Meeting Writing Heros by Vivian Zabel

Saturday I meet another one of my mystery/suspense/thriller writing heroes --

I heard that. So you don't think us old fogies should have or do have heroes, huh? Well, young whipper snapper let me tell you a thing or three: Just because we have lived long enough to be considered experts or leaders or even folks who have outlived everyone else, we still have people we admire and dream of being when we grow up.

Since I love reading mysteries, of course many of my writing heroes are mystery authors. Many of my favorites I'll never be able to meet, either because they're gone or because they live too far away and may never cross my path.

However, through my attending book festivals and conferences and going to local book signings, I've met several whose books are in my book shelves -- now some with autographs.

I attended the Red Dirt Book Festival nearly six years ago, the first one held. The featured speaker was Tony Hillerman. I not only attended all of his sessions, I was able to visit with him outside of the structured events. What a delightful man. His mysteries fascinated me because he wove the suspense into his knowledge of the Navajo culture. He autographed two of his books, but the autograph in his autobiography was personal and touching. I'll miss Tony Hillerman; Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee can be found again in the books that Tony left behind.

I first met Marcia Preston through her writing magazine ByLine Magazine, and then through OWFI (Oklahoma Writers' Federation). Her award winning books are not the gritty, hard-nosed mysteries found so often any more, but each book with a mystery winding through the chapters are well-written and interesting. I only have one of her autographed books, though, one that won the Oklahoma Book Award a few years ago. I noticed her recent book is one of the finalists for this year's honor.

Carolyn Hart appeared at a local bookstore, and I nearly beat her there. I like her two series I've read, the Books on Demand series and the Henry O one. I've ordered the first of her new series and will let everyone know how I like it. Anyway, back to the book signing, Carolyn was kind enough to visit with me. I also went home with three autographed books.

With her encouragement, I put my fears aside and wrote Midnight Hours, which by the way placed 10th in the Mystery Preditors & Editors Readers Poll category, and 4th in the mainstream category.

I don't remember when I first met William Bernhardt, but we've attended several of the same functions over the years. I would like to attend his writing workshop in Tulsa, Oklahoma some day, but we'll have to see if that works. Bill's characters may be flawed, but they still manage to survive and solve. I think that's true of real people, too.

J. A. Jance, the keynote speaker at the OWFI writing conference last year, is a delightful person, and very interesting. She answered questions for the interview with her with thoughtful answers. When I asked how many books I could bring to the conference for her to sign, she answered, "All of them, if you're willing to wait until the end of the line so we don't keep people waiting." I didn't take all her books I own, but I took a few of my favorites and bought two new titles there.

Also at the conference last year, I finally met CJ Lyons. We had visited on line for some time, but we met face to face there. In fact she sat at our table for both banquets. She's a good writer and an excellent conversationalist. I'm reading her second medical thriller now.

Through the OWFI Yahoo group, I "met" Jordan Dane. We met in person at the Edmond Authors Book Festival in January. She came to the writing group's (Pen and Keyboard Writers) meeting Saturday and spoke. Now her books are gritty. Her protagonists are tough women, even though they all have issues. I have copies of two of her first three books. She will be interviewed by me before long.

This May, I'll meet Tess Gerritsen, who I hear is one of the top current mystery writers. I'm reading one of her books, so I'll see if she becomes one of my writing heroes or not.

Maybe some day someone can say Vivian Zabel is his or her hero, but even if that never happens, I'll keep on writing my books because of the influence of authors such as Tony Hillerman, Marcia Preston, Carolyn Hart, Bill Bernhardt, J.A. Jance, CJ Lyons, and Jordan Dane.

Who are your mystery writing heroes?

Vivian Zabel
Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap
Vivian's Mysteries

Meet Medical Thriller Author CJ Lyons by Vivian Zabel

I first met CJ Lyons on two Yahoo email lists: Crime Writers and Sisters in Crime. Soon after I discovered that she would be one of the presenters at the OWFI (Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc.) writing conference May 1-2, 2008.

Not only did I attend CJ's sessions and have her autograph my copy of her debut medical thriller LIFELINES, but she also joined me at my writing group's table at both banquets.

