Volume 6, Issue 10 – October, 2003
Deborah Donnelly: Mining Weddings and Murder for Fun and Profit
Having learned Storytelling 101 at the knee of her yarn-spinning father, Deborah Donnelly stopped penning executive speeches for Starbucks, walked away from a lucrative corporate librarian position and immersed herself in fiction. First she wrote science fiction, publishing several stories. But that incorrigible Donnelly sense of humor turned out more spoof than science.
Upon her switch to romantic mystery, Donnelly’s wise-cracking, irreverent style became a plus. Donnelly’s humor shines through the character of amateur sleuth Carnegie Kincaid and all of Kincaid’s supporting cast in Donnelly’s successful, Seattle-based, wedding planner series. The author recently shared her wit and wisdom with Crescent Blues, revealing a few surprises about her past, her future projects and her brush with death.
Crescent Blues: I salute your courage. In May the Best Man Die, the third book of the Carnegie Kincaid wedding planner series, you threw all of my favorite elements overboard and still created a delightfully entertaining installment in the series. Did you realize what a risk you were taking or was this calculated?
Deborah Donnelly: I’m delighted that you found the new book delightful! I didn’t see it as a risk, just a chance to get Carnegie a bit off-balance, out of her usual comfort zone on the houseboat. I like to shake things up. It’s always a challenge in a series, to keep the elements that readers enjoy, while making room for new ones.
What motivated this departure?
At the start of May the Best Man Die, Carnegie is camping out at her good friend Lily’s house; later she stays at the Pike Place Market apartment of coffee tycoon Ivy Tyler, the mother of one of her brides. Each of these settings gets her deeper into the story, first with a threat to her friendship [with Lily] when Lily’s brother is accused of murder, and then with a blackmail plot. Ivy’s place was especially fun to describe. There really are apartments upstairs from the market, with people living just above the fruit and vegetable stands and the fish vendors.
Word is that your own wedding and one you were planning for a friend inspired this series. Which of the weddings in the book comes closest to those you planned in real life?
My friend’s wedding was an elegant outdoor affair, with a string quartet and a buffet supper. Mine was more of a party at home, with a ceremony by the fireplace followed by hors d’oeuvres and rock ‘n’ roll. Neither of us used a wedding planner, because we had each other, but we fantasized about the huge extravaganzas we might have had. Those fantasies are lived out by some of Carnegie’s clients.
Will we see any weddings featuring Carnegie or Lily as the bride or maybe Eddie as the groom?
Perhaps, in future books. Lily James has a romance going with police detective Mike Graham, and if they decided to marry, Carnegie would be the natural choice to help out. Eddie Breen is the quintessential crusty old bachelor, but he’s showing more interest in Carnegie’s mother, his long-time friend Louise. Stay tuned…
What can we expect in the fourth Carnegie Kincaid romantic mystery novel, Death Takes a Honeymoon?
More shaking things up! Some familiar characters will be on hand — Aaron Gold, Boris Nevsky and Beau Paliere, the rival wedding planner — and also some new ones, including Jack the Knack, a handsome smoke jumper who has history with Carnegie.
Where did your inspiration come from for Boris the Mad Russian Florist and Juice the green-haired cake designer? Are you a fan of Anne Tyler’s quirky characters, for example?
I love unusual characters, and Anne Tyler is certainly a master in that regard. My own creations are usually a mosaic of people I actually know, strangers I notice, and odd notions that just pop up in my head. There’s a bizarrely tattooed tough guy I often see at a local coffee shop, and he has no idea that he’s a villain in Died to Match. I chuckle whenever I see him.
You leave each book teetering on the edge of a cliff-hanger, making readers long for the next book. Which comes first, the plot or the cliffhanger when planning your novels?
Oh, definitely the plot. Then as I near the conclusion, wicked cliff-hangers begin to suggest themselves. I may not do it in every book, in case readers get irritated with me. But they seem to enjoy it so far.
I understand you published several science fiction stories. What inspired you to start writing science fiction and why did you choose to stop?
I had great fun writing science fiction short stories, and some gratifying success in seeing them published in magazines like Asimov’s Science Fiction. But my SF almost always came out spoofy rather than scientific. So when I started a book-length project I decided to try mystery, another genre I’ve always enjoyed.
Your transition to romantic mystery seems to have gone smoothly. Any regrets? Any non-Carnegie projects in the works?
No regrets at all; this genre suits my voice very well. I don’t have other projects actually under way, but I am playing with a concept for a second series. It’s set in various European tourist destinations, and would naturally involve a lot of on-site research. A tough job, but somebody’s got to do it — and I hope it’s me.
What kind of responses or requests do you get from your readers?
Mostly they ask me to write faster, and believe me, I would if I could. It’s amazing the time it takes, first to imagine and then to craft a book that can be read in just a few evenings. Have patience guys!
Any offers to write a column for any bride or wedding magazines?
