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Five Stars for DC Brod: An Interview BySusan McBride When publisher Walker & Co. left the character of baseball-loving PI Quint McCauley behind after four books, a small hardcover press called Five Star picked up Brod’s fifth in the series PAID IN FULL, just released in August. Now the regular Joe with the puppy named Peanuts will get another at bat, and his swing is looking mighty good. Read our review of Paid In Full. SUSAN McBRIDE - What happened with Walker? Did you get caught in the recent tidal wave that seems to have wiped midlist writers off the face of the earth? How did you make contact with Five Star to get PAID IN FULL published? DC BROD - With Walker, there was a combination of things at work. First, my sales had not been great. Then, my first three books were picked up for paperback, but my fourth wasn’t - the kiss of death. I was also working on another project and by the time I got PAID IN FULL to my editor at Walker, it had been a couple of years since my fourth. My agent did shop PAID IN FULL around after Walker passed on it. You can imagine how eager publishers are to pick up a discontinued series. It was also part of that tidal wave you mentioned. What was so disappointing about the rejection was that I really felt it was my best book. The contact with Five Star came after we’d stopped shopping it around. I got an email from Ed Gorman who does some editing work for them. He asked if I had any "trunk manuscripts." Just so happened I did. As a woman, why did you choose a male protagonist? Is it more intriguing to write from a man’s viewpoint? Quint’s character has been in my head since I was a kid and a big fan of Paladin and Mike Hammer, both similar private detectives in popular television shows. I've also always loved reading Arthurian romance, and the private detective is a modernized version of the knight. I first used the character that was to become Quint in a short story contest in seventh grade. We were given the names of the characters and it had to be a mystery involving stolen gems, but beyond that it was up to the writer. I knew that names like Johnny and Jenny Goodfellow were supposed to be the protagonists and a name like Dirk Snidely belonged to the villain. But that wasn’t the story I wanted to write. So I made Dirk a private detective and relegated Johnny and Jenny to rather minor roles, knowing I wouldn't win the contest (I didn’t). Yet I learned then that it’s important to write for yourself and not for the market. As an adult, I was inspired most by John D. MacDonald and his Travis McGee books. When I sat down to write my first novel MURDER IN STORE, I didn’t give much thought to gender and started writing with a male voice. I first tried to write in the third person, quickly realized the loss of the conversational tone, then switched to first person. There is some of my brother and some of my husband in Quint, yet Quint’s world-view is largely mine. Low key Quint, more a plodder than a sprinter, doesn’t need to be as assertive as if he were a woman, which makes it easier to write from a male viewpoint. A female protagonist with his attributes would have a difficult time surviving as a private investigator. When I started writing fiction, it was easier to separate myself from the character if I made him another gender. I have male readers go over my writing, just to let me know if Quint is doing something "ungender-like." So far, it hasn’t been much of a problem. Some people believe that writers shouldn’t write from an opposite gender's viewpoint. I think that’s flat-out ridiculous. Writers or critics should never impose such restrictions, and should instead let the work stand on its own. Is it more intriguing to write from a man’s viewpoint? Not necessarily. Gender difference is only one way to make a character interesting to work with. It’s Quint I enjoy writing - gender is beside the point. Right now, I’m working on a couple female characters I enjoy writing. In PAID IN FULL, Quint finds himself in the middle of several relationships that almost went somewhere, and a new one that may or may not be headed somewhere. Is he forever destined to be single? Years ago before the first book, Quint was married and is now divorced. I’ve never explored it in a book, although maybe I will someday. I think he’ll probably stay unmarried now. It’s difficult to keep relationships interesting in a series over the long-term. If two people really love each other and get along well, why don’t they get married? And everyone wants a terrific relationship, but how interesting is it to read about? Fiction is about conflict. A relationship with a lot of ups and downs can also be tedious and difficult to sustain after a while. Friendships have become increasingly important to Quint over the course of the five books. He’s learning that he doesn’t have to go it completely alone in life. That’s why I chose to keep Elaine on as a character, instead of moving her out of town. Yet there’s something about Quint’s essential loneliness that is one of the reasons I like to write him. How do you research your books? Do you know a private eye who gives you tips, or is it mostly common sense? I’m not a very outgoing person so I can't just hop in the car and go out to do hands-on research. I tend to plot as I go along. I also read a lot about a subject and immerse myself in it before I start writing, usually saving the details until the end. The exception is setting. I like to visit the places I write about. So far, my Quint books are set in the area in which I live, a river town west of Chicago. I’ve written another book set