Margaret Mizushima is the author of the critically acclaimed Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries. Her books have garnered a Reader’s Favorite gold medal and have been listed as finalists in the RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards, the Colorado Book Awards, and the International Book Awards. Margaret serves on the board for the Rocky Mountain chapter of Mystery Writers of America, and she lives in Colorado where she assists her husband with their veterinary practice and Angus cattle herd. She can be found on Facebook/AuthorMargaretMizushima, on Twitter @margmizu, on Instagram at margmizu, and on her website at www.margaretmizushima.com.
Q: Congratulations on the release of your latest book, Burning Ridge. To begin with, can you gives us a brief summary of what the story is about and what compelled you to write it?
A: Burning Ridge is the fourth book in the Timber Creek K-9 series, and it’s an action-packed adventure featuring Deputy Mattie Cobb, her dog Robo, and local veterinarian Cole Walker. When Cole and his two daughters find partial human remains up on Redstone Ridge, a beautiful place in the Colorado mountain wilderness, Mattie and Robo are called to investigate. After Robo finds a man’s burned body, Mattie soon realizes that she has close personal ties to the victim and she is determined to learn the truth behind his death. But the perpetrator has other plans, and Mattie finds herself the target of a sadistic killer. Cole and Robo search for the missing Mattie while a blazing forest fire threatens them all.
The plot for Burning Ridge came to me while I was writing Hunting Hour, the episode that comes before this one in the series. This villain sprang from Mattie’s past to destroy everything she once believed to be true about herself, and I couldn’t wait to finish book three so that I could get started on book four.
Q: What do you think makes a good mystery? Could you narrow it down to the three most important elements? Is it even possible to narrow it down?
A: I’ll list what I believe to be the top three elements from the ones I enjoy in a good mystery. First of all, you must have likeable and compelling characters. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re good people, though most of my favorite characters have depth and goodness at their core, but the reader needs to be able to relate to and root for the protagonists in the story. Second, you need a good puzzle. It helps if the plot has twists that the reader didn’t see coming, but it’s even more important that clues are laid down that the reader can follow along with the investigator. And third, you should have an interesting setting that can be shaped to set tone and sometimes act as a barrier or even an antagonist to help develop you protagonist’s character arc. Setting itself can aid or impede a character’s progress in solving the mystery. I’m sure others might think differently to answer this question, but this is the way I see it.
Q: How did you go about plotting your story? Or did you discover it as you worked on the book?
A: I like to start with a lacey outline, one that has plenty of holes in it. As I write, these holes need to get filled in, but at least the outline gives me a sense of where I’m going. Sometimes I write out the outline, and sometimes I simply use a plotting board broken up into a grid that represents chapters. I can then post sticky notes on each space to tag what’s going to happen and what clues I want to plant. I’m trying this last method with book five, and so far I really like it.
Q: Tell us something interesting about your protagonist and how you developed him or her. Did you do any character interviews or sketches prior to the actual writing?
A: I have two main protagonists, Deputy Mattie Cobb and veterinarian Cole Walker. And I shouldn’t forget Mattie’s K-9 partner; he’s important too, but I would call him a strong secondary character. Mattie is a tough woman who grew up in foster homes after her mother abandoned her and her brother when she was six, while Cole is recently divorced after his wife left and he’s in the throes of learning how to be a single parent and still handle his busy veterinary practice. I use a written character profile to first develop my protagonists, and then I flesh out their personalities by assigning each one a type on the Enneagram, an ancient system that reflects how different people view their worlds. This way I can identify exactly which character traits I want to bring out in scene and I can predict how my characters will react under different circumstances. This is the first time I’ve used the system, and it’s given me lovely results. (For more information, you can go to an online bookseller and search for books on The Enneagram.)
Q: In the same light, how did you create your antagonist or villain? What steps did you take to make him or her realistic?
A: I like to set up my villain’s goals and motivations from the beginning. Sometimes I like to make it so that Mattie shares similar goals, so that she can relate to the villain, which is what sparked the creation of the bad guy in Burning Ridge. But by the time the story evolved, he morphed into someone so twisted that there was no way Mattie could relate to him.
