A Conversation with Rosemary Harris

Gardening enthusiast and former Disney employee, Rosemary Harris writes a mystery series featuring master gardener Paula Holliday.

Rosemary, how did the Dirty Business mystery series originate?

I really had no intention of writing a book, much less a series. A two line item in the New York Times is responsible. The headline read Mummified Baby Identified and thereby hangs the tale. I did some research and wound up having a telephone interview with a doctor from the Henry Lee Institute of Forensic Sciences who told me that, in fact, the body had not been 100% identified because there was no DNA reference sample. He also told me about something that had been found with the body, and I thought - what a great clue that would be in a mystery. So I wrote one. After I found an agent, she said “It’s a series, right?” To which I answered “Absolutely!” My mother raised no fool.

Carolyn Hart called your first novel, Pushing up Daisies, "Quirky, original, and captivating.” How and when did you come up with the plot and characters?

I already had my first body and then I thought about the things that drove people to commit crimes – greed, lust and revenge probably account for the lion’s share. And they exist in small towns and suburbia just as much as they do in big cities. Some of my characters are composites of people I’ve known and people I’ve encountered. They might also be the irritating guy on a cell phone or the harried woman trying to control her three kids in the supermarket or airport. Observing real people is more fun than watching television.

What, as a gardener, do you specialize in besides quirky novels?

My garden has a lot of shade and the soil is acidic so I gravitate toward flowering shrubs – azalea, rhodys, mountain laurels, leucothoe, pieris. I also have a lot of dogwoods, bamboo and Japanese maples. My current project is the elimination of my lawn. I’m growing a moss lawn which looks lovely until the dog starts tearing it up! Luckily, moss is very forgiving.

Tell us about your master gardener/sleuth Paula Holliday.

Not surprisingly, she started out being a bit like me; we do share the same work history. Paula is a little cynical, something of a wiseass, very loyal, non-judgmental and is known to disappear from people’s radar for a while. She’s also pretty courageous moving to the ‘burbs by herself and starting a small business. And she’s loosening up a bit the longer she lives in Springfield.

Did your interest in gardening develop while growing up in Brooklyn? Were you a child bookworm?

My Italian grandmother had a lovely garden and I can remember masses of fresh basil and figs. Needless to say I couldn’t have a fig tree when I got my first apartment but I had tons of houseplants. When I moved to Manhattan I took a fifth floor walkup so that I could have a private roof garden. I grew morning glories, coreopsis and tomatoes on West 69th – it worked really well until the ceiling fell down from the extra weight.

What kind of jobs did you hold while working for Disney, ABC Video and New York television stations?

I had a variety of jobs that no one had before and probably no one has had since! I was very lucky and seemed to be able to invent the jobs I wanted. Basically I was in the video business. I acquired, produced and sold non-theatrical programs on home video. So my luncheon companions included wrestlers, fitness divas, soap stars, comedians and the occasional porn star. It was a lot of fun. I also got to meet a number of great old movie stars from the 40’s and 50’s like Gene Kelly and Ann Miller. That was a blast.

Where in your travels have you found the best places to kayak and hike? And will you use your outdoor adventures as backdrops for future novels?

I loved kayaking in Alaska and in the Sea of Cortez where it’s not unusual to see incredible wildlife while you’re paddling, but I think my heart belongs to the Virgin Islands. I’ve paddled from one island to another, camping on the beaches. It’s gorgeous. I’m doing it again next February. I’m a big fan of all the National Parks, it would be hard to name just one favorite hiking spot so I’ll name three, Glacier, Yosemite and Canyonlands. They’re all so different – and even more beautiful than they look in the Ken Burns series! Omigosh, I think Nevada Barr has that covered pretty well.

To what do you attribute your success as a writer?

Success? I guess I’ve gotten off to pretty good start. I agree with something CJ Box said – publishing is still a relatively low-tech business. It’s still a handselling, word of mouth business and I try to meet lots of people. It got to the point that I joked that I would go wherever “two or more were gathered.”

Advice to fledgling mystery novelists?

Someone stop me before I write “write the best book you possibly can.” Cheesh! Of course. That’s a given. After that, I’d say when you’re looking for a agent, keep looking. Just because an agent doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life with you – on spec - doesn’t mean your book is no good. Find another agent. On the promotion…go where the people are. And not just mystery events..book festivals, women’s groups, senior centers…anything related to your book. I’m having an event at a local diner next week. A librarian suggested it because the diner was the inspiration for Babe’s Paradise Diner in my book, Pushing Up Daisies.

What’s the best and worst aspects of writing?

Best - getting the idea, seeing it come to life. Having the time to get a sentence or paragraph just the way I want it. Worst - having to hand it in! It’s inevitable that at the eleventh hour I think of something I should have done differently.

Thanks for taking part in the series, Rosemary.

Rosemary's website: www.rosemaryharris.com
Her blog sites: www.jungleredwriters.com
and http://rosemaryharrismysteries.blogspot.com/