Today we have with us mystery author Clea Simon. You can already smell the heavenly smell of aged Sumatran coffee from Peet’s in the air as we get ready to enjoy a cup of her favorite coffee. Clea is a big coffee fan and enjoys hanging out at her local coffee shop, 1369 Coffeehouse, which is the model for the coffee shop in Clea’s books. So help yourself to a cup of Sumatran and enjoy the interview.

CAFÉ:
Welcome to the Café, Clea. Your latest book, Cries and Whiskers (a review can be seen on this site) was just released by Poisoned Pen Press. The book before that was Cattery Row, why don’t you tell us a little about that one.

CLEA:
Cattery Row is the second in my "not too cozy" cat series. It kicks off with the theft of pedigreed cats and follows the trail (the tail?) of the missing cats into the crazy world of breeders and cat shows. Like all my mysteries, it brings up real animal issues in the format of a traditional mystery.

CAFÉ:
How long have you been writing?

CLEA:
Really? All my life. Professionally? More than 20 years.

CAFÉ:
When did your first novel come out and what was it called?

CLEA:
My first novel, Mew is for Murder, came out in 2005. It starts with the death of the neighborhood "crazy cat lady," an old lady who has a house full of strays and abandoned cats. My heroine not only has to solve the murder — she has to place all the cats! My first book, however, was the nonfiction "Mad House: Growing Up in the Shadow of Mentally Ill Siblings" (Doubleday). That came out in 1997, and taught me how to research and write a book-length project.

CAFÉ:
Sounds like an interesting first book, and first mystery. Other than the one nonfiction book, have you always written mysteries? If not what else have you written?

CLEA:
Nope! I have always read mysteries, but I began my writing career as a journalist and nonfiction author. I have three nonfiction books in print: "Mad House," (Doubleday, 1997), "Fatherless Women: How We Change After We Lose Our Dads" (Wiley, 2001) and "The Feline Mystique: On the Mysterious Connection Between Women and Cats" (St. Martin's, 2002). "The Feline Mystique" is nonfiction, but it led me to the world of cat mysteries.

CAFÉ:
What an interesting path to writing mysteries. What brought you to choose the setting and characters in your latest book?

CLEA:
I set all my mysteries in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a hip little city that's changing fast, which means that students and old radicals rub shoulders with the newly rich and new immigrants. My main character and series heroine, Theda Krakow, is a writer who wants to be a rock and roll critic. Of course, she loves cats.

CAFÉ:
What is the main reason that you write?

CLEA:
I love it. I can't see doing anything else!

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

CLEA:
With my mysteries, I primarily want to entertain. But if I slip in a little information about animal issues (such as animal hoarding in "Mew is for Murder," breeding in "Cattery Row," or feral cat rescue in the upcoming "Cries and Whiskers") so much the better! I hope people will think about what my characters have gone through after they finish the book.

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

CLEA:
I try to work on my latest book for at least an hour every day, more if possible.

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?

CLEA:
I used to outline but I found it took some of the "juice" out of the final project. Now I have an idea in my head and I just try to bash out a first draft. In a way that first draft serves as an outline. When I read it through, I'll discover that I've completely forgotten about a character or I've contradicted myself — but there's some good writing that I usually can salvage. And by actually writing it out, rather than outlining, sometimes the story takes unexpected turns that work out better than anything I could have planned!

CAFÉ:
I completely relate to that — I can’t outline either. If you had your ideal, what time of day would you prefer to write?

CLEA:
From when my husband leaves for work till about 2. Then I'd do my other work.

CAFÉ:
Day job?

CLEA:
I do a lot of freelance journalism, still, to pay the bills.

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

CLEA:
Yes. Every step of the way you have to prove yourself. I started off writing news articles for a local weekly at $25 a pop, and whenever you change format, you have to start sort of near the bottom again!

CAFÉ:
Do you have a great rejection/critique or acceptance story you'd like to share?

CLEA:
Well, this shows my mindset more than the publishers... but when I first set out to write, I was working as an editorial secretary. It was my first job out of college, but I quickly realized that the job was more secretarial than editorial, so I started sending out queries, along with clippings from my college newspaper. I wanted to be organized, so I made up two file folders. One said "Rejections." The other said, "Exceptions."

CAFÉ:
What kind of promotion do you find most affective?

CLEA:
Word of mouth. I love talking to readers and I think it is the best way.

CAFÉ:
Do you have a most interesting book signing story — in a bookstore or other venue?

CLEA:
Whenever people show up, I'm really happy!

CAFÉ:
Your future writing goals?

CLEA:
I'd like to be able to mix a successful series with occasional stand-alones, in which I could explore other "one off" ideas.

CAFÉ:
Any heroes?

CLEA:
Oh, man... anyone who is true to herself and brave. Emily Dickenson, Nelson Mandela.

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

CLEA:
Jane Austen would be great to meet! She's so witty.

CAFÉ:
We get that answer a lot. What do you read?

CLEA:
Everything from cereal boxes to self help books. I am currently catching up on Colin Cotterill's Dr. Siri Paoboun mysteries, reading a Regency adventure called "Secrets of a Lady" by Tracy Grant, and also Michel Fabers short stories, "Vanilla Bright Like Eminem."

CAFÉ:
You are a busy reader too. What are your hobbies?

CLEA:
I love to cook and to listen to music — particularly New Orleans music and zydeco!

CAFÉ:
Fun! Favorite TV or movies?

CLEA:
I'm completely addicted to HBO's "The Wire" and "Flight of the Conchords," which covers crime and the music world between them. Favorite movies range from "To Have and Have Not" (Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart) to "Sexy Beast" (Ray Winstone) and "Topsy Turvy" (an absolutely wonderful Mike Leigh film with Jim Broadbent that captures the frustrations and inspirations of the creative process) Maybe that's my all time favorite. It's about how Gilbert and Sullivan were at a creative dead end and then Gilbert gets the inspiration to write "The Mikado." Just perfect!

CAFÉ:
I’m going to have to check out those TV Shows and that last movie — they sound interesting. Any pets?

CLEA:
But of course! We currently cohabit with Musetta, a medium — haired black-and-white rescue cat, who rules our lives.

CAFÉ:
Family?

CLEA:
My husband Jon and I have no kids, but do have lots of immediate family nearby.

CAFÉ:
Sounds like Musetta may be your child ? What part of the country/world do you live in?

CLEA:
New England.

CAFÉ:
Any advice for aspiring or beginning writers?

CLEA:
Apply tush to seat. Write. Just do it. And then read it, and re-read it and re-read it. Repeat as often as necessary!

CAFÉ:
Good advice. Anything you would like to add?

CLEA:
Thank you for having me here!

CAFÉ:
You are very welcome. Website?

CLEA:
My home site is http://www.cleasimon.com — this links to my blog, too.

CAFÉ:
Where can people purchase your books?

CLEA:
Anywhere books are sold! There are links to my books at Amazon and to your local independent bookstore, too, at my home site, cleasimon.com — just click on the covers!

CAFÉ:
Thanks so much for being here at the Café today.

©2007 Lorie Ham. All rights reserved.