MLC: Do you remember the first mystery you ever read? If so, what was it, and what pulled you into it?
AUTHOR: It must have been a Nancy Drew and I suspect it was a longing for a sporty blue roadster that kept me reading.
MLC: When did you first decide you wanted to write a mystery, and what led you to that decision?
AUTHOR: In 2000, on a whim I signed up for a writing class. The teacher suggested we begin a novel and choose a genre we enjoyed reading. I chose mystery because I figured the work of plotting was fairly simple. A is dead; B, C, D, or E might have done it and the protag has to figure out whodunnit. It sounded simple but I’ve learned otherwise.
MLC: Do you write in any other genres? If so, which ones?
AUTHOR: Not as such, though historical and paranormal both have crept into my books.
MLC: Which comes first for you, the plot or the characters?
AUTHOR: Oh, definitely the characters. They tell me what to do. I may have the germ of a plot idea when I begin but it’s very sketchy.
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 wish! Sometimes I’ll get almost to the end of writing a book and still not know who the villain is or how the various threads are going to tie together. Which is one reason I missed my deadline on this current book.
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 live on a farm and tend a good-sized garden. There are always things that have to be done and writing gets done after chores. I write most days and my most productive writing time is from 8 to midnight.
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 love taking pictures of where I live. I used to paint and quilt but writing leaves very little time for these. Photography – at least the way I do it -- is quick and scratches that visual creative itch. This photography is the backbone of my daily blog.
MLC: Who are your favorite mystery authors? Do you try to emulate them in your own writing?
AUTHOR: Sharyn McCrumb (though she insists she’s not a mystery writer), Tony Hillerman, Deb Crombie, Laurie King, Elizabeth George, as well as Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie are all folks I read and reread. I don’t consciously emulate them but they are so engrained in my mind I’m sure there are traces of all of them in my work. At least, I’d be proud if there were.
MLC: In your present book, is this part of a series, or is it a standalone book?
AUTHOR: The Day of Small Things is a spinoff/standalone. The main character is a minor character from my Elizabeth Goodweather Appalachian Mysteries. Miss Birdie is Elizabeth’s octogenarian neighbor and this is the story of her strange childhood, her troubled youth, and her surprising present. Elizabeth is not in this book but the setting and some of the characters are taken from the series. It’s a definite standalone, though, in spite of the ties to the 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: Of course, the main factor in whether my series continues after Under the Skin – the fifth Goodweather book, coming in 2011—will be whether my publisher wants it to. I have more stories to tell about Elizabeth and her family, that’s for sure.
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: I’m all in favor of letting the characters have their own way. If I could just get them to type, I’d go outside and play in the garden or read or something while they got on with the writing. Unfortunately, they insist on my being there to put the words down as they dictate.
Sometimes the characters can get out of hand. A woman named Myrna Lou almost hijacked Miss Birdie’s book till my editor made me get rid of her and a whole subplot. Myrna Lou is safe in a file on my computer, waiting to be given her own book.
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: My sleuth, Elizabeth, shares my general mindset, as well as my home and my dogs.
She’s younger and more attractive and probably more fool-hardy than I.
A few of my very minor characters are based on friends and they know it. These characters are nice people and I won’t let anything bad happen to them.
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 sent out over sixty query letters before receiving an offer of representation from an agent. She shopped my first book all around NYC for three months, hearing again and again that the writing and protag were good but that a series set in the Appalachians shouldn’t open with a book set at the coast. By the time my agent told me to put that book away and write one set in the mountains, I was actually relieved – because I knew I could write a much better book. So I did. And that made the difference.
MLC: Do you ever attend any conferences? If so, which ones?
AUTHOR: I’ve been to several Malice Domestics and even more Bouchercons. I’m heading to San Francisco for this year’s Bouchercon on October 14.
MLC: Do you have to promote your own work, or does your publisher do that for you?
AUTHOR: It’s one of life’s little ironies that publishers spend the big bucks promoting well-known authors and very little on their lesser-known names. My publishers send out review copies of my forthcoming books to the usual places and generally include my new release in a group ad in a mystery magazine. And, of course, they see that the book is distributed widely. I think that’s pretty much it. I deal with letting bookstores and libraries know I’m available for "events."
MLC: If you have to do marketing, what methods have worked the best for you?
AUTHOR: I am no good at being an in-your-face marketer. I have a Web site, a monthly newsletter (sent to folks who’ve signed up), and a daily blog which talks about everything from butchering chickens to writing tips and recipes, folklore and nostalgia – all accompanied by lots of pictures of the world portrayed in my books. I think this blog has been a good marketing tool – any number of people have begun as fans of the blog and gone on to buy my books – including folks in New Zealand and The Netherlands, England, France and Canada.
MLC: Do you have any idea how your book is selling?
AUTHOR: Not really.
MLC: What has been the best review you have gotten, and why?
AUTHOR: I’m pretty thrilled by what Deborah Crombie, New York Times best-selling author of the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James mysteries had to say about my new book because she’s a writer whose work I really admire and because, well, who wouldn’t like words like these?
"Vicki Lane is one of the best American novelists writing today. In The Day of Small Things, she has once again rendered a lyrical, evocative, and haunting portrait of life in the Appalachians, both past and present. And in Birdie, she has given us a character who will steal your heart and stay with you for a long time to come.
I loved this book--The Day of Small Things will definitely make my short list for 2010."
MLC: Have you won any awards, either as an author or for your books? Please tell us about them.
AUTHOR: In a Dark Season was an Anthony Nominee and a Romantic Times Nominee – Best Contemporary Suspense. Old Wounds was a 2007 Book Sense Notable and a Nominee (one of 24) for SIBA (Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance) Book Award for Fiction.
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: The thing that makes me happiest is when a native of these mountains I write about tells me I got it right – that my characters and their voices ring true. It happens a lot, thank goodness. As a "transplant" to the mountains in a county that has not always looked on outsiders with favor, I was particularly thrilled when, after I’d done a reading and a talk at our local library, a lady came up to me and said, “We’re glad you moved here.”
MLC: What is your next project, and when will it be out?
AUTHOR: Under the Skin, the fifth Elizabeth Goodweather book, is tentatively scheduled for an October 2011 release.
MLC: If you could write anything at all, ignoring what editors and publishers say they want, what would it be?
AUTHOR: Hmm. The problem here is I can write what I want – like the half-finished play, the short stories, or the poetry all lurking in my computer.
If I want to sell what I’ve written, it behooves me to listen to my editor and my agent.
That said, I’m drawn to historical fiction and magical realism. I’d like to travel that road someday.
MLC: Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring mystery authors?
AUTHOR: Don’t quit your day job.
MLC: Do you have any teasers for your readers and fans about the next book?
AUTHOR: I switched gears in Under the Skin and let Elizabeth speak for herself – in first person point of view rather than third as in the previous books. Between that first person voice and the fact that Elizabeth’s sister has come to visit and they don’t get along – well, I can only say Elizabeth surprised me a bit by getting in touch with her inner bitch.
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 like the genie to tell me Oprah adored my books and wanted me on her show.
MMLC: Please give us your Web site url and your e-mail address where people can contact you.
AUTHOR: The Web site is
http://vickilanemysteries.com/,
Daily blog http://vickilanemysteries.blogspot.com/,
Day of Small Things site http://thedayofsmallthingsvickilane.blogspot.com/,
and my e-mail address is
vicki_lane@mtnarea.net.
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.