An Interview With Lida Sideris

by Grace Topping

This past year has been an exciting one for Lida Sideris. She released a third book in her Southern California Mystery series, Murder Double or Nothing, and published a children’s book, The Cookie Eating Fire Dog. It’s a pleasure to welcome Lida back to WWK to tell us about her latest books.

Murder Double or Nothing

Corrie Locke, newbie lawyer, and daughter of a late, great PI, is learning the ropes at the Hollywood movie studio where she works—and where things are never what they seem. Life imitates art when a fictional murder attempt turns real—right before her very eyes. With more than a little help from friends and a crazy movie legend, Corrie trips down a trail littered with wisecracks, mysterious messages, and marginally legal maneuvers to track down the killer. Meanwhile, clues keep disappearing and Corrie makes an enemy whose deadly tactics keep escalating. Will her impromptu sleuthing skills be enough to catch the mysterious assailant before he takes her down?

Welcome to Writers Who Kill, Lida. 

Thank you so much for hosting me.

This has been a busy year for you with two books published. How does it feel to have launched a children’s book and the third book in your Southern California Mystery series?

Lida Sideris

Wonderful! It’s been action-packed. I really enjoy having a wider audience to connect with. The children are lovely and such rapt listeners, and the mystery fans are fantastic as well. I usually throw in a plug for each book, no matter what the event.

What’s it been like promoting books with two completely different audiences?

Having books in different genres and age groups is kind of like juggling balls, knives, and crayons at the same time. What’s most interesting is that people seem to get excited when they learn that you’ve written different genres. That was an unexpected, pleasant surprise.

Corrie Locke has had a number of adventures over the course of your series. How has she grown or changed since you first created her?

She’s more aware of her flaws and trying to curb her tendency to lie, break laws, and fall for the wrong guy. Case-cracking has become her priority. She's become more confident at taking down the bad guys/girls, which means she’s taking more risks. She's also maturing, I hope. As her sidekick, Veera says to her, "You're growing up right before my eyes."

Murder Double or Nothing is set on a major movie lot. How did you make the setting sound so authentic?

I once worked at a suspiciously similar movie studio and, rather than visit the revamped version, which is now Sony Studios, I relied on my memory. Corrie's office is in the Producers' Building, where my own office was located. I used to visit the studio commissary, backlot, and sound stages, just like Corrie. Only my visits were without incident. It's all from memory, and then some. That’s the fun of writing fiction.

Your series has a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. Did you set out to write a humorous mystery?

I sure did. I really appreciate books that at least make me smile - they're my favorites. Like your book, Staging is Murder. I want readers to have fun, and humor helps take the edge off potentially dangerous situations. I don’t want anyone to feel down after reading my books. Happy endings are a must. 

The mystery of Corrie Locke’s father’s death haunts her. Why won’t she, like her mother, accept that he is dead?

Corrie is suffering from a bit of guilt because she wasn’t able to solve his murder. If he were alive, that would explain the lack of viable clues, and her inability to figure out who killed him. It’s the only case she’s not been able to crack.

Lacy Halloway, an old-time actress, works at the studio as the voice of a moth in an animated series. How is it that she wields such power on the lot and is able to coerce Corrie into trying to solve the murder of a young actor?

Think Shirley Maclaine or Jane Fonda or any other Oscar-winning actresses in that age group. They've still got some power or at least they can make people think that they do. Corrie may not be intimidated by criminals, cops, or weapons, but she is intimidated by studio brass and big wigs.  

Corrie seems to have conflicting feelings about the two men in her life—friends Michael Parris and James Zachary. Although they’ve called a truce, what accounts for the mutual dislike (or secret attraction) Corrie and James have for each other?

Corrie and James have a lot in common: both are lawyers, fearless, and find it thrilling to get bad guys/girls off the street. And both are besties with Michael, which makes the somewhat secret attraction less than optimal. Since Corrie is trying to curb her former weaknesses, she’s going for the one she believes is the better man for her. 

