katherine howell and aussie crime fic.
August 1st, 2010 § 4 Comments
I’ve always read crime novels. In my schoolbag, along with the weathered copies of Mary Stewart and Georgette Heyer, I often had a crime thriller lurking, too. patricia cornwell was the first crime author I really latched on to. My parents had (and still have) a great collection of dick francis books and agatha christies, but I suppose I wanted something more contemporary and less… horsey.
Enter autopsies, crime scene investigations, and forensic science. Forensics not only revolutionised and invigorated the processes within law enforcement; they breathed new life into the crime fiction genre. Cornwell — who worked for six years as a technical writer and a computer analyst at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia — made her foray into crime writing in 1990, and has been wildly successful in the 20 years since. Although her writing award trophy shelf must be well and truly crammed, possibly her greatest achievement has been to popularise forensic pathology and, in turn, to irrevocably reshape the terrain of crime writing.
But readers seem always to want more. And sometimes readers just want something else. This poses a great challenge to crime writers, I believe, where so much has already been done before. To make your name, it’s no longer enough to be an effective writer, a master of the craft; you need to be breaking new ground as well.
Some of my favourite crime writers have been doing precisely this: innovating, reinterpreting, and adding new dimensions to the genre. Forensic anthropologist kathy reichs brought bones to the table, while tess gerritsen, a doctor, drew on her knowledge of medical science to write medico-crime thrillers, and has hauled a cast of unusual, engaging characters to life in her Isles/Rizzoli crime series. And now, local star Katherine Howell, an ambulance officer for 15 years, combines emergency services with law enforcement to generate a supercharged mix of suspense and intrigue — the “paramedic crime thriller”.
I was so lucky to have Katherine as my tutor for a publishing subject last semester. Before I even read her books, I got to know her as an honest, generous, and approachable teacher — humble, friendly and wholly un-ruffle-able. Once the semester was over and I had time to get stuck into some reading again, I made it my mission to buy one of her books. Several of the stores I went to at first had sold out (hooray for Katherine! — boo for me!). So, I was super excited when I got my hands on a copy of her latest novel, Cold Justice. I was even more excited when I couldn’t put it down.
I ordered the first two books online shortly after, and devoured them in rapid succession. Then I loaned them to my mother, who passed them onto my dad, and now they are stacked in my sister’s bedroom waiting to be read for the fourth time.
What I love about Katherine’s books is that they are local, plausible, and so original. Set in Sydney, the suburbs are at once familiar yet refreshingly different from the locales in which crime thrillers are typically set. I love to read books set in Australia that defy rural stereotypes, and Katherine has effectively placed Sydney on the world stage as a thriving city full of activity, human drama… and secrets.
The fusion of ambulance and police services is a natural one, working as they do in real life as first response to all manner of situations. But this pairing marks an important point of difference between other contemporary crime writing. Where else can you access these types of stories? Katherine’s ample experience as a paramedic definitely lends the books a certain credibility. amazon reviewers, especially those with a similar work background, rave about the authenticity of the books’ detail, and I really enjoyed them as a unique opportunity to look into a world relatively foreign to me.
I felt that the characterisation in this series was one of its greatest joys. Katherine seems to just get people. Annoying habits. Remarks in conversation designed to bait or irritate. Rational fear and believable responses. Tics, tells, and mannerisms. I often found myself growing angry or scared on behalf of characters — no mean feat for an author to achieve. The cast is broad and inclusive, but thoroughly real. And the protagonists do not interfere with the narrative but work to move it forward. (Even some of my favourite crime authors seem to get carried away sometimes with details about meals, haircuts, and other inconsequential details. Katherine’s novels feel “cleaner” and more genuine.) Although I felt as though I got to know Detective Ella Marconi a little more with each novel, her persona did not crowd the story and I loved that. I also loved the not-too-neat endings and plausible plot resolutions in each book.
I can’t wait for the next installment.
