xyz Magazine Interview with the Author
How did you get the idea for writing your last story for Cora?
My last story for Cora was entitled Blutige Dornen. I got the idea for writing this supernatural novel when I was on a vacation trip to Sandbridge in Virginia Beach, Virginia in the USA during late May of 1996. My family rented a cottage not far from the Back Bay area, which is the setting for the novel.
When I visited the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge I saw some high school students in kayaks out on the Back Bay, which is a salt water marsh just off the Atlantic Ocean on the border between Virginia and North Carolina. They were on some sort of kayaking field trip, and they were just launching from the boat pier. The weather wasn't very good. It was chilly, misty, even a little foggy. It seemed to me that they were disappearing into the white mists never to be seen again.
So the idea came to me to write a horror novel about the Old Man of the Swamps who lures kids into his watery domain, converts them to his evil practices, steals their souls, and gets them to search for other converts in an endless cycle. The novel is as much a novel of atmosphere and setting as anything else. Part of the creepiness comes from all the descriptions of fog, marshes, and things that you think you see and don't see when the visibility is about a couple feet in front of your face.
How did you become a writer of supernatural stories?
I've always liked a good mystery or a good scare. When I was a kid I enjoyed the old Alfred Hitchcock movies. I still consider the famous director something of an inspiration.
Also, oddly enough, I think I came to writing supernatural stories though the roundabout route of writing novels about ancient Greek mythology first. Some of the scariest monsters, spirits, and demons come from Greek mythology. For example there is the witch Circe who turns men into pigs. There is also Medusa. One look at her face and you turn to stone! There is also Charon, the ferryman, who ferries dead souls across the River Styx to the Underworld.
All of these Greek characters have appeared at least by implication in some of my Cora novels. In Die Meerhexe I refer to Circe. In an upcoming Cora mystery novel, right now called Eyes [Herz aus Stein], I depend largely upon the Medusa myth. Then in an upcoming Cora murder thriller novel, now called River of No Return [Fluss ohne Wiederkuhr], the reader can find references to Charon.
Do you write regularly for the Mystery line?
Yes, I do. Besides the novels that have appeared to date, I have more scheduled to be published in the coming months.
Do you write other books than supernatural stories or thrillers?
Yes, I do write other books for young people. I just completed a fictional biography of an Apache Indian girl by the name of Lozen who lived at the time of the famous Indian Geronimo. Since I now live in Tucson, Arizona, which is about as western as you can get, I have decided to take advantage of the setting!
I have also recently had accepted for publication a mythological novel for young adults entitled Jason and Medea about the famous quest for the Golden Fleece.
In addition I have one adult novel published entitled To Follow the Goddess, which is an historical novel about the Trojan War form the point of view of Helen.
Can you make a living from your writing?
I assume you mean do I earn enough to be self-supporting? Of course, the answer is no. Not many novelists do earn mega bucks. My husband, who is a lawyer, earns the money we need to live on. I like to think of the money I earn as a supplement. I primarily focus on financing the trips that my family takes which give me the ideas for my novels in the first place. I am also focusing on helping pay for my son's college education in a few years.
It would be nice to make a living from my writing, though. It is one of my eventual goals.
Do you think that you will run out of ideas one day?
This is a question I have heard a lot. I don't think I will run out of ideas as long as I keep on traveling and keep on making observations about what I see and the people I meet. I'm somebody who is very focused on setting, and there are lots of settings in the world.
How many pages do you write per day?
When I am writing my first draft of a novel and I get up to speed on my computer, I write about ten pages per day. That figure includes pages I write in the morning, afternoon, and in the evening late at night after I take my shower. I frequently plot my novel in the shower, so I actually write the most close to midnight!
Sometimes I don't write as many pages per day at the beginning of the book. Sometimes I write more per day at the end. But basically when I'm writing a first draft I can't be doing or thinking about much of anything else.
How much time do you need to write a Mystery book?
Since Cora novels are now about 140 to 150 computer pages long, or 55,000 words, it take about two weeks to complete the first draft. But then I go back a couple of weeks later and do a thorough edit. The edit takes longer than the first draft. Then, after I've gone through the entire manuscript again adding, subtracting, changing words, adding dialogue, etc., I read the entire manuscript aloud to my husband and sometimes to my son in the evenings. They make suggestions, and the novel goes through another edit. Only then do I convert the manuscript from Microsoft Word (I have a Power Mac computer) to PageMaker 6.5. From the time I first start to write until the time I ship the novel to Cora often takes 2 months.
Needless to say, I don't have another job. I write fiction full-time, or I wouldn't have time to do all the edits!
Do you have writer's block? What do you do to overcome it?
I've heard a lot about writer's block. I've never experienced it. I just tell myself I have to write so many pager per day, and I know I can't stop until I write those pages. Probably the writers who have writer's block get hung up on "perfect output" the first time around. You have to tell yourself that you don't have to get it right the first time around. Once you get the basic plot down on paper you can always edit, edit, edit. You're heard it before, but writing is mostly re-writing. That applies to your school assignments as well.
Do you read books written by other Mystery authors?
Yes, I have read other books. Now I especially enjoy previewing the other books on the Cora website. It gives pictures of the bookcovers and blurbs about the plot. You can see it for yourself at www.mys.de.
What kind of readership do you write for?
My focus during most of the decade of the 1990s has been on the young adult market. My son, who is a teenager, tells me that I think like a teenager!
