A day in the life of Dulcie Schwartz, grad student

Good morning. Thank you for meeting me here, in the library. I know it sounds funny to say, after five years of research, that I am under the gun. But the truth is, I am. You see, I’m working on my doctoral thesis and every day counts. I don’t want to be Dulcie Schwartz “ABD” – all but dissertation – and so I really have to get to work.

That said, I’m happy to talk with you. Sometimes, I know, I can get a little caught up in my own head. Even though my boyfriend, Chris, is an applied science student, a computer geek, I know I tend to stick with the bookish types in the English and American Literature and Languages department, my friend Trista, especially. And we do tend to keep to ourselves. Which, come to think of it, may be why none of them have stumbled across a dead body in a while.

Ghosts? Do I believe in ghosts? Of course not! Yes, you’ve probably heard that Lucy, my mother, is a former hippie and that I was raised on a commune. And, yes, she’s always calling me to tell me that Jupiter is aligned with Venus or that she’s had some dream or other. But that’s part of the reason I’m a graduate student. I believe in the life of the mind. In rational thought. In reason – and in books. Well, yes, I am visited on occasion by the shade of Mr. Grey. But Mr. Grey was a special cat, a very special pet, and he only comes by to keep me company sometimes, when I get down. Well, yes, sometimes he has helped me out, but not too much. I mean, you wouldn’t expect a cat to tell you what to do – or who to suspect, would you? Why should a ghost cat be any different?

Right now, though, I could use some help. You see, the acting head of my department has been looking at me funny. He seems to think I’m involved in the theft of a real treasure, the Dunster Codex. Yes, I know it’s only a book – but a very ancient and rare one. But I swear I’ve only seen it once or twice, and I know Trista isn’t involved, whatever the cops are saying. Though, no, come to think of it, I don’t have any idea where she has disappeared to, either. Mr. Grey, could you help?


This blog originally ran in Dru's Book Musings: http://notesfromme.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/dulcie-schwartz-by-clea-simon/

The writing life: Doubt, joy, and the importance of good friends

Writer extraordinaire first ran this interview on her blog, but she gave me permission to reprint it. It was so much fun, I couldn't resist:

Caroline: I first met Clea Simon on this writing site we both frequented. I really liked the funny, smart way she was presenting her ideas, but more than that, I was thrilled that she was the author of Fatherless Women, a book I loved. We became friends online first, and then began to manage to see each other once a year. I read more of her books and loved all of them. We go to each other's readings, we do a daily email check in, we boost each other up and cajole and nag and talk about everything from writing to money to morale--honestly, I depend on Clea and I don't know what I'd do without her.

I'm thrilled she has two absolutely terrific, smart new mysteries out, with another coming out next year--and I'm even more thrilled she's here on my blog. Big hugs and thanks, Clea!


Writing is a lonely business, which is one reason I’m so lucky to have Caroline as a writing buddy. She and I email each other all the time, complaining of plot complications that won’t be resolved. Character flip-flops that caught us unawares, and inevitable insecurities of the wait, when the agent, the editor, the reviewer reads our work. Sitting here, alone in my office, I don’t know how I’d get my work done if it weren’t for friends like Caroline.

But even as we bat our anxieties back and forth, and she reassures me that, yes, after thirteen books, maybe I am a “real” writer, I’ve become increasingly aware of a major difference between us. You see, for the past few years, I’ve been writing series mysteries. Specifically, I am now writing two series for two different publishers: the Dulcie Schwartz mysteries, which feature a graduate student in Gothic literature, who happens to get visits from the ghost of her late cat, and the Pru Marlowe pet noirs, which feature a tough-girl animal behaviorist who can hear what animals are thinking (and has an even tougher tabby as a sidekick). This month, I’ve got the two newest books in each series out – Grey Expectations (Severn House) is the Dulcie, Cats Can’t Shoot (Poisoned Pen) is the Pru. Next year, when Caroline’s next book will be out, I may have three.

Crazy, isn’t it? Caroline and I go through so many of the same processes – the electric thrill of inspiration, the crazed zone of furious writing, the doubt, and the joy – but these days, I seem to be doing it double time. And so when she and I talked about what I could guestblog about, I thought that writing series might be a good topic, and she obliged by asking me some questions.

What is your schedule this year?
I’m actually writing three books right now. Severn House decided they wanted my Dulcies to come out a little more frequently, and they contracted me for two more. How could I say no? But I also had the last in my three-book Pru contract due, so... I turned in the manuscript for the fifth Dulcie, True Grey, last month, and am awaiting edits. I am now finishing up Parrots Prove Deadly, the third Pru book, which is due in June, and when I’m done with that, I have another Dulcie due Sept. 1. What I’m hoping is that going over the edits for True Grey will get me back in the Dulcie mindset and remind me of the threads I left hanging. (I also have pretty good notes.)

