What flavor or genre do you prefer?

We're going to try on different flavors today. Do you always get chocolate or do you get strawberry or vanilla sometimes? Sometimes you're in the mood for one and not the other. The point is to branch out and try new things, in what you eat, in movies, music, and the books you read - or write, as the case may be.

What genre do you read? Women's fiction, mystery, romance, historical, thrillers, suspense, science fiction and the occasional non-fiction (biographies or self-help). There's a lot more genre's out there, like crime, horror, fantasy, western, graphic novel, Christian fiction, paranormal - etc. and I've read a few of those, too.

What genre do you write? Women's fiction, mystery, romance, historical, thriller's and suspense. I dabble with children's stories but haven't published any.

Why does it matter? I've always been told to write in the genre I read because that is where my interest obviously lies. I haven't tried writing in all of the genre's I read, but have tried my hand at most of them. My two published novels are in women's fiction. My latest manuscript is a young adult/new adult romantic suspense.  When I look for a new book to read the genre helps narrow the list, so I ask, "What do I want to read right now?"

Why not write in more than one genre? Why not, indeed. Since my reading interests are varied so are the stories I write. But there is nothing that says we can't pick one genre and stick with it. As we grow in our craft it might behoove us to concentrate on one genre for some time before branching out. 

Why not read in more than one genre? I think most people gravitate to some genres more than others and read multiple types or combinations; like paranormal romance, sci-fi fantasy, historical romantic mystery, etc. I'm not a huge fan of horror (my imagination is too vivid) but I have read a few of Stephen King's novels and enjoyed them.

If I write in multiple genres should I use pseudonyms? Some authors do, like Nora Roberts/JD Robb; Stephen King/Richard Bachman. Other authors capitalize on their names in whatever genre they write; James Patterson for example, his name is all over the place. I have a writer buddy that writes children's, romance and erotica and in each one she uses a different nome de plume. Writers, you decide what is best for you. Personally, I don't have any experience here - YET! Readers, don't be afraid to try an author whose name you don't recognize.

Are you willing to read books in genre's you don't usually read? I hope so. For me, the answer is a resounding YES. In our book club, the younger members tend to lean towards dark fiction, but not all. Another one is a steadfast romance reader and another usually picks non-fiction. It's difficult to find a book that everyone will enjoy, so we pick two and have the option to choose. Most of the members who are branching out from their normal genre are enjoying the adventure. The ones that don't will probably find another group that reads the genre they prefer. Our local independent bookstore has a book club for just about every type of book. The point is to try new things because you never know when you might find a new favorite!

Dig for Murder: Mysteries Written by Archaeologists

Catacomb, the second in my Flora Garibaldi Italian series, comes out April 2. In this sequel to Burnt Siena, Flora and her policeman boyfriend join a perilous search for Nazi-looted art under the city of Rome (pre-order the Kindle edition here).

I could hold my breath until next week, but instead I'm interviewing another archaeologist who, like me, enjoys digging (heh, heh) his professional life for good stories. Meet Steven Kuehn, a new Five Star author. Weekdays, Steve works as a faunal analyst at the Illinois State Archaeological Survey. On nights and weekends, he plots murder...

Here's the review I wrote recently about his first mystery novel:

"Steven Kuehn’s Sunken Dreams is a well-written and engrossing 'whodunnit.' Archaeologist Jake Caine corrals a group of students to work on a Wisconsin dig where the previous excavation leader, Jacklyn Wardell, died years ago in mysterious circumstances. Normal dig operations are interrupted by break-ins, attempted theft, cranky senior archaeologists, nosy tourists, and petty rivalry among the students. Tension rises as Jake discovers that Jacklyn’s friends and rivals are still around, and one of them will do anything to derail Jake’s investigation of her death.

Kuehn, a professional archaeologist with many years of field and lab experience, knows all about academic jealousies and the pressure-cooker atmosphere of a dig in crowded and uncomfortable conditions. Kuehn’s deft handling of plot and character bring the mystery to a satisfying conclusion that models good story-telling while bringing day-to-day archaeological fieldwork vividly to life."

