MLC: Do you remember the first mystery you ever read? If so, what was it, and what pulled you into it?
AUTHOR: One of the first was called JANE WITHERS AND THE SWAMP WIZARD. It had elements of being possibly paranormal--lots of scary stuff in it, along with Jane (who apparently was a movie star) solving a mystery. I loved it, and reread it many times.
MLC: When did you first decide you wanted to write a mystery, and what led you to that decision?
AUTHOR: I didn't think I could write one because they're so very clever. Instead, I tried to write romance, but found I "had" to insert suspense elements, if not outright murders. The first three books of my Angie Amalfi series were written as "romantic suspense." By book four (COOKING MOST DEADLY), I realized I was writing a mystery series!
MLC: Do you write in any other genres? If so, which ones?
AUTHOR: I did write a romantic suspense for Silhouette called ARMED AND DANGEROUS.
MLC: Which comes first for you, the plot or the characters?
AUTHOR: Writing a series, I have the main characters already. When coming up with a new book in the series, I'd figure out the plot, and then the "new" characters who fit in with it.
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: No, never. It's a surprise to me how my characters figure out the crime--it's something I take a lot of time and effort to put in clues and have things happen that make sense so that at least one of my characters "knows" whodunit before they actually face the killer.
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 no longer have a "day job." At this point in my life, I don't know how I ever managed to write, work full-time, raise two sons, and keep a house for my husband and myself. Now, it's all I can do to find time to go to the computer each day. I would love to write daily--I enjoy it. My goal is to spend at least two hours each day on my books, although it isn't often attained.
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 spend time as part of the committee that puts on the Murder In The Grove conference in Boise every June. (You can find out all about it at www.murderinthegrove.com.)We've found that it's much easier to do if we start planning for the following year's conference in Spring of the year prior to the conference, so we tend to go from one conference plan to the next without much of a break. It's time-consuming, but a great deal of fun, and I've met many wonderful authors that way.
MLC: Who are your favorite mystery authors? Do you try to emulate them in your own writing?
AUTHOR: Favorites...that's so difficult! I read many, many authors--especially those coming to Murder In The Grove! I usually read a whole lot darker works than I write, so I have to work hard NOT to emulate them! Angie books have a light touch of humor throughout--with a few dark moments. I have to make sure to stick to that style.
MLC: In your present book, is this part of a series, or is it a standalone book?
AUTHOR: My latest Angie book is THE DA VINCI COOK, a March 2007 release. After writing fourteen Angie stories in a row, I'm taking a little breather to work on a thriller.
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: As I made reference to, above, fourteen books with the same characters and the same "tone" (light, humorous) is a long time. I only write one book a year. So, I am going to give something else a try. If it doesn't work out, or if I miss writing about Angie (which I'll admit, I sometimes feel like I've abandoned her), I'll go back to the books. For this reason, I don't plan to "end" it at any time.
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: Characters, plots, entire books, have never gone the way I thought they would. When I try to rein them in, it doesn't work. I've learned to trust myself and to see where they lead me, even though I consider myself an "outliner" not a "seat-of-the-pants" writer.
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: Angie is nothing like me--quite the opposite--except that we both have large Italian families, a background in journalism, and were born and raised in San Francisco. I've learned that even when I do pattern a character after a real-live person, by the time I'm through with them, they no longer resemble that person!
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: My first book, ARMED AND DANGEROUS, came only two years after I decided I wanted to try to write a romance, which in retrospect I believe was quite fast. After that, I tried writing something bigger, more complex, and ended up taking how to write a mystery classes, finding a new agent, and spending five years doing all that before the first book in the Angie series, SOMETHING'S COOKING, was published.
I wasn't tempted to give up because I always had faith in my writing. I couldn't understand why publishers didn't! I was more frustrated with them, than with me (writers have got to be egoists, even if we also have inferiority complexes that cause us to fall apart whenever we get criticized or rejected). I still have no idea what causes a publisher to accept one manuscript and not another. The phase of the moon is as good a reason as any, I guess.
MLC: Do you ever attend any conferences? If so, which ones?
AUTHOR: When I was first published, I'd go to all the Bouchercon, Left Coast Crime, the RWA national and RWA local conferences, Malice Domestic, and a number of smaller, local mystery conferences. Now, I usually only go to Murder In The Grove (of course), plus any other conference that happens to be in a location I want to visit. Over the past year I went to conferences in San Antonio, and--believe it or not--New Orleans.
MLC: Do you have to promote your own work, or does your publisher do that for you?
AUTHOR: At this point in my career, I let my publisher do most of the promotion. I make contact with bookstores more than anything, and I have a fan e-mail list, and website. But, unfortunately, what I can do is like a thimble of water in the ocean compared to a publisher.
MLC: If you have to do marketing, what methods have worked the best for you?
AUTHOR: Going to conferences and going to bookstores to meet the owners.
MLC: Do you have any idea how your book is selling?
AUTHOR: The series does well--it has to or my publisher wouldn't have stood by me for fourteen books. Last year, they redid all the "old" covers and reissued the older books yet again, which was very nice.
MLC: What has been the best review you have gotten, and why?
AUTHOR: I do remember one newspaper reviewer calling a book a "shin-banger" because she couldn't put it down and walked into furniture. I was also surprised when a San Francisco Chronicle reviewer endorsed a book--one in which the murderer posed as a Chronicle newspaper deliveryman!
MLC: Have you won any awards, either as an author or for your books? Please tell us about them.
AUTHOR: I've won an independent booksellers award, and a reviewers choice award, and have been nominated for many including an RWA RITA and Romantic Times "Career Achievement Award."
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: I love it when they say I got to them emotionally--they really "felt" for a character. I guess that's the latent romance writer in me!
MLC: What is your next project, and when will it be out?
AUTHOR: The DA VINCI COOK, coming this month, is my latest scheduled project.
MLC: If you could write anything at all, ignoring what editors and publishers say they want, what would it be?
AUTHOR: I'm really enjoying the thriller I'm working on, and it's what I would be doing if given a choice. In fact, that's why I'm doing it. Life, I've come to learn, happens, and you may as well try to do what you want today rather than putting it off for some obscure time in the future. You never know what the future holds. Heaven only knows what editors and publishers will say. I hope they like it.
MLC: Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring mystery authors?
AUTHOR: I wish I had some for myself! All I can say is enjoy the writing process--the research you do, the discovery about yourself and your view of life as you write each book because all books are about "discovery" in some way--not only who did it, but why, and what is it in the human condition that caused this most horrendous of crimes. Have fun with it and more than anything, write for yourself. Not your publisher, not your editor, not your fans, not even your family. Write for yourself.
MLC: Do you have any teasers for your readers and fans about the next book?
AUTHOR: When Angie's realtor sister is accused of murder, Angie "skips" the country with her to Rome to track down the real murderer. The story involves Da Vinci's restaurant, a priceless religious object, and lessons in how to make fettucini noodles. It's all about Rome, and la dolce vita.
MLC: If a genie suddenly appeared and said they would grant you just one wish for your books, what would you wish for?
AUTHOR: That my as-yet-work-in-progress thriller ends up on the New York Times list...what else? <very big grin>
MLC: Please give us your website url and your email address where people can contact you.
AUTHOR: My website is www.joannepence.com, and I'd love to hear from people at joanne@joannepence.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.