| Today, Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of is | | | | re-inventing the wheel. I found it very clumsy until a |
| pleased to have as our guest, Helen Barer author of | | | | writing teacher at the New School, in a class I'd |
| Fitness Kills. | | | | found called "Starting Your Novel," suggested I |
| Helen is a native New Yorker and has spent many | | | | switch to first person. All of a sudden I found my |
| years as a writer of non-fiction ranging from | | | | voice! Slightly smart ass, New York City, and |
| cookbooks to television documentaries. | | | | vulnerable. I loved it. The dialogue came very naturally |
| Norm: | | | | to me; it was the plot I struggled with. |
| Good day Helen and thanks for participating in our | | | | Norm: |
| interview. | | | | Can you tell us how you found representation for |
| Helen: | | | | your book? Did you pitch it to an agent, or query |
| I'm delighted to have been invited. | | | | publishers who would most likely publish this type of |
| Norm: | | | | book? Any rejections? |
| How did you happen to write a book about a fitness | | | | Helen: |
| ranch in Baja and could you also tell us a bit about | | | | I did pitch it to many agents, all of whom said 'very |
| Fitness Kills? | | | | well written, but not right for us - it's not hard-boiled |
| Helen: | | | | enough/sexy enough/ complicated enough/ |
| I'm a big fan of fitness spas - I've been going to one | | | | straightforward enough...' take your pick. It was more |
| or another for more than 20 years. About 12 years | | | | than discouraging, But I'm in a terrific writing |
| ago, while struggling through an aerobics class at a | | | | workshop, and two of the authors were published by |
| spa in Baja California, I looked around and thought it | | | | Five Star, an imprint of Thomson Gale that publishes |
| was like being on a cruise ship. We'd all arrived on a | | | | mystery novels. I queried Five Star directly, sent the |
| Saturday, would leave the following Saturday, and in | | | | book to them as an attachment to an email, and |
| the meantime got to be 'intimate acquaintances.' | | | | they accepted it almost immediately. |
| Fitness Kills is the story of Nora Franke,, a New York | | | | Norm: |
| City food writer who having broken up with her | | | | What challenges or obstacles did you encounter while |
| boyfriend, and having gained weight as a result, | | | | writing your book? How did you overcome these |
| accepted a temporary job as food consultant at such | | | | challenges? |
| a fitness spa. She is befriended by a group of | | | | Helen: |
| regulars, and is caught up by their pain and loss as | | | | I'd had no idea how to write fiction; it was like |
| one, and then another, of the friends die. Nora's | | | | learning a foreign language. I read a lot - other |
| primary employer back in New York assigns her to | | | | mysteries, writers about writing, etc. -- and went to |
| write an article about the deaths at the health spa, | | | | mystery conferences. Joining a writing workshop was |
| and she becomes invested in solving the murder (and | | | | a major step. Talk about challenges! They pulled and |
| keeping herself alive!). | | | | pushed me into writing and rewriting. |
| Norm: | | | | Norm: |
| What attracted you to the mystery genre? | | | | Was there anyone who really influenced you to |
| Helen: | | | | become a writer? |
| I like stories with a beginning, middle and end. As well | | | | Helen: |
| as those with a strong central character - preferably | | | | My mother. She was never without a book, nor was |
| a woman - that have something to say about how | | | | I. She encouraged me to write even as a little girl; |
| we live today and what our values are. | | | | my first significant piece was a fourth grade project |
| Norm: | | | | called "My Life in the Wilderness." It got an A. |
| What do you believe are the essential ingredients of | | | | Norm: |
| a good mystery novel? | | | | Many writers want to be published, but not everyone |
| Helen: | | | | is cut out for a writer's life. What are some signs |
| Suspense! And caring about what happens to the | | | | that perhaps someone is not cut out to be a writer |
| characters. Which means, of course, that you have | | | | and should try to do something else for a living? |
| to know the characters. Believability is also essential. | | | | Helen: |
| This is not a fantasy genre. | | | | Don't give up your day job! I actually waited until I |
| Norm: | | | | was nearly retired to write full time. Otherwise |
| Is your work improvisational or do you have a set | | | | there's so much pressure. It also helps to have a |
| plan? | | | | thick skin. |
| Helen: | | | | Norm: |
| It starts off with a plan. Actually, I'm meticulous at | | | | What are your upcoming projects? How can readers |
| the beginning. I have a summary page, a | | | | find out more about you and your endeavors? |
| chapter-by-chapter outline, and know how it ends. | | | | Helen: |
| But the middle...that's the real mystery! As I | | | | I'm almost halfway through writing my next Nora |
| established the characters' voices, I found they led | | | | Franke mystery novel, while promoting this one. |
| me in unexpected directions. | | | | Check out my website, |
| Norm: | | | | Norm: |
| Helen, this was your first mystery fiction writing | | | | Is there anything else you wish to add that we have |
| project. Did you enjoy the process? How was it | | | | not covered? |
| different from your typical format? | | | | Helen: |
| Helen: | | | | I can't imagine. You've been so thorough. |
| I'd never written fiction before. It was like | | | | |