Grave on Grand Avenue is a Rush!

This week I have the pleasure of welcoming Edgar Award Winning and National Bestselling author of GRAVE ON GRAND AVENUE, An Officer Ellie Rush Mystery, Naomi Hirahara to the Cozy Corner.

Kym: Hi Naomi! Congratulations on the release of your second novel in your Officer Ellie Rush Mystery series, Grave on Grand Avenue.

Naomi: Thanks for having me here, Kym!

Kym: With a very strong background in the non-fiction writing world as a reporter and editor of The Rafu Shimpo, the Los Angeles Japanese Daily Newspaper along with having multiple non-fiction books published, you broke into the world of fiction with your first mystery, Summer of the Big Bachi, A Mas Arai Mystery in 2004. Since then you’ve had four more mysteries in that series, and ventured into the middle grade genre with 1001 Cranes before writing Murder on Bamboo Lane, the first Officer Ellie Rush Mystery.

Naomi, can you tell our readers what made you transition from non-fiction, to your Mas Arai Mystery series?

Naomi: My intention from the very beginning of my writing career was to publish a novel. My first love was fiction, but I realized that it’s difficult to make a living writing fiction. Lawrence Block had a column in Writer’s Digest, and wrote that developing writers should get day jobs that either 1) make the most money with the least amount of effort; 2) introduce the writer to a wide array of people and experience; or 3) involve writing to hone skills. I took that advice to heart. My first real day job was as a reporter for The Rafu Shimpo. It was such excellent training – I can’t tell how helpful it was. I interviewed the poorest of the poor and international leaders. I followed crime stories from the incident to arrest to court proceedings. I faced angry critics who were unhappy with what my reporters or I wrote. In terms of writing, I couldn’t wait for the muse to visit me – I had a deadline and pressmen who were waiting for our stories to be completed and laid out. It was an extremely stressful and taxing job, but so gratifying as well. Since I was still young at this time, I would wake up early and work on my novel, which I eventually had to rewrite about four times. The first chapter alone was probably rewritten thirty-three times. I know this is strange to say – but looking back, I’m even impressed with my own tenacity and determination. I had a story that I wanted to write. I thought that I was writing literary fiction, but with my spare journalistic-inspired prose, it turned out that the mystery genre was the best container for what I wanted to express.

Kym: In an interview with Carolyn Kellogg from the Los Angeles Times, you said Chester Himes and Walter Mosley were influential to you in how you mixed a sub-culture with a mystery format. Did they also influence your work in your Ellie Rush Mystery series or was there another influence?

Naomi: Ellie Rush is an entirely different ball of wax. To tell you quite honestly, I haven’t seen a character like her in the mystery genre. It’s a police procedural, but not excessively dark. She’s a rookie and idealistic. She’s definitely a product of the 21st century. In terms of tone, these books may be similar to a book I loved, Like a Hole in the Head, written by Jen Banbury in 1998. Lisa Lutz also has a light tone with her Spellman books.

Kym: Your last hero was a very quiet, unassuming gardener who found himself in the middle of a homicide investigation when he least expected it. What made you choose a rookie police officer from L.A.P.D. assigned to Bike Patrol as your protagonist for the Ellie Rush Mystery series?

Naomi: Two reasons – one was I tired trying to figure out how an amateur sleuth would get involved in all these murders! It takes a deft hand to create a world in which this is possible. At least with a police officer, the encounters with crime are part of the job. I don’t pretend to be any expert on law enforcement, however, so I made her a rookie and being a bike cop made her even more accessible to her constituents. I also wanted Ellie to have friends and family members who don’t understand her career choice. She still feels pressure from these outside forces; she’s not yet fully integrated in the police force.

Kym: In GRAVE ON GRAND AVENUE, a famous cellist is a key component of the mystery, and in your acknowledgments you mention your research at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Can you tell our readers a little bit about what that entailed?

Naomi: Well, first of all, I became a season subscriber of their classical music series. My husband is not into classical music, so I would go by myself, which actually was good for me to observe not only the musicians, but also the other attendees. The Hall was many wonderful free guided tours and lectures, which I took full advantage of.

Kym: I love Ellie’s bond to the Green Mile, a 1969 Buick Skylark that is anything but cool. I had a similar bond with a 1967 Plymouth Barracuda. Is there a Green Mile in your history?

Naomi: There are many “junkers” in my past car history. The Buick Skylark is actually based on a car that our former pressmen and my friend still has! In Murder on Bamboo Lane, there’s an old Honda Accord that’s referred to as the Ratmobile. That was my old car. I guess I’m showing my LA colors, because transportation is so important to us. I still have my late father’s 1996 Toyota Camry. His brother, my uncle, in Japan made a little turtle (turtles are very meaningful in Japanese culture) out of string which still hangs from the rearview mirror.

Kym: Ellie is a young rookie cop with dreams of becoming a homicide detective. You captured her hopes and ambitions, along with her insecurities as a young female officer very well. Is she based on a real officer you know, or did your personal knowledge of working in a male dominated field assist you with her character development?

Naomi: What a great question! Actually a lot of Ellie’s struggles and feelings come from my own life – wondering if I could really make it as a writer and then joining an all-male newsroom. I’ve discovered – and since you are a former law enforcement officer, you would know this better than I – that perspectives of female officers are highly individual. They depend many times on that woman’s particular situation and personality. I attend a panel at the California Crime Writers Conference in Los Angeles a few years ago, and a highly decorated female police officer and FBI agent on the panel said that they encountered few discriminatory incidents, while someone in the audience had a completely different experience.

Kym: What do you like most about Ellie? What about her, drives you absolutely crazy?

Naomi: I like that she’s a kind, compassionate person. Her emotionality gets on my nerves sometimes. Like, get over it!

Kym: What do you have in store for Ellie’s next great mystery?

Naomi: It’s the anime convention in Los Angeles and a young notorious high-tech entrepreneur is found dead in Little Tokyo . . . in costume. (It’s called cosplay.)

Kym: Thank you for joining us on the Cozy Corner. I truly enjoyed Ellie Rush. Can you tell our readers where they can reach you on social media?

Naomi: On Facebook or on Twitter as @gasagasagirl

Kym: Until next time, get cozy and read on!

Kym Roberts is a retired detective sergeant who looks for passion, mystery and suspense in every book she reads and writes. She can be found on the web at kymroberts.com, on Facebook at Kym Roberts (author) and on Twitter @kymroberts911. Look for her latest release, DEAD MAN'S CARVE, A Tickled to Death Mystery on Amazon. (All proceeds will be donated to wounded veterans)