JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Hank and I are co-hosting today's guest(s), the amiable and energetic Edith Maxwell and her friend Maddie Day. If you've spent any time on JRW, you know Edith, and if you like Edith, I can guarantee you'll like Maddie. Both these ladies are the type of author to make me want to retire to my fainting couch - between them, they write FOUR wonderful cozy series, as well as Agatha-nominated short stories. How does the magic (and mystery) happen? Well, it helps if you have broad, well-traveled background full of all sorts of jobs and experiences. You definitely need to be well-organized and disciplined. And I'm quite certain a good sense of humor is a must. Please welcome Edith Maxwell and Maddie Day!
Hank and Julia, thanks so much
for inviting me and my best bud Maddie Day for a chat on the front
part of the blog today! I thought we could interview each other for a
bit, since our books are coming out within ten days of each other
(from two publishers).
E:
Maddie, why did you pick southern Indiana as a setting for your
Country Store Mysteries?
M:
It's such a gosh darn sweet part of the country. I lived in
Bloomington for about five years a couple (okay, four) decades ago,
and I loved the slow pace of life and the friendly folks. The next
county over, Brown County, is real hilly, full of artists and quirky
folks, and it just seemed like a place readers might like to hang out
in for a while. Also, some parts seem more Kentucky than Indiana, so
I have a whole slew of colorful southern phrases my police lieutenant
Buck Bird can say. How about you? Why do you set your books in New
England?
E:
I moved to the Boston area in the early eighties, and then headed up
to the North Shore at the end of the decade. There are still lots of
small farms in the area – in fact, I owned and ran one of them for
a while – so I thought it would be a great setting for a cozy
series like the Local Foods Mysteries. Then when I got intererested
in history and discovered Amesbury, with its rich past of thriving
carriage and textile mill industries, I wanted to place a series in
that era. I was already a Quaker, and learning that John Greenleaf
Whittier served on the building committee for the historic
meetinghouse where I sit in silent worship every Sunday just clinched
the deal. Have you ever thought of writing a historical mystery?
M:
Not yet, although I have included a bit of the history of my
protagonist's building in When the Grits Hit the Fan.
It was built in the second half of the nineteenth century, and since
Robbie Jordan is a carpenter and is renovating the second floor of
the restaurant to create bed-and-breakfast rooms, she makes some,
shall we say, intriguing discoveries in the walls. What's the most
fun thing you've done in your historical research?
E:
I have to say riding in a historic carriage from the late 1800s. We
have a Carriage Museum here in Amesbury, and one of the board members
knows just about everything there is to know about the carriage
industries. She owns antique vehicles and a horse, and she took me
out one morning last summer along trails in a local park and fields
that didn't look much different than they would have in 1888. I wore
a long homespun linen skirt to get the feel of what it would be like.
Uh, hard to climb into, a bumpy ride, and hardly anything to hang
onto! But I picked Susan Koso's brain for over two hours. It was
fabulous. So tell me how you got to Indiana in the first place? Are
you from there, like Hank is?
M:
No, I'm a fourth-generation Californian on my mother's side (San
Francisco firefighter Flahertys), but my great-great-great
grandfather founded what became Indiana University. Maxwell Hall is
one of the original buildings and I discovered both a Maxwell Street
and a Maxwell Lane in Bloomington, so my roots go way back. Even my
dad was an undergrad there, so it was a treat to continue the
legacy... Oh, wait. I think I just let the cat out of the bag.
E:
LOL, you mean the one-author-two-names cat? I guess you did! Okay,
readers, Maddie and I are exactly the same person. But you probably
already guessed that, right? We get asked a lot, “Why the pen
name?” Tell 'em, girlfriend.
M:
When our Kensington editor, who was already publishing Edith's Local
Foods Mysteries, offered a contract for the Country Store series, he
stipulated a pseudonym. “Why?” we asked our agent, who said
Kensington wanted the series to look like it was by a debut author in
the bookstores. Okay, we said, not wanting to turn down a contract
for a minor name issue. Turns out the series has done pretty darn
well, so I guess the strategy worked. Edith, what's next for you on
the writing front?
