An Interview with Terrie Farley Moran:
by Terri Parsons
MM:
Terrie, what inspired you to write Well
Read, Then Dead?
My
agent, the fabulously supportive Kim Lionetti of Bookends was my inspiration. I
met Kim at Sleuthfest in 2012. I pitched my first novel, Driven to Death. Kim read the first few chapters, pronounced it
unsalable but said she liked my voice and style and asked if I would write
something else. And so I wrote Well Read,
Then Dead as part of a three book proposal, which she sold to Berkley Prime
Crime.
MM: You have also written short stories. Which came first? And how does writing short stories compare to
writing a novel?
I’d
just finished the first draft of Driven
to Death when my Sisters in Crime chapter had a call for submissions for
short stories for a chapter anthology. I wrote a story called “Strike Zone” and
I was thrilled when it was accepted. While writing it, I discovered that I
loved writing short stories, so I continued to do so. In fact I wrote two
shorts stories during the same time I wrote Well
Read, Then Dead. I will say that while my novels are cozy, my short stories
definitely are not. Oh and I was short listed in 2009 and 2012 for Best
American Mystery Stories.
For
me the difference between the two forms is that in a short story I can take an
incident that is usually life altering, examine it from all sides and tell it
in a way I think highlights the most important kernel of truth. While in a
novel, I intertwine lots of incidents to give a more comprehensive view of the
characters, how they live and how the world affects them.
MM:
Caught Read-Handed just came out. Tell us a bit about it and give us some
insight into your series and its characters?
Caught
Read-Handed is the second Read ’Em and Eat novel featuring Mary Sassafras
Cabot, aka Sassy, and Bridgy Mayfield, two BFFs from Brooklyn who pool their
resources and move to Florida. They open the Read ’Em and Eat Café and
Bookstore in sunny, happy Fort Myers Beach. When a cranky library volunteer is
murdered in her own hot tub Sassy is dismayed to learn that the suspected
killer is a veteran suffering from PTSD who happens to be the brother of her
old friend and former boss. Friendship and loyalty are so important to Sassy
that she doesn’t hesitate to try to prove that the veteran is innocent. And of
course she is impulsive so she isn’t always as careful as she should be.
MM:
You won the Agatha award for Best First Novel. What did that mean to you?
I
have been asked this question a few times and my answer remains the same. I was honored and deeply humbled. I
am delighted that mystery readers love Well Read, Then Dead as much as I
do. Winning the Agatha Award steeled my resolve to work as hard as I can to
write quality cozies that readers will continue to love.
MM:
How important do you find Writing Groups, Organizations & Conventions to be
in your process?
Writing
is a very solitary occupation. I research. I think. I write. I research. I
think. I write. There is no “we”. I don’t belong to a writing group and no one
reads my work before I submit it. But I do belong to Mystery Writers of
America, Sisters in Crime and SinC Guppies. I am physically alone when I
develop a story, research it and write it, but it is important to know that
there are thousands of people struggling through the process just like I am and
that we can communicate through our organizations and get together at
conferences like Bouchercon, Malice Domestic and any number of others.
MM:
Who are some of your go-to authors when you want to read?
I
love to read and re-read The Golden Age writers such as Ngaio Marsh, Agatha Christie,
Mary Roberts Rinehart, and Ellery Queen. From an even earlier era, I enjoy short
story writers G.K. Chesterton and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
MM:
You left your day job to write. How did
that happen and how much support did you have?
I
live in New York City and I was an Administrative Manager in City government. The
tragedy of 9/11 changed the way I looked at things. After more than a year of
funerals and memorial services, most for people younger than I was, I decided
life wasn’t infinite. I wanted to write mysteries, so I stopped work and
started writing. I had no clue how it was “supposed” to be done. I wrote
completely in a vacuum. Then, around 2006, I’d pretty much finished the first
draft of my first novel and I didn’t know what to do next. So I Googled “How to
write a mystery” and found out that Sleuthfest was taking place a few weeks in
the future about twenty miles from my daughter’s house. I signed up, attended
and found out that there were great organizations like Mystery Writers of
America and Sisters in Crime. And I learned that conferences weren’t a one-time
thing, there are a lot of them every year.
MM: So what is a dream writing day for you?
A
dream writing day would any day the telephone doesn’t ring.
MM: So, tell us what’s next on the horizon for
you?
I
am writing book three of the Read ’Em and Eat series. I would also like to
write a couple of short stories since I only have two in the pipeline right
now, and perhaps it is time to think about developing an additional cozy series.
MM:
Your favorite tv show, meal, movie, book, vacation spot, fun memory?
Well
my favorite television show for a very long time was Justified, which might seem an odd pick for a cozy writer but I
loved the relationships among the characters, especially Raylan Givens and Boyd
Crowder. And now it is over. *sigh*
My
favorite meal is breakfast any time of day. Eggs anyway you would care to fix
them with a side of bacon and rye toast, heavy on the butter. (Please don’t
tell my doctor.)
My
favorite movie is The Magnificent Seven.
I adore the writing and the acting (no one can say so much with so few words as
James Coburn). The musical score is incomparable.
My
favorite book is To Kill A Mockingbird.
I am very excited about the new controversial Harper Lee book, Go Set A Watchman. My oldest
granddaughter who will be thirteen in a few weeks and I both are dying to read
it so we can talk about it. I’m on a tight schedule right now so I ordered it
but had it sent to her. Hopefully by the time she is finished reading it, I
will have a space in my schedule and can curl up with some iced green tea and the
new book.
My
favorite vacation spot would have to be Fort Myers Beach.
My
birthday in 2014 will always be a fun memory. My grandkids decided I would be
absolutely gorgeous with my face painted with cake frosting. They were right.
MM:
Lastly, where can everyone find you and leave us with some writing words of
wisdom.
I will share
this nugget of writing wisdom from author Gillian Roberts: “Don’t write it
write. Write it down.” I take that to mean that once it is on the page you can
always fix it. The hardest part is getting it on the page.
You
can find me here, there and everywhere on the internet.
Website www.terriefarleymoran.com
Bio
Agatha Award recipient Terrie Farley Moran is the author of the
beachside Read 'Em and Eat cozy mystery series including Well Read, Then Dead and Caught
Read-Handed. Her short mystery fiction has been published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and
numerous anthologies.
Giveaway
Terrie is generously giving away a T-Shirt – If you would like
to win, just leave a comment with email addy and the winner will be randomly
selected on Wednesday August 5th!
Good luck!
