An Interview with Ellis Vidler

EBD: I read Haunting Refrain, published by Silver Dagger Mysteries in 2002, and loved it. I’m surprised that you didn’t continue it as a series since the protagonist and secondary characters were memorable. Did you always envision it as a one-off book, or is there a story there?

EV: I never considered a series. Standalones are really my thing, but I do like continuing characters in some books, such as Harry Bosch and Virgil Flowers. (I’m reading John Sandford’s Bad Blood now.)

EBD: Your next novel, The Peeper, doesn’t seem to have publisher information. Who published it?

EV: We published it through Amazon’s Createspace and Kindle. The lengthy wait between finding an agent and getting it published didn’t work in our circumstances.

EBD: Did the book take eight years to write?

EV: Haunting Refrain did, but not The Peeper. It went very fast with the two of us brainstorming and writing.

EBD: How did you meet Jim Christopher, and why did you decide to write with a partner?

EV: He’s a retired SLED officer, and he came to speak to our Sisters in Crime group. He’s a great storyteller. He said he had an idea for a book and would I be interested in collaborating. Absolutely!

EBD: Was it fun to write with a partner? Do you plan to write more books with him or other partners?

EV: Writing with Chris was a terrific experience. I loved every minute of it. He doesn’t sit and wonder what’s next or have doubts, he just forges ahead. He’d say, okay, it’s slowing down here, we need some action. We’d talk over ideas, decide what worked, and what the police would do next. That’s how it went.

EBD: Do you plan to write a sequel to The Peeper?

EV: No, we don’t, but Chris has a book coming out in the next few months, and so do I.

EBD: Both of your books are set in a small South Carolina town. Are the settings based on your own home town?

EV: The Peeper was loosely based on one of Chris’s cases and he had the setting. Haunting Refrain was in Greenville because I knew the area. In both books, some streets and stores or restaurants are fictitious, but we tried to make them fit the actual area. The college in TP isn’t the real one and the name of the town is fictitious, but it’s similar to the one where Chris investigated the murder.

EBD: Every writer approaches solving the mystery in a different way. In each of your books, we learn through the “eyes” of a character, the identity of the killer, so your books aren’t true “who dunnits.” The reader follows the protagonist’s investigation to see how the killer is caught. Is the investigation the most important part of a mystery to you?

EV: I like the suspense and the element of danger more than the puzzle. I want the characters to be emotionally involved in solving it. They need to have a personal stake in the outcome. Kate, in HR, has connected with one of the victims and can’t let it go. Then it gets closer to home and she’s compelled to act.

In TP, Elliott is also personally involved. He’s a lonely young man who’s latched onto the victim, so when he witnesses her murder, it’s very personal for him.

EBD: I understand that you’ve had another manuscript accepted for publication. Can you tell us the title, give us the hook, and tell us when the book will be released? Who is the publisher?

EV: YES! YES! I have. I’m so excited about it. The book is COLD COMFORT, romantic suspense, and Echelon Press will be publishing it this year. I don’t have a release date, but soon I hope.

EBD: Any new WIPs in progress?

EV: Always. I’m working on another romantic suspense, but this one has a touch of paranormal, much as in HR. The heroine is the cousin of Kate in HR. Kate’s gift came through touch, and this time it comes through art.

EBD: What writers’ conferences do you attend? Do you think they are worthwhile?

EV: Conferences are very nice and I enjoy them, but with the Internet opportunities available now, you can get by with fewer personal contacts. The value is in meeting people. Unless you’re a big name or have a hot property, you’re not likely to sell enough books to pay for more than a meal or two. I’ve been to Malice and Cape Fear, and several workshops and book festivals. I also went to one Bouchercon, but it was overwhelming. If I’d had more experience, it would have been better.

Ellis is an award winning author who blogs at The Munpredictable Muse and her website is http://www.ellisvidler.com/. I enjoyed reading Haunting Refrain and The Peeper. Haunting Refrain had an element of paranormal, which I loved. Both books contain an underlying sense of humor that shows the characters’ intelligence and sensibilities. Buy her books at Amazon and be on the lookout for COLD COMFORT.