Killer Nashville Interview with August Norman

1. This is the second novel that follows heroine Caitlin Bergman. How soon into crafting the first book did you know her story would continue?

Even before Caitlin made her debut in Come and Get Me, I’d worked the character into a screenplay and another novel. As an investigative journalist, Caitlin gets to explore the issues I care about, whether that’s battling white supremacists, breaking up a cult, or dating in her 40s. The journalists I know work hard in dangerous places to bring the world basic facts, often for little pay and less respect. Like them, Caitlin is obsessed with getting the true story behind the legends, even at the expense of her own safety. 

2. What are some of the challenges you faced with writing the second book in a series? Were there things that came easier throughout the process?

One wonderful challenge I faced writing “Sins of the Mother” was honoring the expectations of the first book’s readers. With a debut, you get to say, “Here are my characters; this is what they do.” While plotting the second installment, readers from my publishing team to Goodreads followers wanted to know who would come back, how Caitlin would grow, and what horrible junk food she’d eat this time. I made sure to honor that relationship with the reader while taking Caitlin in a new direction.

3. Most of the book is set in Oregon. What drew you to choosing the setting in the Pacific Northwest?

To tell this story, I needed somewhere in America that you could hide a cult within miles of the broader society. I also wanted a setting where the locals feared the end of their traditions because of a liberal shift in ideals, and would be willing to fight to ensure their ways of life. Oregon’s lush forests, rocky coasts, inland plains, tribal lands, federal preserve, and wild-country-feel all bash heads daily with the new Bohemia tech sector billionaire playgrounds of Portland, Silicon Valley, and Seattle. Caitlin is searching for her past in a state that’s dealing with its own growing pains. In “Sins of the Mother,” the area’s small government “Don’t Tread On Me” mentality allows white supremacists to flourish in the same proximity as a reclusive cult. It’s only a matter of time before the two fight for their ideals, no matter the cost. 

4. You recently became a father, and the book definitely focuses on parental themes. Was that coincidental? And are there things you learned about parenthood from writing a book centering so much on that theme?

In the lead-up to my entrance into parentage, I did a lot of soul-searching on what I believe makes a good parent and what constitutes family. Whether related by blood, chosen through adoption, or selected from a pool of friends, I think the closest families are born through love and sacrifice, rather than biology. As unnatural as it may seem, sometimes the best thing a parent can do is realize they don’t have the skills to guide their children through life and leave them with someone more qualified. Having never met her birth mother, raised by a single adoptive father, and now childless in her early forties, Caitlin explores her own family’s tree, ultimately seeing another side of her perceived abandonment and the sacrifices and openness needed to truly love.

5. You have a background in screenwriting. How has that experience helped you with writing novels? Or has it made things more difficult?

Coming up through screenwriting, I hope I can claim a few skills that help me as a novelist. I gravitate toward short, cinematic scenes in my chapters, understanding that readers fill in much of the setting with their own shorthand. I also try to create characters that actors from well-known stars to five-lines-and-under would line up to audition for. Who wouldn’t want to play an aging cult leader, past his prime and looking for a way out? A devout, female lawyer that represents a cult in greater society but becomes her true self in the privacy of their woodland compound? A violent white supremacist hell-bent on saving his daughter from those people? Finally, many authors come to their work with a my-way-or-the-highway sensibility that can leave them stuck when their publishers ask for edits or complete page one rewrites of art that took them years to complete. Screenwriters, subject to deadlines and notes from all levels, have to be able to move fast and adapt, while keeping their original concepts intact. So far, these skills have all helped bring Caitlin Bergman to the page.

6. Your lead character, Caitlin, is definitely a strong female protagonist. Did you face any challenges writing a female character? 

