Meow, my guest today is author Betty Webb!
Betty Webb is the author of the nationally best-selling Lena Jones
mystery series (DESERT VENGEANCE, DESERT RAGE, DESERT WIVES, DESERT NOIR, DESERT
WIND, etc.) and the humorous Gunn Zoo mysteries (THE LLAMA OF DEATH, THE PUFFIN
OF DEATH, etc.). Before beginning to write full time, Betty worked as a
journalist, interviewing everyone from U.S. presidents, astronauts who walked
on the moon, Nobel Prize-winners, and polygamy runaways. She has taught
creative writing classes and workshops at the university level, and has been a
nationally-syndicated literary critic for more than 20 years, and is currently
reviewing for Mystery Scene Magazine. In addition to other organizations, Betty
is a member of the National Federation of Press Women, Mystery Writers of
America, and Sisters in Crime.
Welcome Betty! Tell us a little about your background.
Thanks ROCCO! I spent twenty years as a graphic designer in
Los Angeles and New York City (on Madison Ave., no less!) but over the years I
began doing a little writing for my own entertainment. A poem here, a short
story there. Once I moved to Scottsdale AZ, I also started doing some
free-lance writing on the arts for local newspapers. As it turned out, my
articles became so popular (more importantly, they required almost no editing) the
newspaper eventually offered me a full-time job. I stayed with the newspaper
for almost 20 years, but halfway through began writing “Desert Noir,” the first
Lena Jones mystery. It came out in 2000. Getting up at four a.m. and writing
until eight a.m. before going to the paper, I managed to write another four
mystery novels before I retired from the paper. I need to add that I had NEVER
planned to be a journalist; it was one of those strange things that happen
while I was making other plans.
Tell us a bit about your two series, Lena Jones
and the Gunn Zoo. Do you find one more challenging
to write than the other?
Those two series are about
as different as anything two series can get. The Lena “Desert” books are
hard-boiled, and they all reflect human rights abuses, so they can get pretty
rough – especially my latest Lena, “Desert Vengeance.” In an earlier book,
“Desert Wives,” I went after the polygamy cults here in Arizona, and singled
out Warren Jeffs, who is now doing 25 years to life in prison for child rape. The
research involved in the PI Lena Jones books are immense, and so they are quite
difficult to write. In contrast to those books, the Gunn Zoo books are flat-out
cozies, and are a snap to write. My protagonist is Theodora “Teddy” Bentley, a
zookeeper. In the Cabot Cove tradition, poor Teddy keeps stumbling over corpses
in the beautiful coastal California town where she lives on her houseboat. I am
very proud of those books, because in addition to being a barrel of laughs,
they also introduce readers to exotic animals they may never have heard of, and
discuss how environmental factors are threatening more and more species.
On your website it mentions that you volunteer at the Phoenix Zoo.
How did you get involved w/that and do you have any stories to share?
When I first retired from the newspaper I was
afraid I’d be bored, so I volunteered for several things. The only thing that
“stuck” was my volunteer work in Monkey Village at the Phoenix Zoo. During
training for that work, I began to realize I didn’t know as much about animals
as I thought I did (I was a horse-and-dog-and-cat-owning farm girl as a kid;
still have more pets than are probably good for me!). I fell in love with a
pregnant giant anteater from Belize (they’re about the size of a Great Dane,
and have four-inch-talons). The more I watched her, the more fascinated I
became, and so I finally decided to write a book about her. It was going to be
a non-fiction book, but despite my best attempts, it turned into a mystery
titled “The Anteater of Death,” in which the anteater – Lucy – is suspected of
killing one of the zoo’s big financial beneficiaries. I also created the town
of Gunn Landing, which I modeled on the real town of Moss Landing, on Monterey
Bay. My husband and I love that town and we vacation there every chance we get.
Fun fact about Moss Landing: its population is only 500 (during the week), so
it’s a great place to relax and listen to the ocean.
What is the biggest
challenge you’ve faced as a writer and what inspires you and keeps you motivated?
My biggest challenge came during the
middle of writing “Desert Wives:Polygamy Can Be Murder.” I got up one morning
to catch some news while my computer was booting up, and saw the Trade Towers
on fire. It was 9/11/2001. I was so distraught I didn’t write another word for
two weeks, and even then that I only had the heart to resume writing because I
was convinced something had to be done about “Prophet” Warren Jeffs and the
child molestation that was going on in his polygamy cult. Many of my writer
friends never returned to the books they were working on when 9/11 happened:
they just couldn’t pick up where they left off when the world changed.
