Our guest this week is author
Vicki Delany!
Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most
prolific and varied crime writers, author of the Constable Molly Smith police
procedural series, standalone Gothic thrillers, and the Klondike Gold Rush
books, as well as Rapid Read novellas including Juba Good, currently a
finalist for the Ontario Library Association’s Golden Oak award. Under the pen
name Eva Gates she is writing the
Lighthouse Library cozy mystery series from Penguin Random House, set in a
historic lighthouse on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The second in the
series, Booked for Trouble was released in September 2015.
Rest Ye
Murdered Gentlemen,
the first book in the Year Round Christmas series is Vicki’s 20th
published book.
A
former computer programmer and systems analyst, Vicki lives and writes in
bucolic Prince Edward County Ontario. She is the current President of Crime
Writers of Canada.
- Tell us a little about your
background
My
career was as a computer programmer and systems analyst. I left that seven
years ago and am now a full time writer, author of 20 published books (so
far). My three daughters are all grown
up, and I live a quiet life in a little house in the countryside in Southern
Ontario.
- Tell us a bit about your latest
book, REST YE MURDERED GENTLEMEN. Where did that idea for a Christmas cozy
come from?
The
bones of the idea was from my agent, Kim Lionetti of Bookends. She suggested a
Christmas themed store, and I took that further and created a Christmas themed
town.
- Tell us about other books
you’ve written.
I
have three standalone novels of psychological suspense from Poisoned Pen Press,
the Constable Molly Smith series, also from Poisoned Pen, of which the eighth, Unreasonable
Doubt, will be released in February, four books in the Klondike Gold
Rush Series. And under the pen name of Eva Gates, I write the Lighthouse
Library cozy series for Penguin Random House
- How do you construct your
plots? Do you outline or do you write “by the seat of your pants”?
I
used to be a true pantser, but now that I am writing for Penguin Random House,
they require an outline, and I find I really like writing that way. The outline’s the hard part. Get that out of the way, and writing the
book’s the easy bit.
- Which do you consider more
important, plot or character?
Character
determines plot. People act in certainly ways because of their character. So,
saying that, I think character comes first.
- Do you have an “How I got my
agent” story you want to share?
I
got my agent, Kim Lionetti, because my good friend Mary Jane Maffini recommended
me to her. Kim didn’t want the work I was proposing, but when she heard of
something I might be able to do she contacted me. The moral of that story, I
believe, is the importance of networking. Of making friends in the writing
community.
- What are you working on now and
what are your future writing plans?
I
am currently writing the third in the Year Round Christmas series, Hark
the Herald Angels Slay. The
third Lighthouse Library book, Reading Up A Storm, will be out in
April. I hope to continue writing both those series, as well as the Constable
Molly Smith books.
- What is a typical workday for
you and how many hours a day (or week) do you devote to writing?
I am a total
creature of routine.
I get up every morning, seven days a week. I go to my main computer in my office, and
read e-mails, read the papers online, spend a bit of time on Facebook or
Twitter.
Then it’s time to start to write. I walk into the dining room and stand at my
Netbook computer which is on the half-wall between the kitchen and the dining
room and boot it up. (In the summer I
might sit outside on the deck) As I pass through the kitchen, I put one egg on
to boil.
I always write, standing up, on the Netbook. I read over everything I did the previous
day, doing a light edit as I go. I then
take my egg into the study and eat it while checking email.
Then back to the small computer for several writing
hours, usually finishing around one.
And that’s pretty much it. I can’t write in small chunks. I can’t write
as the spirit moves me.
Three to four hours a day, every day of the week, every
day of the year when I am home, unless I have company.
- If you could take only three
books with your for a year-long writing retreat in a gorgeous setting with
no library, which three would you take?
I’d
probably go for length, if they have to last me a year. The Lord of the Rings
Trilogy would be one. (Is that cheating?). An Instance of the Fingerpost by
Iain Pears, because it’s long but also because it’s one of my favorite books of
all time. And something that would
require a lot of concentration: How about the collected works of William
Shakespeare, or a history of the world perhaps.
- What advice do you have to
offer to an aspiring author?
My
advice is always the same. Read, and read a lot. Only by reading extensively is
a writer able to know what works, and perhaps more importantly, what doesn’t.
- What’s the craziest thing
you’ve ever done?
I
drove across North America, and up and down (Ontario to the Pacific; Alaska to
San Diego) alone when I first retired. Had a marvelous time. I wouldn’t say that’s anything crazy though,
because it’s what I like to do.
- What’s one thing your readers
would be surprised to find out about you?
That
I’m an extreme introvert. But remember,
introvert doesn’t mean shy. Because I’m not that.
- What question do you wish
interviewers would ask? (And what’s the answer?)
Q:
Tell us about the Crime Writers of Canada.
A:
I’d be happy to. I am the current president of the CWC, which is the Canadian
equivalent of the MWA in the US or the CWA in the UK. We are an organization
representing professional Canadian writers of mystery, suspense and true crime. Information about our members and our books
can be found at www.crimewriterscanada.com
- Where can we learn more about you and
your books?
My
web page is www.vickidelany.com. Eva Gates
has her own page at www.lighthouselibrarymysteries.com. I’m on Facebook at evagatesauthor and twitter
@vickidelany
Just for
Fun:
Night or
Day?
Day
Dog or Cat?
(answer carefully)
No contest. Dog. Unless it’s Charles
the library cat in the Lighthouse Library series.
Beach or
Pool?
Both
Steak or
salad?
Salad
Favorite
Drink?
A nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc
Favorite
Book?
An Instance of the Fingerpost by
Iain Pears
Favorite TV
Series?
Don’t watch.
Favorite
Movie?
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.
(I don’t go to movies much either)
Dirty
Martini or Pina Colada?
Pina Colada, thanks.
Hawaii or
Alaska?
Alaska.
Finish this
sentence: If I could meet anyone in the
world, past or present, it would be Napoleon
If I had
just one wish, it would be_
World peace?_If
it had to be personal, it would be health and happiness for my children.
If I could
trade places with anyone in the world, it would be I’d rather just stay me, if
that’s okay.
Find out more about Vicki at:
www.vickidelany.com, www.lighthouselibrarymysteries.com Twitter: @vickidelany Facebook: evagatesauthor