As a straight white male, no one needs me to explain a damned thing about being a strong modern woman — and I keep that in mind with every sentence I type. Caitlin Bergman began as a minor character in an early screenplay but quickly became the lead I wanted to see challenge the injustices of the world. Rather than try to create a strong female protagonist, I wrote Caitlin as the ideal acting role for one of my best friends. Fierce but flawed, strong but not a superhero, sexual but not necessarily sexy, and smarter than anyone I knew, Caitlin is the combination of four women and one man from my life, and someone I would love to hang out with — if she’d deem me worthy. That said, I rely heavily on beta readers to make sure her words and actions ring true. Since my first title, “Come and Get Me,” touched upon the terrible trauma of sexual assault, I asked 20 readers to evaluate the work before it reached my agent’s hands. Of those 20 readers, 15 were women. Of those 15, at least 2 were in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, as well as people of other ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations. With justifiable historical and societal reasons, I’ll never satisfy everyone, but I do everything possible to make Caitlin and her friends behave like real people I know and love. 

7. No spoilers, but the book’s plot centers around the fictional Daughters of God cult. What research goes into trying to craft a cult from scratch?

Cults fascinate me — not just the religious ones but any occasion where a group of people choose to believe in something that can either be demonstrably proven false (cough, cough … flat earthers) or where the association requires self-injury, legal compromise or financial ruin. When building my own group, I wanted to concentrate on the people who would stick around, even after their prophesied end of the world had come and gone. To really get into their mentality, I first consulted my own personal therapist, then dove deep into articles, books and documentaries about these hidden societies, many of which found their own starts in my background of Southern California. Sadly, most of us are susceptible to this kind of belief, and far too many have lost their families, fortunes and lives under the leadership of demagogues. 

Killer Nashville Interview with J. A. Konrath

Killer Nashville recently had a chat with author J.A. Konrath regarding his prolific—and eclectic—writing career. A pioneer of the self-publishing model, Konrath has sold over 2 million books worldwide. His latest novel, The List, will be available in trade paperback May 2018. Konrath is a 2018 Killer Nashville Guest of Honor and will be participating in several conference sessions.

Take a moment and enjoy the wit and wisdom of J.A. Konrath.

Clay Stafford

Founder of Killer Nashville 

An Interview with J.A. Konrath
by Liz Gatterer

KN: I read on your website that you received over 500 rejection letters before getting published. How did you handle that and what advice do you have to new authors that are experiencing the same thing?

Joe: I drank. And I recommend that to all authors, new and old.

These days, I don’t advise authors to spend years chasing agents and publishers. A saner approach is to self-publish. As you build an audience, agents and publishers will no doubt find you.

Remember, the end goal is to find readers. Those are the people you need to be chasing. You can do that with good stories. Or with promises of cash. What reader would turn down piles of cash?

Are you giving out piles of cash at this conference? Is Deaver? Is that why he always has people around him?

KN: You are a most prolific and varied author, but you really resonate with whichever audience you are writing for. I read The Globs of Use-A-Lot3 to my six-year-old. He almost peed the bed laughing so hard! But, he got the message. He is now quite tyrannical about recycling in our house and he is most proud of his gaseous eruptions-thanks for that. You write in so many categories and genres–horror, mystery, comedy, instructional, … (blushing slightly) other genres, and even children’s books! How do you switch hats so easily?

Joe: Thanks for the kind words. I’m lucky to be interested in many genres and find all of them fun to write for. Hopefully the fun I’m having translates to the reader.

If you don’t find my books fun, that’s entirely my fault. I apologize. I’ll try harder next time. Would you like a pile of cash?

Besides the children’s picture book, I’ve also published other odd things. Like adult coloring books (The Ultimate Adult Coloring Book of Circles—which is 100 pages of circles), the Stop A Murder series (where you solve puzzles to catch a serial killer, unlocking clues, more story, and videos are you progress), eco-punk science fiction (Timecaster), and very funny erotica (Want It Bad).

And, of course, The List is now available as a mass market paperback, and I haven’t had any mass market paperbacks in years. It’s a technothriller with memorable characters and a lot of fun moments. Everyone should buy two copies; one for personal use, and one for their mother.

