Featured Author - Mary Logue! - Part 3

MLM: Why Mystery/Crime/Thriller/Suspense? What was the draw for you?

MARY: Many reasons—I loved reading them, I love the psychology of people pushed to do such acts. One of the main reasons was I wanted to learn how to write a good plot and I figured writing suspense would teach me that. Now I think all good novels must have suspense in them. Also, my mom loved them.

MLM: All of us are influenced and impacted by TV, movies, books and/or authors at different times in our lives. Who, what and which TV, movies, books and/or authors influenced you? When in your life did you discover them and why were they so influential for you? (Don’t be afraid to give us more than one of each kind!)

MARY: My, what a big question. Interesting that you ask about TV. I’ll tell you one show that has stuck with me is the Rockford Files. I loved the realistic view of a private eye, the trailer, his dad, always getting hurt when he got in a fight. I thought LA Confidential was a terrific movie—the tension just rushed it along.

Books—there are so many. I love the old hard-boiled trio of Ross MacDonald, Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett—I’d add Ross Thomas to that list. On the other side of the ocean, I love the newer mysteries of Frances Fyfield and Minette Walters. Again, very psychological.

MLM: Considering the TV, movies, books and/or authors mentioned, is there one TV, movie, book and/or author in particular that you try to emulate in your writing? Which one(s) and why? Please be as specific as you can! J

MARY: Not really—I try to bring in both aspects of the hard-boiled and the cozier mysteries into my work. The more intense psychological drama of the hard-boiled and the depth of setting and character of the cozy. My mysteries are set in a very small rivertown in Wisconsin, but the main character is a deputy sheriff and she has some difficult and sometimes disturbing cases to solve.

MLM: If you could describe your writing with a word or phrase, what would it be? Please look beyond words like mysterious, suspenseful, creative, unique etc., and delve into the core of your writing to tell us what word or phrase you want readers to take with them when they've finished reading your story.

MARY: I’d like to think that there’s a human depth to my work. These are real people who wash the dishes and love and hate. Realistic and generous, I guess.

MLM: In Part 2 we asked if you believe in mystical Irish lore such as Leprechauns. Have you ever used any type of Irish lore in one of your stories? If so, which lore and what was the situation?

MARY: Not in any of my mysteries—however, I wrote a memoir about my grandmother Mae Kirwin called Halfway Home in which I wrote a lot about the potato famine. This was the reason why my relatives came over from Ireland and ended up in western Minnesota.

MLM: Also in Part 2 we asked you about your views on March. Does this show through in your writing? If so, give some examples how, please!

MARY: What an interesting question. I don’t think I’ve put March in any of my books. Maybe because in the upper Midwest it’s often a season we’d just as soon skip over. Per today—high of 28, no sun. Dreary. My first book started in spring—but I think it was late April or early May. When it finally starts to get really nice here.

MLM: Who decides what characters/creatures you write about, you or your muse? What kind of influence do you have over their actions and the plot, or is the muse always the one deciding who done it, where they done it and with what?

MARY: I’d say we work together. As I often tell my students—plan and then be flexible. The planning is me, the flexible is the muse coming in.

MLM: Of all the stories you’ve written please tell us:
a.) Which character/creature did you have the most fun creating and why? What about this character/creature makes it stand out above all the others?

MARY: I wrote a YA novel called Dancing with an Alien, that had a young boy who came down from another planet. It’s a sci-fi romance. He was called Branko and I loved seeing our earth through his eyes.

b.) If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your characters/creatures in real life, who would it be and why?

MARY: I guess it would have to be Claire. I know I’d like her. She’s the main character of my series. She’s not me—more level-headed, more practical, but I think I’d like to have coffee with her.

c.) Which of your characters/creatures would you never want to meet under any circumstance and why?

MARY: I don’t think there’s any I wouldn’t want to meet. Even my criminals are rounded—maybe the guys in my first Claire mystery who have killed her husband.

d.) If you could choose to visit one setting/world you’ve created which one is it, where is it and why this destination over all the others? What makes it stand out over all the others?

MARY: I live in it. The town I made up for Claire—Fort St. Antoine—is composite of several of the rivertowns along the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi. I have a house in Stockholm, which has a population of around 80 some people. I love it there. My house is on the edge of town, tucked under the limestone bluffs.

MLM: On that note, we’ll end our interview for this week. Thank you so much for joining us this week!

MARY: My pleasure