on stage, so I quickly learned how to be concise. How to improvise. Set up and punch. There are words and word sounds that are funnier than others. Now, after I write something, I read it aloud to make sure it "sounds" right. As far as the transformation from comic to mystery author, it may just be a matter of maturity. Maybe it was because I lost a parent and grew up. Maybe it's no longer having the need for instant gratification that approval from the masses gave me. Most masses, anyway. There was that packed 4-wheel-drive-pick-up-parking-lotted cowboy bar in Gillette, Wyoming. I should’ve never put down their annual prairie-dog shooting extravaganza. I wish I would’ve known the words to the song, Rawhide. Maybe I just got tired of being on the road. I hoped when I was a kid that I would write a book someday. I was afraid to write one for many years. After all, what if I built it and nobody came? Then, one day, eons later, it began pouring out. MURDER.COM was born. Of all genres to write, why write mystery novels? Why not fiction, for example? I think it chose me. The innovative idea for the murder weapon came from my brother, Darwin. It was one of those, "Hey! I have an idea for a high tech crime." (You know the ones. The great Idea people that never help you follow through.) When you ask them a simple question such as what is the plot or who are the characters, they say, "Hey! It’s up to you to supply the other 85,847 words. You’re the writer." God Bless ‘em. What place does psychology play in your books? MURDER.COM is a psychological thriller. It fascinates me to think at best, we only consciously use up to 10% of our brain (That’s on a good day when you can find your car keys AND your glasses.) It impels me to imagine what the other 90% is doing. I recently finished the coursework on my MBA in clinical psychology. I considered it an investment. And just think of the money I’ll save on therapy. In MURDER.COM, what do you explore? What do you search and find as a writer? What a great question! I’m still learning what it meant to actually finish my book and take it to market. That in itself, before ever selling a single copy, was a lifemark for me. That new book smell is etched in my psyche forever. Never mind that my share of the books was delivered while I was out of town, and my mom ripped open the first box and gave the first copy of MURDER.COM to the deliveryman as a tip. Of course, she signed it: From Darlene, Mother of Sarah St.Peter. Pardon me, I digress. Although the people and events in MURDER.COM are fictitious, it was a cathartic exploration to the dark side of the soul, perhaps in an attempt to diminish it in a symbolic way. Some of us still have monsters hiding in our closets. Some of us still carry scars from the damage those monsters have already done. What if you could just "get" them, once and for all? What price would it carry? As good people, most of us try to make the best choices we know how, learn to forgive, and live and let live to the best of our ability. I wanted to see what it felt like to choose revenge. I found forgiveness is better. But, I got to experience the feeling of ultimate revenge without being incarcerated. After all,it’s only fiction. The novel was well received by readers and critics. It also caught the attention of a New York agent. How did this happen? I wish I could say it was because I wrote a brilliant query letter and a New York agent was so impressed by my dazzling repertoire that the words leapt off the page and wrapped him in an irresistible hypnotic glow. A New York journalist peer had given this agent a manuscript and the name of it was MURDER.COM. He went to Amazon.com and checked the title, saw my book, was intrigued, saw that it was published by a small press. He then contacted me by e-mail to see if I had representation, and if not, could I send him a copy of the book. Iinquired about him and found out he required no fees. I talked to him on the phone (Okay, it was probably the English accent that threw me over the line). So, I sent him a book, he loved it, and we hammered out an agreement for MURDER.COM and the next in the series - tentatively titled, TO DIE LAUGHING. Now I’ve moved up to a whole new level of waiting. Your second book in the series, TO DIE LAUGHING, is about a standup comic gone bad. Why did you want to write this particular book? People seem to be fascinated with the comedy field. Statistics show fear of public speaking ranks right up there between dying and jumping out of an airplane. Doesn’t mean you want to do it, but makes you wonder how it feels to do it. Most people have at least a little standup comic in them. Who doesn’t like to get a laugh? What little research exists on the standup comic suggests that most had a rough go of it growing up and used humor as a coping mechanism. So it’s not that they’re so happy, as that they are seeking approval. And there’s that old saying, "Write what you know." When will this latest mystery be available? I hope to finish it this spring. What have you got planned to continue the series? I have no firm plans at the moment. What next? Something entirely different? I’m not sure. Maybe something about the triumph of the human spirit. I like those kinds of stories. Any closing thoughts or comments? Follow your heart no matter what. It’s worth it. Life is short. |
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