KN: You are a full-time writer and full-time professor with a full-time family. That’s a lot of time! How do you balance it all?

Joe: I’m actually five people. Which is expensive when buying shoes.

Were you the one who brought up drinking and money? Because that seems like a good idea. Maybe we can combine the two. Having a beer, while sitting on a pile of cash. Also, people dance for our amusement.

That would be the life, wouldn’t it?

What was the question again?

Oh, balance. I quit teaching, and my kids are grown, so now I just write. It’s a great job, and I highly recommend it.

KN: Throughout all of your stories, comedy plays a big part. Even the scary novels have their funny bits. But writing is serious work. How do you keep your sense of humor through all of it?

Joe: Reading is like giving your limbic system a work-out. It allows us to vicariously experience all emotions; fear, sorrow, joy, excitement, and laughter. Laughter is my favorite. So even when I write dark stuff, I try to find room for humor. It makes things more fun.

Hmm. I just re-read the above paragraph, and that wasn’t fun at all. Maybe I should add some emojis.

Laughter is my favorite. 😊 Even when I write dark stuff. ☹

Does that make it more fun? If not, you should have a beer.

KN: You are a big proponent of self-publishing and self-promotion. Aside from suggesting that they read your book A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing, is there one thing you think all new authors need to know?

Joe: Don’t write crap.

No reader wants to waste her time with bad books, so do her a favor and don’t write any.

It is difficult for writers to judge the merit of their own writing, even if they’ve written a few dozen novels. We all need some sort of objective feedback. Let your family, friends, peers, editors, and beta readers tell you what isn’t working because then you can fix it. Things are much harder to salvage if you publish something sub-par and get a bunch of well-deserved 1-star reviews. Don’t ever publish anything before it’s the very best you can make it.

You have one goal; make the reader happy. Don’t blow it.

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Many thanks to J.A. Konrath for so graciously taking time to answer our questions and to Vida Enstrand and Lauren Vassallo from Kensington Publishing for facilitating this interview.

Killer Nashville Interview with Dana Chamblee Carpenter

An Interview with Dana Chamblee Carpenter

Dana Chamblee Carpenter 

is the author of “Book of the Just,” the third novel in The Bohemian Trilogy. Carpenter’s award-winning short fiction has also appeared in

The Arkansas Review, Jersey Devil Press, Maypop, 

and, most recently in the anthologies, “Dead Ends: Stories from the Gothic South,” and “Killer Nashville Noir: Cold Blooded.” She teaches at a university in Nashville, TN where she lives with her husband and two children. Visit her at http://www.danachambleecarpenter.com/.

Q: You give such an intriguing glimpse of history and culture that is often not touched upon. What drew you to write a story in Bohemia during the 13th century and the new amazing places “Book of the Just” takes us?

I don’t tend to start out with a setting in mind—how fun would it be to know your destination ahead of time? I go where the character takes me, and it makes for a much more adventurous journey. When I discovered the connection between Mouse and the infamous medieval codex known as the Devil’s Bible, I knew her story started in the 13thcentury in Bohemia because that’s where and when the codex was written. But once Mouse got me there, I fell in love. I sometimes wonder if, in a different life, I lived in that part of the world. The more I learned about the places and the people and the stories and the culture, the more I felt like I was coming home somehow. Similarly, practical aspects of the story took me to the places in Book of the Just. Parts of Australia are remote and shrouded in ancient mythical truths—just the kind of spot Mouse would go if she needed a place to hide. Likewise, the Book of the Just (a real book like the Devil’s Bible) and my research of ancient Hebrew history took me to the Middle East and parts of Africa. And again, I felt a visceral connection to these places and a deep respect for the people who live there. I love going to these places and I love taking my readers with me. Too often we get anchored in our comfortable spaces and forget how beautifully diverse the world is. I want to make the unfamiliar familiar for myself and my readers so we can appreciate our differences while reveling in the joy of all that makes us human.