1. Frantic, the first book in the series, introduces the gritty Detective Ella Marconi as she attempts to track down a kidnapped baby taken from his home following a bloody shooting. Paramedic Sophie Phillips is determined not to rest until her ten-month-old son is returned to her, a situation further complicated by her husband’s suspected involvement in a ring of police corruption and an ambulance call-out seemingly gone wrong. A story about obsession, fear, and desperate measures, Frantic reflects its title in every way — an unrelenting thriller to the last page.
2. The Darkest Hour sees Detective Marconi fighting for her place within the Homicide Department. She becomes involved in a complex murder case, wherein the victim divulges the name of his killer to paramedic Lauren Yates in his dying breaths. However, it soon becomes clear that Lauren knows more about the case than she lets on. Why is she so afraid? And who within the police department is leaking information to the very man they’re trying to hunt down?
3. Shafted to the Cold Case Department while she recovers from an injury, Detective Marconi’s resolve to seek justice is still as strong as ever. An old file lands on her desk, a notorious case reopened due to political pressure: the murder of schoolboy Tim Pieters, found dead among the bushes, which remains a mystery 18 years later. Georgie Riley, who happened upon his body all those years ago (now a paramedic) finds herself once again at the centre of investigations. Is she withholding information? Or is there more to the story than meets the eye? Ella is determined that justice should be served. Even if cold.
If you, like me, love reading within the crime genre but are searching for something a little different, I urge you to hunt down a copy of one (or all) of Katherine’s books. I was lucky enough to be able to interview her for this post. Her answers (below) are a real little treasure trove of inspiration and helpful writing advice.
Congratulations and thanks (for everything), Katherine!
1. When did you begin writing narratives? Were you always interested in the crime thriller genre?
I wanted to write stories even as a little kid. I was sending off short stories as a teen and I remember how much it meant when I won a highly commended certificate in a youth competition at about 16. I knew soon after that what I really wanted was to write novels. I started at about 20 and wrote four crap ones over the next 13 years or so, then began what eventually became Frantic which was published when I was 37.
Crime is what I love to read so it was natural that I write it as well. I did once try to write something else but I couldn’t do it – before I knew it I had a dead body pop up, then a bad guy, so I decided there’s no point fighting it.2. I have always loved to read mysteries, detective novels, and crime thrillers. Why do you think readers are drawn to these types of stories?
I think there are a few reasons. Firstly there’s the play between author and reader in the mental puzzle and the race for the reader to work out before the end what’s going on. Secondly, and theorists talk about this a lot, there’s the concept that real life is chaotic and jumbled and when bad things happen justice is not always done, so reading crime fiction can be a comfort because the bad guys (generally) get what they deserve and good wins out. Theorists also talk about the thrill for a reader of living vicariously through scary and dangerous events but knowing deep down they are always safe. The suspense in most crime novels certainly helps draw readers in too!
3. Who are your favourite authors? Have you had any guides or mentors along the way?
My favourites are crime authors Tess Gerritsen and Michael Robotham. I read much more of the US crime authors, people like Dennis Lehane, Robert Crais, James Lee Burke and Michael Connelly, than the UK ones.
One person who became a mentor for me a number of years ago was Australian author Graeme Hague. He’s written horror, crime, and historical fiction. I emailed him after reading his crime novel and told him how much I enjoyed it. He wrote back and we started up an email penpal friendship. I’d send him bits of my work and he’d comment, and later he’d send me bits of his too. A few years later he said he thought my work was good enough to show to his agent, and wonder of wonders she signed me up! She in turn became a great friend and mentor.4. How does the anticipation and pressure of publishing a first novel compare with the pressure of publishing second and third (and fourth and fifth) novels after a highly successful debut?