Veera Bankhead, Corrie’s friend and assistant, seems to have her back. Veera is an interesting character. Please tell us a bit about Veera.

Veera is good-natured, steady, and ready to lend a hand, all qualities Corrie needs. Veera also harbors a not so secret ambition for the two of them to open their own PI agency. In Book #1, Murder & Other Unnatural Disasters, Corrie wanted nothing to do with Veera when they first met, but Veera's convinced they'll be good friends. Turned out, she was right. Corrie's come to appreciate Veera and count her as a good friend.

In the midst of writing your mystery series, you wrote a children’s picture book, The Cookie Eating Fire Dog. Where did the idea for this book come?

Twenty years ago, my four-year-old had a toy Dalmatian named Dan. Dan had all sorts of troubles. He was either in the hospital, digging up the neighbor's yard or involved in some other mischief, according to my son. One day my son told me that Dan wouldn't help the firefighters. He said all Dan wanted to do was eat cookies. The Cookie Eating Fire Dog was born. Interest was almost immediate from a big publisher, but that waned. I put the book aside until recently, and that's when I finally found a publisher.

What’s next for Corrie?

In Book Four, Slightly Murderous Intent, Corrie's at a dinner with Michael, James and a few others at a Santa Monica restaurant to celebrate James’ big win in court. As Corrie’s hunting down the manager to lodge a complaint, a man walks in, fires a gun, and takes off, with Corrie at his heels. She ultimately loses him and returns to the restaurant only to discover the shooter was aiming for someone at her table. Who was the target and why?

Thank you, Lida.

To learn more about Lida Sideris and her books, visit https://www.lidasideris.com or follow her on Facebook.

An Interview With Lida Sideris

by Grace Topping

A few years ago, Lida Sideris introduced her character, Corrie Locke, to readers in her book Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters, the first in her Southern California Mystery Series. In April, the second book in the series, Murder Gone Missing, came out, and not a day too soon for readers who have been anxious to read more about Corrie and her madcap adventures. 

I met Lida online when I interviewed her about her debut mystery, and I liked her a lot. Imagine my pleasure in getting to meet her in person at the recent Malice Domestic conference and discovering that she is just as sweet in person as she is online. It was a pleasure interviewing her again, this time about Murder Gone Missing.

Welcome back, Lida, to Writers Who Kill.    

Jacket Text for Murder Gone Missing

Book 2: Southern California Mystery Series

A girl, a guy, and a missing body. What could go wrong?

Newly minted lawyer Corrie Locke has taken a vow of abstinence. From PI work, that is. Until her best friend Michael finds his bully of a boss stabbed in the back after confronting him earlier that day. Michael panics, accidentally tampering with the crime scene…which could lead the cops to Michael instead of the real culprit. He turns to Corrie to track down the killer. She doesn’t need much coaxing. Her late great PI dad taught her the ropes…and left her his cache of illegal weaponry.

They return to the scene of the crime, but the body’s gone missing. Racing against time, Corrie dredges a prestigious Los Angeles college in pursuit of clues. All she finds are false leads.  Armed with attitude and romantic feelings toward Michael, Corrie dives into a school of suspects to find the slippery fugitive. Will she clear Michael’s name before he’s arrested for murder?                                                          www.lidasideris.com

Congratulations on the publication of Murder Gone Missing.

Thank you very much, Grace. 

After you published Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters, did you find it easier or harder to write the second book in your series? 

Lida Sideris

I’d love to say it was easier, but it wasn’t. There was a lot of hand wringing and foot dragging. I got stuck on what backstory to include, how to work the regular characters in and so forth. So I studied the #2 series books of more seasoned authors, took notes, and carried on.

It was a pleasure catching up with Corrie Locke, Michael, James, and the other characters you created in Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters. Once you’ve given your characters personality and traits that your readers become familiar with, do you feel constrained to keep them the same or comfortable allowing them to evolve?

A little of both. I enjoy placing my characters in uncomfortable situations and watching how they grow, interact and react, but there’s also bit of comfort in knowing their capabilities and weaknesses. For instance, Corrie doesn’t do well around bodies of water…big or small, and she proves it again in Murder Gone Missing.