Q: How does your career as a teacher influence your writing?

I really don’t think of teaching or writing as a career. Career seems like something you choose. Writing and teaching chose me—sometimes against my will. ☺ I guess that makes them a calling. Whatever we name them, they are both integral parts of who I am, entwined and inseparable. I see teaching as a form of storytelling. Education is about learning to hear the stories around us, to connect to them and empathize with them, to understand them so that we can learn our own stories—in truth and without posturing or judgment. And then, once we’ve listened to or read the stories around us, we must learn to tell those stories and our own. Storytelling is also a form of teaching. The journey of writing and research teaches me so much about humanity and the world and history and science, the known and the unknown. I learn and then I share that with my readers, and then my readers teach me. It’s the same process I go through as a teacher—I learn and share with my students and then my students teach me. I suppose the deep current running through all of it is an insatiable curiosity.

Q: Your writing intricately mixes history, thriller, and a feeling of mysticism and magic. What things do you see influencing these aspects of your writing?

I’ve always been an eclectic reader. I read everything, every genre, including poetry and plays, both “literary” fiction and “commercial.” (I’m not sure what those labels offer us so I’m wary about using them.) I love going to new places and new times, and I love playing with “what ifs.” When I go looking for a common thread in my favorite writers, be it Eudora Welty or Maya Angelou or Neil Gaiman or William Faulkner or Stephen King or Katherine Howe or Naomi Novik or countless others, I see that each of them and the stories I find most compelling reveal a world to me where there is so much more that we don’t understand than what we think we do. That’s the world I want to live in—full of the thrill of discovery and the play of what if. And that’s the world I want to create for my readers, too. The unknown, the mysterious, the magical lives among us in the everyday. We just have to teach ourselves to look for it.

Q: Did the first novel in the series, Bohemian Gospel, winning the Claymore Award influence the rest of the series?

Winning the Claymore opened all the doors for me. So, in that way, yes. I got the chance to prove myself with Bohemian Gospel, which let me move on to write The Devil’s Bible and Book of the Just. But in terms of the story, no, winning didn’t influence what came after Bohemian Gospel. I learned pretty quickly as I was working on The Devil’s Bible, that I needed to shut out reader expectations, marketing issues, publisher wants, etc. If you let that stuff get in your head, the story loses its authenticity. It was even harder to push that all aside when I was working on Book of the Just because it was the end of the trilogy, and I knew that readers would want to see certain things tied up (and tied up in certain ways). But I just needed to get into a quiet space and listen to Mouse and let her finish the story for me.

Q:The Devil's Bible, the second in your series, not only won the Silver Falchion in Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror category but also Best Overall novel at this most recent Killer Nashville conference. Can you tell us a little bit about your experience with that? How does it feel to have this success coincide with closing out this literary chapter with Book of the Just in October?

Oh, my goodness, what a night! I didn’t see that coming at all! The overwhelming emotion that settled on me like a blanket, when Clay called out The Devil’s Bible as the winner, was gratitude. I have an incredible family that walks this journey with me and makes sacrifices to give me space and time to chase this dream, and I am beyond thankful for them. But my Killer Nashville family—and I do think of them like family—has also been there for me when I most needed encouragement or kindness or guidance. The award that night came when I was nervously awaiting the release of Book of the Just, wrestling with the insecurities that most writers have, but I also coming off a frustrating summer where everything but my writing was defining me. I came into the conference that year worried I was only playing at being a writer. I felt like a fraud. And then I went to panels and had quiet conversations with friends, met new ones—I was reminded that this tribe of writers was my tribe, where I belonged. Winning the Silver Falchions was the ultimate affirmation. I left Killer Nashville emboldened, but also inspired to take that inclusion and support away with me so I could gift it to other writers. That’s what I’m looking to do with every article I write and event I attend as part of the Book of the Just tour—I want to give what I’ve been given. I want to embolden writers to believe in themselves. 

