Interview with Author Lane Stone by Melissa Brooks
Lane Stone is the author of the Tiara Investigations series, published by Cozy Cat Press, and the Pet Palace Mystery series, published by Lyrical Underground (an imprint of Kensington Publishing). I interviewed her to find out more about her books, her inspiration, and what she is working on now. You can find out more about Lane and her books at www.LaneStoneBooks.com.
1. Have you always been interested in writing?
I had a corporate career in human resources, but my favorite part of the job was the writing – training manuals, newsletters, anything. And I’ve always loved reading.
2. What inspired you to start writing mysteries?
I grew up reading them. As I’ve said on conference panels, as you learn about the genre, you’ll find an underlying belief that evil, or chaos, can be overcome by one well-meaning individual. Like a Miss Marple or a Nancy Drew. That might sound very baby boomerish, and that’s certainly what I am, but obviously it goes back much further and is at the heart of a well-written mystery.
3. What is your writing process like? How does writing a story start for you?
I spend about a month plotting. Those notes become my outline. Yep, I’m an outliner. Since I write books in a series, my protagonist and supporting cast has already been decided. I start new books by choosing a victim. For cozies, this means someone that at least three people want to see dead. Of course, it’s different with a thriller where the victim is often random.
4. Where do you find inspiration for the plots of your books?
Though I write humorous cozies, I actually start with a compelling question. For DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, I wondered what the best way to protect infrastructure was: cybersecurity or hard security, like guards and cameras. Buford Dam is in the area where that series is set, and that’s what I had in mind. I asked my husband’s nephew, who works in Naval Intelligence, and without missing a beat, he said, “cybersecurity.” Next, I asked the same question to one of my sources, who works in bomb detection and is near retirement age. He answered, just as quickly, “hard security.” To me, the way they were both so certain was fascinating. And I took it from there and wrote a victim convinced he was right on this topic.
5. Do you get writer’s block? If so, how do you deal with it?
When I get writer’s block, it’s usually during the plotting phase. For me, plotting and writing are like two separate jobs for my brain. And I’m not sure it’s really writer’s block. Let’s face it, plotting a book is hard. It’s more than the butler did it, in the library, with a candlestick. You have to get the protagonist from the body being discovered through a maze of clues, coming up with a clever way for her to get each morsel of information. So, that’s my long way of saying, sometimes what we call writer’s block is just the job getting hard. We want to put the work down rather than push forward, but that’s what you have to do if you want to be an author, rather than somebody with a half-written manuscript in a drawer.
6. What was your inspiration for the characters Leigh, Tara, and Victoria from your Tiara Investigations series? Why did you make them former beauty queens?
Once, I was hiking with two other women, and it got dark, and we got lost. In the hours it took us to get ourselves unlost, we discovered skills we didn’t know we had. One woman was our heart. She kept us buoyed and confident that we would be alright. Another was so physically strong, and she got us up a cliff face. My superpower was my brain’s ability to read our topographical map. And that’s how the Tiara Investigations co-protagonists, work together. And why former beauty queens? I love how not a single one of them is living in the past, or trying to be young, when it would have been so easy for them to fall into that trap. They enjoy and use the power they have in their mid to late forties. By the way, FOREIGN AFFAIRS can be read for free here.
7. What was your inspiration for Sue Patrick and Lady Anthea from your Pet Palace Mystery series? Why did you make them the owners of a doggy daycare?
In all of my books, the subject is murder, but I’m really writing about relationships. And aren’t we all? The recurring theme is women supporting one another. They just happen to be amateur sleuths. Elvis-fan Sue Patrick and the very cultured Lady Anthea Fitzwalter have nothing in common, but their friendship works. Can you imagine, say, Dolly Parton and Dame Maggie Smith in the same room. What fun! I’m a dog lover and loved having them in my imaginary world. Talk about bring your dog to work day. That’s every day for me.
8. Are you working on anything right now?
I’m working on a nonfiction book about American nuns in Poland during World War II. I just returned from Rome where I spent time with the archivist at their Generalate, which is like their headquarters. When that book is out, I’ll announce it first on my website, www.LaneStoneBooks.com.