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 Is the Sookie series over after the 2007 book?
Definitely not. Charlaine will write more Sookie books.
Did you know that Debbie Pelt's animal changed from one book to another?
You bet I know. I've also heard about several other mistakes in the books. With the best will in the world, and at least five people reading each book, in a series that's run this long mistakes will creep in.
How do we get you to come to our store? Our convention? Our workshop?
Please contact my publicist, Tina Anderson, at Penguin Putnam. I love to meet my readers, but I have no control over my touring itinerary. I usually handle my own convention arrangements, and I will consider my calendar if you ask me to come to your convention/ workshop. I usually book appearances a year in advance.
Do you plan to write any more Aurora Teagarden or Lily Bard mysteries?
Right now, no. My writing schedule is full for three years.
Who will Sookie end up with?
I'm not telling; and you may not have met him.
Can't you write any faster?
I wish!
Are you appearing in New York/California/New Orleans?
Just check my calendar. All my public appearances are listed there as soon as I book them. As much as I like to travel and meet my readers, please remember that not only do I have a family, I also have to write the books!
If I want a signed copy of one of your books, what do I do?
Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego, California, and Murder by the Book in Houston, Texas, usually have a stock of signed copies of my books. They do a lot of business by mail. Just Google one of them and contact the store.
If I want to be a writer, what do I need to do?
Read. Read in all genres, read good stuff and bad stuff so you can learn the difference. And then write. After you've completed one work, reward yourself by joining a writers' organization, such as Romance Writers of America, Science Fiction Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, or any one of a dozen of similar groups. Some of these you have to have been published to join, some not. All of this organizations are made up of writers, both published and unpublished, and their literature will contain helpful hints and advice.
Do you have to pay the publisher to publish your books?
Thankfully, no. The way it works: Either I go to my publisher with a proposal and the publisher says “Yes, I want it for X dollars,” and the agent and publisher go back and forth on that, or the publisher and I sign a contract specifying that I’ll produce 3 more books in the series. That’s NOW, of course. When I was first starting out, I had to produce a lot of evidence I intended to write those books, including outlines and maybe sample chapters. But you never, never, pay the publisher. That’s only for vanity press publishing . . . which has its place, but not for me.
How do I go about getting my work published?
Get a computer, or use a library computer, and do the necessary research. The days are long gone when anyone has to be ignorant of how publishing works. I'm asked the same question everywhere I speak or sign, a question based on the false assumption that publishing procedure is a secret that only insiders can know.
Writers now don't have to wait for someone to tell them how to open doors. They can get on the web and find out how to do it by themselves. How to find an agent, what agents to avoid, how to write a query letter, how to join a professional organization that can help you do that -- it's all available on the web. This used to be difficult information to come by . . . but no longer.
I don't mind offering encouraging words, and I hope everyone who wants to be a writer meets with success. But my agent alone gets at least eighty unsolicited manuscripts a week -- yes, that's over four thousand a year! So to have a chance of succeeding as a writer today, you have to make yourself proficient in the trade. Even if you're not computer comfortable, you can subscribe to WRITER'S MARKETPLACE, or any of the writing magazines. That will bring you up to speed on terminology and procedure.
Seeing your book appear in the marketplace only BEGINS with writing it. You have to make the rest of it happen, too. That's the reality of publishing.
What music do you play while you’re working?
I’ve never understood why anyone would want to know, but an astonishing number of people do. I listen to movie soundtracks, mostly historical epics like “Last of the Mohicans,” “Troy,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” I also listen to bagpipe music. And Yo-Yo Ma. Make of this what you will.
When you get writer’s block what do you do?
I sit in my chair in front of my computer and work, that’s what I do. I have a job and deadlines. I review what I did last time I worked, and polish it. I write odd little bits that people ask for – interviews via email, book jacket material, letters to my readers for the publisher, and so on. The Femme Fatale newsletter. Emails. And somehow, the pump gets primed, and I start working again.
Do you have time to read?
Oh, you betcha. What else would I do? I’m no good at needlework, my two oldest children are gone from home, and I have a maid once a week now. Thank God. So, yes, I read voraciously. Maybe three books a week, sometimes less, sometimes more. I also cook and do laundry, though I am less excited about those. This year, I’m also on the board of Mystery Writers of America, senior warden of my church, and president of the Softball Boosters Club. I did something really bad in my past life, obviously.
What writers do you like to read?
I read a lot, and the list would be very long. Books I've read lately and enjoyed include volumes by Lee Child, Connie Willis, Denise Swanson, Susan McBride, Joanna Carl, Robin McKinley, Mary Janice Davidson, Harley Jane Kozak, Wm. Mark Simmons, Robert Crais, Bill Crider, Laurell K. Hamilton, Dean James, and Linda Howard. Their writing covers a VERY wide range, and I'm sure you can find something in there you'd enjoy. Some of these are conventional mystery writers, some write crossover books (a combination of romance and mystery and science fiction) and some are romance writers. I like to read a variety of things; it keeps my mind lively.
The strangest question I was ever asked, when I was writing conventional mysteries, was: “Have you had any practical experience?” No, I have never killed anyone. Yet.
This is the weirdest question of all. What do you wear while you work? Okay, why do you want to know? I wear fourteenth century French court dress, but I know other writers prefer blue jeans . . .
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