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A Conversation with Betty Webb (2008)
Betty: As a reporter, I've come across stories about forms of child abuse that were so appalling that the print media wouldn't print them -- or printed them in such a way that the actual method of abuse was never referred to. That odd delicacy by a very undelicate industry prompted Desert Cut, which is based on true cases in the U.S. This 3000-years-old custom has entered the U.S. with immigrants from the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, and is still being practiced here, although underground. But every now and then, one of the girls (usually between ages of two and twelve) winds up dead or in a hospital emergency room, and then the practice comes to light. But as I said, reporting on it has been spotty at best, and almost always highly censored. In Desert Cut, my P.I. Lena Jones finds a young girl's body in the desert, and understandably believes that the child is the victim of a sexual pervert. Her investigation, though, leads her not only to two of a small town's registered sex offenders, but to the town's African and Middle Eastern immigrant population, and a secretive cult of white fundamentalists. Mike: You don't back off from tackling topics most writers tend to avoid. You didn't play it safe with Desert Wives and you're not playing it safe with Desert Cut. You got quite a reputation for Desert Wives and I'm sure you'll expand that with this book. What motivates you to go there? And what kind of reception do you get from your readers? Betty: Again, as a journalist, I just naturally gravitate to true stories that have been all-too-lightly covered. When I wrote about polygamy in Desert Wives, no one was writing about it; now everyone is. I hope the same will be true about Desert Cut. This is a dark, dark practice that needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into the light, and those who practice it need to be jailed like the criminals they are. Mike: And yet I understand you're planning to start a cozy series? Betty: Once I'd started on my three-year-stint of research for Desert Cut, I realized my life was going to be very dark for a while, so to cheer myself up, I -- just for fun -- wrote a funny, mainly lighthearted mystery called The Anteater of Death, based on some of the experiences I've had as a volunteer at the Phoenix Zoo. Once I finished it, I had a good laugh, put it away, then went to work on Desert Cut. But once it was finished, I hauled Anteater out again and took a good look at it. "Self," I said to myself, "this is actually a prettyy good book. Yeah, there are no 'heavy' social problems in here, but darned, it's good!" The amateur sleuth is Tedd, a poor little rich girl who asserts her independence from her rich-but-goofy family by taking a job as a zookeeper in a California zoo. Right away she finds a dead body in the anteater exhibit. And since Lucy, the anteater she is so fond of, becomes the prime suspect, Teddy decides to find out who really killed the victim. Anyway, I sent the book along to Barbara Peters, my editor at Poisoned Pen Press, asking for her opinion (since I don't always trust my own). Darned if she didn't offer me a contract, and asked me what the next book would be. So now I'm off and running with a whole new series. Mike: I'll look forward to it. If Barbara Peters loved it, I'm sure I will, too. When can we expect to see it in print? Betty: The Anteater of Death will be released by Poisoned Pen Press in March, 2009. Mike: Will there be more Lena Jones books? Have you considered a standalone or a different hard-core crime series? Or something else altogether? Betty: There are at least five more Lena Jones books on the table, including Desert Sins, which I'm writing right now. Desert Sins is the sequel to Desert Wives, only this time, it's about urban polygamy. As to doing a standalone, I tried one once and gave up three chapters in. I missed Lena. Mike: You've been a book reviewer for many years. Who are your favorite and most admired writers? Who did you discover, unexpectedly, in the course of reviewing? Betty: My favorite writers (not in the mystery field, because as a reviewer for Mystery Scene Magazine I need to stay as neutral as possible) are Carol Shields, Lisa See, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, Walter Stegner, Frederick Buechner, Ron Carlson, Barry Unsworth... and so many more. As you can see, I have a very wide range of literary tastes. My great discovery in the course of reviewing were the novels of Jewell Parker Rhodes, an African-American writer whose books are all based on real people, such as Frederick Douglass and Marie Leveau. My admiration for her work is total. Mike: Many readers would love to try their hand at writing. Do you have any suggestions about how to get started? Betty: Yep. Stop making excuses and get down to work. I wrote my first three novels between 3 and 8 a.m., then went to work at the newspaper. It took me about four years of that before I hit my stride and produced Desert Noir. Writing requires sacrifice and discipline; if you don't have those two qualities, neither desire nor talent will carry you through. It's tough, tough work and the rewards are a long time coming. Those expecting instant gratification should seek out other work. Mike: What about those who've already got a manuscript ready to take to market. Everybody wants to know the secret of how to get published? Do you have any to share? Betty: The best thing to do is get an agent, since most publishers are no longer accepting unagented manuscripts. My agent not only sold my books for me, but also the movie rights to Desert Wives. If you can't find an agent -- I found mine in The Literary Marketplace -- you need to consider the possibility that your work isn't ready for publication yet. Take a creative writing course taught by a PUBLISHED NOVELIST (and I don't mean a self-published novelist, either). For instance, I teach creative writing at Phoenix College, which has several other published novelists on its staff. But ASU is good, too. And so, I hear, is UA and other colleges and universities through the U.S. I do not recommend self-publishing your novel. While self-publishing might work for a very small number of non-fiction writers, it's deadly for novelists because -- regardless of what some people have been told -- once you've self-published, it's almost impossible to then get published by a traditional publisher. Mike: Where can Betty Webb fans, new and old, most easily find your books? And where can they find the author offering personal insights and signing books? Betty: My books are available at bookstores everywhere. If they're sold out or not currently in stock, they can be ordered at that bookstore. If you prefer to buy online, check out the wonderful independent bookstores out there, such as Poisoned Pen, Changing Hands, Clues Unlimited, Book 'Em, Book Carnival, The Mystery Bookstore (in Westwood CA & in San Francisco Ca), Mysterious Galaxy... and any other mystery/independent bookstore you know of. And always, of course, there is the A-word online store. JUST DESERTS: A BIBLIOGRAPHYNOVELS Desert Noir (2001, Lena Jones) Desert Wives (2003, Lena Jones) Desert Shadows (2004, Lena Jones) Desert Run (2006, Lena Jones) Desert Cut (2008, Lena Jones) The Anteater of Death (Teddy Bentley, 2009) Desert Lost (Lena Jones, 2009) The Koala of Death (Teddy Bentley, 2010) Desert Wind (Lena Jones, 2012) The Llama of Death, (Teddy Bentley, 2013) Desert Rage (Lena Jones, 2014) To keep up with Betty, visit her at her web site or drop by her blog. |
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Betty Webb is a journalist-turned-mystery author who has interviewed everyone from U.S. presidents to the homeless. Her best-selling Lena Jones detective series (published by Poisoned Pen Press) --