After a very long break, the NoName Café interviews with the authors are back. So order yourself a cup of coffee and sit back and enjoy this wonderful interview with mystery author Twist Phelan.

CAFÉ:

So Twist, what a wonderful and appropriate name for a mystery author. First off I believe you have a new book out soon. When would that be? 

TWIST:

September, 2007 by Poisoned Pen Press.

CAFÉ:

What is the title and can you tell us a little bit about it?

TWIST:

FALSE FORTUNE is the fourth entry in my legal - themed Pinnacle Peak series. Each book features a different sport; FALSE FORTUNE highlights paddling.

Attorney/athlete Hannah is settling back into her law practice at the family firm, trying not to think too much about Cooper Smith, the boyfriend she's dumped - for the second time. Hard to do when half-sister Shelby, fresh from rehab, is deeply in love, or at least lust, with a local firefighter.

A trip to an abandoned uranium mine turns into the daring lake rescue of a mysterious woman. Then the sisters' already-rocky relationship becomes bumpier. Hannah is appointed lead counsel in Shelby's toxic tort case on behalf of the local Indian tribe - a case, Hannah discovers, that some people will do anything to keep out of the courtroom. The arrival of a recently-discovered family member on Hannah's doorstep further jeopardizes her relationship with Shelby.

Hannah's new friend, Jerry Dan Kovacs, only makes things more complicated. From the moment he jumps into the lake with Hannah to prevent a drowning to his discovery of a hidden map to his bungled attempt at corporate espionage, Jerry Dan entangles Hannah in a whirlwind of events, eventually pulling her into a treasure hunt that may be tied to a complex fraud. Assault and murder ratchet up the ante, and soon Hannah is in such deep water, not even her trusty kayak can keep her afloat. With careers and lives on the line, Hannah must unravel the schemes before it is too late.

CAFÉ:

That sounds like a fun read. I believe we will have a review of it here at the Café soon. How long have you been writing?

TWIST:

Since 2001

CAFÉ:

And when did your first novel come out?  Can you tell us a little about it?

TWIST:

HEIR APPARENT was released in 2002. Joe McGuinness, lawyer and team roper, has landed a job with one of Pinnacle Peak's top firms. But then his boss is killed, putting Joe's legal career in jeopardy. Soon much more is at stake when two more bodies turn up, and Joe must untangle a web of secrets to exonerate a friend and find out who is using murder to claim the rights of heir apparent.

CAFÉ:

Sounds like another fun read. Have you always written mysteries?

TWIST:

Yes.

CAFÉ:

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

TWIST:

I wanted to combine my passion for sports with my background in law. I am fascinated by the harshness and beauty of the Sonora Desert, so I set the series in the imaginary resort town of Pinnacle Peak, Arizona. The last three books have featured Hannah Dain, a lawyer/athlete who is competent professionally but less adept when it comes to family and romantic matters.

CAFÉ:

What is the main reason that you write?

TWIST:

I love to tell stories and to entertain.

The second book, FAMILY CLAIMS, was described by one reviewer as "both a legal and a family thriller with a couple of mysteries attached and Shakespearian overtones." And Publishers Weekly called FALSE FORTUNE "a swiftly-moving tale of corporate corruption and tangled, touching family relationships."

I was glad to see the family element identified because in the Pinnacle Peak series, I'm trying to tell classic stories written small. That is, I take larger issues and examine their impact on a small, interconnected group.

What is irregular in families interests me; how we become who we are in the context of family life. Family can be a haven in a scary world. But it is also a place where emotions run deep and feelings run high. (I'm amazed by the capacity of the family to hurt and wound.) Sibling and parental dynamics can be as complicated as quantum physics. Family can be as compelling a force as a sinking ship or high - rise fire in a disaster movie. It throws people together in close quarters, true characters emerge, and (unlike with friends or business associates) you cannot easily give up and walk out - you have to stick it out. Even if you do manage to leave, you don't really; your family experience forever influences and informs you.

CAFÉ:

And do you write to entertain or is there something more you want the readers to take away from your work?

TWIST:

I want readers to be entertained, to take them away from their lives and bring them into a different world. I want them to meet characters they can identify with or find appealing. I'm also happy if readers learn or experience something new (such as a sport), or see something familiar (like family) in a new way.

CAFÉ:

And what about your writing habits - do you have a schedule for your writing or just write whenever you can?

TWIST:

I write every day, ideally in the morning. I stop around midday to do something athletic. If I am deep into the book, more often than not I go back to it again in the evening.

CAFÉ:

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?

TWIST:

I outline. I start with a three - act structure, then flesh it out until I have a fairly comprehensive chapter-by-chapter outline that is essentially a very short (15K-20K word) first draft. Of course, the finished book is never exactly like the one outlined, or the one in my head for that matter, either.

CAFÉ:

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

TWIST:

I prefer the morning.

CAFÉ:

Another one of those morning people. So what would you say is your job?

TWIST:

Crime writer.

CAFÉ:

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

TWIST:

My manuscript won a writing contest, so that opened some doors.

CAFÉ:

Congratulations on that contest. What kind of promotion do you find most effective?

TWIST:

Hand - selling by booksellers and word-of-mouth are extraordinarily powerful.

CAFÉ:

Do you have a most interesting book signing story?

TWIST:

I showed up at a bookstore to find they had ordered a title by Tim Phelan by mistake: Romance, Riches, and Restrooms: A Cautionary Tale of Ambitious Dreams and Irritable Bowels - a memoir by an investment banker with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

CAFÉ:

Oh dear - that wasn’t good.
What are your future writing goals?

TWIST:

To keep at it. In addition to FALSE FORTUNE and the second edition of HEIR APPARENT, I'll have several short stories out this year. Currently I'm at work on a standalone novel set in the corporate world.

CAFÉ:

Sounds like you are pretty busy. Assuming you have time to read, what do you read?

TWIST:

I read extensively in the crime/mystery/thriller genre. Also enjoy history, science, economics, biography/memoir, poetry, some literary fiction.

CAFÉ:

Any hobbies?

TWIST:

Endurance sports: skate - skiing, paddling, cycling, and strength training are current favorites.  

CAFÉ:

You don’t only work your imagination; you work your whole body. Do you ever indulge in a little TV?

TWIST:

I watch cable TV: The Wire, The Closer, Damages. (I usually watch a season all at once on DVD.) I was also a Veronica Mars fan. And House is great - I like the lead and the Holmes parallels.

CAFÉ:

What part of the country do you live in?

TWIST:

American West.

CAFÉ:

Any advice for our aspiring writers out there?

TWIST:

The barriers to entry are there, but they're not insurmountable. Start out by writing the best book you can. Develop your character, make sure your story has a beginning, middle, and an end. Remember that rewriting hones your ability - it's like exercising a muscle: the more you work it, the stronger it becomes. Don't rush - good writing takes time. After you've written the best book you can, write a top-flight synopsis and query letter and send them to agents. Attend conferences that offer a pitch meeting with an agent. Be persistent. Finally, I know everyone says it, but it's true: write every day, even if for only fifteen minutes.

CAFÉ:

Awesome advice. Where can we go to learn more about you and your books?

TWIST:

www.twistphelan.com

CAFÉ:

Where can people purchase your books?

TWIST:

They can be found online at Amazon.com, B&N.com, independent mystery stores, or you can order them at any of the chains.

CAFÉ:

Thanks so much for joining us here at the Café for some coffee with a dash of mystery.