Let’s give a warm welcome to author, Mark Reutlinger. Thank you for joining us today!
How long have you been writing?
It seems I’ve been writing all my life, and as a lawyer and law professor I wrote constantly. But I wrote my first novel, “Made in China,” in 2012. I’ve been writing fiction ever since.
What was the inspiration behind your latest release?
“Oy Vey, Maria!” is the third in my “Mrs. Kaplan” mystery series. It was inspired by something a family friend happened to tell me. Her elderly mother, who resided in a retirement home, had hired a private companion to help her with dressing, drive her around, and generally provide whatever services the home itself did not. It turned out the companion was taking advantage of our friend’s mother, even stealing money from her. Fortunately, this was discovered and the companion dismissed. Our friend said, “You ought to work this into one of your Mrs. Kaplan stories,” and I agreed. So an unreliable companion is at the heart of “Oy Vey, Maria!”. She is, in fact, Maria.
Why did you decide to write a mystery?
I write cozy mysteries because I like to read them and enjoy working up the plots. I prefer to write with humor, and cozy mysteries offer that opportunity. And once I had embarked on my “Mrs. Kaplan” mystery series, each of which revolves around a Jewish holiday, I simply continued on from holiday to holiday, murder to murder.
Where do you get your ideas?
In addition to getting ideas from incidents in my life or related to me by friends, if there’s an important social issue I think is worth examining, a novel is a good way to do it. (The classic example, of course, is Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle.”) That’s what I did in my first novel, “Made in China,” which involves our over-dependence on foreign sources for almost everything we buy or sell. I sometimes get a good idea when I’m lying in bed at night, and then I have to find a pad and paper to write it down, hoping I can decipher what I scribbled in the morning.
Do ideas for plot or characters appear first?
Generally the plot precedes the characters. But of course, once I have a set of characters established in a series, I then have to come up with plots into which to insert them.
What is your writing process like? Are you more of a plotter or a pantser?
I’m more of a pantser. Once I have the plot generally in mind, the story tends to write itself. I seldom know just how it will proceed or end before I get there. I’ve sometimes gone back and deleted characters or entire subplots midway through because they didn’t work out as well as I’d expected.
How many hours do you dedicate each day toward writing?
It varies. When I’m in the midst of a story and have a lot of ideas I want to put down, I might write for several hours straight. But when I’m plodding along trying to find the right direction for my story, I won’t spend a lot of time at one sitting or on one day. And of course there are those days when I simply have nothing to say.
What does literary success mean to you?
Although like any writer I’d like my books to be spectacularly successful and make me fabulously wealthy, I’m somewhat more realistic than that. I’m more interested in how many people read and enjoy my books than in how much money I make from them. I primarily want to reach the widest possible audience, and the more readers I reach, the more successful I’ll consider my writing career to be.
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
My favorite part of the process is sitting at the computer and writing as fast as I can because I have a great idea for a plot twist or snappy dialogue. (My least favorite part is marketing my books afterwards.)
How do you deal with writer’s block?
I try not to sit and stare at the computer waiting for inspiration, but get away from it completely for a while, perhaps going for a walk or bike ride. I may wait a day or two before coming back to my story, unless inspiration strikes before then.
Which authors inspire you?
My stories have been inspired by many authors, but most directly I would list Agatha Christie, P. G. Wodehouse, Donald Westlake, Terry Pratchett, and Alexander McCall Smith.
Do you write in other genres?
Yes, I write in at least three genres: Cozy mysteries, caper crime stories, and political thrillers.
What part of this book did you have the hardest time writing?
As I said, my “Mrs. Kaplan” stories revolve around different Jewish holidays. I’d already used Passover and Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year), so I decided to work the plot around Purim. But Purim is less well known by the general public, and its celebration is often focused on children. So I had to come up with a way that a retirement home would celebrate Purim and work in a murder. It took some serious thought.
What part of this book was the most fun to write?
I always enjoy writing the more humorous scenes (like the “pickle” scene in this story), and especially the dialogue. I like to imagine what the conversation would be like in such a situation.
What project are you currently working on?
I have two projects going: I’m writing a murder mystery involving the game of pickleball, and I’m revising my first novel, “Made in China,” to bring it up to date and make some changes in the plot suggested by my experience writing novels since it was published.
AUTHOR: Mark Reutlinger
TITLE: Oy Vey, Maria!
GENRE: Cozy mystery
BLURB:
Rose Kaplan and her sidekick Ida are at it again. It’s the holiday of Purim, and almost everyone at the Julius and Rebecca Cohen Home for Jewish Seniors is in costume for the Purim play. All except one, who will instead have to be fitted for a shroud. Once again, “Mrs. K” and Ida are called upon to solve the puzzle of a mysterious death at the Home. Described by Chanticleer Book Reviews as “at times more Lucy and Ethel than Holmes and Watson, with a soupcon of Miss Jane Marple,” these geriatric amateur sleuths will keep you laughing, guessing, and maybe even learning a bissel Yiddish!
AUTHOR BIO:
Mark Reutlinger is an attorney and Professor of Law Emeritus at Seattle University. Having written several legal treatises explaining the law during his career, he now writes novels in which the law is frequently broken, including the “Mrs. Kaplan” cozy mystery series (Mrs. Kaplan and the Matzoh Ball of Death, A Pain in the Tuchis, and Oy Vey, Maria!), the political thrillers Made in China and Sister-in-Law: Violation, Seduction, and the President of the United States (the latter under the pseudonym M. R. Morgan), and the caper crime story Murder with Strings Attached (which received First Place for Humor in the Top Shelf Awards). In his spare time, Mark likes to play tennis and the clarinet, work on his model railroad, build humorous sculptures, and drive his Morgan Plus 8 roadster. Mark and his wife Analee live in University Place, Washington.
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PURCHASE LINKS:
Reading Between the Crimes 