When I heard about her new novel being released this month, and which I have pre-ordered, I asked her if I could interview her. She agreed, and the following is the result.

Vivian: How did/does your history and home background affect your writing?

CJ: My mom was a voracious reader, so I grew up surrounded by books. I began reading at a very early age and skipped the whole "see Dick run" stage, going right to books like Agatha Christie.

And fairy tales—lots of fairy tales. But not the sanitized Disney version, my mom had lots of the "real" ones—Perraults, Grimm Brothers, etc. I think they helped me to learn the value of a good story, how the hero's journey works on a subliminal level, and also that no happy ending comes without paying a price.

Vivian: Tell us something about your background that has made you a better, or more caring, writer.

CJ: Being a pediatrician definitely has given me insight into how real heroes are born. Watching children and their families respond to tragedy and triumph has both inspired and humbled me.

Since I spent a lot of my career working in urban trauma centers and as a victim's advocate, I also witnessed occasions of true evil—and saw how insidious it is, how easily it can hide in plain sight. And I saw how so many of us live our lives in a gray area between good and evil.

That's the reality of our world. In my fictional world, I try to address this cosmic ambiguity, with many of my characters doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons—or all the wrong things for all the right reasons. I love stories of redemption, of triumph over one's own self.

Vivian: Please fill us in on your hobbies, interests, or activities you participate in during your leisure time. *laugh* If you have any.

CJ: Great question — strange to say, but I used to have a lot more free time when I was practicing medicine! Now that I write full time, it seems that almost everything is tied to the writing. Either getting the current book done, researching the next, or marketing the one hitting the stores now.

But that's all good!. When you do something you love, it doesn't seem like work. And I've been able to expand my writing career to include a busy teaching schedule. Now I get to combine my love of travel with trips to give master classes, workshops and keynotes. This way I'm always meeting new people who share my love of storytelling!

Vivian: Authors are often asked when they started writing or what triggered their interest in writing. I like to know that, also, but I would especially like to know what keeps you writing.

CJ: I've been telling stories all my life—took me a looooong time to figure out the difference between fiction and reality when I was a kid. This led to many hours in time out—which led to more stories fermenting in my imagination…..a vicious cycle.

I honestly don't think I could stop writing if I tried. It's an addiction for me. There are so many stories to tell and so little time.

Vivian: You have so many projects going all the time: working on books, traveling, etc.; how do you manage?

CJ: I'm a lousy housekeeper. Seriously, you should see my place—my Christmas gift to myself was investing in a Dirt Dog robot vacuum cleaner so at least the floors would get done. Now, if I could just teach it to dust and do the laundry….

Vivian: What is your most recent book, and what inspired you to write it?

CJ: WARNING SIGNS is due out on January 27th. It's a coming of age tale, featuring a medical student who is investigating a mysterious illness killing her patients. Then she begins to exhibit the same deadly symptoms herself….

I was inspired by my own experiences as a student. None of us were immune from "medicalstudentitis"—a form of hypochondriasis brought on by exposure to arcane knowledge about rare and mysterious ailments.

I swear at one point we all thought we had Leishmaniasis, Q-fever, Kawasaki's, and Sjorgens—simultaneously! Working 100+ hours a week, plus non-stop studying, poor diet, no sleep, no exercise all combined to produce in us symptoms that we were sure were deadly….only to be reassured by our patient clinical instructors that we would indeed live until tomorrow.

Of course things are never so easy in the fictional world of Angels of Mercy Medical Center and my medical student has something a lot more devastating to face.


About CJ:
As a pediatric ER doctor, CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge suspense novels. Her debut, LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), became a national bestseller and Publishers Weekly proclaimed it a "breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller." The second in the series, WARNING SIGNS, is due out January, 2009. Contact her at http://www.cjlyons.net

Lifelines by CJ Lyons
Berkley/Jove
March 2008
ISBN: 978-0-425-22082-5

Warning Signs by CJ Lyons
Jove, Feb 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9780515145830

********

Vivian Zabel
Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap
Vivian's Mysteries