And our Sue's Clues Mystery Author is:

Photo from valerieblock.com

Our Mystery Author this round is Valerie Block. She has written several books, all receiving wonderful reviews. Born and raised in New York City, she now makes her home across the Hudson in Montclair, New Jersey. Valerie lives there with her author husband, Alexis Romay.

Valerie tells us more about herself in the interview below. When you are finished, visit her website to learn more about her and her books.

http://www.valerieblock.com/content/index.asp

Thank you, Valerie!

1. In DON’T MAKE A SCENE, I found references to NYC and Montclair, NJ. I hear you’re a New York native, and now live in Montclair. It's not so far from the Big Apple but I'm thinking it must be two different worlds. Is that a true assumption? Have you lived there long and what was the adjustment like?

I was born in NYC and spent much of my life there, and if you had told me, say 10 years ago that I’d be living off of Route 3 in New Jersey, I would have laughed out loud. But then I saw the town, which is a real town – not just a generic housing subdivision near a mall, my New Yorker’s assumption about the Jersey suburbs. And I just fell in love with it. Although I’d enjoyed the variety, the opportunities, the food, museums and movies in the city, I was really ready to leave LONG before I left. I was physically uncomfortable in NYC – the noise, the crowding, the pace, the incessant stimulation, the constant confrontation. So when we moved, about four years ago, there was no transition: I was instantly at home, although getting to know people took a bit longer. Since my identity was so tied up with the city, it was odd to say, “I live in New Jersey.” And when you say that, many New Yorkers move on, bored with you. We’re such an arrogant breed!

2. You are married to author Alexis Romay. What is it like having two working authors in one household? Do you use each other as sounding boards, so to speak, or is it more like you are both in your own zones when writing?

In addition to his role as husband, Alexis is also my best friend, my colleague, my muse, my first reader and editor, my copy editor, my conscience. When he took a full-time job about a year ago, I was out of sorts for weeks! We have separate spaces for our work, and try to respect each other’s time. But he reads all my work in progress, and I read all his work in progress, with the exception of his novel, SALIDAS DE EMERGENCIA (Emergency Exits), which proved a bit daunting for me, as my Spanish is still evolving. I have to look up every fifth word. I’m about a third of the way through it now, and it’s already published – Baile del Sol brought it out in Spain this year. We are very supportive of each other, and it works out very well.

3. How did you decide to become an author? Is it something you've always wanted to do?

Yes. I loved books as a child. I read under the covers with a flashlight, and fell asleep over a book every night. I couldn’t think of anything better than to be a writer. Although by now I’m well aware of the difficulties in this profession, I still feel very privileged to be published.

4. Love the titles of your books. They are so easy to remember since they are phrases heard all the time. Was this intentional?

Certainly!

As well as being a phrase in popular usage, each title refers to a character’s dilemma in that particular book. The original title of NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS was IMPERTINENCE. My editor felt that some people might not know what impertinence was, or how to spell it, so I came up with NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS as a more accessible substitute. WAS IT SOMETHING I SAID? replaced the original title of that book, PANIC, INDIFFERENCE AND JOY. Nobody liked that one.

The original title of my new book was VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED. I passed through many titles, all of which my editor hated, until I had one I felt really summed up my feelings about the revision process: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. She didn’t like that one either.

5. What is the hardest part for you when it comes to writing? The easiest?

The hardest part is going back to work you assumed finished and revising. If time has passed, I might see something awful, and think: how did I miss that? How did I let that stay in there? And then I wonder: what awful thing is still in there that I’m blind to now?

The easiest thing, and the most enjoyable, is the investigation phase, where you’re walking around the world taking notes, thinking about the characters and the situation, doing research. You’re on the cusp of writing, but you haven’t actually faced the blank page (or empty Word document), and the work is all ahead of you, but it’s a translucent glow that expands to fit everything that you encounter. It’s a magical time of almost pure enjoyment.

6. Tell us about DON'T MAKE A SCENE.

I wanted to write about what happens when the eternal allure of classic movies collides with the daily indignities of contemporary life. I had a situation, a woman who begins a romance that ends before it has a chance to take off, with a man whose wife refuses on principle to grant him a divorce. And although they’re attracted to each other, things don’t move forward – and not just because of the stalemate with his wife. Just because he’s a man and she’s a woman, doesn’t mean that they fall in love, and burst into song on public transportation, the way it happens in the movies. I saw their story as the kind of anti-climactic stuff that movies just don’t deal with. The characters of Diane and Vladimir emerged as people as I began to write.

I also wanted to examine how certain films can define the stages of one’s life. In the process, I thought I’d take a look at the movie-going process, everything from waiting beneath the marquee, buying popcorn at the concession stand, choosing a seat carefully to avoid talkers, kickers, and people who have read the review, and need to recount the climactic moments of the film to come. Strategic seating is so important in the movies.

7. What's next?

I’m working on some personal essays and articles, short pieces. This is a form I haven’t worked at in a while, so I’m a bit rusty. I plan to begin another book in a few months, and I am excited to say that I have no idea what it will be about!