Gail Lukasik was born in Cleveland, OH and was a dancer with the Cleveland Civic Ballet Company. She has worked as a choreographer and freelance writer. She began her writing career as a poet and her work has appeared in over sixty literary journals, including The Georgia Review, Carolina Quarterly, and The Illinois Review. Lisel Mueller described her book of poetry, Landscape Toward a Proper Silence, as a “splendid collection.” In 2002, she was awarded an Illinois Arts Council Literary Award for her poem, “In County.”
She earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Illinois/Chicago, with a specialization in creative writing/poetry and has taught writing and literature courses for over twenty years on the university level.
She also has given writing workshops at libraries, nature centers, and other venues such as the Ragdale Foundation, a nationally known artist retreat in Lake Forest, IL.
Gail Lukasik is the author of Destroying Angels. Kirkus Reviews described Destroying Angels as “a riveting debut thriller.” Destroying Angels is the first book in a four-part seasonal series set in the resort community of Door County, WI. The second book in the series, Death’s Door, was released in March 2009. She lives in Libertyville, IL. Her web site is: www.gaillukasik.com



BMH:    You're president of the United States for enough time to only make one executive decision. What is it?

GL:    End hunger in the United States. No one in this country should go to bed hungry.

BMH:    What's a common and accepted practice for Americans nowadays that you think we'll look back on with regret?

GL:    Blurring the lines between politics and religion.

BMH:    Describe your level of ambition.

GL:    I’m extremely ambitious. Ambition has always been a driving force in my life. And that’s a good thing because it keeps me engaged in my career.

BMH:    What would you attempt to do if you knew that you could not fail?

GL:    Found my own school of the arts for underprivileged high school aged-students. I always wished there had been a high school dedicated to the arts in Cleveland where I grew up. In high school I was starting to spread my wings as a writer, an actor and a ballerina. If I could have attended an arts-based high school, it would have nurtured my creativity and given me a like-minded community of artists.

BMH:    Describe a few pet peeves of yours.

GL:    The current cultural obsession with celebrities. Rudeness. Celebrating stupidity. Prescription drug commercials. And last but not least, the increase in violence and gore on TV and in the movies.

BMH:    How often do you Google yourself?

GL:     Too often. I’m not egotistical just hopeful.

BMH:    What do you know now that you wished someone had told you ten years ago?

GL:    How difficult it is to make a decent income from writing mysteries. And how much luck plays in the process. I’ve had some lucky breaks with the release of my first book Destroying Angels. The Kirkus review drew a lot of attention, garnering me an agent, and some interest from Hallmark. Then the downturn in the economy came and my agent was downsized. I’m presently looking for an agent and hoping for another lucky break or two or three.

BMH:    What childhood event shaped or scarred you the most?

GL:    My mother sending me to ballet class starting at the age of four shaped me for life. Then when I entered high school, she had the insight to see that I’d outgrown my neighborhood dance studio and encouraged me to audition for an advanced ballet school in Cleveland. Ballet gave me an outlet to express myself, taught me discipline, and opened me to the world of art and artists. 

BMH:    What is a typical writing day for you like?

GL:    Write for three hours in the morning, usually from 9-12. Then if needed, do research in the afternoon for a few hours.

BMH:    Are you an outliner or a seat-of-your-pants writer?

GL:    Without question a seat-of-your-pants writer. I like to refer to my process as organic—throw a lot of seeds around and seeing what grows. When I begin a book, I know who the victim is and I have a few suspects in mind. I like to write scene-to-scene and may outline a chapter or two ahead. But I’m adverse to outlines. For me it takes away the element of discovery that comes from the writing itself.
        However, when I wrote my stand-alone mystery The Lost Artist, I wished I had done more outlining. The book covers two time periods (present day and the nineteenth century), and a great deal of American history. So it was like juggling plates and balls at the same time.

BMH:    Would you rather live without music or live without TV?

GL:    That’s a Sophie’s Choice question. As much as I’d like to believe I couldn’t live without music, the truth is I couldn’t live without TV.
 
BMH:    Be gossiped about or never talked about at all?

GL:    Be gossiped about. To toil away in obscurity is tough.

BMH:    Do you blog? If so, why and what do you usually blog about?

GL:    For about a year I shared a blog with a friend from high school. The blog was called A Year Outside the Python. I wrote about whatever caught my fancy—from seeing a physic to genealogy. I stopped blogging because it was taking away from my writing time. My friend continued the blog and it’s still going strong.

BMH:    Have you ever done a blog book tour? What was that like and would you do it again?