As an attorney in the entertainment industry and surrounded by some zany people, you had lots to draw on for your writing, especially adding lots of humor. Do you find the job you have and the people you work with influence the book you are writing?

Definitely. I listen and take notes all the time. Recently, my first short story (“The Nut Job”) was published in Snowbound: Best New England Crime Stories. I’d met the inspiration for one of the characters during my day job. An elderly gentleman with big, black, space invader style sunglasses, hobbled in with a cane and a crew cut needing legal help. While we chatted, I was thinking he could be ex-CIA, now retired, and butting in where he shouldn’t. Little did he know… 

Corrie is a licensed attorney, yet she isn’t adverse to possessing some, ahem, illegal weaponry or gaining entry into places without a key. What accounts for this bit of rebellious streak on her part?

Blame it on the PI gene she inherited from her late, great private investigator dad. Half of Corrie longs for a tamer, fairly normal life, okay, maybe a quarter of her is doing the longing, but she is, at heart, a thrill seeker. She thrives on catching bad guys, and she’s good at it. So far it’s been fun; she’s not been caught law-breaking. She’ll probably keep on pushing the boundaries, until she’s busted, which is bound to happen sooner or later.

In her bag of weapons, Corrie carries a six-pointed shuriken. What is a shuriken? Is it legal to possess one, and could you use one if the situation warranted it? 

It’s a Japanese, or ninja, throwing star, traditionally used to distract or misdirect an opponent. But before you run out and buy your own, Grace, I’d check with local law enforcement to determine if it’s legal in your state. It’s illegal in most states, including California, where I (and Corrie) live. So it’s not likely I could use one. That’s my story and I'm sticking to it.

Pacing is so important to a good book. You start Murder Gone Missing with a real bang and keep the pace moving throughout. No soggy middle in this book. What is the greatest challenge to keeping the pace moving?

Thank you so much for that. I work hard to eliminate sogginess. I like chapters crisp. I try to conjure up as many action scenes as I can, which can be a challenge. 

Writers are becoming aware of the importance of having diversity in their books. You started your series featuring diverse characters. Was that a given in that your series is set in southern California, or were you were aware of the importance earlier than some writers?

Yes, exactly, it was a given, thanks to my being a So Cal native. Diversity is what I’ve always known. I’ve been fortunate to be exposed to many cultures and a very diverse group of individuals, so it’s really writing what I know.

Veera, Corrie’s African-American friend and assistant (or should we say “accomplice”) is a fun character. When writing about characters of various backgrounds and ethnic groups, how do you protect against using stereotypes to describe them?

Friend and accomplice is more like it! Veera is smart, logical, loyal, and a hard-worker. She can also be quite creative and confidant. I think in terms of individual character traits, so that should steer me away from stereotyping.  

When reading your books and the situations you put Corrie in, I find myself shouting at her, “Don’t go there!” Corrie is one gutsy woman. Are you as brave or foolhardy, or is she your alter ego? 

Me too, Grace. I am so not brave or foolhardy. I’m the cautious, law abider. I wanted to create a heroine that is my polar opposite (except we both have a soft spot for a nice wardrobe and desserts). I’m hoping some of Corrie’s courage, though not necessarily her foolhardiness, may rub off on me! 

Corrie can’t remember a single hug or normal father-daughter time with her father, but his mysterious disappearance haunts her. Please explain their unusual relationship. 

Corrie thinks of what wasn’t (normal father-daughter relationship) and what might have unfolded if her dad had still been around. Perhaps they might have become close one day. Maybe he would have put his seal of approval on her solo PI work, unlike her mother. Also, a big reason why it haunts her is because it’s an unsolved crime, a mystery that eludes her.

In the series, Corrie deals with her inability to forgive James for his treatment of her when they were younger, which complicates their relationship. Why is that, especially when she admits that she can barely remember why? 

