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| Interview with Truly Donovan author of CHANDLER'S DAUGHTER (Write way Publishing, 2000) and the forthcoming WINSLOW'S WIFE. Read our review of Chandler's Daughter. Author's website - Feature by PJ Nunn. PJ NUNN - I loved CHANDLER'S DAUGHTER and I understand that there's a second Lexy book on the way. Can you tell us a little about it without spoiling anything? TRULY DONOVAN - It would be my pleasure. WINSLOW'S WIFE concerns Lexy's search for the missing husband of a friend she hasn't seen in over 35 years. There's a mysterious portrait and a long-ago crime to deal with, as well. The hunt takes Lexy back to her old haunts in New York. WINSLOW'S WIFE will be published by Write Way Publishing in the fall of 2001. Lexy and her little dog make a delightful couple of sleuths. What inspired you to write them? I borrowed heavily from my own experience in creating Lexy. Some of my friends insist she is me. But I point out that she is a lot nicer, dresses better, has more money in the bank, is more disciplined and energetic, and weighs more. I do have to confess that our tastes and opinions seem to coincide a hundred percent. As for the dog, I can't imagine not having one, so it seemed perfectly natural to me to equip Lexy with a companion like my own. I want to assure your readers, however, that the dog interviews no witnesses and uncovers no clues. She's just along for the ride because Lexy suffers separation anxiety when they're not together. How did your writing career get started? I can't recall a time when I didn't write. Most of it was done in the catacombs of the giant corporation that was my home for thirty-one years. Software documentation, memos, reports, specifications. As surprising as it might seem, I discovered along the way that I could write in such a way that some people actually enjoyed reading what was supposed to be dry, dull corporate stuff. There's an old saying that one door closes so another can open. In my case, the closing door tends to whap me on the behind. Starting about ten years ago, when I suddenly discovered along with a lot of other people that the presumption of lifetime employment was an illusion, I started getting whapped a lot. Then I found myself in 1996 with my book on publishing technology submitted to my publisher, my consulting business at a stage where it required either a major reinvestment of personal resource or a death with dignity, and essentially nothing to do. I would probably still be doing nothing if I could have afforded it, but I hadn't planned on early retirement. So there I was, in need of a good excuse to not go get 'A Real Job'. In addition to that, I had just read a succession of really terrible mystery novels. I have to thank those authors - whose names I have cheerfully forgotten - for inspiring me with the notion that I certainly couldn't do any worse, with the distinct possibility that I could do a lot better. And it was for me, now or never. If I didn't try my hand at that point, I knew I never would. I went to the local bookstore and bought a copy of Larry Beinhart's HOW TO WRITE A MYSTERY - read it, said to myself: "I can do that" and went to work. The result was CHANDLER'S DAUGHTER the first piece of fiction I'd written since a creative writing class in college that taught me that creative writing classes were not for me. I have nothing against creative writing classes. I'm simply one of those people who doesn't thrive in the conventional classroom environment, although it took me a long time to understand that. Has your writing won any awards? Not in the conventional sense, but I entertain myself with the notion that the book was released in 2000, so it isn't even eligible for an award until next year. And when I don't get one next year, I can console myself with the thought that book awards, like the Oscars, tend to go to books released late in the year rather than early. But one of my nephews told me that CHANDLER'S DAUGHTER and WINSLOW'S WIFE (which he has read in manuscript form) had reawakened in him a forgotten love of fiction, and that satisfied my hunger for awards - not that I would object to any others coming my way. Who are you when you're not writing? What kind of work do you do? What are your hobbies? As well as a writer, I'm also an editor and, just recently, a website designer. I've discovered that there is a market out there for websites that are not 'cool' - ones where nothing blinks, hops, or otherwise batters the nerve endings, and ones that are simple enough for the owners to maintain themselves. I like to think I specialize in websites that are neither overwhelming nor underwhelming--just your basic tasteful whelming. As for other interests, I share with Lexy my love of books, good eating, architecture and fabrics. I also spend an inordinate amount of time on Usenet discussing English usage. And when I sold CHANDLER'S DAUGHTER, I realized I'd better learn something about the business side of the mystery genre, so I joined the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Sisters in Crime. This has proved from many respects to be the smartest move I've made in a long time, since it has provided me with ample education, plus some great new friends. Who or what has most influenced your writing? That's a tough one. The only thing I'm sure of is that it wasn't my creative writing professor. I come from a family that writes, so for the fundamental capabilities, it was both nature and nurture on the home front. And a lifetime of editing and reading has certainly influenced my judgment in what not to do. For mysteries in particular, Ross Macdonald is one of my early heroes. But I've been reading the genre for half a century now - my father was a fan, and fed me all of his Rex Stouts when he finished them - and there have been many influences. As a writer, where do you see yourself in 10 years? I'd like to think that there would be four or five Lexy Connor books out there by then, although that's quite optimistic at this point. I wouldn't want a three-book contract that called for a new one every twelve months, so I have limited myself in terms of my prospects. No big-time agent would be interested in me and no big-time agent means no big-time publisher. A TV movie sale or two would sure be nice, though. On the other hand, publishing technology has suddenly and dramatically taken us to the point where a writer's options are wide open. I'm very happy with my publisher (Write Way Publishing). But if I were to be dropped after whatever book for any reason, I could keep the earlier titles in print and self-publish future titles if necessary - knowing that I could find at least a modest market in the following I might have developed, so the future looks pretty good to me. Sure, I'd like to be a megahit author with my books sitting on a rack on the airport concourse, but I'm happy with the response Lexy has gotten to date and feel very encouraged about our mutual future. What do you enjoy most about writing? The only part I don't like is re-reading and discovering I messed up. I would dearly love to give my editor nothing to do. There's a lot that I agonize over, but even the agonizing is enjoyable in its way. I sometimes wonder what the neighbors think as I walk around the neighborhood playing out scenes and trying out dialogue. I also have to confess that fans are wonderful. The first time a stranger told me they loved my book, I went all melty inside. And it's even better when friends tell you they loved your book. What do you find most difficult? Plot. Forty years of writing in the corporate world does not give you any clues as to how to develop a plot. It was the aspect of novel-length fiction that most frightened me when I started. I had no idea whether I could pull it off at all, and it remains the hardest part of the job. I still couldn't tell you the process by which I finally pulled it together for CHANDLER'S DAUGHTER. For WINSLOW'S WIFE, I chewed on one plot line for a long time before I abandoned it as unworkable and started working on something entirely different. Out of the blue, the two came together. I'm hoping for a similar miracle soon for number three. The other thing I absolutely hated doing was the synopsis that went with the query letter. I discovered recently that my publisher never looks at the synopsis and makes her judgment to ask for a full manuscript from reading the opening chapters. I think in my case that's probably a good thing - but if I'd known going in, I could have saved myself some grief. What is your best advice for new writers? You mean besides 'Get Beinhart'? Read critically. If you like something, figure out why. If you don't, figure that out, too. Knowing what not to do is as important, if not more so, as knowing what to do. And get Beinhart. What are your previous publications? Do you have a website? As for previous publications, please remember that you requested this information: Industrial-Strength SGML: An Introduction to Enterprise Publishing, Charles F. Goldfarb Series on Open Information Management (Prentice Hall PTR 1997). I'm so glad you asked about my website, because it's brand new at: http://pws.prserv.net/trulydonovan |
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