Lemondrop

You'd think that with a last name like Slaughter, Karin would have known she'd become a New York Times–bestselling author of thrillers, the latest of which launched today.

Instead, she says, the first book she wrote was more of a modern-day "Gone With the Wind." That didn't get so much as a nibble. And finding her way to writing more sinister stories unfolded slowly -- much like one of her plots.

So, what's it really like to write blood-curdling page-turners? Well, she does pen them in a sequestered cabin deep in the woods of northern Georgia; she also counts Stephen King as an acquaintance. But the thing about mystery writers, she says, is that they're all so amazingly nice.

We sat down to grill Slaughter on how a nice girl comes up with such gruesome ideas.

Lemondrop: "Her last name is not a pseudonym," reported The Wall Street Journal. Do you think having a last name like "Slaughter" helped your career in any way?
Slaughter: Having grown up with the name, it never occurred to me that it was any big deal. Then, I was touring in England, and I was riding up on the escalator and saw this huge poster that said "SLAUGHTER." I thought, Hm, that's scary, and then saw the "Karin" in front of it. So, in some ways maybe all that teasing I endured as a child has finally paid off.

In other ways, I think folks might see "SLAUGHTER" on the cover of a book and think it might be too violent for them, or could be horror, which is the last thing I'd want. I tell gritty, realistic stories, but my job isn't to scare the bejeezus out of folks. I'm there to introduce interesting characters who are living difficult lives, and hopefully make the reader root for them to have a good outcome.

OK, if not that, what led you down the primrose path to crime writing? We hear your grandmother may have been an accomplice.
I grew up during the time of the Atlanta Child Murders, so I was very conscious of crime at a young age. It really informed most of my teenage years, because knowing about the murders got me interested in reading true crime like "The Stranger Beside Me" and "Helter Skelter." Good crime stories always have compelling characters at the center, and I have to thank my grandmother for making me interested in what other people get up to. She used to take me to church every Sunday, and after the service, she'd introduce me to Mrs. So-and-so, then as soon as the woman turned her back, she'd whisper, "You know she's a drinker," or "Her husband left her for his secretary's son." There was always something scandalous brewing, but that's a very southern thing. We like to know everybody's business, but we don't want anyone to know any of ours.

You first novel you said, was a "modern Gone With the Wind." How did you figure out that mysteries, in particular, were what you were good at?
Well -- I must've not been too good [at writing that first one] because no one wanted to publish it! My agent shopped it out, and I got the nicest rejection letters. Basically, they said that my writing was good, but the story wasn't working. After railing against them for several hours as New York boobies, I started thinking about the specifics they'd outlined and gradually came to understand they had a point. I never even thought about writing a mystery, because I didn't think I had the capacity to keep all those balls juggled in the air. After a conversation with my agent, where she said, "try" it, and if it's crap throw it away, or if it's good, send it to me, I jumped in with both feet and wrote "Blindsighted," my first published novel. It was probably one of the most exhilarating things I've done as a writer. I was on fire with telling the story, and as soon as I finished and sent it to my agent, I started working on "Kisscut," the next book in the series.

Does your profession ever scare off potential dates?
It's funny, because I hear about authors getting propositioned all the time, but no one has ever propositioned me. I think mostly because my events are later at night and my readers tend to be like me, which is wanting to be in my pajamas in front of the television by nine o'clock. Maybe I should start making up some wild, debauched stories about myself and posting them on my Facebook page. Considering my last contest involved folks taking pictures of their pets reading my books, it might help mix things up!

You watch Oprah and studied Renaissance poetry. Have either of these informed your trade, or is crime writing just a day job?
I love watching Oprah because people think having a camera in front of your face means that you're supposed to talk. Now, we all know Oprah is not into shock interviewing, but I nearly fell out of my chair when she said to that woman who had her face eaten off by a chimp and was on a liquid diet because she didn't have a jaw left to chew, "Liquid diet! I bet you've lost some weight!" (Or something to that effect ...)

I've always loved Renaissance poetry because the language is so flowery and coded. Writing was very dangerous during the time of Henry VIII, and though Elizabeth took a milder stance, she had her peccadilloes...

Your own plot lines aren't for the faint of heart. How do you come up with your ideas? Is anything you write about autobiographical?
Goodness, I'd probably be hiding under the bed if any of these things happened to me! I think I'm not reinventing the wheel with the various crimes in my books. Let's face it -- there aren't a lot of new ways to kill someone. Further, I'd be hard pressed to name an enduring work of literature that doesn't have some kind of crime in it -- "Hamlet," all of Dickens, "The Great Gatsby," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "The Lovely Bones," "Like Water for Elephants." They all have crimes that grab the reader by the collar and pull them into the story. In my books, what I concentrate on most is my characters and how they respond to the crime. How does it change them? How does it make them stronger or -- sometimes -- weaker? As for scaring myself, fear comes from the unknown. When I'm writing a story, I always know what's around the corner or what is going to happen next.