My last story for Cora was entitled Blutige Dornen. I got the idea for writing this supernatural novel when I was on a vacation trip to Sandbridge in Virginia Beach, Virginia in the USA during late May of 1996. My family rented a cottage not far from the Back Bay area, which is the setting for the novel.
When I visited the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge I saw some high school students in kayaks out on the Back Bay, which is a salt water marsh just off the Atlantic Ocean on the border between Virginia and North Carolina. They were on some sort of kayaking field trip, and they were just launching from the boat pier. The weather wasn't very good. It was chilly, misty, even a little foggy. It seemed to me that they were disappearing into the white mists never to be seen again.
So the idea came to me to write a horror novel about the Old Man of the Swamps who lures kids into his watery domain, converts them to his evil practices, steals their souls, and gets them to search for other converts in an endless cycle. The novel is as much a novel of atmosphere and setting as anything else. Part of the creepiness comes from all the descriptions of fog, marshes, and things that you think you see and don't see when the visibility is about a couple feet in front of your face.
How did you become a writer of supernatural stories?
I've always liked a good mystery or a good scare. When I was a kid I enjoyed the old Alfred Hitchcock movies. I still consider the famous director something of an inspiration.
Also, oddly enough, I think I came to writing supernatural stories though the roundabout route of writing novels about ancient Greek mythology first. Some of the scariest monsters, spirits, and demons come from Greek mythology. For example there is the witch Circe who turns men into pigs. There is also Medusa. One look at her face and you turn to stone! There is also Charon, the ferryman, who ferries dead souls across the River Styx to the Underworld.
All of these Greek characters have appeared at least by implication in some of my Cora novels. In Die Meerhexe I refer to Circe. In an upcoming Cora mystery novel, right now called Eyes [Herz aus Stein], I depend largely upon the Medusa myth. Then in an upcoming Cora murder thriller novel, now called River of No Return [Fluss ohne Wiederkuhr], the reader can find references to Charon.
Do you write regularly for the Mystery line?
Yes, I do. Besides the novels that have appeared to date, I have more scheduled to be published in the coming months.
Do you write other books than supernatural stories or thrillers?
Yes, I do write other books for young people. I just completed a fictional biography of an Apache Indian girl by the name of Lozen who lived at the time of the famous Indian Geronimo. Since I now live in Tucson, Arizona, which is about as western as you can get, I have decided to take advantage of the setting!
I have also recently had accepted for publication a mythological novel for young adults entitled Jason and Medea about the famous quest for the Golden Fleece.
In addition I have one adult novel published entitled To Follow the Goddess, which is an historical novel about the Trojan War form the point of view of Helen.
Can you make a living from your writing?
I assume you mean do I earn enough to be self-supporting? Of course, the answer is no. Not many novelists do earn mega bucks. My husband, who is a lawyer, earns the money we need to live on. I like to think of the money I earn as a supplement. I primarily focus on financing the trips that my family takes which give me the ideas for my novels in the first place. I am also focusing on helping pay for my son's college education in a few years.
It would be nice to make a living from my writing, though. It is one of my eventual goals.
Do you think that you will run out of ideas one day?
This is a question I have heard a lot. I don't think I will run out of ideas as long as I keep on traveling and keep on making observations about what I see and the people I meet. I'm somebody who is very focused on setting, and there are lots of settings in the world.
How many pages do you write per day?
When I am writing my first draft of a novel and I get up to speed on my computer, I write about ten pages per day. That figure includes pages I write in the morning, afternoon, and in the evening late at night after I take my shower. I frequently plot my novel in the shower, so I actually write the most close to midnight!
Sometimes I don't write as many pages per day at the beginning of the book. Sometimes I write more per day at the end. But basically when I'm writing a first draft I can't be doing or thinking about much of anything else.
How much time do you need to write a Mystery book?
Since Cora novels are now about 140 to 150 computer pages long, or 55,000 words, it take about two weeks to complete the first draft. But then I go back a couple of weeks later and do a thorough edit. The edit takes longer than the first draft. Then, after I've gone through the entire manuscript again adding, subtracting, changing words, adding dialogue, etc., I read the entire manuscript aloud to my husband and sometimes to my son in the evenings. They make suggestions, and the novel goes through another edit. Only then do I convert the manuscript from Microsoft Word (I have a Power Mac computer) to PageMaker 6.5. From the time I first start to write until the time I ship the novel to Cora often takes 2 months.
Needless to say, I don't have another job. I write fiction full-time, or I wouldn't have time to do all the edits!
Do you have writer's block? What do you do to overcome it?
I've heard a lot about writer's block. I've never experienced it. I just tell myself I have to write so many pager per day, and I know I can't stop until I write those pages. Probably the writers who have writer's block get hung up on "perfect output" the first time around. You have to tell yourself that you don't have to get it right the first time around. Once you get the basic plot down on paper you can always edit, edit, edit. You're heard it before, but writing is mostly re-writing. That applies to your school assignments as well.
Do you read books written by other Mystery authors?
Yes, I have read other books. Now I especially enjoy previewing the other books on the Cora website. It gives pictures of the bookcovers and blurbs about the plot. You can see it for yourself at www.mys.de.
What kind of readership do you write for?
My focus during most of the decade of the 1990s has been on the young adult market. My son, who is a teenager, tells me that I think like a teenager!
