Interview with Leslie Caine

Interior design has always been a secret passion of mine. I will be the first tell you that I have absolutely no artistic flair. Sure I can tell what looks right or what might be out of place, but to actually come up with the ideas myself, I am hopeless. When I was asked to open up our home for the Upper Chesapeake Cancer Alliance Christmas Tour last year I did what any design challenged person would do. I asked The Bombay Company to come in and decorate my entire house for the holiday season. Let me preface this by saying that we had only been in our new house since August, so Christmas decorations were not high on my priority list. With the help of two talented decorators, April and Dave, our house was turned into a Winter Wonderland. They gave the holiday season a whole new meaning for our family and transformed our home into a designer’s holiday dream house.   After witnessing the spectacular transformation, I truly believe that interior decorating is its own type of art form.

When I stumbled upon Leslie Caine’s novel DEATH BY INFERIOR DESIGN at my local library, I knew that I hit the jackpot. Not only was the cover bold, pink (my favorite color), and intriguing, the thought of combining murder, lust and interior design in a novel was absolutely brilliant. I wish I had thought of that! I could not wait to get home and start reading it. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. When the sequel, FALSE PREMISES, came out, I high-tailed it to Barnes & Noble and actually bought it, which is a big deal for me.  I never buy a book, unless it is a present for someone. (Books are great gifts, just in case you need some last minute shopping ideas!!)  But anyway, as a reviewer, one of the many perks that I enjoy is getting to keep the novels that I review. If I actually go out and buy a book, it is a big deal. That tells you right there how highly I must think of Leslie Caine’s writing.

As you will soon find out, I am not the only one who likes her writing. Wait until you find out what special project Leslie has in her future!! Go grab some hot cocoa and enjoy the conversation Leslie and I had about her writing career.

JEN: What is your educational background?

LESLIE:  I was a creative writing major at SUNY at Oswego for two years, and then I dropped out and moved to Boston, because I wanted to write fiction and realized that I’d lived in quiet and comfort in upstate New York and had nothing to write about.  While I was completing my bachelors’ degree—in journalism—at Suffolk University in Boston, I was taken hostage in a robbery of the bar where I was the head waitress, teaching me that having something “to write about” isn’t always a good thing.  When I moved to Colorado after graduating, I realized that journalism jobs paying living wages aren’t easy to come by, so I researched the field of technical writing and went back to school to earn a second degree as an electrical engineer technician.  A few years ago, I completed a course in interior decorating, which is a passion of mine and led directly to my new mystery series.

JEN: Have you always wanted to be a writer?

LESLIE:  Pretty much.  My first career aspiration was to be an artist, but that only lasted for my first semester at Oswego.  My D- in my one and only art class had a lot to do with the change of heart.  I was taking poetry and creative writing classes at the same time, and quickly discovered that I enjoyed spending my time at writing much more than at drawing.

JEN: Did you have another career before you became an author? If so, what did you do? 

LESLIE: Not counting my various waitressing stints, my previous career was as a computer repairperson for IBM, which I quit in order to become a technical writer for several years.

JEN: How long did it take you to get your first book published? Did you hire an agent?

LESLIE: The short answer is: ten years and three unpublished manuscripts.  The full story is that I was self-employed as a technical writer and making a fine living, but dearly longed to become a published novelist.  When my second child was born after I’d already been writing fiction for three years without publication success, I told my husband that if I didn’t close my business now and dedicate my career to writing fiction,  it was never going to happen for me.  We agreed that I’d write fiction only until our youngest was in first grade and that I’d go back to technical writing if I hadn’t sold by then.  That was precisely when my first book, DEATH AND FAXES, sold to St. Martin’s Press.  I already had an agent, although that didn’t go smoothly.  Once I got a good contract for my third book, she kept my money and, when I finally got her to pay me, the check bounced.  I now have a fabulous agent, to whom I dedicated DEATH BY INFERIOR DESIGN, and I can say with absolute certainty that a good agent is with his or her weight in gold, but a bad agent is worse than no agent.

JEN: How many drafts did you write?  Did you use the original title? Was it handwritten or typed?

LESLIE: I write exclusively on a computer (using Word-XP), and I write so many drafts that there’s no way to keep count; revision is a constant and ongoing process for me.  I start with a title, because that conveys the theme of the book to me, and so all of my titles remain as originally titled.

JEN: THE DOMESTIC BLISS series is not your first series that you have written. Please tell us about your different series.

LESLIE: My first series was the Molly Masters series, featuring a zany mother of two who creates faxable greeting cards and draws cartoons.  She’s my alter-ego and her children bear a startling resemblance to my own.  My second series featured a dog therapist.  Allie Babcock is a reluctant sleuth whose work with dogs occasionally drags her into murder mysteries.  Both of those series are on hiatus, perhaps permanently, though I’ve sometimes toyed with the idea of writing one more in each series.  My Domestic Bliss series features dueling interior designers Erin Gilbert and Steve Sullivan, and its Erin’s big heart and bad luck that lead her into mysteries in her clients’ homes.

JEN: Which series was the most fun writing and why?

LESLIE:  The Domestic Bliss series is the most fun; because I get to design rooms in my head, look at furniture showrooms, and page through design magazines, and call it work.  The actual work is the writing itself, and regardless of the series, that’s only fun for me after the first draft is written.  I do have fun when I’m revising and can make myself laugh at humorous scenes, but my first go around is not unlike sitting in a corner wearing a dunce cap, while moving my fingers moving across a keyboard.

JEN: How have your hobbies influenced your writing?

