Janet Evanovich has written fourteen bestselling novels featuring a would-be detective named Stephanie Plum, who is actually a bounty hunter. Her latest books include Twelve Sharp, Lean Mean Thirteen, and now Fearless Fourteen. The books are produced on audio by either Brilliance Audio or by Audio Renaissance. I caught up with Janet by phone and via email.
JONATHAN LOWE: Hi, Janet. Started the new book tour yet?
JANET EVANOVICH: No, not yet. Soon.
LOWE: No more little mystery bookstores, this time?
EVANOVICH: I'd love to do those, but they need to have shelter and restrooms for at least 700 people, and most just can't handle that.
LOWE: There's a problem we'd all love. Remind folks of your humble beginnings. What got you started writing, and what is your background?
EVANOVICH: Well, I majored in Fine Arts in college. I was a painter. Somewhere in my late twenties I realized painting wasn't where I wanted to be and started searching out other avenues of creative endeavor...like baking chocolate chip cookies and making party dresses for my daughter. I was a stay-at-home mom and when the kids went off to school the chocolate chip cookie baking somehow morphed into trying to write a book. Previous to this my only English background was Freshman English 101. I learned to write by analyzing books I loved and hated.
LOWE: A bounty hunter is certainly more interesting than the typical sleuth. Where did your character Stephanie Plum come from? And how did you come up with the name?
EVANOVICH: I have a lot of history with Stephanies. My favorite niece was named Stephanie, and there were a lot of Stephanies in my home town. I think it's a pretty name with a lot of music to it, and I used it once as a pseudonym back when I was writing romance as Stephanie Hall. I chose Plum because it seems to go well with Stephanie, and I wanted people to think of something that was ripe and juicy. When I decided to move into crime fiction (reached menopause and had a lot more ideas about murder than about sex!) I searched around for the perfect job for my protagonist. One day I happened onto the movie Midnight Run. It's about a bounty hunter and I thought the job suited my purposes. Stephanie Plum is probably not the world's best bounty hunter, either.
LOWE: You like to keep things humorous...murder mysteries with a light touch. Is this Stephanie's modus operandi, in order to stay sane, or do you also react to tense situations with humor?
EVANOVICH: I'm one of those people always laughing at inappropriate moments. I suspect I see things at a slightly off-center point of view. I also think laughter is important. Some of my humor comes from my formative years watching I Love Lucy, and some of my humor is social commentary.
LOWE: Describe Fearless Fourteen, if you will.
EVANOVICH: There's a monkey named Carl, a kid who's a Blybold Wizard, Moonman Dunphy saves the day with his potato rocket and there's a dead guy in Joe Morelli's basement.
LOWE: Quirky, to say the least! Look forward to hearing it. How many numbers do you anticipate writing? Those Alphabet mystery novels have an end point at Z, but you can go on forever, at least in theory, can't you?
EVANOVICH: I'll continue writing as long as people keep reading. I'm contracted through book fifteen.
LOWE: Do you listen to your own audio books? What do you think of Lorelie King?
EVANOVICH: I do listen. And I love Lorelie King! She was actually my request. She'd been doing my U.K. books, and I was having a hard time finding someone to do my books in this country. The Recorded Books reader C.J. Critt does the library editions here, but she was contracted to them, and although I love her, she wasn't available. So I asked to get Lorelie. What do you think of her?
LOWE: She captures Stephanie's character very well, and does a marvelous job.
EVANOVICH: Yes, she's articulate and consistent. By the way, do you know Lance Storm? Have we ever talked about Lance?
LOWE: Not that I recall.
EVANOVICH: Well, Lance was a wrestler, and I don't know if you realize it, but Cracker Barrel plays a big part with WWF wrestlers. If you go to his website at StormWrestling.com, and read his links, he lists his favorite restaurant as Cracker Barrel. Reason I know him is that he has a book club, and we trade off a lot of readers, and when he's in town we hang out with Lance.
LOWE: [Note: I was audio book reviewer for Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores when I first interviewed Janet.] That's a hoot. A wrestler with a book club. So who influenced you? Who are your favorite authors?
EVANOVICH: The earliest influence was Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge. They were always setting off on adventures. And of course, there was Lucille Ball. On my last book tour the book that traveled with me was Slightly Shady by Amanda Quick. Shady is a Regency romance and I love reading about the Regency period. They're comedies of manners much like the Plum books.
LOWE: Is anything going to film? Have you written any screenplays yet?
EVANOVICH: TriStar bought the rights to One for the Money, the first book in the series. I've never written a screenplay but think it might be a fun future project.
LOWE: Am trying to think of who might best play Stephanie. Ashley Judd? Cameron Diaz? Sandra Bullock?
EVANOVICH: Or maybe Anne Hathaway or Ellen Page.
LOWE: Wow, that's even younger than I imagined. A Stephanie Plum for a new generation. Now, you are truly everywhere, these days. Ever signed books overseas, and does any of this ever interfere with the writing?
EVANOVICH: Once I did a month long tour of Australia, three weeks in England, Scotland, Ireland, and then a month long tour of the U.S. The result of all that touring is that you can get behind on the writing. I love the signings and media but hate the flying.
LOWE: At this point, can you even remember being at a signing where few people showed up?
EVANOVICH: When I first started touring I had signings where no one showed up. It takes a lot of Cheez Doodles and beer to get over that sort of thing! An average signing now runs anywhere from 500 to 5,000 people.
LOWE: No more Cheez Doodles for you, then, Janet! (She now loves Butterscotch Krimpets cake).
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