INTERVIEWS --->> list of interviews
The AHMM Interviews…
Linda Landrigan IJ Parker James Lincoln Warren Steve Hockensmith SJ Rozan
Linda Landrigan, the editor of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, has recently put together an anthology of stories ranging from the first few issues to 21st century stuff. The book is a Hall of Fame for short stories and well worth the cover price. Since I'm a big fan of short stories and of AHMM in particular, I thought I'd hold something of a roundtable. I cornered four of the featured authors as well as the editor of the volume and asked them some questions. Some of the questions were pointed, some were blunt, but they responded and were only a little uncomfortable.
Steven: Essentially, the question for you would be "What made you choose these stories rather than others by the same authors"?
Linda: Naturally making a selection when you're dealing with authors of the caliber of Martin Limón, I.J. Parker, etc. was very difficult. For most of these authors, I had many stories from which to choose.
My first consideration was what was going to make the best overall package, how was the story going to relate to the others in the anthology. I wanted to create a good mix over all. This consideration guides me when I put together the magazine as well. I always want to create a good balance.
The second consideration -- almost as important -- was to include not only a story by the author that was good, but that was also representative of the author's work, since the hope of any anthology such as this is that it will bring new readers to an author.
Throughout the anthology, all things being equal, I always like it when I could include an author's first appearance in the magazine -- or better yet, their first publication -- although there were many cases when I didn't do that.
I think that accounts for all the selections I made, but once you get beyond that, you get into the realm of quirky personal preference.
Probably more difficult than selecting one story from these terrific authors was having to leave out so many other great authors I couldn't fit in at all.
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IJ Parker
Steven: Could you say something about the birth of your story "The O-Bon Cat"? What made you think up the plot? The characters?
"The O-bon Cat" followed the writing of my (still unpublished) Akitada novel THIS FLEETING LIFE, number six in the series and the book where Akitada loses his small son. I wanted to follow up on the psychological aftermath of that loss by having him find an abandoned child of the same age. The setting is the festival of the dead (O-bon). As you may imagine, there is a lot of atmosphere. The plot (how the child came to be lost and who he was) came later.
This story came pretty early in your short story career. Was there anything you figured or learned in writing it?
Actually the story is fairly recent. It is well after the Shamus story. It confirmed my conviction that short stories are incredibly hard to write because of the word constraints.
You're a short story writer and a novelist - major differences? I've heard you comment that some of your short stories have provided the germ for later novels. How does that work?
The short stories got me noticed, but I have always been a novelist first. The constraints mentioned above often mean that the story in my head is not finished when the short story ends. That was the case with the "O-bon Cat." It sparked number seven of the novels: THE MASUDA AFFAIR.
JK Rowling is thinking of writing mysteries once Harry Potter is done. Any chance IJ Parker will write stories following some character other than Akitada? (This is certainly no suggestion that you should - I love the stories and anxiously await the next.)
Thank you. Very generous indeed from a fellow writer of such talent. I have just finished a novel set during the Heike Wars in Japan. It follows a young woman from the imperial palace to near-tragedy in the bloodshed of that turbulent period in history. I'm not done with Akitada, but as I have the time I plan to explore some other genres and perhaps also other historical settings.
By the way, assuming you don't subscribe to AHMM, what author's stories would make you plunk down the $3.95 for a copy?
I do subscribe, but I have little time for reading. I usually scan the table of contents for names of my friends (like yours), and I also go back later to have a look at award-nominated stories.
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James Lincoln Warren
Steven: Could you say something about the birth of your story "Black Spartacus"? What made you think up the plot? The characters?
I wanted to address 18th century British attitudes toward slavery, especially after having read "The Autobiography of Elaudah Equiano", and (2) I wanted a means for my series detective, Alan Treviscoe, to have a more Bunter-like sidekick than his Watson-like friend, Captain Gunn. That way I could choose either sidekick for different stories in the future. The idea for a warrior slave in revolt, of course, is implicit in the title.
The details of the crime were born out of the necessity to have the victim be battered, so that the character Hero would be a natural suspect, but in such a way as could be demonstrated that it was unlikely Hero was the actual murderer. Dr. Synge was my take on Professor Moriarty.
The historical backdrop, that of the failed French occupation of Belfast Lough in 1750, was one of those examples of serendipity one comes up with in doing historical research. HMS Leonidas and her destruction on the shoals were pure invention, but her circumstances were in keeping with my custom of inserting classical or Biblical references in Treviscoe stories, in this instance the battle of Thermopylae. The Spartan defense of Greece against overwhelming odds seemed like a good metaphor for Hero's predicament.
