Book Addict 24-7 Welcomes: Sherban Young!
Welcome to Interview Fridays!
For this week, I have mystery author Sherban Young here with us! Sherban has written various titles that promise fun and intriguing mysteries. In his interview, Sherban shares tips regarding the art of writing a mystery novel, his writing process, and his books!
Make sure to check out Sherban's links throughout his interview!
Enjoy!
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Author Bio
"Sherban (rhymes with bourbon) splits his time between Maryland and Maine, and has often been called the next P. G. Wodehouse, or at the very least the current Sherban Young."
Find Sherban on the web:
Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon
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Recent Series
"The answer lies with Keats… With these cryptic last words, the man sprawled out on the floor of the rustic cabin expires—murdered. What could he have meant? Why Keats? Which answer? (For that matter, what was the question?) All this and more passes through the mind of the young householder who discovers the body. If only he knew the guy’s name. Or anybody’s name. Including his own..."
Find it on Goodreads here.
Buy it on the web:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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1. What do you think is the key for writing a memorable mystery novel?
“I don’t think there is any magic key to a memorable mystery. It really depends on the author’s approach. Agatha Christie wrote some of the most memorable and beloved mysteries of all time. She did this by creating exceptional mystery puzzles. She also had a keen insight into the psychological motivations of her supporting characters. Her main characters, I feel, were never her strength. Rex Stout, on the other hand, the creator of Nero Wolfe, had fairly weak mysteries, and his supporting characters were more or less interchangeable. The lifestyle of his sleuths, however - Wolfe’s brownstone, all those in his employ and their routines - made the books irresistible and a joy to read. Good authors, in any genre, recognize their strengths and deliver what they do best to their readers.”
2. Can you tell us how to create a mystery that stays strong until the conclusion of a story?
“I think the best way to keep a story going strong all the way through is to have something that you, as the author, are looking forward to writing at the end of the story. Hold something back. If you’re excited about developments in the last third of the book that enthusiasm will show. Also, it’s important not to get bored with the story - that also shows. Avoid this by knowing how long you think the book should be - the right length for the story you’re writing. It’s hard to keep up excitement writing a book when you have no idea how long it’s going to take to finish it.”
3. How do you go about planning your mysteries? Do you have a system where you write down clues and red herrings? (For example)
“I usually start with a handful of scenes. I get excited about these scenes and begin to build a story around them. For my Enescu Fleet mysteries these scenes often center on an intellectual puzzle. For my Warren Kingsley stories the scenes might have a more physical component - an action sequence, for instance. I start writing the book with very little planning. Once I have a few chapters finished, I go back and plan out the entire story.”
4. Can you tell us the most exciting aspect of writing mystery novels?
“The best part of writing mysteries is knowing you can provide a solution. Most people love a mystery, something that gets their gray cells working - but in real life so few mysteries ever amount to anything more than that. Who was that person I saw Joe talking with? What did Betty mean when she said that? Why was our waiter walking with a limp yesterday? So often we never get a satisfactory answer to these questions - and when we do they’re usually mundane. In a book, everything has meaning, and personally I find that thrilling.”
5. What is the most extreme (or absurd) mystery novel that you have ever read and how do you think a reader would enjoy such a book?
“That’s a tough one. This isn’t really what you’re after, but the most absurd device I’ve ever read in a mystery was in the Rex Stout novel, A Right to Die. In it, a minor character from one of Stout’s other books, Too Many Cooks, returns. The books are twenty five years apart and the character has aged twenty five years. However, the two sleuths in the novel - Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin - have evidently not aged a day (Stout kept them the same age throughout the series, late 50s for Wolfe, early 30s for Archie). If you’re writing a long series, at some point you’re going to have to decide if your characters are going to age or stay perpetually the age they were at the start of the series. Apparently Stout thought he could have it both ways.”
6. Do you believe that mystery novels are one of the most difficult novels to write? If so, why? If not, why not?
“I don’t think they are the most difficult, no. There are a lot of genres that require a lot more research. That’s not to say mysteries are easy to write by any means, but with all the clues and corpses and femme fatales, they’re definitely the most fun.”
7. Which of your books did you find to be the most fun to write, and why would you recommend it to readers?
“I think my first novel, Five Star Detour, was the most fun. I feel like I recaptured a lot of that joy writing Fleeting Memory, which was my first Enescu Fleet book. Like Detour, the Fleet books have a very in-the-moment feel. Both the narrator and the audience don’t have to look too far ahead. They can enjoy it as it comes, and that gives them a shared experience.”
8. Why mystery? Why not suspense, history, or horror novels? What inspired you to write mystery novels?
“I love mysteries - the puzzle, the clues and ultimately, the solution - but I also love humor. Sometimes I think the humor comes first. Mystery combined with humor is a natural, I think. Everyone loves a good mystery, but everyone needs humor.”
9. Since mystery uses quite a few writing tricks (i.e red herrings, foreshadowing, pathetic fallacy), which one would you say is your favourite? Also, which one would you say is the most useful?
“In my Enescu Fleet novels I employ a narrator who is not the main detective. I use a Dr. Watson, if you like. That technique is useful if you have a larger than life detective, because you can keep him at a distance and his thoughts secret from the narrator and therefore the audience. Christie also, at times, used a Watson, as did Stout. I think the main difference with my approach is my focus is that character, not the sleuth. Watson, Hastings (for Christie) and Goodwin in the Stout novels were more like ciphers, someone to illustrate how amazing the sleuth is. That’s fine and I do that to some degree, but I lean more on the narrator’s insight into himself than his insight into my sleuth. It’s not as much isn’t this sleuth guy cool as it is here’s what it feels like hanging around this cool sleuth guy.”
10. Any advice for young mystery writers reading this interview?
“I always say this - write what you love, not what you think other people will love. And if you bring back a character from one of your books twenty five years later, age him as much as everyone else in the story.”
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Thank you for stopping by, Sherban!
I hope you guys enjoyed this week's interview! Stop by next week for another awesome interview!
Happy reading!
