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| Interview with Joanne Fluke, author of the Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Kensington, April 2000) the first book in the Hannah Swensen cooking mystery series. Read our review. Feature by PJ Nunn PJ NUNN - Joanne, tell us what you like best about Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. JOANNE FLUKE - The recipes. I love to bake and I inherited some of the recipes from my grandmother. She used to bake every morning in the winter to warm up the house. My mother changed the recipes around a bit, and so did I when I got them. They're delicious and you don't have to take my word for it. Just stir up a batch of Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies, Black and Whites, or Pecan Chews. I also like the fact that the Hannah Swensen series is set in Minnesota. I grew up in Swanville, a small town of 217 residents in the central part of the state. Lake Eden is a larger version of my old hometown. In Swanville, everybody knew everybody else's business. In a town of less than a dozen square blocks, the kids were supervised by the whole community. This had its downside when I was a teenager and came home from a date. The neighbors always peeked out from their front curtains. But there's a real upside to living in a small town. I knew that if I ever got into trouble, I could knock on anyone's door for help. Hannah seems like a nice girl who often gets caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. What inspired you to create her? Harsh climates, like that of Minnesota in the winter, tend to attract strong people who simply cope with whatever comes along. Hannah's a perfect example of that. She's an independent woman who knows what she wants (aside from the two single men in her life) and she sets out to get it. Tact certainly isn't her strong point and she has a wicked sense of humor. Hannah is nice and she has trouble saying no when people ask her for favors - one of the reasons she often gets caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hannah's so real to me that I catch myself wishing I could invite her over for coffee. She's someone I'd like to have for a friend and that's probably what inspired me to write about her. What can you tell us about the second forthcoming book in the series, Strawberry Shortcake Murder, without spoiling anything? In Strawberry Shortcake Murder (March 2001), Hannah's a judge in a televised dessert bake-off. The situation with Danielle is resolved, and Hannah learns more than she really wants to know about one of the single men in her life. Of course there's a murder and Hannah has a compelling reason to attempt to solve the case. All the Lake Eden regulars are present, as well as some new characters that come to town for the bake-off. Relationships are deepened, there are some startling surprises, and the suspense builds like a snowball rolling down a hill. I really like Strawberry Shortcake Murder. It's finished and in production, and will be released in March 2001. How did you first get started writing? I've been writing for most of my life. I started keeping a diary when I was in grade school. When my life wasn't exciting enough, I used to make up things that could have happened. Most of them were pretty far-fetched, but it was good practice. When I got to junior high, my English teacher assigned a topic every Friday and told us to write an article or story about it. The rest of the class complained but I loved it. I think that's when I first became serious about writing as a career. What is the first thing you had published? It was a story I wrote in high school. The title was, "We Weren't Really Married Until We Filed For Divorce." I earned a hundred and forty dollars from a now-defunct magazine and bought myself a new/used typewriter to replace the old manual one. How has your writing changed since that time? I have more experience to draw on and I've learned how to plot a good story. Playing murder mystery games helped immensely with that. Has your writing won any awards? I was a winner in a Writer's Digest contest and a finalist in several other contests. I'm hoping that Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder will win one of the awards next year. Who are you when you're not writing? What kind of work do you do? What are your hobbies? I'm still me when I'm not writing. Writing is so much a part of my life that it's impossible to separate the working writer from the non-working writer. Writing doesn't always pay the bills so I've held down various jobs, from an elementary school teacher to a short-order cook in a truck stop. I've done secretarial work, gone out on stakeouts for a private detective, and assisted a caterer, a florist, a mortician and a party planner. I've also worked for a photographer, coordinated the questions for a television quiz show, and one very slim, very broke year, I painted Christmas scenes on store windows. When I first started writing, I always worked a day job and wrote at night at the kitchen table after I'd put the kids to bed. My hobbies? I read a lot, compulsively. I have a book in my car, one in the bathroom, one by my favorite chair in the living room, and one in the bedroom. When I'm not reading, I'm probably baking. I also spend a lot of time with my pets - three dogs and a cat, all strays that we took in at different times. Who or what has most influenced your writing? This has to be a four-part answer. My husband has been a big influence. He has an incredible story sense and we often work together on plots and outlines. I dedicated Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder to him. Then there's John Scognamiglio, my editor at Kensington, who is extremely supportive and always comes up with wonderful ideas for future books. My mother was another big influence. She used to read to me every night when I was a child and she always said that if I tried hard enough, there wasn't anything I couldn't do. My kids would be next on the list. They love to get in on story conferences and their ideas are great. As a writer, where do you see yourself in 10 years? Of course I'd like to be rich and famous. Wouldn't everyone? But even if the Hannah Swensen series becomes wildly successful, I'd opt to stay right here with my life pretty much as it is. What do you enjoy most about writing? Working at home. I don't need a wardrobe of business suits and I don't have to commute to work. I can get up in the morning, throw on casual clothes, go up to my office over the garage with a fresh cup of coffee - with my dogs and cat padding along behind me. What do you find the most difficult? Working at home. I know that sounds like a contradiction to my last answer, but it's not. There are constant interruptions at home, but I get up early and go to work before anyone else is awake. Outlines are also very difficult. I hate to do outlines. I know an outline is necessary to a well-plotted book, but that's one of the hardest parts of writing for me. Then there are days I just don't feel like working, so I usually tackle some long-overdue project around the house, a project that makes me glad to get back to work. I made slipcovers for the couch when I was bogged down near the end of Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. And when I just couldn't start chapter five of Strawberry Shortcake Murder, I cleaned out my kitchen cupboards. Best advice for new writers? Read. Decide which genre you want to tackle and read everything that's out there. Try to figure out what you like about a certain author and what you don't like. Learn why some sections of books stop you cold or bore you as a reader and keep a list of things you want to avoid as a writer. When you plan your book or story, include some of your personal experiences and choose a setting that's familiar to you. Come up with an outline for the entire book and then write it. Don't talk it to death, don't agonize about it, and don't make the excuse that today just isn't the right day to start. Just plunk yourself down in a chair and start. Remember that there are lots of people who say they're going to write a book someday, but very few who actually do it. Once your book or story is finished, rewrite it until it's as good as you can make it. Then send it off to an agent or a publisher and don't let anyone talk you out of it. If you don't submit that "baby" of yours, no one is going to ring your doorbell and say: "Hi, there. I own a big publishing firm. Do you happen to have a book that I can buy?" Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder - Kensington - April 2000 Strawberry Shortcake Murder - Kensington - March 2001 Book Three - Kensington - March 2002 Email - Gr8Clues@aol.com Web site: http://www.MurderSheBaked.com |
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