GL:    I’ve just started a blog tour. So it’s too early to say if I’d do it again. However, so far I’m finding it both intense and surprising. I was a guest blogger recently on Jungle Red Writers. Hank Phillippi Ryan, whom I met this year at the Love is Murder Conference, invited me. I was fascinated by the sense of community on JRW that was evident in the comments.

BMH:    Do you enjoy doing promotion?

GL:    Yes and no. There’s always the worry that no one will show up to your reading/signing or book talk, and that has happened. But when I’m presenting, I enjoy interacting with the audience. What I have the hardest time with is self-promoting through Facebook and similar online media sites. I feel like I’m bragging, even though I’m giving information about upcoming events. But responding to interview questions, as I’m doing for you, is very enjoyable.

BMH:    What’s the oddest thing you’ve ever done to promote your work?

GL:    I tracked down Tony Shalhoub of Monk fame through his sister to give him a copy of my second book in the Leigh Girard series, Death’s Door. I discovered that Tony Shalhoub grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and worked every summer in Door County, Wisconsin, the setting of my mystery series. I thought he might be interested in doing a made-for-TV movie of Death’s Door.
    But I had no luck getting the book to him via his agency. Then while giving a book talk at the Arlington Heights Library in Illinois, I mentioned my dilemma and a woman raised her hand and said she’d help me. She’d grown up in Door County. She told me that Tony’s sister frequented a grocery store in Ellison Bay and that I should leave a copy there for him. I did leave a copy and got a lovely email from Tony’s sister. Though Tony never contacted me, it was exciting knowing he did get the book.

BMH:    What’s the strangest fan question/request you’ve ever gotten?

GL:    Recently I did a giveaway on Goodreads. As a result I was contacted by a reader who lamented how she never won a giveaway and asked if would I mail her a free book. If I did, she promised to write reviews of the book on Amazon, etc. What was strange was her personal story, which sounded suspect. I asked for advice from other mystery authors. One author told me she knew of this person and that I shouldn’t send her a free copy. Another writer had sent her a free book and all the reviews were poor. Totally disheartening.

BMH:    Respond to these pairings and tell why you respond the way you do:
                a. Series or stand-alone books?
GL:  Bountiful. As a reader I enjoy both. Although I lean more toward series, especially if the first book grabs me. As a writer, I also enjoy writing both. Though the stand-alone for me is more difficult to write because you’re creating a whole new cast of characters, a new setting and tone, it’s also exciting to start a new project.
                b. Lots of research or make it all up?
GL:  Discovery. I owe it to my readers to do my homework. Accuracy makes the book more believable and helps put the reader in the scene. When I started writing The Lost Artist I         began with a short article about these marine archeologist searching for a French sixteenth century lost fleet off the coast of Florida. As I researched that lost fleet, one discovery led to another discovery. And all these discoveries, some little known or forgotten historical events, enriched the book, expanding it in ways I never could have without doing the research.
                c. Neat or sloppy?
GL:  Split personality. My office is a mess. Papers on the carpet, stack of research against the wall, books scattered here and there. But I know where everything is in this mess. My neat side emerges when I write. I’m very particular about my craft and will rewrite quite a bit if I’m not pleased.
                d.  NY or DC?
GL:  Energy. My daughter and I did a NYC theater weekend last year. I could feel the pulsing creative energy of that city. And experiencing live theater on Broadway was amazing. I wished I’d had the courage to follow through on my plan to move there when I was nineteen. My goal was to be a Rockettes. Hey, I was nineteen.
                e.  Carnivore or vegetarian?
GL:  Extremes. I think it’s all good—meat, veggies, chocolate. Embrace the bounty.

BMH:    How have you grown as a writer?
            1) What has gotten better?

GL: I’m not as critical of my first draft as I once was. Mainly because I now understand my own writing process better. My first draft is exploratory and usually a condensed version of the book. So I don’t panic anymore when the first draft is skimpy. I know I’ll write more fully in later drafts.

        2) What things have you dropped along the way?

GL: I can’t think of anything I’ve dropped. My growth as a writer has been about improving my craft.

        3) What helped most in your growth as a writer?

GL: To take shorter breaks between books. I now approach writing in a more workman like way. Having started my writing career as a poet, I often waited for the muse to inspire a poem. Now I approach my writing more like a job. That is not to say inspiration doesn’t happens, I just don’t wait for inspiration. Inspiration comes from the writing itself. 

BMH:    If you were to go to a deserted island for an extended stay what are three things you would take with you?

GL:    Fishing rod, sleeping bag, and a blank journal.