Interview with Maine Writer Patrick Shawn Bagley

Today we're finding out about Maine writer Patrick Shawn Bagley, who got his debut novel Bitter Water Blues  recently released to amazing acclaim-- and sales. The book is exciting crime fiction.

Q.  So how did this novel come to be? Was it envisioned from the start as a bigger canvas, or did it expand organically out of an idea? Please tell us a bit about the origin.
 
A. Bitter Water Blues grew out of a small scene I wrote, in which these two redneck wannabe hitmen meet a woman in a bar. She wants them to kill her husband, and writes her address on a cocktail napkin. She leaves. The two hitmen hang decide to finish their drinks; the clumsy one spills a pitcher of beer on the napkin and ruins the address. They don't want to look stupid, so they follow the woman and assume the house she spends the night at is her own. They come back in the morning to whack the husband, but--surprise!--it's her lover's house and they kill the wrong the guy. That was it, just four or five pages, really.

Q.  Did you start with the germ of an idea and start writing to see where it went, or did you map a good deal out in your head (or even outline) before crafting?
 
A. I never map anything out. I come up with some characters that interest me, put them together, and see what happens. The plot grows out of the characters. I tried outlining a few times over the years. I know it works for a lot of writers, but to me it feels restrictive.

Q.  What do you feel is the main theme(s)?

A. Don't fuck with Joey Kotex.

No, I think the theme of this novel is redemption and how all of our actions eventually catch up with us.

Q.  Why do you feel this is important, and what would you want a reader to take away from reading this book?

A. Most people, I think, want to believe that they were good or at the very least accomplished something good in their lives. Joey ran from his past and tried to start over somewhere else, but our past is always with us. It's part of what makes us who we are in the present. Sometimes, if we stop hiding, we can turn around and face things, and maybe do something right. And other times, it all blows up in our face.

Q.  What makes a good book or engaging story?

A. Characters with whom the readers can empathize, even if those characters do reprehensible things.

Q. Are there writers with similar themes to yours? Who are your influences (can be writers, or even artists, musicians, or others) and what is it about their work that attracts you? 

A. For me, it has a lot to do with the setting. The landscape molds people a certain way, and your theme comes from that. I love the hardscrabble stories by writers like William Gay, Laird Barron, Scott Wolven, Daniel Woodrell, Annie Proulx, Larry Brown, Daniel Mills, Norman Partridge, Cormac McCarthy, Jim Thompson, Tom Franklin, and others. They're my favorite writers. They dig into the poverty of the rural working class, of the unemployed and out-of-luck, people driven by circumstance to make hard or even impossible choices. You can get that same feel in urban settings, too. Pelecanos pulls it off. Richard Stark. George Higgins' The Friends of Eddie Coyle is a classic of the desperate-loser-as-protagonist story.

My earliest writing influences were sword-and-sorcery and horror writers like Michael Moorcock, Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Fritz Lieber, Roger Zelazny, Karl Edward Wagner, Robert R. McCammon, and Stephen King. I read a lot of westerns when I was 14 or 15 years old. I escaped from the darkness of my own life into those fictional darknesses. I wanted to be Elric or Corwin of Amber. I wanted to hang out in a cemetery with Richard Upton Pickman and a pack of ghouls. Chandler, Cain, and Hammett came a lot later.

As an undergrad, Steinbeck became a huge influence, especially The Grapes of Wrath, which I re-read a couple of times every year. It's my favorite novel. I got into Richard Brautigan and T.C. Boyle, wrote a lot of Brautigan pastiches. I got into Flannery O'Connor, Hemingway, Tim O'Brien, Ernest Hebert, Bukowski, Li Po. I started college late. I was 22 years old as a freshman, and I had this weird idea that everyone in college sat around having deep conversations about literature and history. So I dove into all the "classics" I'd missed in high school and went a bit crazy. I read more than 300 books my freshman year, not counting things that were assigned in classes. I read Voltaire, Dostoyevsky, Plato, Kerouac, Plath, Langston Hughes, Ken Kesey, Zora Neale Hurston, Dickens, Achebe, everybody. I read a lot of Latin-American writers: Juan Rulfo, Garcia-Marquez, Laura Esquivel. Come to find out, 99% of the students had barely heard of some of these writers, never mind actually reading them! I loved it, though. Great experience. I'd just wander the stacks at the university library and grab something off the shelf, spend most of day there.

