Back at School with Author
MARLIS DAY
by Julie Obermiller

Author Marlis Day's mystery series about a teacher/sleuth are set against a backdrop painted from Day's thirty-two years of teaching experience. After years of freelance articles and retirement from teaching, “Why Johnny Died” introduced Margo Brown. “Death of a Hoosier Schoolmaster” followed and was awarded a Tommy Award by SterlingHouse Publishers. “The Curriculum Murders” was the third installment in this fast paced and thought-provoking series (reviewed in the March 2005 Mysterical-E). A member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, the author sees her greatest achievements as “my marriage of 39 years, our two successful children, and our perfect grandchildren.”

Readers will want to hear more about Margo and her friend Roxie. You can keep up with Marlis Day at Author's Den; authorsden.com/marlisday.  

Q. Do you write what you, as a reader, enjoy? What makes your own personal reading list?

I love books that are filled with suspense and humor, so I try to do that when I write. When a reader finishes one of my books, I'd like him/her to say, “That was a fun trip; I feel like I've been somewhere, met some new friends, and had an adventure.”

My own person reading list is varied. I am a member of the Oprah Book Club in my community, so I read the books she chooses and enjoy discussing those with my group. Right now we are reading Falkner for our summer read. But that's only a part of my reading. I love mysteries and read all of Grafton, Evanovitch, and Cornwell's as soon as they are released. I also enjoy reading the books of authors I meet at mystery conferences. To TBR pile is high. Two of my favorite books of the year were neither mysteries nor Oprah choices. They were The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.

Q. When writing a story, do you have a beginning, a plot and an end before you put it down, or does it evolve as you go?

Yes, I have a beginning, a plot, and an ending when I start. I also have the main clues in mind and a red herring. The rest evolves as I write from a rough outline of chapters.

Q. What finally made you start writing; at what stage of your life?

I have always enjoyed writing, but never considered writing for publication until our kids left home for college and the nest was empty. Word processing had just become popular; we had a new computer, and I had so much more time than I had ever had in my life. 

Q. How much of your life now is devoted to writing, promoting and working with the writing community?

I do something with my writing almost every day. When I am not in the process of writing a new book, or proofreading one, I spend time doing promotions, keeping in touch by reading mystery newsletters, magazines, and discussion lists. I attend at least two mystery conferences a year, and now that I have retired from teaching, I will try to attend more conferences. I also go to several book fairs a year and do book presentations at schools and libraries when invited.

However, like my protagonist, Margo Brown, I am a busy woman. I juggle my writing with being a full time wife and mother. I live in the country and have a large yard and vegetable garden to attend. We both do our share of family activities, love to cook, and take daily walks. Differences include the facts that I am now retired, while she still teaches 7 th grade English at the local middle school, and that I am now a grandmother and she still has two college age kids.

She doesn't write mysteries; she lives them. 

Q. Knowing the serious fans love serial books with familiar casts and settings, do you plan to continue with the Margo Brown series as long as fans show interest?

I hope to. I have plans for a fourth Margo Brown mystery, but have not started writing it yet. Like the others, I have a plot, a beginning, and an ending. I even have a title. However, I just finished my first juvenile mystery. Right now I am still proofreading but hope to start shopping it around by the end of June. 

Q. Are Margo Brown or Roxie based on real-life people? Do many of your personal teaching anecdotes get woven into the background of your stories?

Absolutely. I guess Margo is who I would like to be. And believe it or not, there is a real Roxie. She was the science teacher at my school and lives up to every bit of Roxie's character. Roxie was easy to develop because I just thought about my colleague and wrote. Many of the events in my books are based on actual events, including the lizard and the fall through the ceiling in Why Johnny Died and the murder in Death of a Hoosier Schoolmaster. The suicide modes mentioned in The Curriculum Murders were all based on fact. Strange world, eh?