Killer Nashville Interview with Jeffery Deaver

An Interview with Jeffery Deaver

by Clay Stafford

Jeffery Deaver is one of the best writers on the planet today, as well as being a longtime supporter of Killer Nashville. Not only is he the author of around forty bestselling books (including a James Bond novel and The Bone Collector [made into a movie starring Denzel Washington]), Deaver is also an incredible teacher. This year, he’ll be doing a special writing intensive on Thursday at Killer Nashville covering the nuts and bolts of creating a highly commercial story. It’s a must-go-to class for anyone wanting to take their writing up a few notches. And from what better person to learn than from a man who has sold over 50 million copies of his books in over 150 countries and in over twenty-five languages. With the release of his on-the-edge-of-your-seat new book, “The Cutting Edge”, I talked with Jeff about his writing habits and what he will be teaching this year at Killer Nashville. And if you want to sign up for Jeff’s writing intensive, you can do so here.

CS: Your books are solid and obviously well-researched. Where or how do you do your research? Do you actually go on location? Or do you research through books and the Internet?

JD: Thanks! For geographic locations, I always go to the sites I’m writing about. I once wrote about a river I had been to years before—a raging torrent. It had been dammed by the time I set an exciting scene in my book there. The worst that could  happen was you’d be stuck in the mud. I heard about that from fans! As for the other research, generally I do online and book work. Occasionally I’ll reach out to an expert in the field, but generally that’s not necessary.

CS: Your books always have a series of plot twists. Do you have a writing formula that works for you as a storyteller?

JD: For me, this genre is all about the plot and twists (other crime writers prefer character-driven stories). The overall formula is to keep Mickey Spillane’s comment in mind: People don’t read books to get to the middle. I do whatever I can to propel readers through the story. Twists help me do that, as readers know they’ll be surprised. The formula is to create clues in the form of people, events and objects that either 1. serve two purposes, an innocent purpose being the most obvious or 2. are lost in an avalanche of trivia. Rule one with twists: You must never cheat.

CS: You write both novels and short stories. Is one easier to write than the other?

JD: Both should create deep emotional engagement. Novels, of course, are more grunt labor, since you need to create an elaborate world and characters we care about, to achieve that goal. Short stories have as their payoff, solely a twist, and we don’t need to do more than make our characters chess pieces, which might, or might not, be utterly destroyed in the end.

CS: Your stories are intricately woven. Obviously there is an outline. Otherwise the plots wouldn’t be as solid as they are. How extensively do you outline your projects and what does that outline look like?

JD: Oh, yes, I spend 8 months outlining. My book for 2019 has been planned out and the outline is 130 pages or so, single spaced, though that’s with very wide margins, since I take notes in the white space. It has every element of the story including all the clues, characters, notes, cross-references, subplots. A book (any book, even non-thrillers) is about structure as much as fine prose (I’d even say structure is more important than an elegant style). Some authors can achieve this structure by simply sitting down and writing. I can’t. My books are long and complicated, with the subplots weaving in and out with the main plot. An outline is necessary. Also, I’ve found that an outline lets you know early in the game whether a novel or story will work. It’s much easier to throw out a ten or twenty page outline when you’ve decided that it’s a no-go project, rather than creating 200 pages of prose and coming to that unfortunate conclusion.

CS: You’re doing a writing master class at Killer Nashville on Thursday, August 23 this year. Everyone is excited. Can you give us an overview of what we’ll be learning at the session?

JD: The course looks at the dozen or so general principles of writing fiction (such as defining goals, dealing with your publisher, and—yes—outlining), and then in depth analysis of the four elements of fiction: plot, character, dialogue and setting. It’s both helpful and funny. I’m really looking forward to it!

- Clay StaffordFounder of Killer Nashville 

Many thanks to Jeffery Deaver  for so graciously taking time to answer our questions and to

Andy Dodds from Grand Central Publising for facilitating this interview.