I usually write to music: AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Queensryche, Blue Oyster Cult; heavy stuff from the '70s and '80s. I'll still listen to KISS whenever I can make myself forget how much they suck now, and how Gene Simmons turned out to be such a giant douchebag. I really dig the first three or four Aerosmith albums, but I don't care for anything they did after that. I listen some alternative country stuff, like Drive-By Truckers, Robert Earl Keen, Steve Earle. You can't pin Steve Earle down to any single musical genre, which is something I respect a great deal. The guy just does what he wants. I love the blues of Robert Johnson and Howlin' Wolf. Then there's Tom Waits. Every writer needs to listen to Tom Waits.

(Editor's note: This guy has great taste in writers and musicians!!!)

Q.  Is storytelling mostly entertainment, or does it serve other functions? Do you have particular goals other than telling a good story?

A. My main goal is to tell a good story, to entertain the readers. If they get more out of it, that's cool. I hope they do, but my main job as a writer is to give someone a few enjoyable hours.

Q.  Any other goals you've set for yourself, professionally or personally?
 
A. Other than being able to write full-time and make a decent living off it? That's it. I want to tell stories and be able to support my family. It's tough to do that. Fortunately, I love my day job. I work at a community support program for adults with intellectual disabilities. It's great. I enjoy going to work, and I'm happy when I come home. What more can you ask out of a job?

Q.  Some writers write fast and claim not to rewrite much. Do you do this, or painstakingly revise? 

A. I think a lot of writers who claim they never revise are full of shit. I believe that Hemingway didn't revise. I believe Harlan Ellison when he says he doesn't revise. The rest of us are mere humans, though.

I'm a weirdo because I actually enjoy revising. The danger, of course, lies in doing too much of it. You can end up second-guessing yourself and tearing up huge chunks of the book. I'm temporarily happy with it when it goes out. If I look at the manuscript, I'll always find something I want to change. That's true for me even after publication.

Q.  Do you have good editors, and if so, how do they help you? Do they look for particular things? Do you have different people for different editing levels?

A. I didn't get any line edits back from Snubnose Press. I did them all myself. Back when I had an agent, she was a good editor, but I parted ways with her a few years ago. Now, the paperback version of Bitter Water Blues is with Double Life Press. Because the novel is already out there as a Snubnose Press e-book, we can't really play with the text. I'll fix any glaring errors I missed the first time around, but that's it.

I'd like to do at least one more book with Double Life, so hopefully I'll be able to tell you then what Craig and Emily McNeely are like as editors.

Q.  If a writer came to you for advice, how would you help?

A. My main advice for anyone who wants to be a writer is simple. Read. You have to read widely, in and out of whatever genre you write. Read and read some more. Then you have to write, and rewrite and rewrite some more. Basically, I rehash advice that Annie Proulx gave me more than 20 years ago. She said, "Read. Keep writing. Read."

Beyond that kind of advice? I don't know. I'm willing to beta read for certain people; I enjoy that. I don't mind helping someone network, to an extent. I'm not handing out Laird Barron's mailing address. Let's just say, I'll do what I can within reason.

Q.  Stories can be told by using a different medium. Can you see your book as a film, audio, etc.? How would that alter the telling?

A. I'd love too see Bitter Water Blues or some of my short stories up on the big screen. I think BWB especially would make a good film. The biggest thing BWB could lose in a film version would be that close third-person POV I used for each character. I'm not sure how a director would pull that off on-screen.

Audiobooks are good with the right person reading them. Chet Williamson does a great job. I'd go total fanboy if he read my work for audio.

I've always wanted to write comic books, too. Most of the superhero stuff is boring now, but I'd love to a horror or crime series. Or a horror/crime series.

Q.  What's the next step in your writing world?
 
A. I'm revising some of my country noir short stories for a collection, which I hope will also include a "lost" story that was cut from the final version of Bitter Water Blues. I think my tens of fans would enjoy reading that.

My work-in-progress is a horror novel. It's what I call hardscrabble cosmic horror, set in rural Maine.

Q.  Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

A. I'm a werewolf.

Patrick, thanks for coming by. Readers, if you like good tough crime fiction, this book is for you!

