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As Sisters in Crime celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, has it accomplished what you had hoped it would? Are there any obstacles or challenges that it still faces that you thought would have been eradicated by now?
When we started Sisters in 1986, it was because of a series of problems that women mystery writers were encountering. Some had to do with the condescending attitude toward women mystery writers. Many of us encountered both fans and male writers at crime conferences who assumed we did this as a hobby, not as a serious vocation. Other issues affected our careers in more direct and quantifiable ways. These had to do with lack of reviews of books by women and much shorter length of time in print and on shelves. When we started the Book Review Project we found that – adjusting for the male/female ratio in books published – books by men were reviewed 7 times as often as books by women (this all refers to crime fiction). We found that books by women writers stayed in print on average for a third the length of time that books by men did. This data severely affected women’s ability to earn a living as writers. With the Book Review Project, with Books in Print, and with our presence at ALA and Book Expo, we have gone a long way to eradicate this discrimination.
Every time we stop our vigilance with the Book Review Project, we find that discrimination re-emerges. It is therefore critical that we continue this work.
When did you first know you wanted to write mysteries?
I’d been a lifelong reader of mysteries, but it wasn’t until I read Chandler for the first time, when I was in my early twenties, that I wanted to write a mystery myself. Chandler and many of the other giants in the crime fiction world express an intense misogyny that I wanted to confront by creating a woman detective who showed she could be an effective problem solver and a sexual being at the same time. It took me another eight years before I finally found my writing voice in the character of V I Warshawski.
Do you prefer to write during a specific time of day?
I prefer to write late at night; but because I sleep badly I have to write during the day.
Do you have any superstitious steps you follow when preparing to write?
I light a candle to the goddess Inanna and then I listen to Andras Schiff playing the Goldberg variations.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
I wish I had had more confidence in my voice when I started because I would have made different decisions about my main character’s private life. However, if I had known that the process of writing a book never gets easier, I’m not sure I would have had the courage to continue; so I’m glad I didn’t know that when I started out.
What is your pet peeve?
I hate litter in the parks and people who speed and run stop signs. And I hate the fact that even though I only eat chocolate for medicinal purposes it still makes me gain weight.
What can’t you live without?
Chocolate, my Golden Retriever, my husband, and Mozart.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing writers now?
The conglomeration of the publishing industry, both publishers and distributors, makes it extremely hard for mid-list writers to have stable careers.
What makes a successful writer?
A combination of talent, hard work and a big dose of good luck.
Are there ever circumstances under which you think a writer should censor her writing?
I think most people self-censor to some degree, but I try not to give in to the impulse.
If you could take the place of another writer for the day, who would it be and why?
I’m drawing a blank on that one, not because there aren’t many writers that I greatly admire, but because it’s impossible to imagine being inside their skin; writing in their voice.
Do you think the Internet age will lead to a decrease in book readers and buyers?
Based on the young people I know, I think books and reading are still safe.
Do you believe authors should take on more of a role in marketing themselves to the public to generate book sales?
I think writers have to do this because except in a handful of cases publishers are unwilling to do this work.
There’s a saying that goes: “If writers were good businessmen, they’d have too much sense to be writers.” What’s your reaction to this?
Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Isabella Bird were all wonderful self-promoting writers of the Victorian age, as was Mark Twain. I think it has more to do with the personality of the writer than with the nature of the work.
If someone was making a movie about your life, what would be the title of the movie?
Looks Like Up From Here
What would you want your epitaph to be?
She died behind.
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