In fact, you said, "Most crime writers are teddy bears." How so? Isn't all that darkness lurking somewhere? Stephen King doesn't strike us as Mr. Congeniality.
Oh, but he's lovely! I've met him twice, and he's just this big goofy guy who likes talking about books and movies. Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben, Lee Child, Kathy Reichs, Lisa Gardner -- these folks are just some of the nicest people walking the face of the earth. I think the fact that they are nice in their everyday lives means they can be mean on the page. There could be some darkness lurking inside, but it's cathartic to tell these sorts of stories in the way that it's cathartic to see a bad accident on the highway from the safety of your car. I mean, it's horrible, and it's life-altering, but you're safely seat-belted inside.

Yeah, but how do such nice people come up with such gory plot lines?
I don't know that any twist of mine has necessarily come from research, but I was at the state morgue once and saw a victim who had literally had his head shot off. You can never write the phrase "blew his head off" once you've seen that that can happen -- well, you can't write it unless you really mean it.

One of the things my research has made me aware of is that there is a lot of erroneous information out there that's accepted as scientific fact. So, sometimes, I'll start a sentence with, "despite what you see on TV ..." My friend Kathy Reichs, who actually lives the life of a forensic anthropologist, likes to joke that no crime lab in the world can afford all the fancy equipment that they've got in crime labs on TV. So, when you're writing a crime novel that has a more realistic angle, it's good to acknowledge what happens in TV life as opposed to what happens in real life. This is why I don't rely on a lot of technology in my stories.

It's much more exciting to find a pool of blood near a crime scene and deduce who the murderer is from basic forensic details rather than have my agents sit around for three or four weeks waiting for the DNA profile to come back.

A Lemondrop staple question: What's your no-fail trick for curing writer's block?
Well, if I am truly hitting a brick wall, then I piddle around and do chores or jump on the treadmill or go for a walk. If it's just me being lazy (which is often the case!) I set the timer on the kitchen stove for thirty minutes, then tell myself I'm going to write until the buzzer goes off no matter how slow or painful the going. I started doing this in college when I had a paper due, and it never fails to get me working. I've never NOT kept writing after the buzzer goes off. And it's nice to use that stove for something.

How can a reader differentiate between a good and a bad crime novel? Is it possible in the first 50 pages?
That's such a subjective question, because it's not just the books, it's what the reader brings to the books. If you're scared of spiders and a story opens with a bunch of spiders, you might think that's the scariest thing on earth. If you're not, you might think it's the best opening ever. And like all fiction, there are so many different sub-categories of crime fiction. Mary Higgins Clark is not writing like Mo Hayder, but then again Mo Hayder isn't writing like Tess Gerritsen.

That's the great thing about walking into a bookstore and looking for a good read -- you just browse around until you find something that works for you. As a reader, I always give a book the first chapter, but everyone is different.There are some books that I loved that other people might think are awful, and the other way around. There are some writers like Maeve Binchy or Janet Evanovich, where I am reading them and thinking, It's the same story they told last time, and yet I can't stop reading because it's so fun! There are some hallmarks to what I personally think of as the best of the best, though. Denise Mina, for instance, is one of the master practitioners of the craft. She writes gripping stories about complicated characters. The kind of crime fiction I am passionate about isn't about black and white, but exploring those murky grays.

How do you differentiate yourself within the crime-writing niche?
I like to think I'm a better dresser, but anyone who's met me knows that's not true.

People always want to compare writers -- who is this person like? I think that's a useful tool, because if you enjoy Michael Connelly or Tess Gerritsen, then you'll probably enjoy my stuff. If you like knitting mysteries or Sneaky Pie Brown, then you might not like my stuff because it's a bit darker. My focus is always on story and character. There are some light moments in my books, and I talk a lot about families and how communities respond to crime, so I always say if you are open to a good story, then you should enjoy my books.

How long does it take you to write a book?
Usually from concept to completion takes a year-and-a-half to two years, which is good because my publishers want one book a year! Generally, I have the idea for the next book as I'm working on the current one, which helps because I can plant some stuff that careful readers will notice later on. If you read my books back-to-back in a week, which some crazy folks have, you'll see a lot of layering in there that is hard to spot if you just read one a year. I try to reward long-time readers while making sure that the person who has never read one of my books can pick any one of them up and enjoy the story.

What's the best advice you have for anyone who wants to write one?
READ. It sounds like a simple thing, but it's the most important training you can give your mind. Even if you read a bad book, you are learning what NOT to do. I am shocked on those rare occasions I meet writers who say they don't have time to read. It's like a doctor or a lawyer saying they don't have time to read journals or case law. You will never grow as a writer if you do not read. And, on a personal level, I just have to say that you can always spot the writers who aren't reading because their stories just aren't that interesting.

Do you like horror movies?
They scare me to death. The last one I watched was "The Blair Witch Project," which I found incredibly stupid and annoying until the last two minutes, which freaked me the heck out.

What do you read for fun?
Anything and everything. The best part about my upcoming tour -- other than meeting my readers! -- is that I have all this time in airport and hotels when I can just lay around and read all the books I've been saving up for my trips. I've got the new Jane Smiley, Joanne Harris, Kate White, the Lee Child that will be out at the end of this year and a couple of short story collections. I figure that should get me through the first week!