Carol L.
Wright is a former domestic relations attorney and adjunct professor. She is
the author of articles and one book on law-related subjects. Now focused on
fiction, she has several short stories in literary journals and award-winning
anthologies. Death in Glenville Falls is her first novel.
She is a founder of the Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC, is a life member of both Sisters in Crime
and the Jane Austen Society of North America, and a member of SinC Guppies,
PennWriters, and the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group.
She is married to her college sweetheart. They live in the Lehigh Valley
of Pennsylvania with their rescue dog, Mr. Darcy, and a clowder of cats.
Your first Gracie McIntyre mystery is out this summer. Can you
give us a sneak preview? Who is Gracie and how does she run into a mystery?
Yes, thanks!
I’m so excited to have my first mystery, Death in Glenville Falls, come out August 29.
It’s about
former attorney Gracie McIntyre who left the practice of law eighteen years
ago, following the death of a client in an apparent murder/suicide. Since then,
she’s been a stay-at-home mom and part-time professor at the local college
where her husband teaches history. Now that her son is off to college and her
daughter has started high school, she is ready for a new challenge. But opening
a new-and-used book shop gives her more than she bargains for—especially after
a young woman appears, reminding Gracie of the past she’s tried to leave
behind.
Days after
the grand opening, Gracie’s store comes under attack. What’s worse, she
suspects a police officer might be behind it. As violence escalates, she is
forced to investigate on her own to save her store—and possibly her life.
How did you transition from your law career to writing
fiction?
I’ve always been a writer, and even
did a stint as a book editor for a couple of years. But as a lawyer and
academic, most of my work was legal or technical writing. It was actually my
younger brother who urged me to write fiction. He remembered how I used to invent
adventurous bedtime stories for him as he was growing up. (It must have helped
to ignite his imagination, too, because he writes fiction as well.) As I began
to explore fiction writing, I found it enormously fulfilling. I think he
thought I would write children’s fiction, so was a little surprised when I started
writing mysteries.
Your short fiction has been collected in numerous award-winning
anthologies. Do you find it hard to “switch gears” when you go from short to
long fiction?
Not
really. Aside from the obvious difference—the amount of time it takes to write
a short story vs. a novel—there are some other significant differences between
long- and short-form fiction. In a novel, you can develop your characters more
fully, and weave in a more intricate plot, so the rewards of long-form fiction
are great. But there’s nothing like the relatively immediate gratification you
get from writing a short story that you’re really happy with. You can also
explore some characters or genres you might not be willing to spend an entire
novel with, so in that way, writing a short story is recreation and a welcome
break from the hard work of novel writing. Last year, I even published a
middle-grade story. What fun!
(Check out Carol's work in A Christmas Sampler, A Readable Feast, Once Upon a Time, and Once Around the Sun.
Are you a member of a writer’s group? Do you belong to
Sisters in Crime? Have you ever been to a writer’s convention?
Writing
is such a solitary profession, I can’t imagine doing it without being part of a
community. My writers group is the Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC
(http://bethlehemwritersgroup.com). I get great advice and ideas from that group of talented
authors in a variety of genres. I am also a member of Sisters in Crime and the
SinC Guppies subgroup. They are extremely supportive of their members in every
way. I know if I have mystery-specific questions, I can find answers there.
I
have been to several writers conferences over the years, from the Iowa Summer
Writers Festival to Malice Domestic and many more. It’s a great chance to get
together with people who understand what it’s like to be a writer and don’t
look at you funny when you ask questions about lethal concoctions or how to get
rid of a body.
Who are your favorite writers (not necessarily mystery
writers)?
I love so
many of my fellow mystery writers that I wouldn’t try to list them all for fear
of leaving someone out. As for other writers, I love Jane Austen (and am a Life
Member of the Jane Austen Society of North America), and enjoy other classics
as well. For more contemporary fiction writers, though, I like those who make
us see life, history, or literature from a different perspective, such as Connie
Willis, Jasper Fforde, Hilary Mantel, Alice Walker, Michael Crichton, Anthony
Doerr . . . I could go on and on. I also love the work of many nonfiction
writers, both for research and for pleasure.
How would you describe your story (“The Dark Side of the
Light”) in the Day of the Dark
collection?
My
story is about the darkness and light of the eclipse occurring at the same time
that a husband and wife, who had each kept the other "in the dark"
about some life-altering information, reveal their secrets to one another. But
it does not necessarily follow that being "enlightened" results in
happiness. In fact, there can be a “dark side of the light.”
Have you ever seen a total eclipse? Will you be able to see
this one?
I’ve seen a
partial eclipse, but never a total eclipse. (It’s very accommodating of the
cosmos to bring one so close to so many Americans this year, don’t you think?)
I would have to travel to get to the path of totality this year, since I live
in Pennsylvania where we’re only expected to see about 75% coverage. Still, I
have my eclipse glasses. It ought to be a good show!
