SB: As for that . . . okay, I did more than ONE rewrite over the six years. In fact, I pretty much re-wrote it every time I got a rejection letter. I'm a public relations person by trade, so I'm used to people "editing" my work. The chairman wants changes, you make changes.
So when an agent or editor said they didn't like something, I changed that something. By the time I joined the writers group, the book wasn't mine anymore. Gary and Ted encouraged me to trust my instincts, so when I went back and rewrote, I didn't do it for the agents or the editors or EVEN the hoped-for reader. I wrote for me. I made the book lighter and put in the word-play. Added things I didn't know if people would enjoy or even notice.
And damned if Ted and Gary weren't right. The book, as I said, finally sold. I DID do one final rewrite and, yes, this was at the request of my editor, who felt the ending . . . well, sucked: "Throwing a cup of coffee in the face of the villain and running to the police may be REALISTIC, Sandy, but it's not very exciting."
"But it was a really HOT cup of coffee," I whimpered.
And then I rewrote the ending. My editor was absolutely right -- it's a much stronger book for it.
AC: Why did you decide to set the Maggy Thorsen books in a coffeehouse?
SB: To me, a coffeehouse is a microcosm of society -- sort of today's Cheers bar, without the booze. It's where we go to hang out, to read, to work, to socialize. It's a place you can go alone and not feel uncomfortable. People get to know each other and spill far more information than they would most any other place. Conversations are not only being carried on at tables, but they're bouncing from table to table, with everyone getting involved. Add high doses of caffeine to that and it seemed to me the PERFECT place for murder.
AC: Even though you're now an established writer, do you still meet with a writing group or exchange work with other writers?
SB: I just moved from Milwaukee to Fort Lauderdale, but I still "meet" with my writers group in Milwaukee via the Internet. We send pages to each other via e-mail and make suggestions the same way. Only difference is that we don't get to hang out together and drink wine!!!
Seriously, though (yeah, like I wasn't serious), I think once you're established it might be even more important, since it's very easy to miss logic problems, typos, etc., when writing on deadline. Besides, writing is isolating, so any time you interact with real live people instead of the ones spinning around in your head it's a good thing.
