Interview with Lisa Lutz, Author of The Spellman Files - Page 3

Your publicity materials compare you not only to Wes Anderson – see above – but also Veronica Mars, Buffy and chick-lit. Do you agree with those comparisons? 

Most of the comparisons feel forced to me. I think there was one review which mentioned Buffy and Veronica Mars. My book has a very different kind of energy than those shows - and I’m not dissing them, I’m just saying that I think they’re very different.

Who do you like better – Janet Evanovich, who some will compare you to though I think you’re much better than her – or Donald Westlake? Both are witty mystery writers who write about crime. 

I don’t really connect with either. Just because I write comedic fiction that somehow relates to the mystery genre, doesn’t mean that I read it. I’m much more likely to read urban crime (Dennis Lehane, Pelecanos, Price - all who’ve written for The Wire, by the way) and other stuff. I write what I write because that’s what I can do best. But it’s not necessarily the kind of fiction I like the most. Does that make sense?

Ain’t It Cool News has a line, in its review, which I think sums up your style and I wanted your opinion on it: “Nancy Drew after a bottle of Jack Daniels.” What do you think of that description?

Lisa: I LOVE that description. It’s my favorite so far.

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Scott Butki was a newspaper reporter for more than 10 years before making a career change into education... then into special education.

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