Interview #2: The Interrogation Continues

Q:  CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS is the follow-up to the wildly popular SPELLMAN FILES. How did this series come to be? 

I have no idea what you’re talking about. Oh wait, yes. Now I remember. Um, I wrote THE SPELLMAN FILES and then I decided their story wasn’t over yet. So then I wrote CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS. At least I think that’s what happened. Frankly I have no recollection of writing either book.

Q:  You worked a few years for a private detective agency.  This, no doubt, informs CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS.  Tell me what you took from that experience, and how it informs this series.

I took a few pens and some post-it notes. But that’s it, I swear!

Q:  San Francisco almost seems like another character in your books. How important is it to you to get the right location and sense of place in your writing?

It was my primary reason for moving back to San Francisco. Anyone who moves as much as I do needs to come up with plausible explanations. So, I was happy for this one. I wrote the first Spellman book in central New York and I wrote the second one while living in Seattle. I had to consult maps and friends for the details of the city that I had forgotten. I got tired of asking people what something looked like.

Q: In The Spellman Files, Get Smart is Izzy’s favorite television series from which she is constant quoting and reflecting upon. In CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS, Dr. Who brings Detective Stone, Rae & Izzy together. What draws you to write these television shows into this series?

The whole Get Smart insertion into THE SPELLMAN FILES happened fairly late in the editing process, but it seemed to fit into the story quite well. I think television habits tell you a lot about a person. I mean, if you’ve ever met someone who really hates TV, you already have a pretty clear insight into his/her character. How someone chooses to escape says a lot about that person.

Q:  In order to finish writing THE SPELLMAN FILES you packed your bags and moved to a small town in upstate New York. How was writing CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS a different process from writing THE SPELLMAN FILES?

For the second book, I was living in Seattle in an apartment that had heat and insulation. So I was much warmer.

Q: You began your writing career as a screenplay writer that turned into quite a Hollywood misadventure. Now, THE SPELLMAN FILES is in the works to be a major motion picture. What advice would you give to writers, now that you’ve completed your second novel?

I’m not one for giving advice. But if I were to give someone a piece of advice, I’d suggest not taking any advice from me.

Q: Which authors are you most fond of reading? Are there any authors that you feel have influenced your writing?

This is one of those questions that could go on forever. To keep it simple, I’ll just mention some of the books I enjoyed from last year:

What the Dead Know, by Laura Lippman
The Night Gardener, by George Pellecanos
Christine Falls, by Benjamin Black
Him Her Him Again the End of Him, by Patricia Marx

Q: What’s next in store for Isabel Spellman? Are you currently working on any other projects?

I’m currently reorganizing my sock drawer. As for Isabel, you’ll have to wait and see. The third book in the Spellman saga—REVENGE OF THE SPELLMANS —is in the works.