Interview with Diane Rondeau Bator
“Someone forgot to tell Walter Levy samurai don’t commit seppuku with a sword. They normally carried a much smaller knife to kill themselves with. He lay still on the mats while a long, gently curved blade stood straight out of his chest. He was dead and there was no earthly way it was by his own hand since the katana blade was longer than his arms. At best, he could have stabbed his lower belly, not his chest. And the murderer could still be inside the school.” -Dead Without Honor, Diane Rondeau Bator
Thus, Gilda Wright begins her
detective career in May’s author of the Month Diane Bator’s Dead Without Honor.
15) Diane, you’re one
of those authors who (like me) keep a lot of plates spinning. You write the Wild
Blue Mysteries, Gilda Wright Mysteries, Glitter Bay Mysteries, and the upcoming
Audra Clemmings Mysteries. When’s the first Audra Clemmings book coming out and
what can you tell us about her?
Drop Dead Cowboy was supposed to be
released in September 2020. Seeing as how I was working from home since
mid-March, I got my editing done and submitted it early. Both the editor and
the cover artist had time on their hands so we got it all together and it’s
currently up for pre-order! Launch date is June 1st.
14) I notice that you
exclusively write cozies. Have you ever gotten the urge to write something
grittier and more hardboiled or do cozies do it all for you?
Indeed! I have two book ideas on the
shelf, which means either partly written or in need of a good edit, that are
grittier than my usual. I will get back to them. In the meantime, I have a few
series to finish. The one that needs a final edit has been calling to me during
the pandemic and I may pull it out again soon.
13) Tell us about
what you did for work before you got bitten by the novel-writing bug and how much
did those jobs inform you in your books?
I’ve been writing since I was a kid, but
life got in the way and soon I’d tucked it all aside. Over the past several
years I’ve worked in a clothing store, a grocery store, been a receptionist at
a karate school, a bank teller, worked for a fast food chain, at a live-stage
theatre, volunteered in schools, installed closets, sold calendars in a pop up
shop, and babysat friends’ kids.
As with any experiences we’ve had in life,
they have all colored my characters and the things I’ve written. Gilda Wright,
for example, is a karate school receptionist, which is what I used to do. My
experience in clothing stores helps with my Glitter Bay series, I’ve currently
started on Book 2. Moving to a small town and getting to know my way around was
a great help in writing my Wild Blue Mysteries. I was like Katie Mullins who
moves to a small town and has secrets. Although my life before moving to town
wasn’t nearly as exciting as hers.
12) There’s a
thriving and very active mystery writing community in your native Canada. I’ve
also noted that you frequently do Open Mic nights through the Headwaters Writer’s
Guild.
Are they attended by some of your colleagues and what type of feedback have you
gotten?
Our Open Mic nights usually get a great
turnout from all over the region. This year we had to cancel due to Covid, but
in years past we’d have a full house at our library, including people on the
balcony that overlooks the presentation area. We’ve also drawn authors and
poets from an hour away.
Since we have a few published authors in
our group, we all try to support each other.
I also belong to Crime Writers of Canada
and have started to do a few events with them which introduces me to a whole
new group of mystery writers and some great new friends and ideas.
11) What are the
similarities and differences between your three established protagonists Gilda
Wright, Leo Blue and Laken Miller and is there a temptation to do a crossover
novel featuring two or all of them?
Gilda, Leo and Laken have all faced huge
challenges in their lives and moved on to new things.
For Gilda, it was the break-up of a
serious relationship that left her shaken and in need of regaining her strength
and balance.
Leo Blue was a nomad until he started
working in Packham. His past had him build an outer shell to protect himself
from any sort of relationships, yet he starts to become attached to people
there.
Laken Miller, a former supermodel, not
only had to deal with cancer but her husband’s infidelity. While they have
similarities, they are very different people.
I’ve never thought about a crossover
novel. Mostly because they are all in separate series with separate locations
and I’m not so sure that’s something my publisher would go for. Maybe as a
self-published book way down the road. It’s an interesting idea.
10) When you were
growing up, who were your favorite mystery authors and which ones do you think
influenced you the most?
