BookWire - Meet The Author

Susan McBride's work has been featured in anthologies, including the recently released THE SPIRIT OF WRITING: CLASSIC AND CONTEMPORARY ESSAYS CELEBRATING THE WRITING LIFE and short stories from Mayhem in the Midlands. She regularly contributes to MyShelf.com, the Mystery Readers Journal, and Cozies, Capers & Crimes. A frequent panelist at mystery conventions, she is founding member of a group of authors who tour together as the Deadly Divas, "Nice women who write about murder." She's a Journalism School graduate from the University of Kansas and lives in St. Louis.

Neela Sakaria: Ms. McBride, thanks for joining us. Can you please tell our readers a little bit about your background in writing. You studied journalism, correct?

Susan McBride: Yes, I graduated with distinction from the School of Journalism at the University of Kansas. As a student, I did a few pieces for the University Daily Kansan and wrote for the Intrafraternity Council Newsletter. But my love was always fiction, so I filled my electives with creative writing courses. The best advice I ever got came from Professor James Gunn at KU and it's "when in doubt, leave it out." If a scene doesn't move the storyline forward or enhance characterization, chop it, no matter how beautifullywritten you think it is! That is even more true in mystery fiction.

NS: OVERKILL is your second published book, correct? It follows AND THEN SHE WAS GONE. Was it always your intention to write a sequel? How did that decision come about?

SM: AND THEN SHE WAS GONE debuted in 1999 and was the first book to feature Litchfield, Texas, police detective Maggie Ryan. I never wrote it with the intention that it would be the first in a series. I merely wanted to write the best book I possibly could. GONE received very good reviews, was
nominated for a Reviewers' Choice Award for Best First Mystery by the editors at Romantic Times magazine (without a lick of romance in it!), and a second printing was released in October of 2000. It seemed natural to follow that up with a second Maggie Ryan book, so OVERKILL was born. It has given me a chance to explore more of Maggie's character, which is great. I would love to do at least two more (and am working on the third right now).

NS: Tell us about your experiences on the road to getting published. You have written several unpublished works. How did it feel when your first book was published?

SM: Argh. Getting published was a tough road for me, and it's not that I was getting rejections that said, "You stink! Quit now!" Even when I didn't have an agent and was submitting on my own, I received personal replies from editors saying, "You have talent, but this just doesn't work for us." I
always felt like I was right on the fence but no one was letting me swing my other leg over. AND THEN SHE WAS GONE was the 10th manuscript I'd written and was represented by an agent for a time. But it tackles a sticky subject--a child abduction--and we were repeatedly told by the big boys that unknown female writers don't delve into that territory and sell books. So I entered GONE in the St. Martin's Press Best First Traditional Mystery Contest, and it was a finalist. Then it won the National Writers Association's Best Novel Contest and finally the First Award for Fiction sponsored by Mayhaven Publishing with the prize being publication. I can't even describe the joy I felt when I got that phone call. I was grateful, relieved and happy beyond belief because I had finally done it on my own.

SM: Probably what they keep hearing all the time from everyone else: read like the dickens and see what makes good books work; write as often as you can because there is nothing like practice to improve your self-discipline and to find your own style and rhythm; and enter contests! There are a handful of contests now that offer publication as the top prize, and it might get your foot in the door when agents can't. Another biggie...hang in there, because it could take awhile to get published. This is a dog-eat-dog business and definitely not for wimps!

NS: What is it like being a mystery writer? Do you think people find a surprising contrast between your own lifestyle and the shocking stories you tell?

SM: Being a mystery writer is fantastic. I've had the best time attending mystery conventions, meeting other authors, booksellers and the readers who appreciate the genre as much as I do. But folks definitely are surprised at the contrast between who I am and what I write. AND THEN SHE WAS GONE and OVERKILL are rather realistic mysteries that deal with contemporary issues. They're a bit dark and edgy, sort of a cross between Patricia Cornwall and Mary Higgins Clark. I'm pretty cheerful and upbeat, so readers wonder where the wickedness comes from. I just tell them I've got a crazy brain which comes up with the wildest stories. My life has been blessedly normal, so I've gone way beyond the "write what you know" phase. I draw a lot on real-life events, what I read in the papers, incidents that grip me until I can't stand not to write about them.

NS: Tell us about Maggie Ryan, your protagonist. What do you like most about her? What are her weaknesses?

SM: Maggie Ryan comes from a rather dysfunctional family situation so she has a lot of baggage, though she's not very good in dealing with it. Like many survivors, she's had to push down bad experiences and memories in order to successfully live in the present. But no one can do that forever without hitting some snags, and Maggie's beginning to understand that she has to confront her issues or they won't go away. I like that she is strong, even when she thinks she isn't. She's courageous in ways that I'm not and very dedicated to her job. She makes it a point to see that victims get some
justice.

SM: Speaking also as a mystery reader, what I find most important in a solid mystery is a fine balance between plot and characterization. I need a suspenseful story that keeps me engaged and people inhabiting the pages who seem real to me. Also, a victim I can care about. I just don't get into books where it's all a joke that someone has died and no one seems to care in particular who did it. Smooth prose doesn't hurt either.

SM: With regard to mystery/suspense fiction, my favorite book of all-time is Daphne du Maurier's REBECCA. It has all the elements that make for a memorable read. And I love GONE WITH THE WIND. Margaret Mitchell has everything in there, including the kitchen sink. As far as contemporary
fiction goes, I love Michael Connelly's books. In my opinion, he's the gold standard for mystery fiction

Neela: Was it hard to make the transition from journalistic writing to novels?

SM: It is a different kind of writing. Journalism requires being more spare, just getting the details right. Who, what, where, why and how. But I do believe that any form of writing keeps those literary muscles from atrophying. So it's not much of a problem for me to go from writing an
article or book review to writing novels. My brain switches gears automatically. Actually, I think my training in reporting made me realize what I didn't need in my fiction writing: excess of anything. Too many adverbs or adjectives, being overly-descriptive in any fashion. That influence has made my fiction more lean and mean!

SM: Just realize there are lots of books out there, many more titles than you've ever heard of. If you only stick to the "name brands," the bestsellers like Grisham or Clancy, you're missing out on a whole lot of wonderful writers. Make it a point to try new names and to get your hands on small press books. The publishing business today is geared toward celebrity--like the film industry--and it's tough to break out. But I'm doing what I've wanted to do all my life so I can't complain! I just love words, always have, and it's an amazing feeling to share that with other people. And I do like hearing from readers, so visit my web site at www.susanmcbride.com and email me! I can talk about books endlessly!