E:
First I have to get Called to Justice
launched, and attend a flurry of events in April celebrating Sisters
in Crime's 30th
anniversary (I'm President of the New England chapter, after all).
Then there's Malice Domestic, where I am nominated for not one but
two Agatha Awards (for Best Historical Mystery and Best Short Story).
At the end of May Mulch Ado About Murder,
the fifth in the Local Foods series, comes out, so I'll have more
launch activities. It probably won't be until June until I start
writing Quaker Midwife #4 (possibly titled Seeking
Unity),
because Midnight Ink has renewed my contract for two more books. Yay!
How about you?
M:
Right now I'm almost done with the first draft of Murder
on Cape Cod
in my new series, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. I'm having a
lot of fun setting up a crew of new characters in a new fictional
Cape village, and I recently returned from a super productive solo
retreat week in West Falmouth, where I did lots of both writing and
research. After that I need to get started on Country Store #5,
tentatively named Death,
Over Easy.
Never a dull moment!
E:
I know the feeling. But we're living our dream, right?
M:
You bet. And to celebrate we're giving away a copy of our new books
to two commenters today (one book each)!
E:
This has been fun. And please find us on Facebook and twitter
(@edithmaxwell, @MaddieDayAuthor). We love being in touch.
Readers:
Do you find author pen names confusing? Do you like your mysteries
set in the here and now, or do you enjoy immersing yourself in an
older era? (Both, we hope.)
National
best-selling author Edith Maxwell is a 2017 double Agatha Award
nominee for her historical mystery DeliveringtheTruth
and her short story, “The Mayor and the Midwife.” She writes the
Quaker Midwife Mysteries and the Local Foods Mysteries; as Maddie Day
she writes the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group
Mysteries. Her award-winning short crime fiction has appeared in many
juried anthologies, and she is honored to served as President of
Sisters in Crime New England. A former tech writer, farmer, and
doula, Maxwell now writes, cooks, gardens, and wastes time as a
Facebook addict north of Boston with her beau and three cats. She
blogs at WickedCozyAuthors.com, Killer Characters, and with the
Midnight Ink authors. Find her at www.edithmaxwell.com , on Twitter as @edithmaxwell, and on Goodreads.
In
Called to Justice,
Quaker midwife Rose Carroll is enjoying the 1888 Independence Day
evening fireworks with her beau when a teenaged Quaker mill girl is
found shot dead. After a former slave and fellow Quaker is accused of
the murder, Rose delves into the crime, convinced of the man's
innocence. An ill-mannered mill manager, an Irish immigrant, and the
victim's young boyfriend come under suspicion even as Rose's future
with her handsome doctor suitor becomes unsure. Rose continues to
deliver babies and listen to secrets, finally figuring out one
criminal―only to be threatened by the murderer, with three lives at
stake. Can she rescue herself, a baby, and her elderly midwifery
teacher in time?
Despite
the bitter winter in South Lick, Indiana, business is still hot at
Robbie Jordan’s Country Store restaurant in When the Grits Hit the Fan.
But when another murder rattles the small town, can Robbie defrost
the motives of a cold-blooded killer? Robbie and her friend Lou go
snowshoeing and find a contentious academic frozen under the ice.
Police suspect Lou might have killed him after their public tiff in
Pans ‘N Pancakes the night before. To prove her friend’s
innocence, Robbie absorbs local gossip about the professor’s past
and develops her own thesis on the homicide—even if that means
stirring up terrible danger for herself along the way.
Congratulations, Edith, both on your books and on your Agatha Award nominations.
ReplyDeleteI don’t necessarily find author pen names confusing, but it doesn’t take long for readers to figure out who the author is, anyway . . . and doesn’t that tend to defeat the purpose? But I suspect readers who enjoy the books will go right on reading them, no matter which name the author uses . . . .
