First, the weather update--yes, it snowed today in Frederick CO, MD. Historic, probably; rare, certainly; unprecedented, no. Could I have done without it? Absolutely. I’m ready for snow in December, not the day after the World Series finished.
The horrible Cardinals, to use Sara Paretsky’s words, won. I’m bummed. So, probably, is she. Cubs fans are like Red Sox fans: I have two teams; Boston (Chicago) and whoever beats New York (St. Louis). Oh, well. Next year, the Nationals.
Sara Paretsky was one of the seven people interviewed this year at Bouchercon. She received the Lifetime Achievement award. The American guests of honor were Robert Crais and Charlaine Harris. The international guests were Colin Cotterill and Val McDermid. The local legends were Robert Randisi and John Lutz, with the toastmaster Ridley Pearson, another local legend.
My friend Angela persuaded me to go to the interview sessions this year. I don’t always do that. I avoided them at Malice this year. Given that I’ve been listening to the BBC’s World Book Club mystery series though, I didn’t take much convincing.
(WBC had Val McDermid, Boris Akunin, Jo Nesbø, and Henning Mankell for their international mystery series. I’ve listened to three. Only Mankell left to go. I’ve got to read THE FACELESS KILLERS first.)
On Thursday, we went to Colin Cotterill, who’s English, but lives in Thailand and writes about Laos. (Actually, it’s Lao, but French has to put the “s” on then English pronounces that “s”. Colonialism at its most trivial.) SJ Rozan was the interviewer. The audience got free, and unexpected, copies of both Cotterill’s newest book, which begins a new series, MURDER ON THE WHIM OF A HAT, and SJ Rozan’s THE SHANGHAI MOON. (Excellent book, even as it makes you think of THE MALTESE FALCON.)
I thought this interview with Cotterill to be the best of these sessions. I had read the first two of his Dr. Siri’s novels, but I couldn’t wrap my head around them. I gave up. I couldn’t see the point of his absurdism. In the interview, he explained why he takes that approach. Lao, which works as the name for both the people and the country, got a raw deal from first the French and then, even more so, from the Communists. The whimsical absurdism is the only way to deal with the brutal realities of the situation. I look forward to his new book. I might even go back and start Dr. Siri again.
Lesson: Authors do things for reasons. I need to put more effort into figuring out why. I’ll become a better author.
We also went to hear Sara Paretsky and Val McDermid. McDermid is always a treat. She spent a lot of time talking about football in Fife, a passion she shares with Gordon Brown.
Paretsky took a much more overtly feminist line in her interview. Well, she was talking about the work of a lifetime. V.I. Warshawsky, her P.I. takes that line, too. Paretsky drew from her own super-high achieving background--she has both a Ph.D. in American history and an MBA--for her characters. She also grew up in Kansas in an age when women were secretaries, teachers, and homemakers. (She left out nurses, my mother’s profession.)
I had an epiphany in the middle of this interview. The 800 pound serpent in the room is generation, not gender. Each generation has different concerns and obsessions, and we ignore them to our detriment. Example: I’m one of the first of the post-boomers or Gen-Xers. I’m not driven by the same concerns over gender as Paretsky is. In fact, I can find her generation’s stridency counterproductive now.
Angela and I lamented that several sessions were lined up against one another. The Ridley Pearson interview was lined up against the movie panel. The Robert Crais interview came in against the excellent panel “There is a Tiger in the Town”. We also had to choose between the John Lutz interview and the panel on the globalization of crime fiction. We opted for the crime panel. Deon Meyer was quite impressive; his BLOOD SAFARI was a fabulous read--and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t like thrillers.
Fortunately, the sessions were recorded. We could purchase either CDs or downloads of the sessions for $10/session. It sort of took the sting out of missing things. So, I got the interviews with RIdley Pearson and Robert Crais, plus two other sessions I missed.
For the record, live is so much better than Memorex. With eyes and ears engaged, I pick up all the nonverbal cues. Also, my mind doesn’t wander as much. I certainly am not tempted to do other things while “listening”, which contributes to mind wandering.
Much of the interview with Ridley Pearson concerned his series of children’s books written with Dave Barry. That series is up to five now. He’s rightfully proud of his impact on reluctant readers. Given what a good storyteller, Pearson is--he got me to read one of his thrillers--I can believe that reluctant readers adore him. It also says that public school reading is some of the most boring on the planet, a message I’ve got from friends’s kids and my own students.
Robert Crais is damned funny. I’m going to have to try one of his Elvis Cole novels. After saying Jack Reacher (Lee Child’s creation) was Joe Pike’s bitch, I was rolling in my seat. (Last year, Dennis Lehane said Jack Reacher will fuck you up--several times!) Crais also went through several rounds of word association that didn’t go where the interviewer wanted. Example: Q. Beatles or Stones? R. Elvis. Q. Batman or Superman? R. Spiderman. Crais is going to do it his way.
Crais also spoke to how he works. He writes a little more than half a scene per day. That way he can pick up his thoughts where he left off. Also, he used to be able to sit and write for eight to ten hours per day, straight. Now, he has to get up and move around. He’ll do two hours at his desk then get up and go to the coffee shop.
I understand that so well. I can spend about two to three hours in one place before I have to get up. It’s not just get up and stretch. It’s change of scenery. For me, and I suspect, Crais, it’s a way to clean the mental palate.
The interviews were good. As aspiring author or emerging writer (I hate both terms), it’s always helpful to hear other authors’s anxieties, work habits, pet peeves, and funny experiences. I’m not alone.