Q: What is the title and genre of your novel? Why did you select them?

A: My novel is Sunken Dreams, and it is the first in the Jake Caine Archaeology Mystery series. It is a traditional mystery with an amateur sleuth, combining archaeology and a cold case that quickly heats up. Like a cozy, this novel avoids excess violence and adult situations, and instead focuses on the characters and the storyline.

The beginning writer is often told to write what they know. I have a great deal of experience in archaeology, and the work itself often involves dealing with many interesting people, places, and things. While writing Sunken Dreams, I was able to draw on these experiences to create many of the scenes for the novel.

 Q: What inspired this novel? How did it come about?

A :Sunken Dreams had its inspiration, in part, in a real life event. While doing an archaeological survey in eastern Wisconsin many years ago, I read about an archaeology professor who drowned in a boating accident, at a fairly young age. I thought about it a bit, and started to imagine what might have happened if it wasn’t really an accident. I realized it would make an interesting premise for a novel, and started building on it from there.

Doing archaeological fieldwork involves a lot of time on the road, and staying in hotels for months and months can get really boring. In the evenings, after taking care of my daily paperwork and other tasks, I started writing down snippets of the story. At first I focused on different scenes that I wanted to include, and then I created a formal outline that brought the whole story together. Over the years, I worked on the novel during my free time, writing and rewriting until the manuscript was finished to my satisfaction.

  

Q: Could you tell us a little bit about the hero of your novel?

A: Jake Caine is an archaeology professor and amateur sleuth at Wisconsin State University. He is a dedicated archaeologist with a passion for his work, and enjoys teaching but hates the politics. Underneath it all is an inherent curiosity, a real drive to understand the prehistoric past. This curiosity manifests itself when he learns that Jacklyn Wardell, another archaeologist, died years earlier under mysterious circumstances at the same site his field school is currently excavating. As Jake learns more about Wardell and her accident, some unusual events occur that make him wonder what really happened. Soon he has to know the truth.

  

Q: Can you tell us about some of your other published novels or work?

A: I’ve spend most of the last 25 years writing up archaeological reports and articles, but outside of the professional community they probably wouldn’t count much as interesting or fun reads! I have written one Jake Caine short story, Talked to Death, which appeared online in Mysterical-E in 2012. The story is set at an archaeology conference, and the banquet speaker drops dead in the middle of his rather lengthy speech. Needless to say, it wasn’t from natural causes and Jake ends up in the middle of the investigation. And yes, I did think of the idea during an exceptionally dull conference presentation.

  

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I am currently working on my second novel in the Jake Caine series, tentatively entitled A Killing Caught in Time. It centers on some unexpected finds at a bison kill site in northwestern Wisconsin, when events from the distant past and near past intertwine. A fresh body turns up near the dig and one of the archaeologists is accused of murder, so it falls to Jake to uncover the truth once again.

I have several other Jake Caine novels in the works. After 25 years in archaeology, I have a lot of material to draw upon for ideas and inspiration. I’ve also been working on a historical fiction mystery set in 17^th century New France (Canada). Genealogy is one of my passions, and I enjoy doing a lot of background reading to supplement my understanding of the places and times inhabited by my ancestors. Some of my relatives first put down roots in Canada in the 1650s, and I always thought it was the perfect setting for a novel.

  

Q: What made you start writing?

A: I’ve loved to read since I was a child, and I’ve always been interested in writing. One of my early favorites was the Happy Hollisters series by Jerry West (Andrew Swenson), about five siblings (Pete, Pam, Ricky, Holly, and Sue) who solved mysteries. I guess the mystery bug got to me quite early! I wrote some short stories and one play in high school, and as an escape during college I wrote some epic fantasy and mystery stories.

