Connie: Hello Amy, and welcome. It’s a pleasure to have you here today. I look forward to learning about you and your writing, but first, will you tell me and the readers a bit about yourself and maybe what you’re working on now?
Amy: Hi, Connie. It’s a pleasure to be here.
I am a native New Yorker, who has lived in Toronto for a time and is now living in Vermont. I work full time for a painting company, part time as a technical writer, and, in my spare time, I create mysteries.
Connie: That’s quite a full life/schedule you have, Patricia! For the moment, I’m going to focus on your spare time Marjorie McClelland mysteries. They’re set in Connecticut during the 1930’s. Did your grandfather’s influence as well as your love for Nancy Drew, then later Agatha Christie play a part in the setting? Were there other or additional factors?
Amy: No, I can’t say there were additional factors, except possibly the movies. My Grandpa and I would stay up until all hours watching Charlie Chan, The Thin Man, and all manner of classic films. "Grampy" as I called him, had been an aspiring actor prior to being drafted into WWII, and he enjoyed sharing his love of old movies. I carry that with me.
Connie: Is the research for this era in time as easy as some may think? What research tools do you use to help get the phrases, clothing, and props as accurate as possible?
Amy: For Million Dollar Baby, most of my research was conducted at my local library. But now, the internet is indispensable. What used to take several hours to research can be found in a few minutes. It’s incredible!
Connie: Incredible in more ways than one, that’s for sure!
Of course, being set in the 30’s the phrasing, clothes, and props will lend a nostalgic air to the story. Amy, is it important to you to make sure the nostalgia can be felt by the reader, make them feel as if they were tagging along with Marjorie? If so, what do you do to ensure this?
Amy: Nostalgia and a sense of time and place are extremely important. The only way to ensure this is through research…and LOTS of it! I have several vintage Sears catalogs at my disposal to check on vintage fashions. I possess phrase books in which I can check the origin of each and every saying, but I must admit that the internet is a tremendous resource that each and every writer can, and should, utilize.
Connie: Shadow Waltz is the third in this series, with the characters well developed and comfortable with their parts. Have any of the major or recurring characters decided to adlib or do you have control of every scene at all times?
Amy: I’d like to believe that I have control over every scene, but that Creighton can be a cheeky devil…
Connie: It’s no wonder Marjorie is in love with him…
Sometimes in historicals the reader will find the main female character displays reactions and attitudes prevalent to today’s society. Do you find it difficult in any way to keep Marjorie’s attitude and reactions within the 1930’s, shall we say, code of conduct? Was this a factor at all when Marjorie’s traits were developing?
Amy: I absolutely try to keep the attitude of 1930’s society in mind while writing. As a "modern" woman who does the majority of the housekeeping, cooking, and bill payments, I don’t feel very "out-of-touch" form the 1930’s woman. Economic circumstances were much harder back then, but what with the price of gas and home heating oil, we have to be just as frugal.
Connie: I’ve read trilogies, sequels and series. Sometimes the characters that are carried over from one book to the next change and don’t seem like the same characters. Is it difficult to maintain the characters voices and traits? Do you have a certain process or keep a file or have sticky notes plastered over your work space?
Amy: No, no sticky notes or complicated files. As difficult as it may be to believe, when I write dialogue, I try to envision it as a film. I, and the reader, know and love these characters. If a scene doesn’t seem quite "right" I put it aside for review at a later time; 99% of the time, I trash the questionable line or scene. It has to "feel" genuine, otherwise it doesn’t make the cut. People (and characters) do change, but unless they’re exposed to a life-altering event, these changes tend to occur gradually.
When we meet Marjorie and Creighton, we discover, early on, that each of them have experienced the loss a parent while very young. This catalyst causes them to be protective of their feelings and deeper emotions. Yet they can’t discount the fact that they intuitively trust, and care, for each other.
Connie: I as a reader appreciate it when the author realizes the changes in a familiar secondary character should happen as you say. Gradually.
Amy, when plotting each of the books (Million Dollar Baby, Ghost of a Chance, Shadow Waltz) do you know "who done it," and why, or do you let the clues lead you to the perpetrator?
Amy: I think, when plotting a mystery, you have to know "who done it" from the outset. Otherwise you run the risk of writing yourself into a corner. I plot the basic outline and then allow the other plot elements to occur naturally.
Connie: Even though you know who the perpetrator is, I assume it’s your plan to keep the reader in the dark for as long as possible with some clues being obvious and others more subtle. What is your process on dispersing the clues?
