AUTHOR INTERVIEW #A COLD COLD WORLD #ELENA TAYLOR #MYSTERY POLICE PROCEDURE #BOOK TOUR PARTNER IN CRIME TOURS
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
A COLD, COLD WORLD
by Elena Taylor
before transitioning to fiction writing. What prompted this shift, and how does
your theater background influence your approach to storytelling in your novels?
ANSWER: Great question. I had always wanted to write a novel and started working on my first one around 2007. I got a draft done and worked with a freelance developmental editor, but all that showed me was how much I didn’t know about writing a book. I continued learning the craft and writing unpublished manuscripts, until I got a book deal. Once that happened, I realized how much I liked not having to be at rehearsals on nights and weekends, and while I miss the theater, I love writing novels even more. That experience, however, taught me how to write dialogue and understand dramatic structure. It taught me how to end a scene with something to keep an audience in their seat or prompt a reader to turn the page. It also means that I’m not married to my words. Working in the theater as a playwright, I collaborated with actors, directors, and designers to put a script on its feet. Working with my agent and editors is easy for me, because I don’t grip onto any scene or sentences too tightly. I’m happy to do rewrites and take feedback on cutting or making changes, for me it’s part of the process.
2. Your first series, the Eddie Shoes Mysteries, features a quirky mother/daughter
crime-fighting duo. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind these characters
and what drew you to write mysteries with a familial dynamic?
ANSWER: One of the first mystery series I fell in love with was Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone books. I wanted to follow in her footsteps and write about a private eye. I also loved the Rockford Files as a kid and decided to take the relationship between James Rockford and his dad Rocky and flip it around to mother and daughter. I like to say that if Kinsey Millhone and Jim Rockford had a love child, it would be Eddie Shoes.
3. The Bet Rivers Mysteries introduce readers to Collier, Washington, a setting
described as dark and mysterious. How did you develop the idea for this series
and what role does the setting play in shaping the atmosphere of your novels?
ANSWER: Living in Washington State, I have visited a lot of dark and mysterious places. We have over 22 million acres of forest here, and combined with the rugged cliffs and tall mountains, much of it is inaccessible to any but the most adventurous of souls. That kind of environment inspires isolated, rural communities and makes it easier to deal with how technology impacts contemporary mysteries. I don’t have to work too hard for cell phones to stop working, roads to get blocked, and emergency services to be difficult to access. That creates more obstacles for my characters to overcome. The idea for the series started when I lived near a dark lake, which at the time was rumored to have a train engine at the bottom, too deep to be seen from the surface. I started thinking about what the story might be for that engine, which brought my fictional town to life—centered on a lake so deep, the bottom disappears into the dark.
4. Your protagonist in the Bet Rivers Mysteries is a newly appointed sheriff. What
challenges and opportunities did you encounter in developing this character, and
how does she differ from characters in your previous series?
ANSWER: Writing a sheriff caused me to learn even more about police procedures. While I do a lot of research writing my Eddie Shoes books, Eddie doesn’t have to follow the rules that the police do. My sheriff, however, does. I wanted to get the basics of criminal investigation, police protocols, and challenges as accurate as I could, while still telling a dynamic story. Bet Rivers also has an entire town depending on her, whereas Eddie only has her clients to look out for. That made Bet Rivers a more serious character, with greater responsibilities on her shoulders. I really enjoy that both characters have had to learn to depend on other people, something I struggle with myself. Maybe someday Eddie, Bet, and I will all get better at that!
5. Schweitzer, the Anatolian Shepherd, is a prominent sidekick in your novels. What
inspired you to include this particular breed of dog, and how does Schweitzer
contribute to the narrative and your protagonist journey?
ANSWER: I love Anatolian shepherds. They are fiercely loyal, smart, and terrific working dogs. The San Diego Zoo uses them to bond with cheetahs to help those animals deal better with captivity. I can’t say enough good things about Anatolians. I felt that Bet needed a dog that fit her station, tough, capable, and able to help out with her investigations. Much as I love my fat little twenty-pound Shichon, I’m not going to send him out in the woods to help me track a criminal. He’s far too likely to get eaten by something bigger than him. Schweitzer was also Bet’s father’s dog, so while she knew him before her father died, she wasn’t his person. I loved exploring how it takes time for dogs to embrace another person if they lose the one they love. The relationship between a person and their dog can be incredible and shouldn’t be taken for granted. Bet had to earn Schweitzer’s trust.
6. As a senior editor with Allegory Editing, you work closely with writers to shape
and polish their manuscripts. How has your editorial work influenced your own
writing process, and vice versa?
