I had the pleasure
of meeting Laurie at this year’s Malice Domestic conference in Maryland. She was funny and kind and extremely gracious
with her time. As the conference’s
chosen Guest of Honor for Malice Domestic 2013, she still found a way to make time for every
person hoping for a moment of her attention.
There are few things more wonderful than realizing a favorite author is
also a gem of a human being.
Laurie discussed
her latest novel, The Bones of Paris,
which is set in the City of Light at the end of the 1920’s. When asked why she chose this particular
time, Laurie said, “The end of the decade was when things began to fall apart,
and I find that to be much more interesting for a crime writer.”
The Bones of Paris received a
starred review from Booklist and Publisher’s weekly was equally kind with its
praise. Exploring the dark underbelly of
Paris’ Jazz Age through the eyes of Harris
Stuyvesant will have readers up all night in anticipation of what he discovers
next. While Mary Russell remains a crowd
favorite, it’s clear that Harris Stuyvesant will garner loyal readers as
well. After all, there’s room on our nightstands
for more than one compelling King protagonist.
When asked by an audience member how she
was able to juggle writing multiple series, she answered that she found herself
easily bored and preferred switching from one project to an entirely different
one. Loyal King readers are thankful for
this view as it gives us a broader range of stories from which to choose and
affords us the opportunity to experience King’s storytelling prowess in
numerous ways.
In truth, she was fascinated by the idea
of taking many of Holmes’ traits and seeing how they would manifest in a young,
intelligent woman who would stand as his peer.
She was interested in “how it would be the same and how it would be
different.” Needless to say, the
success of The Beekeeper’s Apprentice
captured the imagination of those who loved Sherlock Holmes as well as those
who loved the idea that she would take the character and explore him through
more current times and with compelling twists on the classic detective.
One question that often comes up at such
events--from curious writers-- involves the debate between being an ‘outliner’
or ‘pantser,’ which has since evolved into the ‘organized vs. organic
debate.’ Want to know under which camp
Laurie King falls?
While she does take notes on certain
scenes or particular characters, Laurie finds it best to write
organically. In fact, she co-authored a
book with Michelle Spring titled the Arvon
Book of Crime and Thriller Writing, which details the two authors’
differing approaches to crafting a novel.
She says her first drafts are often “300
page outlines with characters disappearing and such.” Struggling novice novelists will be grateful
to hear that someone with King’s writing chops turns out a less than perfect
first draft. She does write 1,500-2,000
words per day until she hits a slowing point, which signals that she has more
‘back of the mind’ work to do in figuring out what happens next in the
story. She finds it best not to continue
to force the writing and uses the slowed pace as a signal that more questions
need to be answered before continuing.
When asked which authors she currently
enjoys reading, King offers up Lyndsay Faye.
“She’s such a talented writer. I
loved the Gods of Gotham.” She also gives kind mention to Tony Broadbent,
author of the Smoke series featuring Jethro, a jewel thief and cat
burglar.
