by Lorie Ham

Today at the Café, let’s grab a cup of my favorite — caramel cappuccino — and enjoy an interview with Poisoned Pen Press mystery author Vicki Delany. The book she is talking about today is In The Shadow Of The Glacier.

Café:
What type of mystery would you call this book and please tell us a little about it?

Vicki:
A traditional village police procedural. Sort of Hamish Macbeth meets Cindy Decker. Trouble is brewing in the small, bucolic mountain town of Trafalgar, British Columbia. An American who came to Trafalgar as a Vietnam War draft dodger has left land and money to the town but there’s a catch: the money must be used to build a garden to honor draft dodgers. This bequest has torn the close-knit, peaceful town apart. Then the body of a leading opponent is found in an alley, dead from a single blow to the head. Constable Molly Smith is assigned to assist veteran Detective Sergeant John Winters in the investigation. But Winters doesn’t want the help of the enthusiastic rookie, and suspects that he’s been assigned Smith for political reasons — her mother, a life-long activist, is the leader of the group arguing for the park.

Café:
How long have you been writing?

Vicki:
About 10 years

Café:
When did your first novel come out? What was it called? Tell us a little about it?

Vicki:
Scare The Light Away was published by Poisoned Pen in 2007. It is a standalone, a psychological suspense.

Café:
Have you always written mysteries? If not what else have you written?

Vicki:
I started writing for children, but soon gave that up and decided to concentrate on writing what I like to read — which is mysteries.

Café:
What brought you to choose the setting and characters in your latest book? Please tell us a little about the setting and main character.

Vicki:
The story is set in the fictional town of Trafalgar, British Columbia, which is in the Kootenay region of the B.C. Interior. When I was thinking about beginning a police procedural series, I wanted to set the books in a place that I want to be, and I love the Kootenays. Trafalgar is based on the town of Nelson. A small, very vibrant, unique town, nestled in the mountains, pretty far away from anything. The town is full of artists and transients, old time hippies, a real mix of people. Nelson was a major settling point for Vietnam era draft dodgers (an issue featured in In The Shadow Of The Glacier), and is today the centre of the B.C. marijuana culture. Lots of possibilities for story lines. The main character is Constable Molly Smith. Smith grew up in Trafalgar; her parents came to Canada in the ‘70s to escape the draft. Her mother is still very politically active, which causes Smith problems in her job — policing in such a small town. Smith’s real name is Moonlight Legolas, a fact she tries very hard to hide. Smith just wants to be a good cop, and a good daughter, in a town where “a substantial number of the residents had seen her performing as Number Two Wise Man in the Grade Three Christmas pageant.”

Café:
Sounds fun. What is the main reason that you write?

Vicki:
I like it!

Café:
Do you write to entertain or is there something more you want the readers to take away from your work?

Vicki:
Essentially I write to entertain, both the reader and myself. But I hope that In The Shadow Of The Glacier will also allow people to think about issues around friendship, trust and betrayal.

Café:
Do you have a schedule for your writing or just write whenever you can?

Vicki:
I recently retired and am spending a year travelling, so I pretty much just write when I can. When I was working, I wrote in the evenings after work, so that is still the time that is best for me.

Café:
Someone after my own heart — I have to write at night. Do you outline? If not, do you have some other interesting way that you keep track of what's going on, or what needs to happen in your book when you are writing it?

Vicki:
I outline, but very roughly. I know who did it and why before I begin, which means that the main characters are in place. The outline grows as I write, as I think of clues to drop and important things that have to happen on the way to the climax. Things can deviate quite substantially from the outline by the time I’m finished. For example, just as I was beginning In The Shadow Of The Glacier, my new bike was stolen. So I threw in a sub plot about bike theft, which was going to be very minor and which turned out to be a major plot point in the book. And you can be sure that the bike thief comes to a very nasty end indeed!

Café:
If you had your ideal, what time of day would you prefer to write?

Vicki:
Evening.

Café:
Yay! Night people unite lol. Day job?

Vicki:
Retired.

Café:
Did you find it difficult to get published in the beginning?

Vicki:
Very.

Café:
What kind of promotion do you find most effective?

Vicki:
Bookstore signings.

Café:
Most interesting book signing story — in a bookstore or other venue?

Vicki:
Scare The Light Away concerns a woman who reads her mother’s diaries. I was giving an elderly lady my pitch — discoveries diaries, learns things she hadn’t known, etc., etc. — when the old lady started to quiver and then cry. She told me that her husband had recently died, and she’d discovered his journals. “I thought I knew him, but,” sob, sob, “I didn’t!” This was the first bookstore signing for my first book and it was almost enough to turn me off it completely.

Café:
Wow — quite a story! Future writing goals?

Vicki:
Just keep working on the Molly Smith series.

Café:
Person you would most like to meet dead or alive?

Vicki:
Nelson Mandela.

Café:
What do you read?

Vicki:
Mysteries almost exclusively. I particularly like the British police procedurals.

Café:
What are your hobbies?

Vicki:
Writing used to be my hobby, but now that I’m retired, between writing and travelling to promote In The Shadow Of The Glacier, I don’t have time for hobbies!

Café:
Favorite TV or movies?

Vicki:
I loved the Lord Of The Rings movies. There is usually a Lord Of The Rings reference somewhere in my books.

Café:
Fun. Pets?

Vicki:
One dog.

Café:
Family?

Vicki:
Three adult daughters

Café:
What part of the country/world do you live in?

Vicki:
I am homeless right now. I sold my house in Oakville, Ontario when I retired and am spending a year travelling through North America. Eventually, I’ll go back to Ontario.

Café:
What an adventure. Any advice for aspiring or beginning writers?

Vicki:
PERSISTENCE.

Café:
Website?

Vicki:
www.vickidelany.com. Plus I blog at Type M For Murder: http://typem4murder.blogspot.com

Café:
Where can people purchase your books?

Vicki:
Online through Amazon, B&N, Chapters in Canada. Most bookstores will order the book if they don’t have it in stock. Thanks so much for joining us here at the Café once again. Keep coming back for more author interviews and book reviews. Happy reading and Good Coffee!

©2009 Lorie Ham. All rights reserved.