This story came pretty early in your short story career. Was there anything you figured or learned in writing it?
Structurally, the story consists of a courtroom scene framing a sequence of flashbacks, a technique I borrowed from TV, instead of the straightforward chronological narrative I originally had in mind.
This was necessary to cut down exposition and transition scenes to perk up the pace and get the story down to a publishable length (under 14,000 words).
You're a short story writer and (if I read your website correctly) you are writing a novel -- major differences?
The novel was finished some time ago but didn't sell, alas, so I don't know if my opinions on the subject carry much weight. I found the biggest difference was that the novel contains several episodes instead of just one, so I could throw in a lot more fun stuff for my detective to do--in the novel, he breaks a cryptogram, robs a grave, falls in love, goes toe-to-toe with a highwayman, and draws steel in the fog against an unknown foe, any of which would have served a single short story--and that I was free to add more detailed descriptions of eighteenth century London life instead of fixing on any single aspect for a richer background. I know a lot of writers think that novels and short stories require different skills, but I don't really see it, myself.
Assuming you don't subscribe to AHMM, what author's stories would make you plunk down the $3.95 for a copy?
I don't subscribe, but I will occasionally buy a copy if I haven't looked at it in a few months. The quality of the magazine is so uniformly excellent that I don't care who's on the cover. I'm still amazed that I got a story in "50 Years"!
Is there another Treviscoe story coming out any time soon? Or any other of your writings?
Sometime in the next few months, AHMM will be printing a story with a new 18th c. detective, Mrs. Stavacre, called "Mother Brimstone". EQMM will be running a contemporary PI story, "Heat of the Moment" featuring Cal Ops, a Beverly Hills detective agency run by a former NYPD cop and former Texas Ranger. I don't know when. There aren't any Treviscoe stories in the hopper at the moment, but more are eventually planned. My wife wants me to give Hero his own stories, too, so that might also come to pass.
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Steve Hockensmith
Steven: Could you say something about the birth of your story "Erie's Last Day"? What made you think up the plot? The characters?
Unfortunately, my memory's not what it used to be...and my memory used to totally suck, so just imagine how bad it is now. But I do remember a little about the origin of "Erie's Last Day."
The key component was the "last day" thing -- the idea of a retiring cop who sets out to close one more case, right one more wrong, before he turns in his badge. In the end, it kind of backfires on him: The "justice" he finds only results in more death and misery. Yet even after that, he still can't bring himself to stop trying, because his idea of himself as a good person who helps others is the only thing he has left.
I only realized later what a cliché the whole "detective's last day on the force" thing is. Except usually, the cop's a sidekick/supporting character who's "ironically" killed just minutes before his retirement party. Sorta like the sweet-natured newlywed G.I. you just *know* isn't gonna make it to the end of a '40s war movie.
I guess it's a good thing I didn't know this kind of set-up was a cliché, because if I had I might not have written the story. The lesson: Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.
This story came pretty early in your short story career (was it the first?). Was there anything you figured out or learned in writing it? Anything you wouldn't do again?
"Erie's Last Day" was the fourth or fifth story I wrote for Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen, but it was the first one either of them bought. I don't think any lightbulb went off over my head when I was writing it. I just think it took a little trial and error to get the hang of a mystery plot. I can't even read my first few crime stories now -- it's too painful to look at them. I just didn't get it yet.
I'm afraid that's about as specific as I can get in terms of what I "figured out." It's almost like riding a bike: Could you teach someone how to do it simply by describing the process? "Well, you try to balance with this little narrow seat wedged up your butt, and you have to push your feet forward on these little bar things called 'pedals.'" It's something you just have to figure out by doing it.
In terms of what I wouldn't do again in "Erie's Last Day," the answer is nothing, plot-wise. Prose-wise, I'm sure it would feel a little different. I actually re-read the story recently, and I cringed at some of my phrasings -- they seemed a little rough to me. I'd also probably try to pick up the pace a bit. One thing I've learned from novels: Everything I write can and probably should be trimmed by 10 percent.
You're a short story writer and a novelist -- major differences in the act of crafting each?
