A Conversation with Judy Fitzwater and Jennifer Marsh
This interview between Jennifer Marsh and me was first published at the end of the Ballantine paperback edition of DYING FOR A CLUE.
(Let me preface this interview by saying that I met with a certain amount of hostility when I approached Jennifer about talking with me. As professional as she is about her writing, she harbors some resentment for my playing Watson to her Sherlock. She insists that I’m not always accurate, especially in relating her inner feelings, and complains that I make her seem much more neurotic than she actually is. The fact that I’m published as a result of her adventures and she has yet to see any of her own writing in print remains a sticking point. However, two cappuccinos heavy with whipped cream helped her to warm up to the idea. (Plus a promise to ask my editor to review some of her work.)
JUDY: Trouble seems to follow you around. How do the people close to you react to the number of dead bodies that you stumble upon?
JENNIFER: It’s not as if I actually go out looking for corpses. They just sort of find me. Although, I suppose, in the death of literary agent Penny Richmond, that you chronicled in Dying to Get
Published, I was more of an active participant. Sam was pretty angry about how I got myself mixed up with that one.
JUDY: Sam’s that good-looking investigative newspaper reporter.
JENNIFER: Right. He works for the Macon Telegraph. As I was saying, he wasn’t so understanding, but my co-worker Dee Dee (I help her with her catering business) and my whole writers’group--Teri, Leigh Ann,
April, and Monique--were behind me all the way. So were Mrs. Walker, an elderly lady I met in Atlanta, and her friends. They knew I couldn’t kill that despicable creature Penney, just as I knew Mrs. Walker couldn’t have killed her slimy ex-husband Edgar.
JUDY: I remember. I wrote about Mrs. Walker’s troubles in Dying to Get Even.
JENNIFER: And then, of course, there’s the Diane Robbins case in which I teamed up with private detective Johnny Zeeman, and a woman was shot dead practically in front of us.
JUDY: Right. That one’s Dying for a Clue. My third novel.
JENNIFER: Aren’t you the prolific one.
JUDY: Just answer the questions. Who knows. Some editor might read this and...
JENNIFER: All right. But you make it sound like my involvement with so many murder cases is excessive. Actually, I agree, but I can’t seem to do anything about it. You see, in a very real way, murder is my
business. I write about it, and, in doing research for my books, I occasionally (Sam would say always) find myself where I shouldn’t be.
JUDY: C’mon. You went to your high school reunion and your ex-boyfriend died in the parking
lot.
JENNIFER: Leigh Ann dragged me there. And, of course, Danny had written me that note saying he needed to talk to me. That’s another big regret I’ll have to live with--not making sure Danny had the opportunity to finish telling me what happened twelve years ago on prom night when he left me
in his dad’s old Chevrolet and never came back.
JUDY: Dying to Remember.
JENNIFER: Where do you come up with these titles anyway?
JUDY: Trade secret.
JENNIFER: And why do they all start with Dying? That’s a bit morbid, don’t you think? I mean
it’s my life that we’re talking about here. And that last one you wrote, Dying to Be Murdered. Who would be dying to be murdered?
JUDY: You’ve got to admit that when Mrs. Ashton hired you to chronicle the events of her impending death–-
JENNIFER: She seemed convinced someone was going to kill her. The way that case came out–-
JUDY: Shhhhhhhh. I won’t sell any books if you give the endings away.
JENNIFER: And we do want you to sell books, don’t we?
JUDY: You don’t have to be sarcastic about it. Believe me, I know how difficult selling that first novel can be. How do you keep yourself positive, considering the number of rejections you’ve
received?
JENNIFER: Dwelling on rejections never got anybody anywhere. I’ve written nine novels, and one of these days I’m actually going to sell one of them. I’m thirty years old, and I’ve been writing ever since I got
out of college. I heard an author speak one time who said, “Persistence is every bit as important as talent.” I believe that. Besides, I’ve got too many years invested to give up now. All I need is that initial break. I figure, after that, I should be able to sell most of what I’ve written.
Who did you say your editor was?
JUDY: Later.
JENNIFER: Promise?
JUDY: It was part of the deal. Your critique group seems to be important to both your personal and professional lives. Do they really help with your writing?
JENNIFER: Absolutely. I don’t know what I’d do without them. They’re all very talented, although they do have their problems.
JUDY: How so?
JENNIFER: Leigh Ann is a hopeless romantic. She can turn the most innocent encounters into...Let’s just say, she has a vivid imagination. Teri writes romantic suspense. She’s a sweetheart, really, but she can seem somewhat brusque to people who don’t know her. And those who do. Actually, sometimes she’s downright rude. But whenever I’ve asked her for a favor, she’s always come through. Not always the way I might have envisioned it, but she gets the job done. April does children’s books. It seems like she’s always feeding us some concoction she’s baked up. And one of the gentlest souls I’ve ever known.
