MLC: Do you remember the first mystery you ever read? If so, what was it, and what pulled you into it?
AUTHOR: Possibly one of my brother's Hardy Boys or a Nancy Drew book? I don't remember a time when I wasn't reading mysteries. The lure is the puzzle, the need to the turn the page, and the next, to find the answer.
MLC: When did you first decide you wanted to write a mystery, and what led you to that decision?
AUTHOR: After my dad died, I spent several weeks with my mother. Her friends brought books or borrowed them, mostly mysteries, some romances. They analyzed the plots and discussed the characters as if they were neighbors down the street. It hit me then that writing stories with no other object than to bring enjoyment, could be a wonderful thing.
MLC: Do you write in any other genres? If so, which ones?
AUTHOR: Plays. A friend talked me into taking a play writing course offered by a Philadelphia theatre. When my first short play was selected for a local competition and produced, I was mentally nudging Tennessee Williams to move over and make room. However, I had this manuscript for a mystery . . .
MLC: Which comes first for you, the plot or the characters?
AUTHOR: They come hand-in-hand. No other character can tell the same story in the same way with quite the same impact. It's like if you try to recount a funny episode that happened to a friend, it never has quite the same punch.
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: Hardly. Most of the time I'm muddling along with the protagonist wondering what comes next.
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: When my husband's antique car restoration business expanded, I left a corporate job to help out, but working at the shop wasn't full-time enough to keep my mind from coming up with murder plots, so I wrote on the side. Once my first manuscript was accepted we negotiated, agreeing that I'd work for him two days a week and write the other three. Generally, I begin at 8AM and write until six. I'm envious of writers who can be productive in half-hour segments.
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: Besides writing and reading, my life is devoted to short words beginning with "C": cats (strays that found their way to the shop), cars (antique and those that go very fast) and cooking for friends (on the week-ends, not the every-day maintenance variety).
MLC: Who are your favorite mystery authors? Do you try to emulate them in your own writing?
AUTHOR: Tami Hoag, Tess Gerritsen, Laura Lippman, Jeffery Deaver, Sara Paretsky. No. I couldn't even if I tried.
MLC: In your present book, is this part of a series, or is it a standalone book?
AUTHOR: DRIVEN TO MURDER is the third book in the Rebecca Moore series.
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: From the beginning six books seemed the right number to tell Rebecca's story.
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: Some characters do have minds of their own and it's fun to see where they want to go. Occasionally they come up with an idea that enhances the story, or forces me to rethink what I'm asking them to do. All I ask in return is that they stay true to the plot.
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: The main characters seem to knock on the door, fully formed, although undoubtedly they're a compilation of acquaintences I've met. Doing justice to a living person would be difficult for me. In artistic terms, I'm much more of an impressionist than a realist. You know, lots of little dots creating the illusion; not crisp, sure lines depicting precise details.
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: Getting published was a shock because it happened very quickly. I told myself I was just going through the motions; that once enough rejections hit the mailbox, I'd crawl back into the garret and write plays for my own amusement. I sent out six query letters to agents. Three wrote back, requesting either the full manuscript or beginning chapters. The first one who responded thought the book had potential (once I rewrote it per his suggestions) and he sold it within a week. When he told me it was a three-book deal, I asked who was writing the other two. He didn't laugh. Definitely beginner's luck.
MLC: Do you ever attend any conferences? If so, which ones?
AUTHOR: Bouchercon, Malice Domestic, New England Crime Bake.
MLC: Do you have to promote your own work, or does your publisher do that for you?
AUTHOR: My publishing house treats its authors well in terms of getting you exposure, but they have a lot of authors to handle. As a beginner, much of the promotion is up to me.
MLC: If you have to do marketing, what methods have worked the best for you?
AUTHOR: Because my series has an identifiable niche
(classic cars) marketing to car clubs and related organizations has really
paid off. They're wonderfully loyal fans, lining up for autographs, putting
literature in the goody bags at their meets, raffling off the books to raise
money for charity, writing about them in local newsletters.
Book events are a lot of fun because you get to talk with fans. One of my
best was with Nora Roberts. Many of her fans are also race enthusiasts and
most of them were gracious enough to buy books even if they hadn't heard
of me.
MLC: Do you have any idea how your book is selling?
AUTHOR: Not as well as the DaVinci Code, but then no one is accusing me of plagiarizing either. On the other hand, the WaldenBooks in the Cranberry Township, PA sells hundreds of copies each month. I half-expect to read in the newspaper about the owner being arrested for holding customers hostage until they agree to buy my book. Just kidding. Hand-selling and independent booksellers are a new author's best hopes for building sales.
MLC: What has been the best review you have gotten, and why?
AUTHOR: My first is the one I'll never forget. It was an on-line review by a Harriet Klausner. My cousin called up to tell me she'd seen it and I was dumbfounded -- the reviewer sounded as if she genuinely liked the the book and thought I had talent. I couldn't believe it.
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: Two things. When a fan says I'm ruining her sleep because she can't put the book down. It's wonderful knowing that readers get caught up in the world you've created. And when a couple thanks me for writing books that they can share, books that appeal to them both in terms of characters and plot.
MLC: What is your next project, and when will it be out?
AUTHOR: "100 Classic Muses That Have Inspired Today's Authors" (I think that's the title) is being published in September by the The Drood Review/Mystery Company. Looking back to identify one author who inspired me was better than rooting through the attic and finding treasures. It was an honor to be asked to contribute a chapter.
MLC: If you could write anything at all, ignoring what editors and publishers say they want, what would it be?
AUTHOR: A mystery novel with universal appeal and staying power.
MLC: Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring mystery authors?
AUTHOR: Do it. Don't second guess yourself, sit down, write your mystery and send it out. But make sure you have a hook first -- that one sentence that sums up the novel and gives them a reason to buy it. And be professional. Writing should be fun for you, but for agents and publishers it's a business.
MLC: Do you have any teasers for your readers and fans about the next book?
AUTHOR: It's not part of the series, rather a thriller set in the Yucatan (tentatively entitled MY BROTHER'S KILLER). Livia Kent is getting married. When she meets her brother's plane, he's not on it. Instead, a stranger gives her an envelope with a camera phone in it. The opening photograph shows her brother's body lying in a pool of blood on the steps of a crumbling pyramid. The text message reads, "He's not dead yet. You have seventy-two hours to reach the ruins at Coba."
MLC: If a genie suddenly appeared and said he would grant you just one wish for your books, what would you wish for?
AUTHOR: Enough success to justify writing full-time for the rest of my life.
MLC: Please give us your website url and your email address where people can contact you.
AUTHOR: www.judithskillings.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.