Mollie Cox Bryan, freelance writer and cookbook author, stopped by DSD HQ to talk about her debut mystery, SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS (Kensington).
Q:
One of my favorite writers, Haruki Murakami, wrote a book called What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. I’m not terribly fond of exercise, but I especially hate running. What am I missing out on? Does it help the writing process?
A:
For me, almost any kind of exercise helps with the writing process. It helps clear away the morning cobwebs in my brain. I started running a few years ago, but all of my life I’ve been a physical person. Dancer. Gymnast. Yogini. Now, I have fallen in love with Zumba! But I still run every other day.
I was at a writer’s conference a few years ago where there were a lot of older writers dealing with a variety of ailments, which were not helped by the sedentary lifestyle. It’s so important that we move—yet our work plants us in front of the computer for long hours at a time. So I’ve vowed to myself to keep moving.
Q:
I’m sure you’ve been asked this and have already given it a great deal of thought, but what are the similarities between making a scrapbook and writing a novel? I’d guess you’re looking for themes, motifs, unifying images.
A:
Absolutely. Scrapbooking is visual storytelling. In SCRAPOOK OF SECRETS, the women are gathering photos to make scrapbooks for Maggie Rae’s children, knowing how precious those books will be to them as they age. But they are also piecing together her life—or at least several part of her life: mother, daughter, writer, and yes, those little secret parts that nobody knew about. For me, writing is a lot like that, too. At the very beginning of an idea for a story, I’m just writing about images, piecing them together, creating a character’s life.
Q:
As a freelance writer, what was one of the strangest projects you ever had?
A:
Writing about fainting goats. They really do faint when they are startled or scared. It was kind of troubling to see it.
Q:
What is your favorite room in your house?
A:
I love my kitchen. I love to cook and bake, of course, and I feel so comfortable in the kitchen. Anybody's kitchen, really. It's not a fancy kitchen—it fact it still has brown appliances in it from the 1970s. But it is a kitchen where there is enough room to dance. I crank the music and dance when I cook. Doesn't everybody?
Q:
How was the process of writing to publication for you? Did things fall neatly into place? You take write a book, get an agent, then get a book deal?
A:
I really lucked out with this. I am a cookbook author whose agent took on a partner that also sold fiction. So, I mentioned I was working on a novel and she sent me to her partner, who really helped me out. I wrote the book during National Novel Writing Month, sort of towards the end of promoting my pie book. Several drafts later, my agent took it and sold it—probably within six months of my actually finishing it.
Q:
I heard somewhere that Ellen Crosby writes a draft of a novel, then tosses it and starts from scratch on the next draft. She may go through a dozen drafts. She’s completely bonkers, right? What’s your revision process like?
A:
I like Ellen, and yes she’s a little bonkers, but we all love that about her, right? No seriously. If it works for her, who I am to judge, really? She knows what she’s doing.
My process is very organic. I have no idea who the killer is, for example, when I first begin to write. I figure it out about half way through. After I’m finished with the first draft, I like to let it sit and stew. Then I go back and rework some things that will help for story to make sense—I’ll add more clues in, or more red herrings, now that I know who the killer actually is.
I am a somewhat “sparse” writer and always come in under my word count goal. So, my third draft is usually about expanding the story.
After my third draft, I solicit readers. I have at least two people read and comment. Then I go back and rework based on that.
Q:
You’ve been to book readings and signings. I’d guess some were better than others. From a reader’s point of view, what makes for a good author event? What about from a writer’s point of view?
A:
As a reader, I like to hear the author speak about something a little personal—not too personal, though. It’s a tricky balance. It’s about connection. I had the chance to see Barbara Kingsolver when I lived in Northern Virginia. I know she read from her book, but what I remember the most were the personal tidbits she offered.
As an author, I love when people chat with me about books and writing. It’s not just about buying my books—though that would be lovely—but it’s also about that connection, of becoming a real person to them, not just a mysterious someone who pecks away at the keyboard. It works the other way around, too. I try to write and edit with my readers in mind—but in order to do that, I need to know them, as well.
Q:
Who are some of the under-the-radar authors folks should be paying attention to?
A:
I’m not sure I’m the person to ask these days—I’ve been so busy writing and promoting. But I have a friend, Inman Majors, who’s a fiction writer that has met with some commercial success—mostly literary. I have not read his upcoming novel, Love’s Winning Plays, but I think it’s going to be a real breakout book for him. I know how he writes and I know the subject matter and I’m thinking it’s going to be exciting. I can’t wait to get my hands on that book. But once again, I’ve not actually read it.
Q:
I’ve watched your new book, Scrapbook of Secrets, climb up the Amazon rankings the past weeks. What’s the book about and why are people connecting to it?
A:
As to why people are connecting with it, I hope they are relating to the characters—they are probably just like people you know. I also hope the story touches people. Beyond all the scrapbooking and the other themes of the book, there’s a story that resonates. Also people like these cozy mysteries because everything comes together in the end, which is often not the case in real life. So I think even though the book is sad—after all there is a murder, someone’s life has been taken—it’s also satisfying because there is a justice at the end.
Find out more about MCB at her website.
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