It’s late, I’m running on empty, and a deadline for a new post is in front of me. It could be worse: It could be the deadline for a manuscript that’s way behind. Fortunately, I have handed off the second manuscript for my series, which is itself a scary thing. We all know about Second Book Terrors. In my case, the lag time between my agent taking on the first book, and the need to turn in the second was long enough that I broke the curse of Second Book Terrors. It was still fun to write and I didn’t have any expectations. I even used the jittery time before ABSTRACT came out to poke and prod number two into some kind of shape.

I’m itching to begin the third in the series. I’ve heard many authors say the same thing. An idea begins to jell for a story, some scenes start forming in your brain, bits of dialogue come to you at odd moments. You can’t wait to clear off the desk, put away the piles of drafts and the research notes from the previous book and dive, fresh, into something you just know is going to be the best yet.

And, yes, I know the rest of the story. Fifty thousand words later, you’re stuck in the “muddle in the middle,” sticky notes on every surface warning you of clues left unfinished and problems you created along the way. Your editor’s waiting, it’s late, and you’re running on empty.

These are the seasons of a writer’s life. From birdsong in spring to dirty slush at winter’s end, and always with the promise of a new spring ahead. Isn’t it wonderful?

The other night, several local Sisters in Crime shared a meal with members of a national SinC team visiting the high tech capital of the world to learn more about electronic publishing. I won’t spoil their thunder or the report they will issue by passing along what they heard, but a sidebar conversation I had with one author, Ellen Hart, cheered me.

As I said in my last blog, I learned a lot about how this genre works by reading – and loving – Agatha Christie’s work. However, fashions change and so does the world in which our stories take place. I have heard many times at conferences that Christie-style mysteries, that is, puzzles solved largely by character analysis and intellect, are out. Won’t sell, and so publishers won’t buy them. Audiences today want messed up, preferably abused, violence-prone, ninja-qualified protagonists, bloody (or blood-sucked) victims, horrific crimes acted out right on the page, etc., etc. Taut thrillers, sex crimes, vampires and zombies do well. I like some of them myself -  this isn’t a rant or a put-down.

At the other end of the spectrum, craft cozies and romances have large and devoted fan bases. Those of us who write somewhere in between the poles are justifiably nervous. Where’s our audience, or have they been polarized too? Does anyone write Christie successfully today?

Well, I’m here to tell you one answer is Ellen Hart, whom I met for the first time at dinner. Called “the lesbian answer to Agatha Christie,” she writes two series, has hardback and paper printings at major publishing houses, and a fan base that is as vocal as it is devoted. Hart sells books. After talking with her, I vowed to do a more systematic search of what’s out there to find more contemporary Agatha Christies who have found their audiences.

If you have suggestions, please share them. And check out Ellen’s site: www.ellenhart.com .

Agatha Christie was my first love in crime fiction, followed quickly by Rex Stout. Only after those two had given me some idea of what the mystery genre was all about did I read Conan Doyle and his devilishly clever puzzles.

To this day, the concept behind Miss Marple delights me. The notion that an ordinary person, one who observes meticulously, listens carefully, and applies her understanding of human behavior and a logical brain to the question, has all the tools necessary to solve a murder is reassuring.

Stout’s Nero Wolfe series, with that charming narrator, Archie Goodwin maintaining a snappy pace, showed me the importance of character in driving a story forward. Wolfe is not just providing color. His persona, habits, and even eating habits precipitate the action. Everyone swirls around him. Without Archie, he’d be a bore, though. Without Nero…well, Archie would still be pretty cute, but probably wouldn’t sell as many books.

Both series show off their times well. It’s like a trip back to a more orderly England and a less concretized (literally) Manhattan. The language, which seems a little dated today, fits the time. I notice it for a few pages when I re-read my old paperback copies, but soon get deep enough into the stories to hear it, albeit a little like a black and white film is playing.

I like to think my modern protagonist, an amateur like Miss Marple, has at least a few of her qualities, including a strong sense of right and wrong. And someday I’d like to try my hand at a character like Nero Wolfe, so strong-willed and egocentric that he makes the world seem to turn around him!

I’ve just spent a full week meeting readers at Bay Area bookstores, luncheons, and special events. Everywhere I spoke, I encountered people who care about books, who delight in meeting authors, who wistfully say they always wanted to write a book themselves.

And, these lovely people buy books! They bought mine. They bought the new books of the other authors I was occasionally paired with, and they were obviously comfortable hanging out at bookstores.

They asked good questions:

“How important is it to use real places rather than invented ones?”

“Would you ever kill off your protagonist, and why?”

“How did you manage to find time to write a whole book?”

“Why do you write mysteries rather than mainstream fiction?”

I learned from these audiences that books still matter, that authors better write the best damn books they can in order to live up to the faith readers have in them, and that there is a bond between authors and readers that is as strong as it is broad and inclusive. I read with thriller writers and cozy writers, and there was always someone in the audience who knew that sub-genre well. One woman told me she had read every book by a particularly prolific cozy writer, “even some that weren’t so good, because everyone has an off-day, don’t they?” Talk about loyal!

I sold a lot of books – that part still amazes me as a debut author – but the benefits of the book tour were so much greater. I stored up the support and encouragement of individuals who want me to succeed because they want good books to read this year, next year, and beyond. When the editing gets tough or the plot ideas get bogged down in my tangled imagination, I feel they’ll be out there, urging me to keep at it. It’s a nice feeling.

So, thank you, Dear Reader! See you next time.