Do you have an “How I got my agent” story you want to share?
I was lucky. I was a
reporter at the time, and was interviewing true crime writer Ann Rule. At the
end of the interview, I mentioned that I’d just finished writing my first
mystery novel, and she recommended her agent to me. This was in 1999, and I
still have that agent.
What are you working on now and what are your future writing
plans?
Right now I’m writing “The
Otter of Death,” one of my more light-hearted Gunn Zoo mysteries. It’s a lot of
fun. After that, I’ll write another Lena Jones book – “Desert Redemption” –
which will end that 10-book series (at least, that’s the plan). I already have
a new series waiting in the wings, but I’m not prepared to talk about that
right now. Let’s just say it’s going to be very, very different than either of
my current series.
Plotter or Pantser?
Although I always outline my
books, I can never stick to the outline for more than two chapters (sometimes
less), so I’m really a pantser.
What advice do you have to offer to an aspiring author?
Write every single day,
whether you feel like it or not. If you only want to write when you’re feeling
“inspired,” stick to writing haikus, because you’ll never finish a novel.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
Backpacked the Highlands of
Scotland by myself, because the gal who was originally going to go with me couldn’t
“get permission” from her boyfriend. So
I went alone. I had a wonderful time during my two weeks in the Highlands, and
it was my first trip out of the country. I saw gorgeous scenery, met
interesting people, and stood over Macbeth’s grave on the Isle of Iona (I’m a
Shakespeare buff). When I returned to the States, I discovered that my friend’s
boyfriend had left her for another woman. Needless to say, that solo excursion
taught me a lot about life -- in more ways than one.
What’s one thing your readers would be surprised to find out about
you?
I was raised on a farm, and my everyday chores
were to milk the goat and collect the eggs from the henhouse.
What question do you wish interviewers would ask? (And what’s the
answer?)
I’ve been asked everything
you can imagine, from where I get my ideas (I tell them at Costco) to who does
my hair (Laurent, in Mesa, Arizona. He’s from Paris, and owns Le Studio).
Where can we learn more
about you and your books? www.bettywebb-mystery.com.
If you entered the witness protection program and had to start
over, what job would you want to do?
I’d start painting again (I
was a graphic designer before I became a writer, and sometimes I miss it, but
there are only so many hours in a day, and now they’re devoted to writing).
Then again, if I entered the witness protection program, I might just continue
writing, just under a different name.
What is your most annoying habit.
I’m a terrible slob. It’s easy to find me,
because I always leave a trail of debris behind – mugs of cold coffee, socks, empty
water bottles, half-eaten sandwiches, etc.
What would you love to have a never ending supply of?
Skinny vanilla chai lattes.
Just for Fun:
Night or Day? Night.
Dog or Cat? (answer carefully).
Can’t choose. Have both. Miss my horses, too, but now I live in the city.
Beach or Pool? Neither. I prefer forests.
Steak or salad? Steak.
Favorite Drink? Skinny vanilla chai lattes.
Favorite Book? “Unless,” by Carol Shields.
Favorite TV Series? “Vikings” Love me some gore.
Favorite Movie? “The Brand New Testament” (Magical realism, in
French, and I’ve already seen it twice
this week, and will go back to see it again. In short, the plot is about God’s
other kid – a girl – and she comes to Earth looking for six new apostles for
herself; her brother J.C. told her not to get 12 like he did because things got
“complicated.” Very funny, very heart-warming)
Favorite Actor: Tom Hanks
Favorite Actress: Isabelle Huppert
Dirty Martini or Pina Colada? Ick.
I prefer Virgin Bloody Marys
Hawaii or Alaska? Alaska
Finish this sentence: If I could meet anyone in the world, past or
present, it would be the Dalai Lama.
If I had just one wish, it would
be that people be nicer to each other.
If I could trade places with
anyone in the world, it would be… Nope, I wouldn’t trade places with anyone. We
never know what burdens other people are secretly carrying, and those burdens
might be much worse than the burdens we are carrying.
No comments:
Post a Comment