Q: How did you keep your narrative exciting throughout the novel? Could you offer some practical, specific tips?
A: Bestselling author Jeffery Deaver says to eliminate all the parts in your novel that a reader might want to skip. I like that, although it’s not necessarily specific. On my plotting board, I try to keep the action going by moving through a variety of dog-action scenes, veterinary work, and interviews with lots of dialogue. I like to keep my chapters short (about 10 pages) and use that white space (shorter paragraphs sprinkled with dialogue). I also use beta readers who give me feedback regarding scenes that move too slowly or provide unnecessary information.
Q: Setting is also quite important and in many cases it becomes like a character itself. What tools of the trade did you use in your writing to bring the setting to life?
A: Ah…seems we might agree on setting being an important element! I chose an outdoor setting in the Rocky Mountains because of the challenges it brings to the story. The setting also reflects on the people who populate the book: rugged folks who love nature, animals, and are open toward others. In Burning Ridge, a charred body is found in a beautiful spot in the wilderness area where they have to pack in on horseback or hike to investigate the crime. And in fact, Mattie’s fear of horses plays into the mystery as well. And of course, the forest fire that builds toward the book’s climax creates physical and emotional challenges for the characters as well as tension for the reader.
Q: Did you know the theme(s) of your novel from the start or is this something you discovered after completing the first draft? Is this theme(s) recurrent in your other work?
A: I almost always know the themes for each book before I begin. Burning Ridge is about family and all the forms that might take, including those members who don’t share your bloodline. It’s a theme that is woven into all of the series episodes in various forms, because finding her family and having her own family are two of Mattie’s heart’s desires. And since Cole’s wife has withdrawn from him and his two daughters, he’s working hard to reshape his family and give his children a loving home. Now…wouldn’t it be great if these two could get together?
Q: Where does craft end and art begin? Do you think editing can destroy the initial creative thrust of an author?
A: This is a good question. Craft and art intermingle during the writing of a manuscript’s rough draft. Art can continue to flourish during the editing process, too, if you have the right editor. A professional editor who is experienced with the development of mysteries can be worth his/her weight in gold. Working with the right critique group can also help, but I’ve found that it’s important to work with others who are writing within the mystery genre when creating that initial draft. Otherwise, it’s very easy to take a wrong turn.
Q: What three things, in your opinion, make a successful novelist?
A: The ability to sit in isolation for hours at the keyboard is a must. Yes, it’s possible to write at a coffee shop or other social venue, but in the end, a writer must go inside her own head to get those words onto the page. Persistence is a second quality that a writer needs to have in order to achieve publication. You must persist in finishing what you start, and you must be able to persist during countless revisions in order to elevate your work to the best it can be. And finally, you need to have a thick skin. This applies to the critique process, the editorial process, and the review process after publication, that time when “Aunt Rosie” tells everyone that she doesn’t like your work.
Q: A famous writer once wrote that being an author is like having to do homework for the rest of your life. What do you think about that?
A: I agree to a certain extent. When writing a first draft, I write just about every day. I’m a fairly slow writer, so I shoot for 1000 words in my manuscript each morning in order to finish a draft and still have time to revise and polish before meeting my deadline. I save my day job and other writing duties for the afternoon. During the writing process it is like having homework, but I expect I will actually retire someday and I won’t be writing novels for the rest of my life. Then again, I might be surprised.
Q: Are there any resources, books, workshops or sites about craft that you’ve found helpful during your writing career?
A: The annual Colorado Gold writing conference in Denver and the Pike’s Peak Writers Conference in Colorado Springs have been extremely helpful in terms of writing workshops, networking with other writers, and meeting my agent and publisher. I have two shelves of resource books in my office and too many to list here, but I’ve used repeatedly the Donald Maass books for Writing the Breakout Novel, and the Debra Dixon book GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share with my readers about the craft of writing?
A: In the beginning, tapping into the flow of writing can be a heady experience. Enjoy it, but also remember that you must finish what you start, even if that means plodding along at times. You can always revise bad writing, but you can’t revise a blank page.
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