Some of us, especially the very stubborn among us, might hold onto a grudge out of habit, or because it’s easier than admitting the truth. In this case, the truth might be something Corrie doesn’t want to face. So even though she’s fearless when it comes to crime scenes and bad guys, she’s not so fearless when it comes to personal relationships.

With promotion now being primarily on the writer, what promotional activities do you enjoy the most, or least?

I really enjoy meeting readers, and inspiring other writers (or wannabe writers). I love visiting bookstores and libraries (book people are the absolute best)! I’m happy to admit I’ve not come across a promo activity that I’ve not enjoyed. I’m so grateful to have a novel or two to promote that I can’t help but enjoy it all.

Now that you officially have a series with book two out, what things have you learned that you wish you had known when you started out? 

Spend more time writing, and less time worrying about whether it’s any good. 

When you have time to read, what authors do you enjoy the most? 

Oh, Grace, there are so many authors I enjoy. Everyone from Donna Andrews to Tina Whittle. I also like reading the Stephanie Plum and the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. 

What’s next for Corrie Locke? I hope we’ll be seeing more of her. 

In book three, Corrie’s working at the movie studio when life imitates art and a fictional murder mystery turns real. 

Thank you, Lida. I look forward to book three.

To learn more about Lida and her books, visit her at www.lidasideris.com

Look for her books at your favorite independent bookstore or from the following:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBook, or through links on her web page.

Interview with Lida Sideris

by Grace Topping

Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters

Watch out Southern California! There’s a new entertainment attorney in town and she’s got game. Only problem is, it’s not the one she should be playing. Corrie Locke belongs behind a desk, not behind a Glock. She should be taking VIP calls, not nosing around a questionable suicide. Instead, she’s hot on the trail of a murderer.

Luckily, she’s the daughter of a late, great private eye, and she’s inherited his love of sleuthing…and illegal weaponry. It doesn’t help matters that her gene for caution is a recessive one. Corrie finds herself in the center of a murder case, unearthing suspects in shocking places. With a cold-blooded killer on the loose, Corrie will have to up her game, or die trying.

http://www.lidasideris.com

Seeing an author launch her first book is so exciting. Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters is the first book by Lida Sideris, and it’s evident from this well-crafted mystery that she devoted the same level of hard work to her writing as she does to her day job as a lawyer. Lida was one of two national winners of the 2014 Helen McCloy/Mystery Writers of America (MWA) Scholarship for Mystery Writing. Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters may be her first mystery, but it definitely won’t be her last.

It is a pleasure to welcome Lida to Writers Who Kill.        
                                                                                                                                                 Grace Topping

“Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters” is a fast-paced book inhabited by quirky characters and packed with humor. When the doorbell rings, according to your main character, Corrie Locke, “This better be about life, death, or lottery winnings.” Humor is a hard thing to pull off, but you did it beautifully. Did you start out to write a humorous murder mystery, or did humor creep into your writing? What’s your secret to getting a good balance of humor and drama in your writing?

Lida Sideris

Thank you kindly, Grace. Yes, from the start, I intended to write a very light mystery, so light that it could float if not grasped firmly with both hands. My hope is that my readers feel a lift after finishing the book. I don’t know of any secret to balancing humor and drama, other than to write, rewrite, rewrite and rewrite…about 120 times. 

You work as an entertainment attorney, the same field as your main character. What has been the hardest thing writing about the field you work in? Have your co-workers accused you of writing about them?

I worked (past tense) as an entertainment lawyer, but now I run a legal non-profit. The challenge was in determining what aspects of the industry to include that would propel the story forward, but mostly, I found writing about the field I worked in fun and not hard at all.  Co-workers did ask if they appeared in the book, but truly, I can’t write about people I know. It’s too close to home. I enjoy collecting impressions of people and situations that brush past me; I flesh those out and incorporate them in my writing. For instance, the star athlete in my book was invented after I happened to have a short, chance encounter, on a golf course, with a basketball legend. We exchanged all of two sentences, but he left me feeling that he was a good, kindly soul… and a possible cat lover. Hence, a subplot was born.