ANSWER: I always learning something new when I work with writers. I see errors in other people’s work much easier than I see them in my own, so it’s useful for me to work with a client’s manuscript, then go back to my own looking for the same issues. Teaching something also forces us to constantly update our knowledge base. I learn about craft every single time I teach an aspect of it, because I’ve had to figure out how to explain it to another person. I also keep up with current trends in the industry for my clients, which helps me as well. Being a writer myself, I understand how hard it is to hand over drafts to another person. It’s a gift to have a writer willing to be that vulnerable and trust me with their project. I am also able to separate myself from their story. I want to help writers write their best book not write the book I would write. I can leave that for my own projects.
7. You live on a property called Paradise with your husband and a variety of animals.
How does your connection to nature and animals inspire your writing, particularly
in creating the settings and relationships in your novels?
ANSWER: When we moved out here to the Palouse (a geographic area that starts south of Spokane, Washington, and spreads out for more than 18,000 square miles), I thought a lot about what to call our place and kept coming back to this is paradise. The name stuck. Our environment is cold in the winter, hot in the summer, bright in the fall, alive in the spring. I love the four seasons and how that impacts our lives. My books are invested with how the environment changes with the time of year, and how that can impede things for my characters. Living with animals is one of the greatest joys of my life. Between the horses, dogs, and cats, I can’t get stuck in my own head too long. It gets me up from my computer to feed, clean up after, and work with them. They bring me tremendous joy, whether it’s a successful ride on one of the horses or sharing the sofa with both dogs while I’m reading a book. The cats are a little more independent, but they come hang out as well. I’m never lonely when I have the animals around. I love to invest my work with animals. Bringing horses into my books is a lot of fun, because we don’t see that as often. Cats and dogs inhabit a lot of fictional worlds, but we see horses a lot less, so I like the uniqueness of that. Animals humanize us and showing the connections we can build with them brings me a lot of pleasure. All my characters need someone in their life, even if it’s a four-legged someone.
8. Can you share any advice for aspiring writers looking to balance their creative
pursuits with other professional commitments, such as editing or teaching?
ANSWER: The first is to remember that it’s not publish or perish, no matter what the academics say. The only person who cares if your book gets published is you. It’s not your entire world. It’s not your identity. Live a good life while you write, because getting published isn’t going to solve your financial problems, your self-esteem, or your personal relationships. Suffering doesn’t make you an artist, working hard and learning craft does. Make sure that you continue to do the things that keep you healthy and happy: physical activity, eating right, getting enough sleep, having hobbies and passions outside of writing. Then, when you have that strong base to support you, figure out what to give up in order to have time to write. An hour less television. Staying in on a Friday night. Skipping a chore that can wait. Consistently writing for short periods of time is much better than never writing at all. You will fail if you’re always waiting for a big block of time to appear in your schedule. Writing happens when you focus during the time you have, not giving up all your time and then failing to focus.
9. What aspects of the Pacific Northwest, where your novels are set, do you find
most compelling as a backdrop for mystery novels? How does this region
influence your storytelling?
ANSWER: We are tough out here in the Pacific Northwest. We are surrounded by volcanos, towering mountains, and vast empty spaces. We respect individuality, tenacity, and nature. We are also known for serial killers, dense forests where Sasquatch hides, and wildland fires whose smoke turns bright daylight into dusk, so danger is real and unpredictable. I’m constantly reminded about the beauty, and harshness, of nature by moose wandering around in my yard, owls picking off rodents in the moonlight, and the sound of coyotes howling across the valley. I’m fascinated by isolation and grit, and I try to invest my work with those things, even when I’m writing on the lighter side of crime fiction. No matter what happens in life, at some point you have to dust yourself off and get back on the horse.
10. Looking ahead, what can readers expect from future installments of the Bet Rivers
Mysteries or any other projects you are working on? Are there new characters or
themes you are excited to explore?
ANSWER: Fingers crossed my publisher wants a third Bet Rivers book. I also have a few other projects in the works, from an amateur sleuth to a novel of suspense. I’ve enjoyed working on manuscripts that don’t involve professionals, it’s been fun to do something a little different. The best way to keep track of my work is to sign up for my newsletter and follow me on social media. I promise lots of cute photos of my animals and breathtaking scenery in between literary updates.
Catch Up With Elena Taylor:
www.ElenaTaylorAuthor.com
Elena's Blog: The Mystery of Writing
Goodreads
BookBub - @elenataylorauthor
Instagram - @elenataylorauthor
Twitter/X - @Elena_TaylorAut
Facebook - @ElenaTaylorAuthor
Wow, fabulous interview! I absolutely love this author! I am reading this book right now and it is fantastic so ar.
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting me on your wonderful blog!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely my pleasure, Welcome!
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