Sasscer Hill's Announcement

 Sasscer Hill’s first novel, Full Mortality, garnered an Agatha nomination. After writing the third book in the horse racing series featuring Nikki Latrelle, Sasscer came to a decision, one I’m not sure I like. But I know whatever decision Sasscer makes good writing will result. Please welcome Sasscer Hill back to WWK.  E. B. Davis

1. Did you know before writing The Sea Horse Trade that you were abandoning the series?

No. I only knew that a number of publishers had indicated a horse racing series about a jockey was limited. In fact every publisher that rejected the series said the writing was excellent, but the subject’s audience  felt too “small.”

2. Was it hard to leave your characters suspended?

No. Every time you finish a novel, you leave the characters suspended. Even if everyone in your story dies, there is always the cousin, or unknown sister, or lost lover (the list is endless) that can show up and plant seeds for a sequel. 

3. Full Mortality, the first in the Nikki Latrelle series, was nominated for the Agatha and Macavity Best First Mystery Awards. Why do you think the Nikki Latrelle series has limited appeal?

I never thought it had limited appeal. But too many people think it is only about horse racing and horses. If they are not interested in horses or racing they will not pick up the book, which is why I encouraged my publisher to use a different cover for The Sea Horse Trade. The new cover appears to be selling more copies as it reeks of intrigue and danger.

4. How does your publisher feel about your decision?

My publisher, John Betancourt of Wildside Press, thinks it’s a good idea. John is a thoroughly decent human being and has told me he will not hold it against me if I find a new publisher because he wants me “to succeed.” When I read his website in 2010 it indicated that writers who wanted to publish more than 5,000 copies a year need not apply. He couldn’t have been more up front that there was no marketing budget and that Wildside Press is a “small” (there’s that word again) press.

This new series was my agent’s idea. She, and everyone in the business that I have spoken to, say if I want to get a bigger publisher, I have to write a new series. Everyone insists that no publisher will take on an existing series unless it is selling like Fifty Shades of Gray. 

When my agent shopped my second novel, Racing from Death,  an extremely “big”editor for a very large house read it and immediately asked for the already-published Full Mortality. This editor “loved” both books and I quote the email: “The author's voice is smart and rich and true and the setting is gloriously rendered. It's really, really, really good--but it's not "BREAKOUT!" Gosh, it breaks my heart to pass on this--I'd love to see future work from Ms. Hill: she's a gem of a writer.”

After reading the above, I threw myself off my desk, which I do periodically. This business is just that tough.

5. The new series main character, Fia McKee, serves as an agent of the Thoroughbred Racing Protection Bureau (TRPB), which I assume is a real agency. What jurisdiction does TRPB have in geography and enforcement?

Yes, the TRPB is a real agency. They have jurisdiction over all US Thoroughbred racing and their services are used often in Canada and Europe. Their mission is to protect the integrity of horse racing. TRPB agents do not carry guns and a lot of their work is investigatory. I have seen their  huge computer server in the home office in Maryland, and I have spoken at length with both the president and vice president of the agency.

Fia McKee is a hotheaded Baltimore City cop who is on suspension when the TRPB approaches her and tells her maybe a job where she can’t carry a gun anymore would be a good thing.

Susan Duffy, Sasscer Hill, Susan Boyer and Hope Clark at the South Carolina Book Festival. Picture taken from "The State" Columbia, S. C. newspaper

6. What elements will the TRPB series have that will spur wider appeal?

The cool thing about the TRPB is their cutting-edge technology. For example if Fia is working at New York’s Belmont racetrack and she suspects a betting scam, the home office computers can “see” if there’s a pattern. Has there been a sudden surge in long-shots winning big for certain jockeys or trainers? If a jockey’s name comes up more than once, she can get a background check in minutes.

But even more fun is that the TRPB uses undercover agents, and Fia is really good at undercover work. She can pose as any of a huge number of racetrack personnel – an exercise rider, a groom, or pari mutuel clerk. And she could travel to England, France, Canada and even Australia or Dubai.

Fia keeps her white blond hair extremely short so no perp can grab it, and of course, it works well for the wigs that are her specialty. And yes, she is still a bit of a hothead about accomplishing the TRPB’s mission of protecting the integrity of horse racing, as well as the well being of  the horses, jockeys, and backstretch help.

7. Have you finished the first book of the series? If so, can you give us the book jacket copy?

Sorry, the novel is still in progress.

8.  Will you stay with your current publisher or query agents, which may result in a contract with a larger publisher?

If my agent likes it, then she will query editors. And yes, I am keenly aware that the whole thing is a huge gamble. But as a former breeder, owner, and rider of race horses, I am a gambler at heart.

9. Have you considered self-publishing?

Who hasn’t? I have self-published two short stories and I have a novel in a drawer that needs a lot of work before it can be self published. Fool that I am, I am afraid to only self-publish everything. That could change.

No doubt--Rosco adores Sasscer!

 

10. You recently left your ancestral home in Maryland for the sunny south and a new home. Is the new series a corollary?

No, I had wanted to leave my huge, ancient home for a long time and live a simpler, less expensive life. I wanted to get away from the exorbitant taxes and cost of living of the DC area.

11. We’ll miss you at the Chesapeake Chapter of SinC. Is there a local SinC group near your new hometown?

Sadly the closest SinC group is two-and-one-half hours away. But I have found a good fiction-writing group right here in Aiken and hope to form a mystery-writing group over the next year. And thank goodness, there is always Malice Domestic and the chance to come north to see people I both  adore and admire!

Beach or Mountains?

Beach!

Thanks for answering my questions, Sasscer. Telling the truth takes courage, and I'm sure you deliberated over your decision. We'll look forward to your next series and wish you the best of everything. 

All of Sasscer’s books are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and from her publisher, Wildside Press in Trade paper or ebook.