Corrie is an attorney, but she wants to be a private investigator like her father, who she shadowed on many of his cases. She misses the “mad rush of catching bad guys doing bad things to good people.” Are we going to learn more about the adventures she had with her father who mysteriously disappeared?

Somewhere along the way, clues will be thrown onto Corrie’s path about her dad’s disappearance.  As she learns more, so will readers.

How did the experiences she gained at a young age working with her father prepare her for her current job and the bizarre people she meets in the entertainment world?

Corrie suffers from a lack of confidence in her new job since she’s a newly minted lawyer in a cannibalistic industry, with zero experience, but her tough side won’t let her fold. At least not without a bit of a fight. She honed the toughness when she shadowed her dad. She’s comfortable in the P.I. world, whether she’s willing to admit it or not. She knows her way around weapons, legal and otherwise, crime scene investigations, and shifty characters. She’s also adept at inventing plausible lies, as needed.

In a subplot, a star athlete wants Corrie to find his Siamese cat who brings him luck, and a hip hop artist, who believes he’s been kidnapped and returned by aliens, wants her to investigate what’s happening to him. Is the field you work in as crazy as depicted in your book?

It’s crazier.

Veera Bankhead is my favorite character—a hip, sassy security guard who is attending a questionable law school at night. What inspired Veera? Will we be seeing more of her in your next book?

Veera was inspired by Queen Latifah, who seems to me to be the perfect best pal. She appears fun, reliable, street-smart, has a stellar attitude with a ready smile, and is not afraid to take risks. And yes, Veera will be back.

In high school Corrie practiced target shooting using a silencer and participated in knife-throwing contests with her dad. As a result, she is skilled in defending herself by various means, including using a Japanese shuriken. She’s quite a woman. Do you possess any of these skills? How much, if anything, are you like Corrie?

I wish I possessed a few of Corrie’s self-defense skills. The closest thing I have to a weapon is my crystal nail file. And I’m pretty sure that’s legal in California. J As far as similarities between Corrie and me, we both have the swimming skills of a snail.

Corrie is playing it cool, but there are two possible love interests for her—her long-time friend, Michael, who drives like an old lady, and James Zachary, an assistant district attorney. She’s confused about her feelings for Michael and her budding attraction to James, who easily makes her angry. Do you have a favorite between them?

Like Corrie, I go back and forth. Should she stick to the attractive, intelligent, safe, warm blanket type with the sweet cooking skills (can any woman resist a man who knows his way around the kitchen)? Or should she go for the absurdly handsome, slightly dangerous, unpredictable, bullfighter type who also happens to be a lawyer? We should all have such decisions to make.

Corrie’s mother blames her husband’s addiction to Bogart films and Perry Mason for his interest in becoming a private investigator. This from a woman who hid a webcam in her room to watch who gets into her clothes closet. What prompted your interest in writing a mystery about a PI wannabe? Will we be seeing more of Corrie’s mom?

In high school, I cracked two small time cases – one involved tracking down a missing pet turtle, and the other involved uncloaking an obscene phone caller (without benefit of caller ID). I really enjoyed solving both, but the only PI path I wanted to pursue was on the page. And yes, Corrie’s mom will be back to make more trouble for her daughter…while trying to keep her in line, of course.

Your book would make an excellent movie. If it were produced, who would you like to see play some of your characters?

Thank you so much, Grace! In Southern California, encounters with celebrities are almost inevitable. I happened to meet Sarah Shahi (of the TV series, Person of Interest) who I think would be the perfect Corrie. Attractive, strong, yet feminine.  And I’ve also met Zachary Levi - the perfect Michael (the safer, kinder, love interest).  You already know about Queen Latifah.

What’s next for Corrie Locke and the characters that exist in her world?

Michael will be accidentally implicated in a homicide. It’ll be up to Corrie to save him.

Thank you, Lida, for joining us at Writers Who Kill.

To learn more about Lida, visit her web site: http://www.lidasideris.com.