partly in England and Wales. Picture books and films help, but I really did need to see the areas I was writing about. I don’t have a private detective to refer to for tips, although I took a class on how to be a private detective. I use mostly common sense, and I do know police and lawyers I can talk to about legal details. When the book is finished and I need to go back and research, I use the library or the Internet. I’ll also call an expert whenever necessary. Writers are constantly doing research. I listen to people, read newspapers, magazines. It’s an ongoing process. Have you learned anything about the business of writing that you weren’t aware of before? Has it made you more cynical, or does your love for telling a story continue to drive you regardless of what’s going on in New York? When I started writing my first novel MURDER IN STORE, I wasn’t counting on selling it. I figured the only way to learn how to write a novel was to write one. When I sold it, I was well into my second book, ERROR IN JUDGMENT. I thought I’d just keep writing books and they would keep selling, never imagining that I would sell four books before I had one rejected. Some days it’s difficult not to be cynical, yet I write because I love to create characters and to tell a good story. I know you do some editing in addition to writing. What is it like to work on the opposite side of the page - so to speak? Do you think it makes you more attuned overall? After I sent Ed Gorman my book, he asked if I’d be interested in doing some editing for Five Star. I decided it might be good for me to exercise the other side of my brain. And it has been a good experience. I’ve learned that, as in most situations, first impressions are important. Is the manuscript neat, clean? You’d be surprised. I’ve found that most manuscripts can be placed in one of three categories: poorly written or poorly plotted - an easy pass; terrific, let’s buy it; and somewhere in between. The latter is where most submissions fall. There’s nothing wrong with the book, but there’s nothing special about it either. There’s something that’s difficult to define about a book that’s a keeper, but you know when you read it. It’s a combination of voice, narrative drive and writing style. That’s an important thing to know but, as a writer, it’s not easy to execute. I keep working at it. What’re you working on now, another Quint book or something entirely different? I’ve been working on this novel for eight or nine years - mainstream and just about finished. I’m not going to say much about it, except that it reflects my love of Arthurian myth. If it gets picked up, you’ll know. I have an idea for another series and a portion of a suspense novel finished. I’d like to write another Quint McCauley book. I feel as if I’m with an old friend when I’m writing him. We were on a panel together at Of Dark and Stormy Nights workshop sponsored by the Midwest Chapter of MWA and the topic was critique groups. Do you see any drawbacks to joining a critique group? I don’t meet formally with other writers, but there are a few people who send each other stuff to read, which is incredibly valuable. There’s a point in every book where it seems to cave in. Having someone to talk it over with can really help. When joining a group, you have to be careful who you let read your work. Not every critic is right and there are some people who are just plain mean-spirited about the way they go about it. You have to walk that line between being overly protective of your work and taking seriously everything everyone tells you. Find people you trust and who are on a level comparable to yours. What advice do you have for aspiring authors? How hard has it gotten to break into this business? Is the mystery market really as tight as it’s ever been? My advice for aspiring writers is to write daily. Imagination is like a muscle; the more you use it, the better it serves you. That’s really true. I try to write every day, weekends included. If I miss a day, it takes me a while to pick up the rhythm. Also, write the book you want to write. Don’t write for the market. If the book is good enough, it will find a market. One other tidbit: Kill the internal censor, that little voice that makes you doubt yourself, especially when you first start writing or when you're working on a first draft. The little voice will go away if you just move on with the work at hand. I think this is great time to be writing mysteries. It’s difficult to break into the big houses, yet it may be easier for a newcomer as opposed to a veteran with a so-so sales record. There are many small, independent presses starting up, willing to take chances with new writers and new ideas. What’s your favorite part about being a writer? Is it putting the words together, holding a copy of the finished book in your hands or perhaps receiving rave letters from fans? My favorite part about being a writer is the writing process: plotting and watching a character take shape. There are days when it’s a struggle, and then there are days when a few hours pass and I haven’t been thinking, just writing. I love wrestling with a plot, finding a character leading me somewhere I hadn’t intended to go, or discovering the book’s theme. When I finish a book and send it off to my agent, I mope around the house for a few days. It’s an emotional letdown. It’s also an extraordinary feeling to have someone come up to me at a conference and say they love Quint, enjoyed a book. I guess I’m not writing just for myself after all. How can readers get in touch with you? My email address is DCBrod@aol.com |
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