Web page: http://psbnightcountry.blogspot.com

Where to buy

Mystery Writer Steve Ulfelder Comes to Groton

The Groton Mystery Book Club asked their local library to host a talk with mystery writer Steve Ulfelder, author of the Conway Sax novels (Wolverine Brothers Freight & Storage being the most recent).

Despite staffing issues, the library made it happen- many thanks to them and to those who coaxed Steve to visit! And thanks to the people who came to hear him.

It was a terrific discussion with Steve of his work, his writer's journey, his publishing and life experiences, his upcoming plans for more books. In addition to being a great mystery novelist, he also has a race car company and a brand-new real estate license. He served as New England Chapter President of the Mystery Writers of America, and is a member of Sisters In Crime (Steve and I are both part of that great organization).

This was great prep for Steve, who will soon be interviewed by investigative journalist and mystery writing superstar Hank Phillipi Ryan, who's also appeared at the library.

Then he'll be at the annual Crime Bake mystery conference again, which fans in New England can't wait for. And I'm quite happy about being on the Ask the Experts panel there, signing copies of my books and taking part in the launch of the new Level Best Anthology, Red Dawn: Best New England Crime Stories, which has a story of mine in it.

Steve had a solid crowd of mostly-new fans, and was pleasantly surprised that so many had devoured the books and could discuss the plot points and character motivations in depth. Always gratifying to a writer to see people who seriously absorb the good writing.

After the talk, Steve met with folks to sign autographed copies.

 

Well, yeah, I'd already read this one, but I did have to get a copy of his latest...

Big Show Day- Lancaster and Chelmsford, later Townsend

It was quite a day, with two book signings on one day, two different towns (three towns, if you count the celebration- more on that later).
Now that's working hard to get the word out!

With me in my travels this day was fellow writer Ursula Wong, whose second novel, Amber Wolf, will be out soon.
To see an interview with Ursula, click here. She talks about her debut novel, Purple Trees.

First, we went to the Thayer Memorial Library in Lancaster, MA, for a panel with members of the New England Horror Writers.
The event was sponsored by the Seven Bridges Writer's Collaborative, who have been doing great things to bring writers and readers together in the central MA area.
Thanks to Hollis Shore and Paula Castner for hosting us and promoting the program.

Here are some event pics- 

Joining me on the panel:

Left to Right: Paula, Moderator Dan Keohane, Remy Flagg, Jennifer Allis Provost, Trisha Woolridge, and Ursula Wong

 

We had an appreciative and attentive audience

 

 

 

A nice time was had by all. Then we had to race off to Chelmsford for the event put on by
The Society of Independent Publishers and Authors.

We set up at the Chelmsford Center for the Arts, and spoke with shoppers dropping in.  

Thanks to Laura Marshall and Sara for overseeing this one. 

Ursula Wong, still looking fresh at her second signing of the day...

Here you can see the back of Richard Hollman, and behind him is Kameryn James

There's Kevin Willett in red, across the room

You can see Katharine Grubb below on the far left, and the gentleman in neon green is Glenn Davison, who has published five books on kite-flying! Just to the right of the post is Scott Millin

So after all that, we needed a little celebrating. So we went to see writer Vlad V. to celebrate the upcoming release of Insanity Tales II: The Sense of Fear (from Books and Boos Press), with writers from The Storyside: Stacey Longo, Rob Smales, and the sadly missing David Daniel.

Check out our cover, with the image made as a cake-- a delicious taste of Insanity! 
To see a cool trailer for the book, click here

 

Interview With Leigh Perry

Today we're interviewing long-time writer Leigh Perry (also known in some circles as Toni Kelner). We're in two of the same groups as members- Sisters in Crime, as well as in the New England Horror Writers.
Leigh is the author of the popular Sid the Skeleton mystery series (among other works), where a main character is a walking, talking skeleton. They're great, by the way- a lot of fun, and full of bad bone puns!

The next book in the series, The Skeleton Haunts a House comes out Oct. 6.

So let's meet Leigh and find out more about her work.

Q: So how did this novel come to be? Was it envisioned from the start as a bigger canvas, or did it expand organically out of an idea? Please tell us a bit about the origin.

