I’ve always loved reading mysteries, starting as a child and then teenager with Trixie Belden, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L. Sayers. When I was working as a reporter for a local daily newspaper, I was too busy to do any writing on the side, but in what little spare time I had I felt more and more drawn to cozies. They were far removed from the crimes and tragedies I dealt with when I was covering the crime beat, delivered justice and restored sense to bad things.
What inspired you to write the first novel?
The plot of my first published novel, The Case of the Missing Bride, practically fell into my lap when I lived in New Zealand as a young mother and no longer worked seven days a week, but only part-time as a relief reporter. I’d been researching a few feature ideas when I cane upon one paragraph in an old newspaper. In 1862, a group of young women were sent as brides from Australia to the young province of British Columbia in Canada. They never arrived.
That’s all that’s known. Everything else to do with these women and their fate is idle speculation. I can’t imagine any scenario that would have ended well for them, but they deserved better. A cozy mystery formed in my mind, one that would explain everything, and that would save them (apart from the titular bride). The series continues with The Prospect of Death and the lives they should have had.
How do you go about plotting your mystery? Do you pick the victim or the murderer first?
I usually know the murderer and the motive first and start writing when it hits me that I might have picked the wrong victim. I do apologise to them, if they’re nice people, though. If they get their just deserts, I might gloat a little while writing.
What makes a perfect murder mystery?
I’m a sucker for an unusual setting. Nobody does it better than Agatha Christie (although Elizabeth Peters comes close with her Amelia Peabody series). A locked room mystery never loses its appeal, and the best mysteries are perfectly obvious and logical in hindsight and fool you all along while you’re reading. Again, nobody can touch Agatha Christie in this regard. The best cozy mysteries are as much fun when I re-read them, because there’s so much to discover or to remember.
What’s the best encouragement you’ve had in your writing?
The support from the New Zealand Society of Authors, and having The Case of the Missing Bride become a Malice Domestic finalist! And later, hearing from readers how much they loved my stories and my characters.
Marketing is the biggest key to getting sales. What is the best marketing source you've used that has produces more sales rather than just clicks?
Marketing is my weak spot. I’ve only started to regularly invest in paid ads last year. So, it’s early days for me. This year I want to spend more time learning the ropes.
What do you know now about writing you wished you had known sooner?
That it’s a good idea to come up with comparable titles or shows before you even start writing, something I’ve never done yet but will! No wonder “Jaws in Space” sold the movie Alien.
What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give?
The best I’ve had: First get it written, then get it right. It stopped me from agonising over every paragraph that had sounded so perfect in my head at 3am and fell flat when I finally had a chance to type it. No book is ever perfect, so you get it as good as you can and move on.
The best I can give: Find your tribe in the writing community. Most writers are lovely, supportive people who will help you, cheer you on or commiserate with you, and together you’re so much stronger.
Are there any other points about writing you would like to add?
Don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone has their own process, strength, weaknesses, and their own way of doing this. And, most of all, enjoy it. Love your stories. Nobody else but you can write them, no matter if you keep them to yourself, or they find a dozen readers, or turn you into a household name, with a lavish income (I wouldn’t mind trying that …)
What is the next book coming out? Can you give me a short synopsis?
Jack and Frances will have a final adventure in London in 1932, before it’s time for them to head back home to Australia. I hope to have it done sometime in spring. Although I’m a full-time writer, most of my working hours include writing paid content articles on different topics. But hopefully one day, fiction writing will be my only job.
The support from the New Zealand Society of Authors, and having The Case of the Missing Bride become a Malice Domestic finalist! And later, hearing from readers how much they loved my stories and my characters.
Marketing is the biggest key to getting sales. What is the best marketing source you've used that has produces more sales rather than just clicks?
Marketing is my weak spot. I’ve only started to regularly invest in paid ads last year. So, it’s early days for me. This year I want to spend more time learning the ropes.
What do you know now about writing you wished you had known sooner?
That it’s a good idea to come up with comparable titles or shows before you even start writing, something I’ve never done yet but will! No wonder “Jaws in Space” sold the movie Alien.
What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give?
The best I’ve had: First get it written, then get it right. It stopped me from agonising over every paragraph that had sounded so perfect in my head at 3am and fell flat when I finally had a chance to type it. No book is ever perfect, so you get it as good as you can and move on.
The best I can give: Find your tribe in the writing community. Most writers are lovely, supportive people who will help you, cheer you on or commiserate with you, and together you’re so much stronger.
Don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone has their own process, strength, weaknesses, and their own way of doing this. And, most of all, enjoy it. Love your stories. Nobody else but you can write them, no matter if you keep them to yourself, or they find a dozen readers, or turn you into a household name, with a lavish income (I wouldn’t mind trying that …)
What is the next book coming out? Can you give me a short synopsis?
Jack and Frances will have a final adventure in London in 1932, before it’s time for them to head back home to Australia. I hope to have it done sometime in spring. Although I’m a full-time writer, most of my working hours include writing paid content articles on different topics. But hopefully one day, fiction writing will be my only job.
That's all for today's interview. If you'd like to learn more about Carmen's writing, check out the links below.
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Carmen-Radtke/author/B075F6X38C
Website: https://carmenradtke.com/
And here's a bonus for my readers... Leave a comment on this post and we'll pick one reader who'll receive a copy of one of Carmen's eBooks. The winner can choose between an ebook of The Case of the Missing Bride or her latest release, Murder by the Letter. So do that now. It can be as simple as I want to be in the giveaway. We'll chose a winner at the end of next week!
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