Mystery We Write Tour: Larissa Reinhart
What characters in the mystery/suspense genre inspired you?
I’m a big fan of traditional English mysteries and have always loved Agatha Christie’s characters, particularly Tommy and Tuppence. I also love Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse and Ngaio Marsh’s Inspector Roderick Alleyn. The more modern mystery characters I like are Martha Grimes’ Inspector Richard Jury and his friend Melrose Plant, and Nancy Martin’s Blackbird sisters series.
What's the best advice you've been given as a writer?
Stephen King’s On Writing has probably had the most influence on me, although I don’t know if you can call it advice. What struck me was how he likes to put his characters into terrible situations and then see how they get out of them. This is what I always strive to do while writing, although there are times when I don’t see how they can get out of the situation. But so far, they have managed to figure something out. Let’s hope that trend continues!
I’ve always read mysteries, starting with the Bobsey Twins. However, when I was 10, one of my friends was murdered and buried in a cornfield next to my house. I’m from a farming village of 600 people, so you can imagine how it rocked our world. (The perp was caught quickly, the sociopathic grandson of the lady who lived down the street). At 10, I wasn’t smart enough to feel frightened, but it did make me curious about the psychology of killers. My mystery, Portrait of a Dead Guy, takes place in a small town, but the murder I knew from childhood isn’t represented here. I actually got the idea of an artist having to paint a coffin portrait after my father’s funeral. My Cherry Tucker mysteries take a more humorous look at small town crimes. Perhaps the grisly murder I knew from childhood made me curious, but I feel unable to put such a gruesome crime into a story.
Leave a comment below to win an eBook edition of Portrait of a Dead Guy. Be sure to visit Evelyn Cullet's blog to read a a sexy encounter between my Remain In Light characters Martin and Christian.
Comments
And thanks Collin for having me on today! Glad to share a spot with another Atlanta author!
It is horrible. Evil exists everywhere, but feels especially startling to find it in a small town. This was 30 years ago, so life has gone on, but I don't think anyone could ever be the same since. I remember her mom coming to our school to talk about it. Kind of bizarre to have those memories mixed in with the typical childhood remembrances.
Julie Gallo
Editorial Intern
Henery Press
Madeline
I didn't even mention Dick Francis. Have a lot of those, too!
Sometimes I wonder why I need to work through some small town or down-home crime or haunting situation. I never experienced the awful thing that happened to you. However, in my never-still imagination, it seems there is something so intriguing and upsetting about a place that's supposed to be "cozy" but harbors secrets and possible menace all the same.
Marja McGraw
What a horrible thing to happen to your friend and to everyone who knew her. No wonder you now write mysteries. But I'm glad you write with humor. We can always use a bit of humor in our lives.