A: The Skeleton Haunts a House is the third in a series, so obviously the immediate spark was the previous two books in the series. If you’re asking how I came up with Sid the Skeleton himself, I don’t have a clue. Over a decade ago, I was noodling over ideas for a new series, and I wanted to do a paranormal mystery. So many of the usual suspects—vampires, werewolves, witches, ghosts—were being written about already by some excellent authors. I’d even seen more obscure paranormal characters like angels, demons, and banshee. Somehow my mind jumped to having a skeleton, and Sid appeared in the same form he ended up for the first book. (He still looks the same, actually. Skeletons don’t age much.)

As for Georgia Thackery, his BFF and partner-in-crime-solving, she went through a lot more evolution. She started out as a young grad student, then was an older locksmith, and ended up as an adjunct English professor with a teenaged daughter. (I did sneak both a grad student and a locksmith into the books.)

As for the pieces that show up in this book… In the first book in the series, Georgia Thackery moves back to her parents’ house while they’re on sabbatical, but I knew someday I’d have to bring those parents back to town. This turned out to be that day.

I have adored Halloween forever, long before I started writing about a skeleton, and of course, Halloween would be Sid’s special day. It’s the time when he can go out in public posing as a costumed character or a moving decoration. Having him go to a Halloween carnival was something I thought of for the first book in the series, but I modified that for plot reasons. I was really happy to bring it back.

Haunted houses fascinate me. Not so much the real ones, which I’m not sure I believe in anyway, but the haunted house attractions. It’s a whole industry, with scare actors, specialized equipment and software, and some great stories on Reddit. Plus I like the conceit of a real monster like Sid sneaking around the faux monsters.


Q:  Did you start with the germ of an idea and start writing to see where it went, or did you map a good deal out in your head (or even outline) before crafting?

A: I’m not an outliner. I start with an idea—whether it be a character, a setting, an incident, or the crime itself--and start making notes around that idea. I go with that for a few weeks, maybe a month, then start working on the actual manuscript.


Q:  What do you feel is the main theme(s)?

A: First off, themes are usually better identified by the reader than the writer. But that being said, I think the whole series, including this book, is about what it means to be a family, and the importance of friendship.


Q:  Why do you feel this is important, and what would you want a reader to take away from reading this book?

A: Mostly, all I want is for people to be entertained. I want them to remember the excitement and the laughs, and go away with a warm fuzzy feeling that things ended as they should.


Q:  What makes a good book or engaging story?

A: Characters! I don’t have to like them, but if the characters don’t interest me, I don’t care how pretty the writing is or how vivid the setting is or how tricky the plot is.


Q:  Are there writers with similar themes to yours? Who are your influences (can be writers, or even artists, musicians, or others) and what is it about their work that attracts you?

A:  There are quite a few people writing paranormal mysteries. Charlaine Harris, of course, and Dana Cameron’s paranormal thrillers. Sofie Kelly, Juliet Blackwell, Bailey Cates, Paige Shelton—all in that same zone.

As my influences, probably everybody who I’ve ever read! For the idea of having just a touch of the paranormal or fantastic in the real world, I think my direct antecedents are old sitcoms like Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Nanny and the Professor, Topper, and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.


Q:  Is storytelling mostly entertainment, or does it serve other functions? Do you have particular goals other than telling a good story?

A: That seems to imply that serving other functions isn’t entertaining, and I don’t agree with that at all! Learning about unfamiliar parts of the world, hearing about other points of view, getting a fresh take on an old subject, and meeting compelling characters is incredibly entertaining. I try to squeeze as much of that stuff into a book as I can.

My one mission with this series is entirely accidental. When I decided to make Georgia an adjunct English professor, it was so she wouldn’t be tied to one university so I could move her to different settings and avoid what mystery fans call Cabot Cove Syndrome, where so many people in a small town are murdered that one wonders why anybody would ever stay there. Along the way, however, I learned what a tough life being an adjunct is and how they’re treated unfairly by many universities. So I try to cast a little light on that situation.

Q:  Any other goals you've set for yourself, professionally or personally?

A: I want it all, Dale! I want a movie or TV show—both would be better. I want to hit the New York Times bestseller list as a novelist. (I’ve been on the list as an editor of anthologies, but it’s not enough.) I’d like to be nominated for an Edgar, and I want to be guest of honor at Malice Domestic and/or Bouchercon some day. I’m greedy!

But I will forgo every bit of that if I can just keep being published. That’s the part I like best, being able to go into a bookstore and see my books on the shelf.