Although I tend to read more mysteries set in the here and now, I do enjoy a well-told tale of earlier days . . . .
Thanks, Joan. It's interesting - my editor never said I couldn't link the two names, so all my identities and books are on a single web site (edithmaxwell.com) and I'm not shy about letting people know that Maddie and I are the same gal.
DeleteCongratulations Edith (and Maddie) on your book series, recent and upcoming releases!! I first discovered your Local Foods mysteries while attending a Kensington publishing event at Bouchercon 2013. I especially love reading culinary mysteries, so I found your Country Store mysteries (written as Maddie Day). The Midwife mysteries are so interesting since I know very little about the Quaker faith and 1888 Massachusetts, and they have been a fun read, too. Congratulations on the Agatha nomination...well deserved!
ReplyDeleteI understand different publishers why the authors to write under different names, and I don't find that a problem at all. The difficulty is that you write so many books(!)...I find it hard to keep up with you!!
Thanks so much, Grace! I'm delighted you like my stories.
DeleteYou are awesome, Edith (Maddie)! I have read 3 more of your books in 2017, so I am up-to-date on the Midwife series but I am still about 1 book behind in your other 3 series. And I know you have more books to come!
DeleteMy fifth (and last, alas) Local Foods mystery comes out in late May, and then no new books until February 2018, I think.
DeleteEdith, you are amazing! Can you tell us about your schedule and organization? How do you ever do it? Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you, dear Hank. Schedule: I write every morning but Sunday, in my chair usually by six so I can find out what's going on in the cyber world (and comment over here) before I start working at seven. I sign in on Ramona's sprint thread and I'm off. I usually run out of steam and words by late morning, so I go for my plotting walk (when I have a cooperating knee, that is), eat lunch, and do other authorly stuff in the afternoon. When I can keep to that schedule I can write a first draft in two months. I keep lots of lists and calendars, too. However - my office is a huge mess and I'm not much of a housecleaner except in the kitchen, so there is a down side!
ReplyDeleteOh, thank Heavens, Edith! If you'd said your house was spotless and you whipped up gourmet lunches for yourself, your beau, the three cats, and the neighbors down the road, I'd be crawling back into bed right now and pulling the covers over my head with a whimper!! Congratulations on your well-deserved successes! I enjoy both modern settings and historical mysteries--have enjoyed your Quaker midwife series, but must check into the (two!) Maddie Day series now!
DeleteThanks, Flora! I like to cook interesting and gourmet on occasion (Easter brunch, for example), and when my knee is strong I make dinner most nights, but it's nothing fancy!
DeleteEdith, maybe we can create a support group: Mystery Authors with Bad Knees!
DeleteHow about mystery authors who write too much? Rhys
DeleteWhat's this "too much" thing of which you speak? Is there such a thing? :D
DeleteMystery authors with bad knees who write too much? that might only leave Edith LOL. We're in awe of your productivity Edith!
DeleteHey, I got it fixed so it won't be bad any more. It's just taking its sweet time to get well.
DeleteI don't there is too much writing, especially when it makes you happy, like it does me!
Thanks, Lucy.
I am in awe that you can write FOUR series! How do you keep them all straight? You're an inspiration for those of us (or maybe just me!) that have trouble getting a draft for one book written.
ReplyDeleteI really need to catch up on your books - they've been on my TBR list for a while. Too many books, too little time. I'm excited about the Cape Cod mystery. West Falmouth is really a lovely town/village!
Congrats on the Agatha nominees. I'll be keeping my finger crossed!
Thank you, Mary (sorry I missed your comment earlier). I don't know, the characters and setting are all so different, they kind of keep themselves apart. Appreciate the crossed fingers! You'll hear about it here when the first Cape book comes out, but it will be sometime in 2018.