Not yet, though I’ve thought about adding a bridal advice column to my website at www.deborahdonnelly.org. But that would slow down my writing, and then I’d really catch flak from readers, not to mention from my editor at Bantam Dell.
Most readers will recognize you as the “sex” portion of the Sex, Lies and Videotape book tour with Libby Fischer Hellmann and Roberta Isleib. Please tell us some of your experiences with these two fellow mystery writers.
We had such a blast! We kicked off the tour at the San Francisco Mystery Bookstore, and did signings all the way down the coast to the Mysterious Galaxy store in San Diego. The Left Coast Crime convention in Pasadena came right in the middle, just when we needed a break from hearing each other’s stories over and over again
Seriously, though, solo touring can be very stressful, but hitting the road with a couple of like-minded friends is a great way to go. You share the expenses, the driving, and that sinking feeling when your audience is just the store owner and a cat. And with a big audience, like we had in San Diego, you spark off each other, and come up with livelier stories to share.
Any scandalous (or G-rated) stories you’d like to share about your experiences with these two fellow mystery writers?
Hmmm, scandal…No, the scandals better stay out of sight. But I can tell you that Roberta Isleib is such a golf fanatic that Libby and I had to drag her whimpering away from Pebble Beach. And Libby Hellmann is such an Internet addict that she got the shakes when Roberta and I made her stay at a cabin in Big Sur with NO connection to the online world.
Our best story involves turning on the proverbial dime. We arrived in Atascadero two hours early, and thought we might turn our scheduled event into a drive-by signing. But Ann’s Bookstore had done such a wonderful job publicizing our visit that we couldn’t possibly do that. There’s a laundromat next door to Ann’s, so we used the extra time to pull out our dirty laundry, right there in the parking lot, sort the colors and whites, and get ourselves ready to hit the road again in clean jeans.
You’ve mentioned that you don’t read other mystery writers. What prompted this decision, and does it apply to the folks you’ve been touring with?
What I meant was, I don’t tend to read mysteries while I’m writing, though I do enjoy the work of other mystery writers, Libby and Roberta included. When I’m deep in writing mode, I’m too easily influenced, and anyway my powers of concentration drain completely into my own project, so my attention span is shot. At times like that I just flip through cooking and gardening magazines. And wedding magazines, of course!
One Interesting aspect of your tour was discussion of midlife job changes for the three authors. Is your midlife job change all that you had hoped for? What’s the next goal you plan to achieve?
I love being a mystery writer — and being a published mystery writer is even more fun. Right now my biggest goal is writing the best Carnegie Kincaid book that I possibly can. Beyond that, as I said, I’m playing with a second series.
The main challenge for me, in this change of careers, is working at home alone instead of with a team of colleagues. I sometimes think I have the talent to be a writer, but not the temperament for solitude. That’s why touring with other authors — and attending conventions — is such a bonus.
You chose a rather exotic coffee roasting plant for a major setting in your latest novel. How did your fictional plant compare to the one you actually visited?
It’s quite similar, actually. The real Seattle’s Best Coffee plant would be a terrific place for a party — or a murder!
The funny thing was, I explained myself as a mystery writer when I made the tour request, but apparently no one told the gentleman who actually showed me around. As he dutifully described the specialized equipment and quoted statistics about roasting temperatures, etc., I kept asking questions like, “If one of those bags of coffee beans fell on you, would it kill you?” and “If this place burned down, would the coffee smell really good?” He kept edging farther and farther away from me… but eventually he learned the truth about my oddball occupation.
What are the benefits and hazards of setting your novels in Seattle, your old stomping grounds?
Mostly it’s benefits. I know the city pretty well, so I can mentally move around in it along with Carnegie. And I love exploring places like the Aquarium or the Experience Music Project to get the specific details that can bring a scene to life.
Is there really a houseboat like Carnegie’s? Do Seattle-ites feel that you’ve depicted their town accurately?
Remember my friend who got married the same time I did? Well, she lived on a houseboat for a year, and I spent a lot of time there. Now Carnegie lives on just about the same houseboat, on the east shore of Lake Union. I’ve heard from a number of current and former Seattleites, and I’m happy to say that the verdict has been unanimous: they tell me I’ve captured the flavor of the city quite well. I’m proud of that.
What was it like growing up Seattle?
I grew up on the East Coast — that’s why Aaron Gold is from Boston — but I spent many years in Seattle and watched it evolve from a self-consciously second-tier city to a world-class metropolis. A little too world-class by now; the traffic is notoriously bad. But it’s a beautiful, exciting place.
Now that you live in Boise, Idaho, will you be taking Carnegie on a road trip to your new digs?
You guessed it. When my husband and I decided to move to Idaho, I decided on Boise as Carnegie’s hometown. So in Death Takes a Honeymoon, she attends an old friend’s wedding in Sun Valley, which isn’t far away. Boise itself is a charming town, but not well known, and Sun Valley was a more plausible setting for an over-the-top wedding. Carnegie will always be a Seattle girl, though. She loves that houseboat.