I was an avid reader. I started with the
Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew and read anything I could get my hands on. Jackie
Collins, Sidney Sheldon and Stephen King were my biggest influences. Quite a
mix of romance, mystery and horror.
The most vivid memory of a book I have was
getting to the end of a Sidney Sheldon novel and discovering someone had torn
out the last three pages. I was devastated!
9) Describe your
typical writing day. Do you use a laptop or notebook exclusively, both and do
you set a daily word goal? If so, what is it?
I don’t really have a typical writing day.
Not yet. I still work full time when not in self-isolation. I tend to write
when I have time and energy.
My ideal writing day is getting up and
making coffee then sitting in my new office or outside in the sunshine and
writing for an hour. I love to write by hand to do first drafts. Most of the
time my ideas will come from a conversation, at writing group, or someplace
where I’m nowhere near my laptop. I’m the queen of sticky notes and bits of
paper with odd ideas and conversations.
8) Has being
sheltered in place during this pandemic resulted in more or less prolificity?
I’ve struggled with writing new pieces for
the past couple of months. I think what helped most was my youngest moving out
in the middle of all of this crazy. I repainted his room and moved my office
into it. It’s bright and cheery and has a view of the backyard. When I open the
window, all I hear are birds. The change of scenery and location was exactly
what I needed. The other day I wrote pages and pages. Then I had to get more
coffee…
7) What do you think
are the differences between Canadian mystery fiction and its American analog or
are there any?
Ironically, I used to have an American
agent and an American publisher. It was my agent who got me in with my Canadian
publisher. I find most Canadian publishers take less cozy mysteries and more
serious, hardcore stuff. That said, there are many more publishers of all sorts
in the US.
6) For you, what’s
the most difficult part of writing a mystery and which is the easiest?
The most difficult part of writing a
mystery is going back to weave clues through the entire novel. The easiest is coming
up with a main character who has a few flaws but a good reason to figure out
whodunnit. Sometimes I end up with a character and a body but no idea how
they’re connected.
5) Has coronavirus
given you plot ideas or are you going to leave that to other writers?
So far, I’ve avoided writing about the
virus aside from a couple blog posts. I think it will be easier for some of us
to write about once it’s not such a threat. There will definitely be a surge of
books that relate to it down the road. I may come up with one or two as well.
4) You seem to have
a long and satisfying partnership with Books We Love, your publisher. But if a
Big Five publisher came knocking with a contract in hand, would you at least
listen?
I love working with BWL. That said, they
are always happy if their writers get Big Five contracts and would not stand in
their way. I’ve asked! Just in case. I do have a current book I’m editing and
preparing to send to a Big Five. It’s a whole new series set on the shores of
Lake Huron.
3) Plotter or
pantser?
Pantser! I’ve tried to plot. Sometimes, I
make a brief outline just to remember which clue goes where or when things have
to happen in the timeline. For the most part, I just wing it and do the clean
up during edits. I like the freedom of letting my ideas flow and not being
restricted by a tight outline.
2) Besides the
obvious, what to you are the essential elements of writing a good mystery?
A main character people will like, a
plausible death and a good reason for the protagonist to want to solve the
crime. Surprises along the way are fun but a completely new suspect in the last
handful of pages of the novel are a cop out. Readers are along for the ride so
they can help solve the mystery and don’t want the writer to insult their
intelligence.
1) So what’s next
for Diane Bator?
Since I’ve been rearranging my
surroundings during shelter in place, I’ve started to work on Book 2 of my
Glitter Bay series. This one is in the point of view of Sage, Laken Miller’s
sister who owns Vintage Sage, a local vintage boutique.
My other ongoing project is a fantasy
novel I’m writing with a friend who wants to leave his mark on the world. I’m
not a big fantasy reader, but he is. I just do the writing, he gives me the
notes as to what should happen. It’s an interesting challenge!
Fun questions!
Thank you for allowing me to be your
Author of the Month!
If
you’re interested in learning more about Diane and her work, here are some
handy links:
posted by jurassicpork @ Saturday, May 16, 2020
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