DeleteEdith, I have long admired you (and your alter!) and all you do and have accomplished. An organic farmer! A doula, for heaven's sake. The hallmarks of a life well lived, having so many rich experiences, including living on a couple other continents, to draw from for your fiction.
ReplyDeleteHow do you remember who YOU are, let alone who your characters are supposed to be that day? It takes a lot of intelligence to do all that, and I admire you for all of it.
My only confusion about the multiple pen names (some authors have several) is why publishers want them in the first place. But even though you're all mystery writers I don't see that one being solved any time soon.
I know, Karen. It is a mystery.
DeleteAs for a rich life - well, with any luck we're given long lives so we can do many things, right? Either that or I'm a dilettante who couldn't settle down to anything. (LOL)
Loved this format - the Maddie Day and Edith Maxwell duo! I think it was a good idea to have a different author name for he Maddie Day series - as it's part of creating a whole other universe from, say, the world of Local Food mysteries or, more recently, 19th century Amesbury, MA. All of a piece. So, I think you got good advice there.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marian! When my editor told my agent the Local Foods Mysteries wouldn't be renewed for more books after #5 (sniff), my editor said, "But I'd be happy to see a proposal for a different series from Maddie Day." Off world-building I went. I'm not quite sure what I'd do with myself if I weren't writing three books a year. ;^)
DeleteI find that fewer and fewer authors are using pen names or are letting their own cats out f the bags when they have. Many of the ones that have used them did so for professional reasons, for instance, there are a lot of lawyers who write and feel that some of their work would be distracting.(Try to be hard-nosed in court when the opposition know that you have mushy romance novels out can certainly be a disadvantage!) I had considered using a pen name, but I use my maiden name. I had copyrights for songs before I was married and let's face it, if you hear "Joyce" you may think "writer", but if you hear "Skube",(pronounced like Scooby), you will think "cartoon dog"!
ReplyDeleteFunny, Tonette! I certainly would use a pen name if I wrote both erotica and cozies, for example, or even noir and historicals. You don't want to throw off your readers who are expecting one genre and getting another.
DeleteI see that as being the most common reason for a nom de plume. There are several YA authors out there who also write adult romances - you don't want to mix those two audiences up!
DeleteI've enjoyed your comments and read Delivering the Truth (which I loved) as a result. I'll have to check out the other series.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Trisha!
DeleteGreat "interview." I love how you can be the same person, yet Maddie definitely has a different sound to her voice than Edith.
ReplyDeleteI don't particularly care about pen names (good think since I use one myself - I decided having middle-grade kids potentially stumble across dead bodies would be a Bad Thing). The hardest thing is now I've got published stories, my name badge at conferences often reads "Liz" and people use that name so I have to realize they're talking to me! LOL Like you, I've never made a secret that Liz and M.E. are one person. Perhaps publishers like to...oh I don't know, but they must have a reason.
Congrats on the awards and the multiple launches!
Mary/Liz
Thank you, Mary! I know some people pick pen names very much like their own so they don't have that confusion, but I didn't manage to pull that off - and neither did you.
DeleteMary's comment begs a question, Edith: does using two different names help more with refining and defining each series' character's "voice"?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI guess it might help, Karen, not really sure.
DeleteNo, although my middle name is Elizabeth - Liz. Just not close enough, I guess.
DeleteMary/Liz
Great interview and so amazing that you write four different series. Big fan of Edith and all her books. So in awe that you can write four different series and keep everything straight for each one. Do you have something like a "reference" book for each series so you can remember everyone and everything that happens?
ReplyDeleteI absolutely do. It's my Characters file, where all the characters for a series - which can include the police department or the country store - have everything listed I know about them. And when I discover something new - what kind of car my protag drives, or what kind of purse she carries - I scoot over there, copy it in, and then get back to writing. After a couple of books in a series I'd be lost without it!
DeleteEdith, that is genius. I keep promising myself I'll do this but I never do. Someday...
DeleteI'd be totally lost without it, Jenn - or leafing madly through prior books...