What experience or training best prepared you for mystery writing?
The experience that best prepared me for mystery writing was listening to my father, who can spin an interesting yarn about almost anything – he’s a natural storyteller, and I love to tell stories.
Who are the writers who inspire you?
Back in junior high, I was inspired by Mary Stewart’s romantic suspense novels, like The Moonspinners and Nine Coaches Waiting. Self-possessed young women in exotic settings, romance and adventure, resourceful solutions to dangerous situations – I ate them up. Carnegie is a direct descendant of Mary Stewart’s heroines.
Among contemporary mystery writers, I was knocked out by Orchestrated Death, the first Bill Slider mystery by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. I’ve read the whole series now — Slider is a detective inspector with the London police — and I really admire Cynthia’s skill in characterization as well as plotting.
What do you read for fun?
I’m in two different book groups now, and they keep my To Be Read pile stacked up high. Recent favorites were Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, and Yanna Martel’s Life of Pi. And magazines, always magazines. The New Yorker, Fine Gardening, Cooks Illustrated. I adore Cooks Illustrated. It’s like the Consumer Reports of cooking. No hip attitude, no celebrity puff pieces, just serious information about sauté pans and the best way to roast chicken. It’s very soothing.
How has the Carnegie series changed your life?
Well, it’s prompted me to trade the steady, serious, well-paid corporate world for the solitary, underpaid rollercoaster of being a writer! I was a corporate librarian for a bank, and I also worked as a freelance writer, doing executive speeches and annual reports for companies like Immunex and Starbucks.
But I wouldn’t trade this for anything. I have an elderly aunt who said recently that she’s so glad I’m writing, “because when you’re old you want to look back on the things you loved doing, not on the things you meant to do.” Wise words.
Do you have any reservations writing about murder and violence?
I do, a bit. If there were a market for jewel theft mysteries instead of murder mysteries, I’d write those. But I don’t celebrate violence, or dwell on it as an entertaining spectacle. To me, murder is the ultimate violation of the social contract, and my plots grow from the question of why someone would take this dreadful path.
Where did you find Carnegie? Is she modeled on a real person?
Physically, she’s built like one particular friend of mine, but with the hair and complexion of another. Her voice is mine, though. She’s a smart aleck, she’s flippant and critical, but she cares about people. I find plotting hard, but writing Carnegie in first person comes easily.
Describe Deborah Donnelly.
Compared to Carnegie, I’m older and wiser — lucky for me! She’s physically braver than I am, she rushes in where I would fear to tread. I’d have sense enough to stay home and let the police do the investigating. Of course, then there would be no story to write.
What do you do when you aren’t writing?
Agonize about not writing. It’s my hobby, to wander around the house tearing my hair out because I’m not writing. I’m very good at it. But when I’ve actually gotten some work done, so I can safely take time off, I get outside.
I’m a natural born outdoors person, though not in an athletic or competitive way. No extreme sports or racing, just appreciating nature. Birdwatching, beach walking, hiking in the mountains. I also enjoy my garden, and I put in quite a bit of time doting on my Welsh corgis. That’s actually my job, being chef and chauffeur to the corgis. My performance reviews are excellent, but the salary stinks.
When did you realize that you wanted to be writer?
I don’t think I ever realized; I just did it. When my girlfriends were mooning around after movie stars, I wrote stories for them about how they would meet their idols, and how the famous actor would fall in love with the shy high school girl, and so forth. I’ve always made up stories. I can’t help it.
Your books have been compared to Donna Andrew’s Meg and Michael series (i.e. Murder with Peacocks). How do you feel about being compared to other writers?
Excellent! It’s a great compliment to be compared with someone as talented as Donna. I can’t wait for new writers to start being compared to me.
Any movie offers? TV series in the works?
There was an inquiry about the Carnegie series from a movie studio, but that’s all so far. I’ll believe it when I cash the check.
Who would you like to see play Carnegie and the rest of the gang?
That’s a fun game. Allowing for some adjustment in ages, I can picture Geena Davis as Carnegie, John Cusack as Aaron, and maybe Halle Berry as Lily. John Rhys-Davies would make a great Boris. And as long as we’re fantasizing, can’t you just see Paul Newman as Eddie Breen?
Any final words? Any questions we missed? Soap boxes and white space offered free of charge.
I’ll hop onto the soap box, for something unrelated to writing. Women, please, go get your mammograms! I had breast cancer some years ago, and though I’m OK now, it’s just not something you want to fool with. I don’t talk about it a lot — it wasn’t a movie-of-the-week tragedy, I just had a lumpectomy and radiation — but if talking about it will get some women to pick up the phone and make that appointment, good enough. Life is too much fun to take risks with your health.
Dawn Goldsmith
A multi-published writer of non-fiction and short stories, Dawn Goldsmith also reviews mass market books for Publishers Weekly and writes for a variety of publications including Christian Science Monitor.