How do you get it all done?
I’ve had to become super disciplined. I don’t outline, I find it kills creativity, but I do have a good idea of the direction of each book. And I make myself write at least a certain number of words each day. The good part is, when I’m writing regularly (1,500 or 2,000 words a day is standard for me), I find the ideas keep coming. The problem is that sometimes I get so caught up I lose track of time. Over the winter, there were many days when I did not get outdoors during daylight. And I’ve learned to keep a portable egg timer with me. Too often, I’d put up something for dinner and not heard the timer down in the kitchen going off. We had many scalded pots and acrid artichokes before I started carrying my little egg timer back up to my office with me.

Do you worry about repeating yourself?
Yes, I’m terrified of it. But there is so much out there, so many possibilities, that what usually happens is that I run into something that I think I can use and I can’t fit it in. And I rely on happy accidents: I was having Pru work with a raccoon and it hit me: She gets that close to a wild animal, it’s going to bite her. Suddenly, I was researching rabies and rabies vaccines, and my book was going off in a whole different direction.
Both your protagonists are so different. Is it difficult to switch voices?
Yes, I need a little rest time between. When I’m writing Pru, as I am right now, I think of Dulcie as a wimp. Naïve and silly. But when I’m in a Dulcie book, I adore her, and I think of Pru as an unsympathetic bitch. At some level, it’s probably good for me to explore both these characters!

What are the other challenges of writing series books on deadline?
I’m terrified of what I might miss. I force myself to be hypervigilant when I’m revising, and I am extremely grateful both to my small, core group of readers and my editors for their input. But still, in Cats Can’t Shoot, there was a stupid gun error – I don’t even want to repeat it – in the ARC. A reader caught it, and I was able to make the change before the printed version, but that’s what gives me nightmares. I try to write freely and wildly, but I have to be extra careful in every stage of revisions, because there’s just no time.

Yikes! Are there advantages?
Yes, indeed! I love my characters, and I love watching them grow and change from book to book. Relationships are developing and changing. All sorts of stuff that really has no connection to the mystery in each book, but is deeply gratifying to me. Plus, I get to avoid that post-book post-partum depression. I know I’ll see these folks again soon.

Still, you must have some pet peeves?
Oh, I do. It still amazes me how many people look down on mysteries– they say they’re “just” mysteries, not “real books” – like mysteries are automatically a lower form of writing. Yes, I write quickly, but I revise carefully – and writing slowly is no guarantee of quality. When you’re in the zone, you’re in the zone. That said, I’ve written more serious books, nonfiction, and this is what I want to be doing now, so I try not to let that get to me (too much).

Sounds like I should let you get back to it!
It was lovely to take a break with you, Caroline! Thanks so much for letting me talk about the series side of writing. – Clea

Excerpts from Clea’s books may be found on her website, at http://www.cleasimon.com

This ran originally on Carolineleavittville at http://carolineleavittville.blogspot.com/2012/04/clea-simon-talks-about-cats-cant-shoot.html

"ENCHANTING!" PW loves GREY EXPECTATIONS

And I am over the moon:
Grey Expectations:
A Dulcie Schwartz Feline Mystery
Clea Simon. Severn, $27.95 (208p) ISBN 978-0-7278-8134-2
Simon’s enchanting fourth Dulcie Schwartz mystery (after 2011’s Grey Zone) finds Harvard grad student Dulcie still at work on her doctoral thesis on late 18th-century gothic fiction and still trying to identify the anonymous author of “her long-time favorite adventure,” The Ravages of Umbria. Esmé, Dulcie’s telepathic tuxedo kitten, provides distraction. When an 11th-century manuscript, the Dunster Codex, goes missing from the rare book collection in the Widener Annex, suspicion falls on Dulcie’s brash Victorian studies friend, Trista, whom the police already suspect of having something to do with the disappearance of visiting scholar Roland Galveston. Dulcie, aided by her ghostly cat, Mr. Grey, and her live-in boyfriend, Chris Sorenson, seeks to solve the puzzle, which soon takes a murderous turn. Fans of academic paranormal cat cozies will be in heaven. Agent: Colleen Mohyde, Doe Coover Agency. (May)

"Had God intended Women onely as a finer sort of Cattle...

"Had God intended Women onely as a finer sort of Cattle,” wrote one early 18th Century woman, “he would have not made them reasonable." Such is the sentiment of the Gothic novelist my heroine Dulcie Schwartz is studying in her latest mystery, Grey Expectations (Severn House) - and isn't it true today, too? Just loved the New York Times story (about the Shakespeare's Sister exhibit at the Folger Library) that included this quote!

"A good solid mystery..." Thank you, Bristol Public Library!