DeleteOh my goodness, Edith! You are so busy. I love the family tie to Indiana University. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vicki! It was really special to go to school there.
DeleteWell done, Edith and Maddie. a very enjoyable interview. And I agree with Julia. Your impressive industry makes me feeling like a rest on a couch! :-)
ReplyDeleteLOL, Triss. I did just finish my taxes (just now), and that was a huge extra load on my mind. Done!
DeleteSo I want a rest on the couch, too...
DeleteI am completely fascinated by Edith/Maddie -- I follow her on Facebook. She has incredible energy along with a deep commitment to living a purposeful, steadily paced life, including family, friends, and food. And her books!! By gosh, by golly. So much fun.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Denise. Yes all of that (always the food...) - but no cleaning! When I make a few more bucks at this business, I might just hire somebody to do that, though.
DeleteI enjoyed hearing from both Edith and Maddie, and join Joan in congratulating you on you Agatha nominations, Edith. I love reading cozies/mysteries from any time era, and truly enjoy the historical ones. The reason for different author names makes sense in a way, once explained.
ReplyDeleteMy Mom's family is from Terre Haute, Indiana and my Grandfather went to Rose Poly/Rose Hulman, and I have a cousin who just retired from her job at Indiana University -- that's so wonderful that your great, great, great Grandfather founded it! My daughter may be going to Whittier University in California, and because of Delivering the Truth, I knew just who John Greenleaf Whittier was (it impressed the college counselor, not my daughter!) Sorry if this is rambling! I love all of your books, Edith and Maddy, as well as your amazing talent and dedication!
We share connections then, Celia! Thanks for your kind words.
DeleteI do find pen names confusing. I know why it happens, but I wish it wouldn't since it makes tracking new releases from your favorite authors much harder.
ReplyDeleteMaddie, I loved your latest. Edith, your latest is on deck as soon as I finish my current read.
I loved your review of GRITS, too, Mark! Thanks so much.
DeleteIt is hard to track mystery authors with multiple pen names - oh, the irony - but it sure feels like an achievement when you find them all!
DeleteVery enjoyable interview! Like everyone else, I am awed by Edith's ability to keep four series going and remain sane.
ReplyDeleteI find pen names mildly confusing, too, and in a perfect world, I'd love to always see an author's name the same way, so I can more easily keep track of what they produce. But it's far from a deal breaker. Good writing is good writing, and I'm always just happy to find it!
Thanks, Susan!
DeleteCrossing my fingers for the Agathas, Edith!
ReplyDeleteDo you work on multiple series at the same time or do you focus on one and put the others aside? And do you outline or are you a pantser?
I really try to stay with one series at a time, Ingrid. But of course that blows up when edits come in for series B or page proofs for series C when I'm full in the middle of first draft of series A. The edits are due in two weeks and the book not for another couple of months, so I have to do them. But it definitely interrupts the flow.
DeleteBy nature I'm a pantser, but I have to submit a prose synopsis of each book before I write it. My are always way slimmer than my editor would like, but they are a road map. And when I'm pantsing along in the middle of a book and get a little stuck, I'll go look at the synopsis and think, "Oh, hey, that was a good idea!" But I feel if I outlined like some of my friends do, I'd be bored writing it. And if I'm bored writing it, you can bet my readers will be bored reading it.
I don't find pen names very confusing. I have a little cheat sheet I use. I take spells in reading different times periods. Currently, I prefer reading current times.
ReplyDeleteI love the Country Store series. I have been to Brown County a few times.
Isn't it great, Marsha? Do you live in the region, then?
DeleteSome pen names are easy to follow because they are similar but other's are completely different like yours and if I find you under one name but don't know about the other, I may not give that author a chance when in reality I would love those books too. It happened to me with a different author who doesn't publicly display that both names are her. I wish publishers weren't so weird about it.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read When the Grits Hit the Fan!
I know, Amanda. And thanks - hope you enjoy GRITS!