Amy: Going back to the previous question, I plot the mystery carefully and determine, well in advance, which clues I will reveal and when – I call those the ‘primary’ clues. However, while writing the dialog and devising the subplots, I come up with other, more subtle, clues – often substantiated by the tentative title I’ve selected. It’s magical when it all comes together!
Connie: Hmm…very interesting. I’ll have to read the next book more carefully to pick up on those more subtle clues!
Are you putting all of your efforts and concentration on Marjorie’s series or do you have ideas for another mystery series simmering on the back burner?
Amy: I’m in love with Creighton and Marjorie and have LOTS of ideas for future adventures. However, I am working on another mystery series set during the WWII era; it’s coming along slowly. In addition, I’ve written a few articles for my local newspaper (The latest featured a 100 year old man named Floyd Eastman, an incredible human being form the neighboring town of Dorset, Vermont) and I’m always trying to devise the ideal ghost story.
Connie: I hope you have much success with all of your current and future projects!
Oh, wow, it’s time to move on already, time to get to know the other side of you better. You enjoy the romantic comedies of the 1930’s. There are so many to choose from, but try to give us a couple of your favorites and, in your opinion, why they stand out above the rest.
Amy: Nick and Nora Charles – as depicted in the movies - is the epitome of the elegant 1930’s couple. Pure chemistry + sexual innuendo + implied danger = escapist fun.
Connie: Love the Thin Man series. I believe William and Myrna were fantastic together, no matter what the movie. What about actors/actresses, Amy? Who are your favorites of this era and why?
Amy: Clark Gable cornered the market on animal magnetism; seriously, the guy wore his sexuality like a badge of honor. He just made it more palatable for the "innocent" 1930’s audience by cloaking his leers with quick wit and a grin.
Myrna Loy was a goddess. Even if she hadn’t played Nora Charles, she still would have been an icon of the era and the woman most men of the Thirties wanted to marry.
Vivien Leigh – best known for playing Scarlet O’Hara, her acting skills were never fully realized. My grandpa had the thrill of serving her lunch at the NYC drugstore where he worked as a short-order cook. He described her as "the most beautiful woman he had ever seen."
James Stewart – a bulldog: tenacious, real, yet somehow warm and snuggly. Married to the same woman for 50 years and never, ever the subject of a Hollywood scandal. What more can one say?
Connie: All great stars whose performances were always at their best.
You said you like anything creative; does this mean you’re creative in the sense that you garden, crochet, scrapbook…etc?
Amy: I don’t crochet and I’m terrible at scrapbooking (most of my reviews and the newspaper articles I’ve written somehow wind up in the trash!). I’ve dabbled in cross stitch, embroidery, sewing, sketching and, for a time, painting. Those fell by the wayside what with encroaching deadlines, but the one creative hobby I still avidly pursue is cooking.
I’m a self-professed recipe hound (okay, recipeholic), Food Network junkie, and a traveler who’s always said that a vacation is not a true vacation unless it includes a trip to at least one historic site and at least one truly good restaurant. By truly good, I don’t mean an extravagantly priced, trendy eatery, but a place that serves great food, at fair prices, in a terrific setting. It may sound corny, but I try to deliver the same product with my books: memorable characters in a good story that leaves you feeling entertained, comfortable, and satisfied.
What I write isn’t heavyweight literature, just as my cooking isn’t of the Cordon Bleu variety. For me, it’s all about watching my guests push away from the table, or close the last page, with a smile.
Connie: It’s all about the satisfaction? You’re immensely satisfied when your guests and readers are pleasantly sated with your food or your books. It’s nice to know that your goal is to please and satisfy the reader, that you get enjoyment out of their reading pleasure.
Some people co-exist peacefully with dust bunnies (to a certain extent) and others combat them. Where do you stand on the issue of dust bunnies and housework?
Amy: I must confess, I’m somewhat anal retentive about my surroundings. If my house is out of order, it’s difficult for me to concentrate on anything other than reorganizing. Fortunately, however, some of my best ideas come to me while my mind is focused on scrubbing the kitchen floor or vacuuming the living room rug. It’s as if the part of my brain used for writing heaves a huge sigh of relief and takes a deep breath.
Connie: Use 4 words you would use to describe how you see yourself.
Amy: Humorous. Industrious. Intuitive. Warm.
Connie: Thank you so much, Amy. I’ve enjoyed our visit. One final question before we part ways; is there anything I forgot to ask or anything you want the readers to know?
Amy: I can’t think of anything, except that my books should be taken lightly. They’re the stuff you take on summer vacation. Dreamy, frothy, and fun!
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