A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Marta Stephens now lives in Indiana. She's the author of the crime/mystery novels Silenced Cry and The Devil Can Wait, featuring kick-ass detective Sam Harper and published by Bewrite Books. In this interview, Marta talks about her books, writing mysteries, research and her character, Sam Spade. 

Thanks for being here today, Marta. Tell us, what got you into writing mysteries?

I’ve loved mysteries and suspense novels since a very early age, so to be honest, I think the genre chose me. Although my writing has been described as hardboiled police procedural that leans toward noir, I grew up loving the cozies of Agatha Christie and the suspense of Alfred Hitchcock. I believe my style has also been influenced as much by film and characters like Sam Spade and Phillip Morrow. I love following the clues and finding the guilty so when I decided to write fiction, genre was never in question.

Your novel, Silenced Cry, has many characters as well as twists and turns. Did you do an outline before writing the book? How long did it take you to write it?

Silenced Cry was originally written as a novella in 2005 and expanded into a novel a year later. It was published by BeWrite Books (UK) in April 2007. As with my second novel, The Devil Can Wait, it has several subplots which needed to be carefully braided together throughout the book. Developing multiple subplots requires a great deal of planning. I begin by writing a brief synopsis of the story line. Just as in real life, the characters have their own motivation governing their thoughts and actions. Those desires can be triggered by any number of reasons and in order for me to understand each character’s purpose or interest in the crime, I write back stories for each of them. It’s only after I understand what drives the characters that I’m able to develop the plot, plant clues, and point Sam Harper onto the crime-solving path.

How do you work? Describe your writing environment and creative process.

Article Author: Mayra Calvani

Mayra Calvani is the award-winning author of eight books and the National Latino Books Examiner for Examiner.com.

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