And then there’s Monique, who keeps a copy of her one published science fiction book on her coffee table. We’re not close, but whenever I’ve really needed her, she’s always been there for me. Like family. They’re all like family. Oh, oh, oh, and April’s finally got a contract for her Billy and Barney books!
JUDY: I heard about that. That’s really exciting.
JENNIFER: Is there anything you don’t know about me and my friends?
JUDY: Not a whole lot.
JENNIFER: That’s creepy.
JUDY: Both Leigh Ann and Teri write romance, Monique science fiction, and April children’s stories. Can they really help you with your mysteries?
JENNIFER: They’re good writers, all of them, if a little overly dramatic with the prose now and then. We all write popular fiction which has the same demands regardless of genres: great openings, dynamic characters, and a quick pace. Most importantly, they’re always honest, if not always tactful.
JUDY: A lot of the people who follow your adventures seem interested in your relationship with Sam. Can you give us an idea what the future may hold for the two of you?
JENNIFER: I don’t like talking about Sam. I care a lot about him, but it’s really none of your or anybody else’s business.
JUDY: You haven’t figured it out yet, have you?
JENNIFER: I really haven’t. Sometimes we seem so close. But then... We just need some time to sort through our feelings and let our relationship develop naturally. Seems like we have more help and advice in that department than we need.
JUDY: What do you mean?
JENNIFER: Dee Dee is always trying to get me married off, and Teri and Leigh Ann tell me daily how I shouldn’t let a guy like Sam get away. But it seems like every time we try to work out what we are to each other, another crisis comes up.
JUDY: Or another dead body.
JENNIFER: Exactly.
JUDY: Your dog Muffy seems to be a great part of your life. Can you tell us how you came to adopt her?
JENNIFER: Muffy is a retired racing Greyhound. I got her through one of the Greyhound adoption organizations. She’s terrific. She reminds me there’s more to life than writing and work, and she’s an absolute sponge for attention. I adore her.
JUDY: In Dying to Get Published, you were arrested. What was it like in jail?
JENNIFER: I’d prefer not to talk about those few hours I spent incarcerated. Suffice it to say, I never want to go back.
JUDY: What do you see for yourself in the immediate future?
JENNIFER: Getting published, of course.
JUDY: Of course.
JENNIFER: Now, let’s talk about how you made your first sale. And your agent’s name. And your editor’s.
(Let me preface this interview by saying that I met with a certain amount of hostility when I approached Jennifer about talking with me. As professional as she is about her writing, she harbors some resentment for my playing Watson to her Sherlock. She insists that I’m not always accurate, especially in relating her inner feelings, and complains that I make her seem much more neurotic than she actually is. The fact that I’m published as a result of her adventures and she has yet to see any of her own writing in print remains a sticking point. However, two cappuccinos heavy with whipped cream helped her to warm up to the idea. (Plus a promise to ask my editor to review some of her work.)
JUDY: Trouble seems to follow you around. How do the people close to you react to the number of dead bodies that you stumble upon?
JENNIFER: It’s not as if I actually go out looking for corpses. They just sort of find me. Although, I suppose, in the death of literary agent Penny Richmond, that you chronicled in Dying to Get
Published, I was more of an active participant. Sam was pretty angry about how I got myself mixed up with that one.
JUDY: Sam’s that good-looking investigative newspaper reporter.
JENNIFER: Right. He works for the Macon Telegraph. As I was saying, he wasn’t so understanding, but my co-worker Dee Dee (I help her with her catering business) and my whole writers’group--Teri, Leigh Ann,
April, and Monique--were behind me all the way. So were Mrs. Walker, an elderly lady I met in Atlanta, and her friends. They knew I couldn’t kill that despicable creature Penney, just as I knew Mrs. Walker couldn’t have killed her slimy ex-husband Edgar.
JUDY: I remember. I wrote about Mrs. Walker’s troubles in Dying to Get Even.
JENNIFER: And then, of course, there’s the Diane Robbins case in which I teamed up with private detective Johnny Zeeman, and a woman was shot dead practically in front of us.
JUDY: Right. That one’s Dying for a Clue. My third novel.
JENNIFER: Aren’t you the prolific one.
JUDY: Just answer the questions. Who knows. Some editor might read this and...
JENNIFER: All right. But you make it sound like my involvement with so many murder cases is excessive. Actually, I agree, but I can’t seem to do anything about it. You see, in a very real way, murder is my
business. I write about it, and, in doing research for my books, I occasionally (Sam would say always) find myself where I shouldn’t be.
JUDY: C’mon. You went to your high school reunion and your ex-boyfriend died in the parking
lot.
