Virginia Smith Interview

Your writing career seems to be taking off with the publication of Murder by Mushroom your second book and Bluegrass Peril, your third, coming out next year. How long did you have to wait before receiving the call that you’d sold a book?
Twenty very long years. I wrote my first fiction back in the mid 80’s. Then I collected 143 rejection letters before I finally got the notice that Kregel Publications wanted to publish my novel, Just As I Am. That was in April of 2005, and the book came out in March of 2006. I didn’t get “the call” though. I went to a conference and met my future editor, who had just read the manuscript and told me he was going to recommend to the publisher that they buy it. The actual notification from the publisher came through an e-mail a month or so later. I called my mother crying so hard she couldn’t understand me and thought some terrible tragedy had happened.

During the years you were waiting to be published, what other jobs did you have? What life lessons did you learn during this time?
My field was human resource computer systems, and I worked for various corporations over the years. I started as a technical assistant and moved up the ladder to director. All those years in the corporate world, and especially the last twelve years when I moved into management, taught me so much about people – different personalities, different work ethics, how certain personality types interact with others. That knowledge has given me tremendous insight into creating realistic characters who interact believably with each other.

For instance, two of the companies I worked for used a personality tool called the Myers-Briggs Indicator. As a manger, I attended seminars to learn typical behaviors of the different personality types. Now when I’m working on a character, I will sometimes identify her Myers-Briggs type and that tells me how she prefers to process information, what types of people she identifies with, and so on. It really helps me to get to know her from the inside-out.

Who was your biggest encourager during the time you were trying to become published?
My mother, without a doubt. She has read everything I’ve ever written, and during those long years when the rejection letters were piling up, I could always count on her to say, “Those editors are obviously idiots. They don’t know talent when they see it. One day they’ll be coming to YOU and begging to publish your stories!” Okay, totally a mom’s opinion, but it sure did make me feel good.

Your first book Just As I Am, a contemporary fiction, reminded us how we often fail to reach those around us who are hurting. What made you decide to write a cozy mystery for your next book?
Opportunity. I’ve always loved mysteries, and at the 2005 ACFW conference I had the opportunity to eat dinner at Krista Stroever’s (my editor at Steeple Hill) table. She mentioned that she was acquiring cozy mysteries, so I pitched one. I guess the idea intrigued her, because she asked me to send her a query letter about it.

I didn’t consider, “Gee, should I switch genres?” I enjoy mysteries, and I enjoy contemporary fiction, so why not write both? Before Murder by Mushroom I never thought I was smart enough to write a mystery because when I’m reading them, I almost never figure it out before the end of the book. But then I realized that a mystery writer starts from the end and works backward. The author already knows who did it. I laid out my plot backward using some of the techniques I learned as a computer project manager, and it worked.

I love both genres, and I’ll continue to write them both as long as I can find someone to publish them! My “trademark,” if I have one, isn’t related to the genre in which I write. Instead, my trademark is my humorous style and quirky characters. I even put humor in the more suspenseful stories, like the one coming out in December, Bluegrass Peril.

Some people have no idea how a cozy mystery differs from other mysteries. Can you explain the difference to our readers?
I heard someone describe it once like this: “Instead of blood and guts, you get cats and quilts.” I love that! I’d expand that a bit further by saying that cozies build an atmosphere of curiosity, with the emphasis on the characters and the setting. They almost always have an element of humor. They’re full of clues and intellectual trails for the reader to follow in order to solve the mystery.

A cozy mystery does not contain graphic violence or a graphic murder scene. Typically the crime is a bloodless one and the hero or heroine does not see it happen. Cozies focus on “who dun it?” A modern mystery (which is the category of Bluegrass Peril) kicks up the suspense a notch and asks the question “is he going to do it again?” And a pure suspense mystery has the protagonist asking, “is he going to do it to me????”

That’s not to say that there is no suspense in cozy mysteries. In Murder by Mushroom, there are a couple of scenes where readers will find their hearts pounding. Especially the confrontation scene toward the end. One critique partner accused me of trying to give her a heart attack.

What advice would you give other writers who are plotting a cozy mystery?
Don’t cheat your readers! Your job as a writer is to lay out all the clues they need to solve the crime, but to disguise them. You don’t want to make it easy for the reader, or they won’t enjoy the book. And you don’t want to toss out an explanation at the very end that includes information they didn’t know, or they will feel cheated. And then they won’t buy your next book. I am happy to say that-so far-not one person has told me they figured out the identity of the murderer in Murder by Mushroom. But everyone has said, “You gave me all the clues. You didn’t cheat.”

Will any of your characters in Murder by Mushroom return for adventures in a sequel?
Not at this point. Actually, of few of them do put in appearances in Bluegrass Peril, but they’re disguised. The heroine in Bluegrass Peril was originally one of the suspects in Murder by Mushroom. And Jackie and Dennis were important secondary characters. My editor liked the story, but she didn’t want a sequel so she asked me to change the characters’ names. Funny, but when I gave them new names they took on unique personality traits too. When Bluegrass Peril comes out, you’ll have to see if you recognize them.