Review from the Bookblog of the Bristol Library

Things finally seem to be looking up for graduate student Dulcie Schwartz. She’s settled in with her boyfriend Chris after her own apartment was destroyed and things are good between them. Her new kitten Esme is becoming dearer to her every day, even if she does like to nip. Dulcie still gets a word or two of comfort and wisdom from her dearly departed cat, Mr. Grey, although he insists on being cryptic. Best of all, she is finally making some progress on her thesis about The Ravages of Umbria, an incomplete gothic novel written in the eighteenth century by an unknown author. Dulcie is determined to try to identify her and try to discover what happened to this courageous, free-thinking woman. Dulcie’s so obsessed that she’s begun to dream about her.

A frantic phone call turns everything upside down. Dulcie’s friend and fellow student Trish calls to say the police have been by to question her and that she’s suspected of homicide. In her efforts to help, Dulcie finds people sometimes aren’t who they claim to be, that books may be haunted, and a valuable clue to her mystery author may be hiding in plain sight.

This is the fifth in the Dulcie Schwartz series and for me, it’s the most successful. Simon has found the perfect tone—voice, if you will—for Mr. Grey and Esme, and given Dulcie some much needed stability in her life. She feels more comfortable with herself. Having a ghostly guide is a problematical thing in most books; either our heroine (it’s usually a she) keeps fighting the idea or else serves as a deus ex machina to clear up plot lines. Having a ghostly guide who’s a cat may sound just too precious for words, but it’s handled very well. Mr. Grey, while offering a word or two, believes kittens, be they human or feline, need to find their own way in the world; he tends to limit his comments to general instructions, such as “Things are not always as they seem.” Mostly he is there for a bit of psychic moral support which Dulcie needs after a life of near-rootlessness and abandonment by her father. I especially like the dynamic in this book between Mr. Grey and Esme, who have brief conversations; he treats Esme much the same way he treats Dulcie.

Equally pleasurable is the parallel that runs between Dulcie’s life and that of her unknown author. Dulcie is so close to the work that she doesn’t see, leaving the reader to feel a bit like Mr. Grey, knowing that we see something Dulcie can’t. The cast of characters, especially Dulcie’s New Age mother, are likeable. English majors will identify with Dulcie’s frustrations in researching and proving her thesis, but non-academics won’t have any trouble following that aspect of the book. In fact, I’m beginning to become as curious as Dulcie as to who this author might have been!

In short, this is a good solid mystery which is fun without being silly, and which melts my cat lover’s heart whenever Esme and/ or Mr. Grey are on the scene!

A faithful reader

Melon, a librarian's cat, gets the jump on my upcoming April release, Grey Expectations (Severn House). He seems engrossed, doesn't he?

Wowza! Library Journal is on the pre-pub ALERT!!

I opened the LJ pre-pub alerts, because I saw it had a Mysteries Jan-April 2012 and I thought, hmm.. maybe one of my books will get a mention. Well, I got most of a whole subsection AND a cover!!!

excerpt below:

Purr
In Clea Simon’s Cats Can’t Shoot: A Pru Marlowe Pet Noir (Poisoned Pen. Apr. 2012. 250p. ISBN 9781590583258. $24.95; pap. ISBN 9781590588697. $14.95), animal psychic Pru Marlowe learns that a White Persian supposedly jostled a fancy dueling pistol, setting if off and killing her owner. But is this puss really responsible? Simon’s Grey Expectations(Severn House. Apr. 2012. 208p. ISBN 9780727881342. $27.95) is the next Dulcie Schwartz mystery, featuring the ghost cat Mr. Grey and the kitten Esmé, who are cozying up to Dulcie’s boyfriend even as she investigates a colleague’s murder. Marian Babson’s No Co-operation from the Cat (Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Mar. 2012. 288p. ISBN 9780312332402. $24.99) features harried Martha, who’s frantically testing recipes for a cookbook when she discovers that the author originally chosen for the book died eating one of the recipes. Japanese bobtail Cho-Cho-San helps out.

http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2011/11/prepub/what-else-is-hot/mystery-previews-february-through-april-2012/

Cats Can't Shoot!

No cover yet, but the pre-order for Cats Can't Shoot (Pru Marlowe pet noir #2) is up at Amazon, which sort of makes it all feel real. The delivery date for this book is April 3, 2012. The fourth Dulcie Schwartz mystery, Grey Expectations (US edition), is due to be released on April 1 (unless that's some kind of a joke...). Which means, once again, this spring I'll have two books out. Whee!

Unveiling my GREY EXPECTATIONS cover!

Coming in 2012 from Severn House! Preorder here.

Grey Zone sighting!

From my lovely agent: "GREY ZONE" on the front desk at the Winchester Public Library. And... great news, folks, GREY EXPECTATIONS is a go! My editor loves it, I'm working on some tiny revisions, and we're talking cover ideas. WHEE!