JENNIFER: Leigh Ann dragged me there. And, of course, Danny had written me that note saying he needed to talk to me. That’s another big regret I’ll have to live with--not making sure Danny had the opportunity to finish telling me what happened twelve years ago on prom night when he left me
in his dad’s old Chevrolet and never came back.
JUDY: Dying to Remember.
JENNIFER: Where do you come up with these titles anyway?
JUDY: Trade secret.
JENNIFER: And why do they all start with Dying? That’s a bit morbid, don’t you think? I mean
it’s my life that we’re talking about here. And that last one you wrote, Dying to Be Murdered. Who would be dying to be murdered?
JUDY: You’ve got to admit that when Mrs. Ashton hired you to chronicle the events of her impending death–-
JENNIFER: She seemed convinced someone was going to kill her. The way that case came out–-
JUDY: Shhhhhhhh. I won’t sell any books if you give the endings away.
JENNIFER: And we do want you to sell books, don’t we?
JUDY: You don’t have to be sarcastic about it. Believe me, I know how difficult selling that first novel can be. How do you keep yourself positive, considering the number of rejections you’ve
received?
JENNIFER: Dwelling on rejections never got anybody anywhere. I’ve written nine novels, and one of these days I’m actually going to sell one of them. I’m thirty years old, and I’ve been writing ever since I got
out of college. I heard an author speak one time who said, “Persistence is every bit as important as talent.” I believe that. Besides, I’ve got too many years invested to give up now. All I need is that initial break. I figure, after that, I should be able to sell most of what I’ve written.
Who did you say your editor was?
JUDY: Later.
JENNIFER: Promise?
JUDY: It was part of the deal. Your critique group seems to be important to both your personal and professional lives. Do they really help with your writing?
JENNIFER: Absolutely. I don’t know what I’d do without them. They’re all very talented, although they do have their problems.
JUDY: How so?
JENNIFER: Leigh Ann is a hopeless romantic. She can turn the most innocent encounters into...Let’s just say, she has a vivid imagination. Teri writes romantic suspense. She’s a sweetheart, really, but she can seem somewhat brusque to people who don’t know her. And those who do. Actually, sometimes she’s downright rude. But whenever I’ve asked her for a favor, she’s always come through. Not always the way I might have envisioned it, but she gets the job done. April does children’s books. It seems like she’s always feeding us some concoction she’s baked up. And one of the gentlest souls I’ve ever known.
And then there’s Monique, who keeps a copy of her one published science fiction book on her coffee table. We’re not close, but whenever I’ve really needed her, she’s always been there for me. Like family. They’re all like family. Oh, oh, oh, and April’s finally got a contract for her Billy and Barney books!
JUDY: I heard about that. That’s really exciting.
JENNIFER: Is there anything you don’t know about me and my friends?
JUDY: Not a whole lot.
JENNIFER: That’s creepy.
JUDY: Both Leigh Ann and Teri write romance, Monique science fiction, and April children’s stories. Can they really help you with your mysteries?
JENNIFER: They’re good writers, all of them, if a little overly dramatic with the prose now and then. We all write popular fiction which has the same demands regardless of genres: great openings, dynamic characters, and a quick pace. Most importantly, they’re always honest, if not always tactful.
JUDY: A lot of the people who follow your adventures seem interested in your relationship with Sam. Can you give us an idea what the future may hold for the two of you?
JENNIFER: I don’t like talking about Sam. I care a lot about him, but it’s really none of your or anybody else’s business.
JUDY: You haven’t figured it out yet, have you?
JENNIFER: I really haven’t. Sometimes we seem so close. But then... We just need some time to sort through our feelings and let our relationship develop naturally. Seems like we have more help and advice in that department than we need.
JUDY: What do you mean?
JENNIFER: Dee Dee is always trying to get me married off, and Teri and Leigh Ann tell me daily how I shouldn’t let a guy like Sam get away. But it seems like every time we try to work out what we are to each other, another crisis comes up.
JUDY: Or another dead body.
JENNIFER: Exactly.
JUDY: Your dog Muffy seems to be a great part of your life. Can you tell us how you came to adopt her?
JENNIFER: Muffy is a retired racing Greyhound. I got her through one of the Greyhound adoption organizations. She’s terrific. She reminds me there’s more to life than writing and work, and she’s an absolute sponge for attention. I adore her.
JUDY: In Dying to Get Published, you were arrested. What was it like in jail?
JENNIFER: I’d prefer not to talk about those few hours I spent incarcerated. Suffice it to say, I never want to go back.
JUDY: What do you see for yourself in the immediate future?
JENNIFER: Getting published, of course.
JUDY: Of course.
JENNIFER: Now, let’s talk about how you made your first sale. And your agent’s name. And your editor’s.