MLC: Do you remember the first mystery you ever read? If so, what was it, and what pulled you into it?
AUTHOR: As a kid, I read all the Nancy Drew mysteries and loved the plucky female amateur sleuth. The first medical mystery I ever read as an adult was Coma by Robin Cook and I was hooked from the first scene. As a doctor, myself, I loved the way Cook wove reality into a suspenseful mystery.
MLC: When did you first decide you wanted to write a mystery, and what led you to that decision?
AUTHOR: First of all, I love to read mysteries. As a physician, I’d written several nonfiction books and articles on medically related topics--a few geared specifically to the lay public. Someone suggested I could use the mystery/thriller genre to tackle medically related themes and reach the same audience, but in a more entertaining format. So I decided to give it a try. For example, in one of my latest novels, Dead Air, my co-author Linda Reid and I, deal with an unethical medical experiment conducted on a college campus.
MLC: Do you write in any other genres? If so, which ones?
AUTHOR: I have written one romance decades ago, two psychological mystery/thrillers, one international thriller and now two mystery/thrillers featuring an amateur sleuth.
MLC: Which comes first for you, the plot or the characters?
AUTHOR: For my stand-alone novels, I usually have a concept--a "what if" question I begin with. For example: in Rabbit in the Moon the first question was what if someone had discovered a way to extend the normal human lifespan? From that, came two additional questions: who would want such a discovery and what might they do to get their hands on it? At that point, the characters began to emerge: Dr. Ni Fu Cheng who has spent most of his life obsessed with finding the secret of longevity, his granddaughter Dr. Lili Quan--American-born Chinese doctor who has grown up unaware her grandfather is still alive and on house arrest in China and a host of others who want to lure Lili to China in order to make Ni-Fu hand over the formula to his elixir.
For my new series, the character of Sammy Greene came first--a 5 foot tall, young woman with curly red hair who is ambitions to become a radio talk show host. Born in Brooklyn, she’s been raised by her grandmother after her mother died and her father took off for Los Angeles “to find himself”. So, Sammy has issues. That's what has been the most fun--developing a character who will grow over a number of books.
In Dead Air, Sammy is still a college student with her own campus radio talk show. She uses her show as a forum to solve the mystery of why students are suddenly dying.
In Devil Wind, our newest Sammy Greene thriller, Sammy is working the graveyard shift at a small progressive radio station in Los Angeles. With Y2K looming and the Santa Ana winds threatening to turn the city into a fiery inferno, LA is on edge--and Sammy’s listeners are burning up the phone lines predicting the end of time. When a listener calls in to report the discovery of a burned body, Sammy starts to investigate and to her horror, learns the victim is the wayward daughter of an old friend. As she blazes a trail to find answers, Sammy realizes this death was no accident. All signs point to murder--murder conveniently obscured by the raging wildfires. Sammy’s investigation takes a chilling turn when she uncovers a sinister plot that could claim thousands of innocent lives.
MLC: When you are all wrapped up in the story, do you feel like you could solve the crime, or maybe even solve all the world’s mysteries?
AUTHOR: I never think I can solve all the world’s mysteries, but I do feel I could solve the crime in my own books--after all I created the plot!
MLC: Do you write every day, or what kind of a schedule do you have? Do you write full-time, or do you have a “day job”?
AUTHOR: I am now retired from full-time medicine, but I still have lots of other activities besides writing that occupy my time, so I have to be disciplined and set aside a certain amount of hours--preferably every day--I devote to writing.
MLC: Other than your writing, what do you enjoy doing? What is the most important thing to you in your day-to-day life?
AUTHOR: I have a wonderful husband of 40 years who is my best friend. We share lots of interests including tennis, photography, travel and cooking.
MLC: Who are your favorite mystery authors? Do you try to emulate them in your own writing?
AUTHOR: I love the early Robin Cook novels, most of Michael Connelly, and Jonathan Kellerman novels. I don’t think I copy them. I hope I have my own voice. I do try to make the reader turn the page just as they do.
MLC: In your present book, is this part of a series, or is it a standalone book?
AUTHOR: Devil Wind is the second in the Sammy Greene series. However we’ve been careful to make it a self-contained story so that a reader doesn’t have to read Dead Air first to enjoy Devil Wind. We just hope people will enjoy Sammy as much as we’ve enjoyed creating her and will want to experience more of her adventures.
MLC: If you are doing a series, do you see an end to it sometime, or do you plan to go on for several years with it?
AUTHOR: It all depends on how readers respond to Sammy and whether Sammy tells us that she wants to have more adventures.
MLC: Do your characters ever drive you a bit crazy by going off in their own direction? If so, how do you rein them in, or do you just let them run off on their own?