Ohh that’s a great question! From author friends I know what I went through is fairly typical. Before the first novel is released you feel that it’s not real, that at any moment the publishers will ring and say “oh sorry, we meant the *other* Katherine Howell, your work is indeed the large pile of tripe that you suspect it is.” When you first see your book in the shops you feel like it was something you printed up yourself and managed to shuffle onto the shelf: you feel it doesn’t belong. Good reviews and feedback are an absolute delight! but then you worry that your next book is not as good. You always want to do better, but what defines better? Also while you took your time writing the novel that was published first, taking four years or so in my case, often you suddenly have a deadline of one year to finish the next. You worry that you won’t make it and that you don’t have another book in you anyway (regardless of how many crappy ones you wrote before that). Somehow you get it done, and it goes as well as the first, but then you feel all those things about the next book, plus you’re also realising that your options for plots are decreasing. Child kidnap? Done that in book 1. etc. It sounds insignificant but all these worries are rattling around in your head as you stare at the blank screen.
It gets easier in a couple of ways. The writing itself is not much easier, I think, but the knowledge that it’s always going to be hard and feel bad eases (a little) the worry that feeling bad somehow means the work is bad. I am better at recognising whether a story idea has the legs for a 100,000 word novel so spend less time fiddling around with ideas that don’t. I can look back and read the diaries I kept when writing each book and see that my moaning and doubts and fears and exhilarations follow the same track with each book. It’s a constant rollercoaster of emotions, and that’s okay.
5. How do you come up with your plotlines? Do you follow any particular writing process?
I spend a lot of time muddling around with vague ideas before I come up with something that hooks me somehow, then I tend to write it on a bit of paper and scribble ideas around it as a way of working out subplots. There needs to be a fair amount going on for the story to last 100,000 words and also be a satisfying read. Sometimes the trickiest bit is to work out how to keep the paramedics involved in the story. Getting them into it is no problem – they can be called to the death, so that’s easy-peasy – but in real life that’s where their involvement ends. Keeping them tied into it in a plausible way is always a challenge.
Then I just start writing. I don’t outline, and have really just the most basic of notions about what’s going to happen, how the characters are involved, and where it mightl all end. As I write each scene I start to see what the next one will be about. It can be scary because I sometimes feel lost, and think I’d feel better if I had an outline as a road-map, but I’ve sometimes stopped writing and tried to outline even the last 10k of the book but I just get stuck. I’ve come to accept that the fear of being lost is normal and that’s just how I work.
6. What do you most love about writing and what do you most hate?
I most love the times when I get a scene just right – when I read back over it and know it’s just how I wanted it to be. That feeling beats everything – the delight of publication, of meeting fans, of seeing your books on the shelves. I think it’s really important that it does, too, because the fuss of publication lasts only a couple of weeks and then it’s just you alone with your thoughts again, and if you’re not in it for the love of writing you’re in trouble. That fuss cannot sustain you but the joy of writing can and will.
What I most hate is … there’s nothing that I really hate. Sometimes I wish the lows and fears weren’t so low and fearful, but I subscribe to the idea that without those lows, the highs wouldn’t be quite as high. I know I learn a lot through those tough times, too. However, ask me when I’m *in* that low and fear-filled place and I might just give a different answer!
**Katherine teaches classes on suspense in writing through the queensland writers centre, and has some excellent articles and interviews about suspense and the art and craft of writing on her website. With another couple of books up her sleeve in the not-too-distant-future and a PhD in the works, she is one busy lady. Her fourth novel, Violent Exposure is due for release in December this year. I know what I’ll be requesting for Christmas. You can buy the first three at many bookstores (if they haven’t sold out) or from fishpond or trusty old amazon.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by amber gwynne, amber gwynne. amber gwynne said: interview with the lovely katherine howell on wabi http://wabiwabi.wordpress.com/2010/08/01/katherine-howell-and-aussie-crime-fic/ [...]
Have two daughters who would devour all three….unfortunately they don’t seem to have alot of spare time these days, but I must mention Katherine’s books to them.
After reading the interview, I am intrigued and am thinking I should go grab myself a copy and get stuck in. I love the fact that they are set in Oz.
I would loan them to you if I had my copies on hand. I have to admit, I’ve sort of gone off Patricia Cornwell in the last five years because her books seemed to grow ever more creepy and gratuitously gruesome. Katherine’s are gritty but not horrible. Highly recommended!
[...] crime author katherine howell has this month released her fifth novel in the Ella Marconi series: Silent Fear. I confess that I [...]