Killer Nashville Interview with Sara Blaedel

Sara Blaedel is the author of the #1 international bestselling series featuring Detective Louise Rick.   Recently, Ms. Blaedel took a bit of time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions for Killer Nashville about The Undertaker's Daughter,  the first novel in her new triology.   Thanks to Bree Goodchild for conducting this interview.

Enjoy…and be inspired!

Clay Stafford

Founder of Killer Nashville 

An Interview with Sara Blaedel
by Bree Goodchild

KN:The reader is taken through the process of being a funeral director as Ilka experiences it; from picking up the body to embalming, reconstruction and makeup to the funeral itself. What kind of research methods did you utilize to create this sense of realism for your character? 

SB: Research is an essential part of my writing process. It always has been, and that only intensifies as the years and titles go by. I place absolute importance on achieving authenticity. Readers are clever and savvy; they know their stuff and aren’t going to buy into anything (in this genre) that doesn’t ring true or feel possible.

As has been the case with all of my books, my research for The Undertaker’s Daughter entailed everything from reading to traveling to becoming an apprentice. When I decided to use the US as the setting for the first time, I studied the various regions until I zeroed in on Racine, Wisconsin, a city which has the nation’s largest number of Danish-Americans and Danish immigrants. I dug into the funeral home industry in the States, comparing and contrasting its laws and regulations and traditions to those in Denmark. I was really struck by how differently this extremely sensitive and reverent work is handled from one country to another. I was fascinated to learn that there are varying laws even from one state to another within the US.

I spent weeks in Racine, living amongst and getting to know the lovely people there and how they navigate. What a wonderful experience- I can’t wait to visit again. I was incredibly fortunate to be able to intern at a funeral home, which proved enlightening, compelling, and so informative.

KN: Ilka seems to miss bits of information and the subtleties of interaction between other characters. What was your thinking behind this dramatic decision? 

SB: I’m so glad you caught this. Ilka is a newcomer to the US; this is her first time visiting the country. A Danish citizen, she’s an outsider when she arrives in Racine, and she’s alone and dealing with a death in the family. Being out of her element in so many ways, she struggles, at first, as anyone would, to keep up and to understand the nuances of another language and culture.

KN: Ilka seems more of an observer than a detective in this book - compared to Louise Rick. What was the creative process behind developing Ilka’s character? 

That’s an interesting question. Ilka is absolutely more of an observer; at least at first. She’s not a detective. When we meet her, she’s leading a quiet and modest life as a school photographer. She is summoned to the States after the death of her long-estranged father, an undertaker, who lived and worked in Racine. Ilka, while trying to tend to her father’s estate, business, and tax issues, takes some time to try to connect with the man she barely remembers. It is while she is living in Racine and laboring in her father’s funeral home that Ilka finds herself needing to search for information and dig for clues. She’s, at most, an amateur sleuth, with no expertise or experience in detective work.

KN: Reading this book, I was surprised when at the end I did not experience the sense of closure between Ilka and her father as expected. Can you talk about what you hoped readers would get out of The Undertaker’s Daughter? 

That’s another fascinating question. The Undertaker’s Daughter is the first in a trilogy, and so, while I had intended to bring to completion many of the storylines in this book, full closure wasn’t part of the plan. Yet.

For me, this series is about familial relationship and the bond between fathers and daughters. It’s about second chances and the many ways in which we can start again. It’s about the ways secrets and lies can devastate, and how love and acceptance, and the truth can be so redeeming.

KN: Do you see this as the beginning of a new thriller series, like Louise Rick, or a stand-alone?

The Undertaker’s Daughter is the first in a trilogy. All three volumes will be set in the States, which is a super exciting first for me.

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Many thanks to Sara Blaedel for so graciously taking time to answer our questions and to Caitlin Mulrooney-Lyski from Grand Central Publishing for facilitating this interview.