Writing mystery fiction has many parallels with writing archaeological reports. In mystery fiction, it’s up to the protagonist to solve a crime based on clues he or she uncovers, avoid the pitfalls of red herrings, and overcome any antagonistic threats to life and limb. Similarly, archaeologists take limited amounts of data (clues, in the form of artifacts, features, and sites) to interpret what life was like thousands of years in the past, while dealing with biases and problems (e.g., sampling issues, missing information, gaps in the archaeological record) that can influence our interpretations. Unlike the movies, there isn’t a great deal of danger and mayhem in most archaeological research, but I have been chased by an angry bull, stung by various insects, threatened on occasion, and once slid down a rather steep rock outcrop (fortunately, my fall was interrupted when my head struck a large tree).

 Q: What advice would you offer to those who are currently writing novels?

A: Writing is a tricky business, and no particular approach works for everyone. There are many wonderful books on writing available, and they do serve as good resources. It also helps to have a support network, preferably a fellow writer or writer’s group to whom you can present ideas and receive constructive feedback. I also think it is important to read, read, read, and not just in your genre. Study and compare how other authors present their ideas, how they manipulate the written word to make you think. Above all, you have to write every day, no matter how busy you are or how difficult it might be to get your thoughts on paper. Even on a bad day, if I write one good sentence, it is better than not having written anything at all.

  

Q: Where and when will readers be able to obtain your novel?

A: Sunken Dreams will be published on May 18, 2016, and available through any independent bookstore, as well as Amazon.com (available for pre-order now) and BarnesandNoble.com. 

Thanks to Jacqueline Seewald for the interview template. Questions and comments for Steve are welcome below!

Common Themes in Literature by Jacqueline Seewald

Whether authors of fiction write short stories, plays or novels, theme is an essential component, just like characterization, plot and setting. The theme of a book is a universal idea or message that stretches throughout a work. Themes are often sociological or cultural in nature.

Some themes reoccur often. For instance, I just finished reading a thriller novel in which the theme was conspiracy theory, common in suspense genre. Fiction writers often pull their themes from nonfiction and then write faction. Dan Brown and Brad Meltzer are two very popular suspense authors who do this. Shakespeare used the underlying theme in his plays that appearances are deceiving. This works particularly well in the theatre.

Good fiction writing needs a cohesive theme to hold the work together. The lesson is generally about life or humanity and is preferably implied rather than stated outright. The show-not-tell rule works well with theme.

In YA lit, the theme is often coming-of-age. However, there may be more than one theme, especially in a novel. One way to convey theme is through recurring use of symbolism. Hawthorne and Hemingway were both particularly talented in that regard. My forthcoming YA novel THE DEVIL AND DANNA WEBSTER which will be published by Astraea Press uses symbolism as well.

Romances concentrate on the theme of finding love everlasting. This is true of my short story collection BEYOND THE BO TREE offered on Amazon Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DTV0750

However, even with romance fiction there are often secondary themes. My soon be published prize-winning historical romance THE CHEVALIER is very much connected with themes of war and politics.

 Mysteries are about finding solutions and discovering the truth about puzzling situations such as solving murders and imposing order where there was chaos. For instance, my romantic suspense spy thriller DEATH LEGACY, both romance and mystery, explores whether a CIA agent was an enemy mole or a murder victim. 

http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=28798&cid=337

There are often socially significant secondary themes in crime fiction. For example, in my co-authored novel THE THIRD EYE: A PINE BARRENS MYSTERY

http://www.amazon.com/Third-Pine-Barrens-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00G5K7VXI

we deal with the theme of bullying. Jim who is short for his age is bullied by an older boy. He learns how to cope with the situation. His search for a murderer also interconnects with the theme of bullying. This is a theme that has increased awareness in our modern society where young people have tragically ended up committing suicide owing to cyber bullying. Even successful pro football players are not immune to this kind of abuse.

All types of writing need an underlying idea which serves as a fundamental component. Writing without a theme is like sailing in a rudderless ship. It will eventually flounder and sink.

What themes interest you in particular as a reader or a writer? What themes appear to be especially important?