Some of your characters in Murder by Mushroom remind me of people I meet all the time, those who claim to be Christians but have un-Christlike attitudes. What message do you hope your book sends to Christians about how we’re viewed by others?
I’m always cautious about identifying a message in my books. That’s because I don’t ever set out to write a book with a message. My books grow out of ideas for characters, or in the case of Murder by Mushroom, an idea for a unique way to commit a murder. Of course one essential element of a good book is growth in the main character. So there’s always a message, a lesson to be learned as the character learns.

In Murder by Mushroom, Jackie sees first-hand how the un-Christlike behavior of people who call themselves Christians can injure others. She meets Sharon, who has been so hurt by the vicious behavior of a regular church attender that she has rejected Christ. So I guess the message is that we are emissaries of Christ, and we should keep in mind that others are watching us and accrediting our actions to Him. Jackie also sees real love in action, and makes a conscious decision about her own behavior.

It’s evident from your writing that you have a deep faith in God. What do you do to make sure that you are centered in His will? What do you do to recharge yourself spiritually if you ever find yourself slipping in your faith?
That is one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. Thank you. Writing, to me, is an act of worship, of dedicating something I love to the One who loves me. I am so glad that comes through in my stories.

I start every morning with prayer and Bible study, and that keeps me connected to His living Word. Right now I’m working my way through Beth Moore’s Jesus, the One and Only. Music is also an important part of my spiritual life, and when I start feeling like I’m running spiritually dry, I put on a worship CD and sing to the Lord. I sing out loud, at the top of my lungs, so the words drown out any distracting thoughts rolling around in my mind. That really recharges my batteries!

We all have favorite scripture verses that speak to our hearts. What verse is your favorite, and how does it give you strength to face life’s problems?
Just one? Okay, I’ll choose Psalm 90:17. I have a story behind that one. Many years ago I was a junior programmer working on a large project. My boss called me into his office and told me that I was way behind schedule. He said my completion rate was the lowest of all the other programmers on the project, which meant I was not successful in my job. I was devastated, mostly because I was so inexperienced in computer programming that I really didn’t know how to do any better. I felt completely hopeless. A day or so later I saw Psalm 90:17 printed in a Sunday school paper. May the goodness of the Lord be upon us, and give success to the work of our hands. Yes, give success to the work of our hands! Well, that’s exactly what I needed – to be successful! I made that verse my daily prayer. I clipped it out and taped it on the top of my computer monitor, and every day I asked the Lord to give success to the work of my hands. Do you know that within one month my completion rate was 100%? My boss was amazed.

That was the first time in my adult life that I really personalized the power of the Word of God. I’ve prayed that verse over every job I’ve held since, and now over every book I write. The funny thing is that I can’t find the translation I read all those years ago. I know the exact wording printed in that Sunday school paper, because I read it every single morning for many months. And it spoke to my personal situation. But I haven’t ever found it again.

I was surprised to learn that you are also a soloist and have recorded your own CD. There must be a story behind that. Tell us why you branched out into the music world and where we can buy your CD.

Music has always been a huge part of my life. Mom says I sang “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” in perfect pitch before I could even walk steadily. I have no delusions about my talent; I’m not a great singer, but I’m a passable one, and I am occasionally invited to sing in churches and at ladies’ retreats and places like that. When that happens I’m always asked if I have a CD. So I decided to record one. The project cost several thousand dollars, so I’ll never do another one, but at least I have the satisfaction of saying I did it once. The only way to get one of these CDs is directly from me, either by e-mailing me or buying it in person when I come and sing at your event! Details and a list of the songs can be found on my website.

I understand you just had a wedding in your family. How does it feel to be a mother-in-law?
Well, since Nick has been dating my daughter for six years I was already used to having him around long before the wedding. He’s a science fiction and fantasy fan, as I am, so we enjoy a connection that neither my daughter nor my husband really understands. For instance, last Christmas I bought him a collector’s set of Pez dispensers with Star Wars character heads, and he bought me a ring from the Lord of the Rings merchandise collection. (Okay, yeah, we’re weird.) I’m not a meddling mother-in-law. But of course they haven’t had children yet. When grandchildren are involved, I might be tempted to meddle a little more than I do now.

We know that to be a writer you must first be a reader. What genres do you read? What authors are on your bookshelf?
I read most genres, but I especially enjoy humorous mysteries (of course!) and humorous contemporary fiction and sf/f. On my bookshelf right now are books by Sharon Hinck, Rene Gutteridge, Sharon Dunn, Kristin Billerbeck, Hope Lyda and T.L. Hines. I am eagerly awaiting Sharon Hinck’s next book, The Restorer’s Son. I had an opportunity to read a galley for an endorsement, and I absolutely loved it. I want to read it again in final form.

Do you have anything else you’d like for our readers to know about you?
I’d like to invite them to surf over to my website at www.virginiasmith.org, where they can read about my upcoming books and anything else of import that’s going on in my life. They can even see pictures of my daughter and son-in-law taken recently at their wedding.

Thanks so much for letting me pop in here for a visit! I’ve enjoyed chatting with you.