Q:  Some writers write fast and claim not to rewrite much. Do you do this, or painstakingly revise? When you send the book off to the publisher, are you happy with it, or just tired of it?

A: I go through three or four drafts, more with a short story. I’m generally very tight on deadlines, so that encourages me to keep moving and not nitpick. I generally know the book is as good as it’s going to get when I go through a passage and change some words—say change “gift” to “present”—then go back later and change “present” back to “gift.” That’s when it’s time to send it away.


Q:  Do you have good editors, and if so, how do they help you? Do they look for particular things? Do you have different people for different editing levels?

A: I have an alpha reader, my husband Steve. He gives critical feedback, but his most important role is to tell me, “Yes, this is a book/story.” Then I have beta readers, Charlaine Harris and Dana Cameron, who go in much more depth. After them, my agent adds advice, and then I get overall editing from my editor at Berkley, and finally copy edits from Berkley. It takes a village!


Q:  If a writer came to you for advice, how would you help?

A:  That varies widely depending on the level they’re at, and what they’re trying to do. So my first step is always to ask what they’re working on, whether or not it’s done, and what their goals are.

Then I can share information without scaring them with a pure info dump.


Q:  Stories can be told by using a different medium. Can you see your book as a film, audio, etc.? How would that alter the telling?

A:  The Family Skeleton series has been converted into audio books already, so that part is done. I don’t know about a film because it would be tough to render a skeleton without it looking creepy. I think a comic book would work, or maybe an animated movie.


Q: What's the next step in your writing world?

A:  Actually, I’m not sure. I want to write more Family Skeleton books, but sales on The Skeleton Haunts a House will decide that. I do want to start another series, too, but I’m still casting about for ideas. And there are short stories I want to write.


Q:  Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

A:  I’m a fan of the Wizard of Oz: books, movies, comics. And I have a collection of Oz memorabilia.


Q:  Any other information you'd like to impart?

A:  If you like the Family Skeleton books, I’ve got eleven novels written as Toni L.P. Kelner available as ebooks and audio books.

You can find far too much information about those books at: www.tonilpkelner.com

My website is www.leighperryauthor.com
Sid the Skeleton is on Twitter @Family_skeleton

Where to buy:
    http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/310985/the-skeleton-haunts-a-house-by-leigh-perry/

And available where fine books about ambulatory skeletons are sold.

Two Great Anthologies

Here's the awesome cover for the soon-to-be-released anthology, Best New England Crime Stories 2016: Red Dawn, from Level Best Books.

My story Hope it Fits is in this one. Look for it in early November, making a debut at Crime Bake, put on by Sisters in Crime (where I'll be one of the experts in the Ask the Experts session).

And my story Automat was in the one last year, Rogue Wave. Two years in a row!

Not only was my story submitted for a Derringer Award, the collection is now a Finalist for a Silver Falchion Award. Up against some amazing pro works, from the best writers. We're in heady company!

Two-Show Saturday!

Hey there- it's going to be a busy day this coming Saturday, Oct 3rd.

First off is the New England Horror Writers signing at the Thayer Memorial Library, 717 Main St. Lancaster, MA 
We'll be there from 10:30- 12:30

Come on down and get scared in time for the Halloween season!

Then I bop back to the hometown for SIPA's Local Authors Book Signing and Sale
from 1-5 pm at the Authors Cafe, Lower Level of the Chelmsford Center for the Arts (CCA), 1A North Rd., Chelmsford, MA. I'll be there with Ursula Wong and other talented writers.

Free- Insanity Tales Giveaway

Hello again- good news! The second Insanity Tales anthology, Insanity Tales II- The Sense of Fear, will soon be out. The advance reviews have been spectacular! And we're getting an Introduction from the talented Joe McKinney.

So we the authors have put up a special event- we're giving away 3 print copies of the first Insanity Tales to pique your interest. It's a Goodreads giveaway, so just follow this link to enter for a chance to win!

To make sure you win something, we'll even offer you a free audiobook (a $14.95 value) of the first Insanity Tales, spoken by noted audio narrator Fred Wolinsky. Just shoot me an email so I can send you instructions on how to download the free audiobook! Check out a sample here.

Here's the cover for the first, and book II is also going to be creepy and unsettling!