MLC: Do you remember the first mystery you ever read? If so, what was it, and what pulled you into it?
AUTHOR: When I was very young, mother read the Dick Tracy “funnies” to me, so by the time I was five, thanks to her, I could read on my own. These comics were series, and I was hooked on Tracy and his mysteries. Or maybe it was just that I wanted a Sparkle Plenty doll?
MLC: When did you first decide you wanted to write a mystery, and what led you to that decision?
AUTHOR: I had never really thought of becoming a writer until I found myself compelled to defend my family honor. While doing a genealogy search on my Texas roots, I found one history book referring to my ancestors as a “congenial society for evil.” Where I come from, them’s fightin’ words. I wrote my historical novel, The Texicans, to un-besmirch the family name and set the record straight.
It was my husband who nudged me into writing my first mystery, Troubled Sea. Since I like to read mysteries, I naturally fell into writing them.
MLC: Do you write in any other genres? If so, which ones?
AUTHOR: I do have that one historical novel (The Texicans) and one YA (Land of Mountains) under my belt.
MLC: Which comes first for you, the plot or the characters?
AUTHOR: Characters, for sure. I never really know where the plot is going; I let the characters lead.
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: Hetta Coffey, my protagonist in the Hetta Coffey Mystery series, remains as confused as I do as the mystery unfolds. Neither she nor I really know whodunit or whydunnit until the end. When the mystery is solved, I have to go back and rewrite to foreshadow things to come.
MLC: Do you write every day, or what kind of a schedule do you have? Do you write fulltime, or do you have a “day job”?
AUTHOR: I write most days. When into a new novel, I jump-start myself by editing the previous chapters. I am most creative when on our boat in Mexico: no phone, Internet, or other distractions. That is where I “power write” a whole book, then rewrite back in Arizona. I gave up my day job years ago, preferring poverty to work.
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 go to aerobics every morning, or take a walk, to kick off the day. I love boating, fishing, snorkeling, and, of course, reading. The most important thing in my life is spending time with my husband, preferably boating, fishing and snorkeling.
MLC: Who are your favorite mystery authors? Do you try to emulate them in your own writing?
AUTHOR: My numero uno hero-author is Larry McMurtry, because he can write so many different genres, so well. I want to be Larry McMurtry, but he’s already taken. Nelson DeMille makes me chuckle.. The truth is, I will read almost anything by anybody, so my favorite author is constantly changing. Lately I have enjoyed Sue Ann Jaffarian’s Odelia Grey series. Odelia is oversized and of a certain age, so I can relate.
Since I write humorous mystery, I avoid darkly psycho thrillers; I sleep better without them.
MLC: In your present book, is this part of a series, or is it a standalone book?
AUTHOR: I am still penning the Hetta Coffey Mystery Series. Number three, Just Add Trouble, is with the publisher. Now what, Ollie?
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: I’m asking myself the same question right now. There will be a number four in the series next year, but after that? Only Hetta knows. She takes bribes, so ask her and then let me know: hettacoffey@yahoo.com.
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: Hetta leads me into a dead end once in awhile, but I have a great friend, and editor, Holly Whitman, who sees it coming and reins me in with, “I can’t wait to see how you get Hetta out of this one.” If I don’t know the answer, I have to dig old Hetta out of the ditch, slap her up side the head, and get her back on, for her, the straight and narrow. Hetta, however, can derail the entire Amtrack system single-handedly.
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: I use my own experiences, greatly embellished, for Hetta’s adventures. Friends insist my stuff is autobiographical. I have no qualms about tapping my friend’s foibles.
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: How many rejections? I gave up counting. Was I tempted to give up? Not my nature. What made the difference when I was accepted? Learning the craft of writing, turning in the best manuscript I could. There are no shortcuts to writing a good book.
Not a patient person, and weary of rejections by agents and publishers, I self-published my first book, which was picked up by Books-in-Motion for an audiobook, and eventually by my present publisher, Treble Heart, for the paperback.
Just Add Water, the first in my series, I self-pubbed with iUniverse. That book was also picked up by Treble Heart. I found Treble Heart through networking with other writers.
MLC: Do you ever attend any conferences? If so, which ones?
AUTHOR: Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America are both stellar organizations and hold great conferences. I attended SinC goes Hollywood last year and learned a great deal. Like, don’t hold your breath for the film rights to be snapped up.
I will be at Left Coast Crime’s Murder on the Rocks in Denver, March 2008.
MLC: Do you have to promote your own work, or does your publisher do that for you?
AUTHOR: I do my own promotion, as my publisher is a small press. Treble Heart’s owner, Lee Emory, attends many conventions and promotes her authors in that way. She accepted the EPPIE for me for best Mystery 2007, as I was unable to attend EPICon in Virginia this year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank, like, everyone.
MLC: If you have to do marketing, what methods have worked the best for you?
AUTHOR: Book signings, without a doubt. My husband says I’ll talk to a fence post, so I do well at these. Also, I have built a following over the years, with readers waiting for the next book. Independent booksellers are a writer’s new best friend. If they like your books, they will hand sell them. It took some time, but I am finally selling books.
MLC: Do you have any idea how your book is selling?
AUTHOR: Loosely. For tax reasons, my husband keeps count, but I prefer not to become too distraught over numbers. I love writing and if people like my books, they will buy them.
MLC: What has been the best review you have gotten, and why?
AUTHOR: One of my favorite reviews came from the Gringo Gazette, in Ensenda, Mexico. Alisabeth Dobesh wrote: Hetta Coffey is a woman with a yacht and she’s not afraid to use it. That blurb merits a spot on my book cover.
MLC: Have you won any awards, either as an author or for your books? Please tell us about them.
AUTHOR: Just Add Water won this year’s EPPIE award for Best Mystery 2007. The Texicans won an award for the cover, but heck, my friend Jane Pitts did the painting, so I take no credit, except for choosing talented friends.
MLC: Is there any one certain thing that a reader has written to you that made you just want to jump up and shout “Yes!!!!”?
AUTHOR: Absolutely. Someone called me from the airport in LA. She was reading Just Add Water and said people were staring at her because she laughed aloud, then broke into tears, and it was all my fault. Yes!!!!
MLC: What is your next project, and when will it be out?
AUTHOR: Just Add Trouble, third in the Hetta Coffey series, should be out by year’s end.
MLC: If you could write anything at all, ignoring what editors and publishers say they want, what would it be?
AUTHOR: Frankly, I already write what I want to.
MLC: Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring mystery authors?
AUTHOR: Write a good book, master your craft, get published, any way you can. There is nothing more satisfying than holding your first book in your hands, and nothing more depressing than realizing it is full of errors. Edit, edit, edit. Then edit.
MLC: Do you have any teasers for your readers and fans about the next book?
AUTHOR: Hetta Coffey is a woman with a yacht and she’s not afraid to use it. Just Add Trouble is what she does best. Sailing into Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, she discovers there is more than one kind of serpent in that hauntingly beautiful sea.
MLC: If a genie suddenly appeared and said they would grant you just one wish for your books, what would you wish for?
AUTHOR: With a genie, you shoot for the stars: The Pulitzer. Okay, so maybe my genie doesn’t have that kind of pull, so I’ll “settle” for an Agatha, Edgar, a Lefty, or another EPPIE.
MMLC: Please give us your website url and your email address where people can contact you.
AUTHOR: www.jinxschwartz.com jinxschwartz@yahoo.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.