A Small talk With Helen Barer Author Of Fitness Kills
Today, Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of http://Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest, Helen Barer author of Fitness Kills.
Helen is often a native New Yorker and has spent several years as a writer of non-fiction ranging from cookbooks to television documentaries.
Norm:
Good day Helen and appreciate your participating in our interview.
Helen:
I'm delighted to obtain been invited.
Norm:
How did you happen to write a book in regards to fitness ranch in Baja and might you also tell us a bit about Fitness Kills?
Helen:
I am a big fan of fitness spas - I've been going to one or another for more than Twenty years. About 12 years ago, while struggling with an aerobics class at a spa in Baja California, I looked around and thought it was like being on a cruise liner. We'd all arrived on a Saturday, would leave the following Saturday, and in the meantime got to be 'intimate acquaintances.'
Fitness Kills would be the story of Nora Franke,, a New York City food writer who having broken up with her boyfriend, and having gained weight for that reason, accepted a temporary job as food consultant at such a fitness spa. She is befriended by a group of regulars, and is caught up by their pain and loss jointly, and then another, of the friends die. Nora's primary employer in New York assigns her to write a short article about the deaths at the health club, and she becomes invested in solving the murder (and keeping herself alive!).
Norm:
What attracted you to definitely the mystery genre?
Helen:
I like stories with a beginning, middle and end. Along with those with a strong central character - preferably a girl - that have something to say of how we live today and what our values are.
Norm:
What can you believe are the essential ingredients of a good mystery novel?
Helen:
Suspense! And caring in what happens to the characters. So this means, of course, that you have to know the characters. Believability is usually essential. This is not a fantasy genre.
Norm:
Can be your work improvisational or do you have a set plan?
Helen:
It starts off with a plan. Actually, I'm meticulous from the outset. I have a summary page, a chapter-by-chapter outline, and recognize how it ends. But the middle...employing real mystery! As I established the characters' voices, I ran across they led me in unexpected directions.
Norm:
Helen, this is your first mystery fiction writing project. Have you enjoy the process? How was it different from your typical format?
Helen:
I'd never written fiction before. That it was like re-inventing the wheel. I ran across it very clumsy until a writing teacher in the New School, in a class I'd found called "Starting Your Novel," suggested I plunge to first person. All of a sudden I ran across my voice! Slightly smart ass, New York City, and vulnerable. I loved it. The dialogue came very naturally to me; it was the plot I struggled with.
Norm:
Is it possible to tell us how you found representation on your book? Did you pitch it for an agent, or query publishers who does most likely publish this type of book? Any rejections?
Helen:
Used to pitch it to many agents, every one of whom said 'very well written, although not right for us - it's not hard-boiled enough/sexy enough/ complicated enough/ straightforward enough...' choose. It was more than discouraging, But I'm inside a terrific writing workshop, as well as of the authors were published by Upscale, an imprint of Thomson Gale that publishes mystery novels. I queried Upscale directly, sent the book in their mind as an attachment to an email, plus they accepted it almost immediately.
Norm:
What challenges or obstacles did you encounter while writing your book? How did you overcome these challenges?
Helen:
I'd was clueless that how to write fiction; it was like learning an overseas language. I read a lot - other mysteries, writers about writing, etc. -- and attended mystery conferences. Joining a writing workshop would have been a major step. Talk about challenges! They pulled and pushed me into writing and rewriting.
Norm:
Was there anybody who really influenced you to become a writer?
Helen:
My mother. She wasn't without a book, nor was I. She encouraged me to write down even as a little girl; my first significant piece would have been a fourth grade project called "My Life in the Wilderness." It got a b.
Norm:
Many writers strive to be published, but not everyone is cut out for a writer's life. Exactly what are some signs that perhaps someone just isn't cut out to be a writer and will try to do something else in her youth?
Helen:
Don't give up your worktime job! I actually waited until I used to be nearly retired to write regular. Otherwise there's so much pressure. It also helps to have a thick skin.
Norm:
Exactly what are your upcoming projects? How should readers find out more about you and your endeavors?
Helen:
I'm almost halfway through writing my next Nora Franke mystery novel, while promoting that one. Check out my website, http://www.helenbarer.com/.
Norm:
Can there be anything else you wish to add that we've not covered?
Helen:
I can't imagine. You've been so thorough.
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