DeleteCongratulations on both the book and your nomination. A double honor. Essentially pen names aren't a problem. And there are excellent reasons for using them. Especially if you write in different genres. There is an author who writes in a couple of different genres that I no longer read for that very reason. Found out the hard way she does erotica & no indication on any of her books or ads. There was a list of her books on the inside page indicating 3 different series. Then the prologue. Nothing to indicate subject matter, so thought they were all in the kids and animal adventures. NOW there is some indication, sometimes. And I almost always make it a point to go to B & N and Amazon to read the reviews, good & bad, before I enter a drawing. One author I have read, several books which I had enjoyed immensely. A new book came out. The synopsis looked really good, so started to put in for it. Then decided I better stick to my pattern. Good thing I did. 7 glowing reviews, matched my opinion after reading the synopsis, was ready to go back & enter the contest then reminded myself to read the last & only critical one. Good thing I did, the man said 'This story, like her others books it was well written, well plotted, characters fleshed out, real depth to them, fast paced. But she did something differently that totally ruined it for me. Gratuitous violence, sex & some cussing. Maybe she thought since others doing that & were popular it would help sell more books. She was very wrong. I won't be buying any more from this author." Books with sex, violence and cussing, I do not read. I put them in the trash can where they belong. As for the setting? It does not matter. Yesteryear or today I enjoy them all if well written. I know some that are self published who should use a proofreader. but usually it's not a problem. In the 80's worked as editor for a small magazine where one writer who we had to really edit his articles. He would say the same thing 2 or 3 times, worded differently in a paragraph. His story, with those repeats taken out ended up a whole lot shorter. The boss would say "If he didn't have such good articles I'd show him the door." And he was good, he just had the habit of repeating himself. Often. Looking forward to your books Della at deepotter (at) peoplepc (dot) com
ReplyDeleteThanks for the congratulations, Della. I can tell you I have no plans whatsoever to write books including gratuitous violence or sex, and I try to keep the cussing as mild as possible. When I really feel like that character wouldn't say, "Well dang it" upon finding a dead body, I'll write, "She cursed." Reader's choice of curse words!
DeleteI'm sorry to hear Local Foods is ending. I really enjoyed that series! I am impressed you can keep up with the details of all your characters in all the series. As a reader I have trouble keeping things straight between various books.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pat. Make sure you pick up Mulch Ado About Murder, then! I tidied up everything for the series at end, so I'm okay with the decision.
DeleteI do wonder how you keep it all straight in your head with multiple series and names!
ReplyDeleteWell done!
Libby Dodd
Thanks so much, Libby!
DeleteI don't get bothered by pen names. I also prefer to read books that take place in the present! Thanks for offering this giveaway!!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Linda!
ReplyDeleteWrite under any name you wish, but please do keep me posted, as I want to read ALL your books. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI promise!
DeletePen names dont bother me as long as I know when my favorite authors are releasing their next book. Thank goodness I finally joined facebook, because before that I know I missed some of their books! Thanks for a great interview of yourself and your other self, lol
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Kay!
DeleteCongrats on your two new releases! I have enjoyed all of your books that I've read. Pen names don't bother me, I just want to know more about other books and names an author uses so I can make sure to read those books also.
ReplyDeletediannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com
Glad to hear it, Dianne. And I'm so glad you liked my books.
DeleteThanks for the fun interview! I have no problem with pen names, and I think most readers understand that it's fairly common for authors to publish under multiple names nowadays. As for time periods, I generally prefer books set in modern times, but I enjoy any story as long as it's well-written! mbradeen@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteIt was our pleasure, Marla.
DeleteWow your interview was fabulous. I really thought I was reading two different people for a while. I am with the other Commenters... about the difficulty of juggling different series. I am trying to write one and that is all I can do. Thank you for the interview and contest.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn ewatvess@yahoo.com
Thanks so much, Marilyn! Good luck with your one.
Delete