Q. Does your Christian background temper your writing? Do you shy away from the gratuitous bad language, sex and violence so prolific in all media?

It definitely does guide my hands on the keyboard. Although I use some slang to make the bad-ass characters seem more real, I would never use the “F” word nor take God's name in vain. I don't do that when I talk, so I could never write that in my books. When I read, I find graphic violence very disturbing, so I tend to read and write cozies. And sex? Well, to me that's a very private matter and does not need to be described in detail. If I have to use sex, violence, and bad language to sell books, then I guess mine won't sell. 

Q. What's a typical writing day like for you?

I'm a morning person. I get up around seven, enjoy my tea with the Today show, then go into my office around nine. I like to write until noon , have lunch, do a few household chores, then take a walk, either down my country road or on my treadmill. About twice a week I go into town to shop or have lunch with a friend. I check out my yard and garden, play with my dogs, then start supper. I love to cook, so I often experiment with new recipes as I listen to the Oprah show on my kitchen TV. Evenings are either spent going to see grandchildren play softball, watching a movie, or sitting with my husband on the front porch. My reading time is usually from 9:30-11:00 PM . 

Q. Is editing harder than writing the actual novel, as some suggest? How hard is it to edit, and cut, your own work?

I hate editing with a passion. I read my manuscripts a hundred times, it seems, before I send them to the publisher. At that point I think they are perfect. I'm very hurt when the editor slashes sentences as irrelevant or wants to change my words. I argue and end up saving some of the parts that I just can't let go. People must understand that Margo Brown is not a full time sleuth. She has a life! She is a wife and mother and a teacher. She has to solve her crimes as she can work them into her busy schedule. She often gets interrupted by family activities or when the tomatoes are ripe. I hope that the average American woman can relate to that. 

Q. Do you write with "the movie version" in mind or are you content to have readers your only audience?

I don't dream that big. However, in my mind, I see the characters, the town, and the events as in a movie; The daydream theater of my mind. 

Q. What's your opinion of the current mystery/suspense offerings? Do new writers have a chance to break the ranks of prolific best-selling authors? Do you think "brand name buyers" are reluctant to "go generic?" Does that make it tough for new authors?

I think there are some great mysteries out there and I wish I had time to read them all. It's extremely hard for new authors to be noticed, even if they write outstanding books. At conferences, I hear some talk about spending huge amounts of money for publicists. Most of us can't afford to do that, so we just have to write our best work, and do our best to promote it. I send fliers to bookstores, schools, and libraries, take my books with me everywhere I go, and take advantage of every opportunity to promote. LIKE THIS!

Q. When a book is finally written, edited and printed, the hard work is just beginning; don't you agree? Do you have any final cautions or advice for the hopeful beginner?

I would advise people to start with articles and short stories. I published ten articles before I wrote my first novel. I felt it helped me to get my foot into the door and gave me credibility. When that first book comes out, be ready to promote it. Don't just sit back and wait for the royalties. Make bookmarks and fliers. Set up events at libraries and bookstores. Offer to speak at schools on writing. Offer a have a fundraiser at the local community center. Have them order your books at discount price. Sign the books at the event and let them keep the profit. Be sure and let the newspaper know! Find out where the book fairs are. Make signs, smile at the people who come by your table and be ready to give them a freebie. They might just stay and talk and walk away with a book.

Promotions came easy for me, because I love to meet people and I love to talk about my books.

When my husband and I travel, I check the Internet and find out where all the mystery book clubs are on the way. I call and offer to visit. They order my books, read them, I stop by, sign and discuss it with them What fun! Twice I have handed a free book to a cruise director on a ship, and offered to have a mystery discussion in the ship's library on one of the days when the ship was at sea all day. It worked! They added it to the list of activities on the daily agenda and announced it on the speaker. Mystery buffs from everywhere came into the library to hear about mysteries, mine in particular. It was fun later, seeing people sitting around the pool reading my books! Life is sweet.