An Interview with Karen Pullen

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 I first read Karen Pullen’s work last year when I served as a judge in the Derringer Awards. Her writing impressed me. When Cold Feet was released January 2013, I wanted to read it. It’s a traditional mystery with a few cozy elements, yet other parts are anything but cozy. Join undercover drug cop Stella Lavender, Special Agent in the NC State Bureau of Investigation, and her grandma while they hunt for a killer.  E. B. Davis

1. You won a Derringer for your short story, “Brea’s Tale,” last year. What are the differences between writing a short story and a novel?

Roller-coaster vs. theme park; chocolate bar vs. four-course meal; sprint vs. marathon. Short stories require no outline; they usually contain a few scenes, a single plot thread, few characters, short timeframe. (“Brea’s Tale” is an exception, covering six years, even longer if you count her backstory.) 

In a short story, you have to go deep quickly with your character, right from the start.  A novel can start more slowly, wander about  into complex plot threads featuring many characters. A novel takes more patience and “butt-glue;” short stories are easier to revise. Of course writing techniques are no different: original language, credible dialogue, creating images in the reader’s mind. 

2. How did you make contacts to obtain the research you needed?

I needed to talk to real agents of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation but those people don’t write blogs spilling details about their work life.  One day I read a newspaper article about a woman who’d recently retired from the SBI after 30 years.  She was in the Raleigh phone book so I called her up. She was happy to answer my many naïve questions and steer me away from gross stupidity.  Also, wasn’t it Robert Parker who advised crime writers to leave out what you don’t know? I followed that advice. For the rest, Google was my best friend.

3. Could you provide a plot summary of Cold Feet so our readers get the gist of your plot?

Special Agent Stella Lavender has a stressful, adrenaline-fueled job: buying drugs undercover from paranoid drug dealers. So one afternoon she’s grateful to be relaxing at an elegant outdoor wedding. But as the guests wait, then grow restive, the satin-clad bride is dying most horribly. Who would kill a bride—an “angel” according to the groom—just minutes before her nuptials? Joining the investigation, Stella discovers the bride’s surprising history, a complex knot of secrets and flawed relationships she must untangle before the murderer claims another victim.

4. Your novel is balanced between being character and plot driven. How did you decide on the structure of your novel?

The best thing about the mystery genre is that the author can hang almost anything on its framework. I wrote the kind of book that I like to read: fiction with strong women characters who encounter and work through challenges. I’m glad you say “balanced,” because I aimed for that.

5. Career-wise, your main character, Stella Lavender, is wedged between a career path that her boss has plotted for her and what she would prefer—a common problem for many people. She also has to work with her ex, which she uses to her advantage when she can, but is still a sticky situation. Some writers chose unique problems for their characters, but yours are more common. Was there a reason?

Stella’s problems – job dissatisfaction and failed romance – are common but another word is universal. Nearly every reader will identify with one or the other.

6. The murder is set at a Bed & Breakfast. What is your experience with this industry?

I own a bed & breakfast! Rosemary House in the small historic town of Pittsboro NC, south of Chapel Hill.  Occasionally I've been inspired (not in a good way) by the rare painful guest. Innkeepers will know what I mean. Nice people don’t make good fiction; conflict does.

There are two fictional B&Bs in Cold Feet; an upscale faux Scottish castle and a peeling-paint Victorian. Since I know how B&Bs operate, it was easy to create scenes in them, and to understand one innkeeper’s anguish when someone begins to sabotage his business.

7. Although Stella has common problems, she also has unique problems: an inquisitive grandma and a mother who disappeared during Stella’s childhood. Will you pursue these problems in future books?

Yes, definitely. Stella’s grandmother Fern will be in all the Stella books; people tell me she is their favorite character. The mystery of Stella’s abducted mother will be solved.

8. Cold Feet’s title traditionally means someone is having second thoughts about a decision, like marriage. Many of your characters are dubious about the institution.

The topic of marriage is fascinating in a novel – so much potential for conflict! Not only interpersonal conflict, but financial, cultural, legal. And weddings provide a perfect situation for a murder mystery.  Lots of potential suspects because family, friends, and perhaps enemies are gathered in one place for a day or more.  Feelings are heightened by memories, old secrets, newer struggles, and possibly unhappiness with this particular couple’s marriage. All the ingredients for a colorful emotional stew.

9. What was the biggest obstacle you faced when writing Cold Feet?

Finishing the first draft.  It was, at times, a real slog. I don’t write fast; my internal editor is always perched on one shoulder.  After the first draft, it was easier.  I knew where I needed to add, rewrite, and cut.

10. What was the process you used to obtain a contract with Five Star Cengage? Do you have a literary agent?

It’s not a business for the impatient.

I had an agent in 2008-2009 but she  gave up when none of the Big Six? Or is it Five now? nibbled.  So I identified publishers who would look at un-agented work, and started submitting myself.  Five Star was on my radar – so many mystery writers have gotten a start with them – but they wanted an exclusive, so I collected more rejections.  Then, when I sent it to Five Star it was too late; they’d filled their slots for 2011. The editor recommended that I re-send it in the fall, when they’d be acquiring again; I did, and they took it, for publication in January 2013.  Over four years, from novel completion to publication.

11. Do you have any advice for unpublished writers?

I kind of like Dorothy Parker’s advice: “If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy.”   

Seriously – read widely, take classes, join a critique group, write daily, enter contests, submit. Your writing will improve, you’ll get new ideas, you’ll take risks, you’ll get published. Persistence is key since giving up guarantees failure.

Bonus: Beach or Mountains?  

Beach. 

Karen Pullen left a perfectly good job at an engineering consulting firm to make her fortune - (er, maybe not) - as an innkeeper and a fiction writer. Her B&B has been open for 12 years, and her fiction is finally ready for prime time. She's published short stories in Every Day Fiction, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and Spinetingler. Her first novel, a mystery called Cold Feet, was released by Five Star in January 2013. She lives in Pittsboro NC with her husband, father, and four spoiled cats. Her website is www.karenpullen.com.