AUTHOR: This often happens. For example, in Devil Wind, Courtney Phillips, a young celebrity, not unlike Britney Spears or Lindsey Lohan, was supposed to be a minor character. She “insisted” she have a more important role.
MLC: Do you pattern your sleuths after yourself or someone you know? If so, do you let that person know they were your “pattern”?
AUTHOR: Sammy is someone both Linda and I would like to emulate in the sense she is a risk taker and someone unafraid about confronting injustice wherever it may lead.
MLC: How long did it take you to get published? How many rejections did you have to suffer through first? Were you ever tempted to give up? What do you think made the difference when it was accepted?
AUTHOR: I was fortunate I started writing in the 1980s when it was easier to get published. So I honestly didn’t have to go through a rejection process. The irony is that after a long hiatus from fiction writing, I returned a few years ago to a whole new publishing world and had to actually start over. My agent had retired. Luckily, I sent my manuscript to Oceanview, a relatively new independent publisher willing to read the manuscript for Rabbit in the Moon without an agent. They loved the book and have published my two subsequent novels.
MLC: Do you ever attend any conferences? If so, which ones?
AUTHOR: I live in South Florida, so I’ve always attended Sleuthfest which is the conference sponsored by the Florida chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. Last year I also attended Killer Nashville. Two years ago, I attended Thrillerfest. My co-author who lives in LA attends Left Coast Crime.
MLC: Do you have to promote your own work, or does your publisher do that for you?
AUTHOR: Both. My publisher has a publicist who focuses on the 3 months pre-publication, sending out ARCS (Advanced Reading Copies) for reviews and press releases. There is also an in-house person who arranges book signings. Once the book is released, I am expected to be more involved in the marketing--book signings, talks to various interest groups and Internet marketing.
MLC: If you have to do marketing, what methods have worked the best for you?
AUTHOR: I blog and participate in various social networking sites. I also do lots of book signings. But the best marketing has been book clubs. All three of my latest novels Rabbit in the Moon, Dead Air and Devil Wind have been selected by book clubs as their monthly reads. It’s fun to talk with these groups after they’ve read the book and participate in discussions. I have developed reading group questions for each of these books which are displayed on my Web site.
MLC: Do you have any idea how your book is selling?
AUTHOR: I rely on my publisher who tells me all my books are selling very well.
MLC: What has been the best review you have gotten, and why?
AUTHOR: Most of the professional reviews I’ve gotten for my novels have been really positive. Truthfully, the best reviews come from readers who tell me the story really engaged them.
MLC: Have you won any awards, either as an author or for your books? Please tell us about them.
AUTHOR: Rabbit in the Moon, which I co-wrote with my husband, won the Gold Medal for the Florida Book Award, first Place from the Florida Writers’ Association’s Royal Palm Literary Award, and a Silver medal from ForeWord Magazine. Dead Air was named best thriller by USA Book News as well as first place winner of the Florida Writers’ Association’s Royal Palm Literary Award.
MLC: Is there any one certain thing a reader has written to you that made you just want to jump up and shout “Yes!!!!”?
AUTHOR: Whenever a reader tells me my characters resonate and my plot is engaging and entertaining, I’m thrilled. I had a note recently from a local NPR station that a couple from Australia visiting Florida heard my interview about Rabbit in the Moon and based on that, bought the book, read it and wanted the station to know how much they loved it. That was a real kick.
MLC: What is your next project, and when will it be out?
AUTHOR: Not sure. I have several books I have started and haven’t decided which I will focus on first.
MLC: If you could write anything at all, ignoring what editors and publishers say they want, what would it be?
AUTHOR: A sequel to Rabbit in the Moon.
MLC: Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring mystery authors?
AUTHOR: The industry is changing. A new author will likely have a more difficult time getting published by so-called traditional publishers in the future. If you love to write, don’t give up. Write for the joy of writing--that is its own reward.
MLC: Do you have any teasers for your readers and fans about the next book?
AUTHOR: Here’s a teaser line for one of the books I am thinking of writing that is a stand alone (not Sammy Greene): While investigating the cause of her mother’s rare neurological disease, a female ex-army nurse uncovers a diabolical government experiment aimed at developing a 21st century biologic weapon.
MLC: If a genie suddenly appeared and said they would grant you just one wish for your books, what would you wish for?
AUTHOR: I’d love to see all of my novels made into films and then have at least one of them earn an Oscar!!
MMLC: Please give us your Web site url and your e-mail address where people can contact you.
AUTHOR: The Web site is www.shlian.com or www.sammygreene.com
MLC: Thank you so much for giving us a little glimpse into your books and your life. We look forward to a lot more books from you.