With short stories, I usually don't worry about punching up the action much. If it's gonna be 6,000 words long, I'm pretty confident I can pull the reader through on the strength of my prose/characters/plot/whatever. But with a novel, I *do* worry, because the damn things are 80,000 words longer. So I adhere to the old Hammett philosophy, to some degree: If things get slow, ya gotta have some hard-ass bust through the door with a gun.
Metaphorically speaking, that is. For me, it's usually not a guy with a gun. More often, it's a cliffhanger or plot twist at the end of a chapter. Anything to keep people from putting down the book and turning off the light.
I think it's good to be paranoid about boring your readers when you're writing a novel. Not that the only way to hook 'em is with bang-pow action. But you've got to give them some reason to keep reading, because you're asking for hours and hours of their lives. With a short story, all you want is 30 minutes.
You juggle four different series in your short stories, and I have the feeling you'd go for more if someone would pay you for it - what's up with that? Do you ever write "Erie" when you mean "Amlingmeyer"?
I'd go for more if I had time to maintain the four I've got the way I want to! There won't be a Larry Erie or Raymond and Burt story in AHMM for a long, long time, simply because I'm caught up in a book-a-year contract and it's becoming harder and harder to devote any time to short fiction. Ditto with my Christmas stories for EQMM -- there won't be one this December for the first time in years.
In a perfect world, I'd be able to write five or six short stories a year. But even before I started doing novels, the best I could manage was six or seven stories annually. These days, it's more like three of four. It's frustrating, because I feel like I have so many stories I want to tell! In fact, I was invited to submit to an anthology last year, and it broke my heart that I couldn't do it -- I was too busy revising my second novel. I'd love to take a crack at other magazine markets, too: F&SF, Asmiov's, Analog...hell, The New Yorker. But it ain't gonna happen for a long, long time.
What names in the table of contents would entice you to buy a copy of AHMM? Besides "Steve Hockensmith…"
As has been established before, I am the slowest reader on the face of the earth, bar none (including you!). So unfortunately, I have to be very choosy about what I pick up to read. As a result, I only read EQMM a couple times a year. And though I get every issue of AHMM (since I'm one of the mag's columnists), I don't read every story. I just can't -- if I did, I'd end up reading nothing *but* short fiction.
So I can tell you with some accuracy which writers I'll go out of my way to read in EQMM and AHMM: James Powell, Robert Levinson, Robert Barnard, Marianne Wilski Strong, Joyce Carol Oates, Kevin Wignall, R.T. Lawton, Doug Allyn, Sarah Weinman, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Rob Lopresti, David Edgerley Gates and, of course, the brilliant Steven Torres.
Now, this isn't meant as a knock on the folks I *don't* read. I'm sure I'm missing out on a ton of great stories. (I'm equally sure the list above has some holes in it thanks to my aforementioned crappy memory.) But like I said, I simply can't read all the stories that come my way. As much as I love short fiction, those book thingies are pretty danged cool, too!
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SJ Rozan
Steven: Could you say something about the birth of your story "Body English"? What made you think up the plot? The characters?
I'm always interested in a story where people are operating out of motives besides money or fame. I was struck at the time I wrote this story by the number of ethnic families I knew who tried almost desperately to keep their kids from dating and marrying outside their own ethnic group, and the emotions involved seemed strong enough to carry a story.
This story came pretty early in your short story career. Was there anything you figured or learned in writing it?
I always learn something with everything I write, and am usually embarrassed that I didn't know it already. I remember in this one trying to get the action at the end to move fast, really working on that.
You're a short story writer and a novelist (in fact, if I recall, you've Edgared in both, no?)
Yup.
- major differences in the crafting of each?
Short stories need to be much simpler. No subplots. They still demand attention to setting, character development, and the sound of the language; but the storyline itself has to be simple. That makes it harder than in a novel to hide what you're really getting at from the reader, and therefore they're a great exercise for a novelist.
By the way, admired your "Sunset" and especially "Childhood", two of my recent reads. Will be looking out for "Hoops".
Thanks! The theme of obsession that I explored in "Childhood" keeps coming back -- it's "Hunting for Doyle," it's "Going Home." And I think it's another one, too, but damned if I can remember...
Assuming you don't subscribe to AHMM, what author's stories would make you plunk down the $3.95 for a copy?
Brendan Dubois, Doug Allyn, Lawrence Block, Joyce Carol Oates, and beyond them -- all great short story writers -- I'd buy it (and EQMM) if it carried stories by people I admire as novelists who don't do a lot of short stories.
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