A Virtual Tour Visit with Wendy Gager

W.S. Gager has lived in Michigan for most of her life when she was interviewing race car drivers or professional women golfers. She enjoyed the fast-paced life of a news reporter until deciding to settle down. She realized babies didn't adapt well to running down story details on deadline. Since then she honed her skills in other forms of writing before deciding to do what she always wanted to do with her life. That was to write mystery novels. Her main character is Mitch Malone, an edgy crime-beat reporter who's always on the hunt for the next Pulitzer and reportedly won't let anyone stop him.

Wendy, how did your quirky crime beat reporter Mitch Malone come about? Did you pattern him after anyone you’ve known?

Mitch is very much his own man. He came to me in a dream so you could say he is my dream man. I don’t remember ever meeting anyone quite like Mitch. If he is closest to anyone it would be the opposite of me. Mitch isn’t afraid to say exactly what is on his mind which is something I only wished I could do.

Do you have a journalism background and how do you research your novels?

I have a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Central Michigan University. Go Chips! I worked at four different newspapers and did free lance writing work for others as well as magazines. For research I still have friends in the business and I also have some police friends who check my manuscript for accuracy. For other items, I start with Google and go from there.

Why did you decide to use your initials, W.S., instead of your given name? Do you think readers are more inclined to buy a crime novel written by a man?

I did decide to use my initials because Mitch is a male protagonist and would appeal to men. Many men I know won’t read woman authors so I didn’t want to make it easy for them to figure out my gender. Funny thing is that many more woman love Mitch. I’m still trying to figure that out.

Tell us about A Case of Hometown Blues.

When Pulitzer-winning reporter Mitch Malone's editor presses him for a favor, Malone breaks his vow to never return to his hometown. It seemed simple enough--lead a seminar for Flatville, MI's newspaper, keep a low profile and get back to the city post haste. But memories of his parents' death swarm him, and, to avoid solitude, he stops for a beer. In the crowded bar, Mitch is dismayed to see many of his former classmates--including the still-lovely Homecoming Queen, Trudy. Once the object of his teenage crush, Trudy joins Mitch. He quickly realizes she is upset and inebriated. Always the gentleman, Mitch sees her safely home, and returns to his B&B, still trying to shake memories of his parents' sad demise. The next day, he is stunned to learn Trudy was murdered and he is the prime suspect. The locals treat the murder charge as a slam dunk, and Mitch realizes he must track down the real killer to keep his butt out of jail. As he investigates, facts he thought he knew about his family unravel, and danger ratchets up. Can Mitch discover the truth that will allow his parents to rest in peace, or will he be resting with them?

How are your print editions faring compared with your ebook sales? When did you notice that Kindle was outselling print?

It wasn’t until just recently that I noticed a real uptick in ebook sales. I’ve been selling a lot of print books at arts and crafts events and speaking engagements. Just in the last month or so I’ve had many people ask about whether it is in an electronic form. Now I am giving away a lot of material to folks who have Nooks and Kindles with the link to Amazon or Barnes and Noble websites on it so they can download it. I think in the next royalty statement I will see them evening out too.

What’s your writing schedule like and do you aim for a certain amount of words per day?

I have children and whenever you plan a full day of writing, something happens. They are sick, forgot something they desperately needed or I am called into service for a volunteer project. I try to do 500 to 1,000 words a day normally. If I’m writing the first rough draft, I write much more and give myself permission not to edit at all. I try to get as much of the action down on paper and then go back and layer in setting and emotion and fill out the action.

Advice to novice writers.

Don’t worry about selling, just write. Enjoy writing because once you sell, you have to do so much marketing and it is hard to get back to the writing. Keep writing and editing and find someone to critique your work with constructive criticism and ways to improve your manuscript. It will make a big difference and help you get a salable project faster.

Thanks, Wendy.

Thank you so much for letting me stop by today Jean. I really enjoyed getting to know your readers. I’ve been thrilled with the reviews for A Case of Hometown Blues and love hearing from readers. Anyone who leaves a comment here today or on my blog during the tour will be entered to win A Case of Hometown Blues.

You can visit Wendy at her blog site: http://wsgager.blogspot.com/
on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wsgager
and Twitter: http://twitter.com/wsgager