LESLIE: My hobbies are forever used as scenes in my books.  With Molly Masters, my first amateur sleuth, I would give her a hobby that had put me into difficult situations—such as my struggles with aerobics classes and golf—and I’d put her into the exact same predicaments, only I’d make them even worse.  My love of dogs led directly to my second series and my fascination with residential interiors to my current Domestic Bliss books.

JEN: What is your writing schedule? Do you have a favorite place that gets your creative juices flowing?

LESLIE:  I start out my day by doing the crossword and judoka puzzles in my daily paper, then I go downstairs to my basement office at 8:30 a.m.  I usually procrastinate with email till 9:30, but I write till 3 p.m. with only a short lunch break. When I’m composing a major scene or storyline, I pace between the front and back doors, or I take a shower. (I’m very clean when I’m writing a first draft, but I wear through carpets quickly.) The key to overcoming writer’s block, though, is to know what scene(s) you’re going to write in that one session.  It’s horrendous to sit down and stare at a blank screen; I’d rather scrub toilets.  So I work from an outline that I’m always expanding until it becomes the book itself.  That way, I’m only facing a blank screen once per book.

JEN: Your real name is Leslie O’Kane, not Leslie Caine. Why do you choose not to use it in THE DOMESTIC BLISS series?

LESLIE: The mystery series that I’d been writing for Balantine featured smaller books.  I wanted a new identity for the new, bigger series, but not so different that my readers from the previous series wouldn’t make the connection.

JEN: Have you won any awards for your writing? Which one are you most proud of and why?

LESLIE: I’ve won two awards: Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer’s Writer of the Year, and I won the Pike’s Peak contest for unpublished writers in the mystery category.  Both were a thrill, the former because it was recognition from my peers, and the latter because it was wonderful validation that came just as the manuscript sold.  When it comes to what gives me my greatest sense of pride, as proud as I am of my fourteen-and-counting novels, it’s my children.  They’re awesome!

JEN:  The main characters in THE DOMESTIC BLISS series, Erin and Steve, are so comical. Are they modeled after anyone you know?

LESLIE:  I pictured Hugh Jackman when I created Steve Sullivan.  Alas, I can’t say that I “know” him.  I did get wobbly knees when I got within five feet of him after his Broadway show.  Does that count?  Erin is purely a figment of my imagination.

JEN: As I have mentioned before in my column, I judge a book by its cover. The covers of both DEATH BY INFERIOR DESIGN and FALSE PREMISES are bold, attractive and fun, for lack of a better word. Did you have a hand in the design?

LESLIE:  No, but I love them!  Kudos to the artist.

JEN: Initially, the thought of an interior design mystery being a page turner is not too believable. Was it difficult to write a suspense novel with antiques as your backdrop? Did you have to do a lot of research?

LESLIE: Writing is always hard, and every book brings its own enormous challenges.  When I’m brainstorming a book idea—and the pacing and showers haven’t done the trick—I have to lock myself in my bedroom until I can come up with that spark that makes me think: ah, now there’s an intriguing story question. Yes, I do lots of research, but that’s a pure pleasure for me because interior design is such a passion of mine.

JEN: In one of your e-mail updates, you mentioned that ABC picked up the series to make into a television show. Can you tell us more about that?

LESLIE: The book has been optioned by ABC for the next two years, but we’re all hoping it happens next fall.  Producer Denise DiNovi and the scriptwriter from “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” are currently developing the pilot.  My understanding of the treatment is that it will be: “Desperate Housewives” meets HGTV. 

JEN: Will you be able to actually write or have input with the script?

LESLIE:  I might have some input as a show consultant, and that would be a really fun venture for me, but the script for “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” was outstanding.  Ultimately, the Gilbert and Sullivan books are my baby and the show is theirs.  I can’t picture myself wanting to tell them how to do their writing anymore than I can picture them telling me how I should do mine.  That said, I’m never shy about giving my opinion when asked!

JEN: Will you have a hand in the selection of the cast?

LESLIE:  No.  I’ve told my agent that Hugh Jackman is Steve Sullivan, and that if he gets cast, I want to be his wardrobe consultant.  Or better yet, his dresser.  I haven’t seen the actress as yet who I would say is Erin Gilbert, but I can’t even express how exciting it is for me to imagine the thrill of seeing these characters from my head brought to life on the screen.

JEN: What three adjectives best describe you?

LESLIE: Disciplined, disorganized, creative.

JEN: When can we expect your next book to be published? What is the title? Can you tell us briefly the plot?

LESLIE:  MANOR OF DEATH will be published in February, 2006.  This is a fun story in which Erin Gilbert finds herself designing a room in a beautiful, historic house that may or may not be haunted.  I wrote it after taking a ghost tour of historic homes in Boulder, Colorado.

JEN: Do you have any book signings coming up?

LESLIE: I will be signing at High Crimes in Boulder in February.  I always go to one or two mystery-fan conventions each year, so I will probably go to Malice Domestic in the spring and/or Bouchercon in the fall.

JEN: Do you have a website?

LESLIE: Yes, it’s www.lesliecaine.com.  Please come visit it!  Thanks so much for asking!

This holiday season, take a trip to your library or local bookstore and grab a book by Leslie Caine. I am certain you will not be disappointed!  Don’t forget to visit her web site and sign up for her mailing list. It is a great way to get updates on her career and to be the first to know when she has a new release coming out! I want to thank Leslie for allowing me to interview her and getting a sneak peek into her life.  I am looking forward to reading MANOR OF DEATH in February!

My January column is going to be hot! I am interviewing my friend, Meg Cabot, who I first met on the set of LIVE with Regis & Kelly back in January 2002. She has a new series coming out which is actually her first mystery series. Meg always has something exciting going on! Don’t miss it! Have a wonderful holiday season and Happy New Year!

Until next month….Jen