I am a member of Sisters in Crime, Toronto Chapter, and was fortunate to be interviewed by Arlene McCarthy for 'Crime Scene', the on-line magazine of this great organization.
Thank you to Sisters in Crime for giving me permission to reprint the interview.
Criminal Intent
Featuring Vicky Earle
Interviewed by Arlene McCarthy
Born in England, Vicky Earle now lives on a small farm near Goodwood, Ontario, and tells us that the horses come first, dog and cats a distant second, and humans are there to look after them all. Vicky and her husband, Martin, raised two active sons who miraculously survived the adventures of country life.
Writing is a life-long passion for Vicky. Her Meg Sheppard Mystery Series is centred around horses, horse-racing and country-living. Her interesting blog includes some of the short stories she has written for the Uxbridge Writers Circle based on their monthly prompts.
Her two Meg Sheppard novels, What Happened to Frank? (2015) and Over Frank’s Dead Body (2018), will soon be followed by Pointed Attacks, which Vicky launches November 17, 2019, with a book signing at Blue Heron Books in Uxbridge.
Q: How do you think the rural and small-town setting contribute to the suspense in your novels?
A: Few people live on a horse farm, as Meg does, and that gives me the potential to create unexpected situations. Moreover, it is the setting that I’m most familiar with. Meg believes she’s happy living alone with her animals, but she faces challenges to this belief through incidents in each book. In the first book, her determination to find out what happened to her husband, Frank, makes her vulnerable to vengeful attacks. And the fact that she lives in relative isolation makes it easier for the perpetrator to get away with his actions.
When her truck is tampered with, she and Kelly find themselves under threat at the side of a country road.
In Over Frank’s Dead Body, Meg hires a security guard but even that step doesn’t prevent people from entering the barn and a shot being fired.
Q: Why did you choose to use horses and horse-racing as the hook for many of the events in this series?
A: Horses have been a part of my life for about 25 years. We have been involved in horse-racing since 1988, first as owners but later we became involved in breeding (in a small way). Horse-racing provides tremendous material for a mystery writer like me.
The characters involved in the industry range from hotwalkers to some extremely wealthy racehorse owners, with everything in between. There is corruption, doping and other offences, despite increased regulations and testing.
This is discouraging and frustrating for those of us who are honest racehorse owners, but it all provides great material for a mystery author! Frank, Meg’s husband, had been successful in his pursuit of an anti-drug regulation which banned StartSmart. In What Happened to Frank?, Meg finds out that their racehorse trainer is not only opposed to the new regulation, but is vocal, even aggressive, about his opposition.
In Over Frank’s Dead Body, Meg is asked to look into the sudden death of a jockey that appears to be linked to race-fixing and illegal gambling.
Q: Why did you place Meg as an immigrant to Canada from Britain?
A: I emigrated to Canada from England with my husband many years ago. Meg has been in Canada for about 20 years. It gives me a reason to use some of my knowledge of England and of English people to enhance the story, and I found that it helped me to add some intrigue, including in my third book, Pointed Attacks.
Q: You created a big stable of secondary characters who live in these two novels, both human and animal, yet they seem very real. How did you manage that?
A: I enjoy creating characters. I particularly like the process of writing and developing the characters at the same time. While I might have a loose outline to start and perhaps some notes about each character, I like to have no constraints as I write. I imagine myself as each individual character, and attempt to come up with how they might react or feel about what’s happening.
If a character needs to change – either the kind of person he or she is, or how he or she behaves, and so on, I will make those changes. And sometimes this means going back and rewriting substantial parts of the book.
Kelly, Meg’s beloved border collie, plays a role in both books in helping her, but Kelly is herself a victim of criminal activity in each novel. Meg “rescued” her from the Vannersville Humane Society where she worked as the Executive Director until she was abruptly dismissed. Kelly is smart and intuitive, loyal and trustworthy. She has the mentality of a rescue dog, with her eternal gratitude for being adopted, and with her unwavering, unconditional love for Meg.
Meg loves Kelly deeply and, in the first book, this fact is used by an antagonist as a way to threaten her.
Animals are less complex than humans, but each has a unique personality. I’ve lived with animals all my life and enjoy their company – including when I write about them. They are fun to include in the story.
Q: Readers often turn to mysteries for a little escape from real life. Tell us how you used such serious issues as sexual abuse, a failed mother-daughter relationship, political corruption, fraud, alcoholism, puppy mills, and gambling to further your plots and develop suspense without “putting your readers off.”
A: These are difficult issues, but I do not include any graphic, intensive description in my books. Also, the characters are not violent, evil or cruel enough to be offensive. But there are some characters who have flaws, who are unethical, who can be dangerous and who are malicious.
For example, in What Happened to Frank? a group of business people want to stop Meg from investigating Frank’s death. They use a variety of intimidation tactics, including threats, that Brad Buckthorn plays a key role in carrying out. But Meg is not easily discouraged. In Over Frank’s Dead Body, gun shots are fired on Meg’s farm by a man who appears to be deranged. Meg is alarmed by his behaviour, but it doesn’t make sense to her. She finds out more as she talks to both him and his wife, Joanna. And Meg encounters a shady character, Dominic Marcel, who’s involved in the seedy side of the horse-racing industry and a suspect in the jockey’s murder. It’s easy to jump to the conclusion that he’s the “bad guy,” responsible for all the crimes Meg uncovers.
Q: What qualities enable Meg to search for truth and justice in spite of the lack of those qualities in her relationships with others?
A: Meg wants to search for truth and justice partly for that reason – because she finds these qualities lacking in many of the people she interacts with. She was raised in an environment full of lies and deceit, and her emigration to Canada was, in part, an attempt to escape that.
And, although she would not describe herself as a compassionate person, she is. She ran the Vannersville Humane Society and is an animal lover, but she also cares about people and what happens to them.
However, Meg believes that she’s unable to develop and maintain intimate relationships. She has trouble with physical touch. In What Happened to Frank? she reflects on how she’s got used to living alone, used to the privacy, solitude and freedom. And she’s afraid of being hurt. The abuse she suffered from her stepfather back in England means she believes she is“damaged goods.” But these beliefs are challenged, to some extent, as she interacts with Tom, Chuck and William.
Despite her faltering self-esteem and sometimes wavering confidence (which can cause her to appear to be a reluctant sleuth), Meg does want to unearth the truth and to help ensure that justice is served. She draws on her resilience as she continues on a path of self-discovery and growth.
Q: How can we expect to see Meg develop in Pointed Attacks, the third book of your series?
A: In Pointed Attacks she is even more frustrated with her search for the truth as she investigates murder, and at the same time uncovers a life-changing family secret. The layers of lies and half-truths, as well as the unkindness she comes across, are a severe challenge for Meg.
There is a new relationship in her life that Meg wonders if she’s ready for, and as her home fills up with people, conflicts arise, resulting in comings and goings that add to the pressure Meg is under as she investigates.
She must hone her interpersonal skills, but she encounters glitches along the way. Her relationship with William is not solid and must overcome some hurdles. However, Meg continues her slow journey of healing and self-discovery, and becomes more certain of what is important to her in her life as the novel progresses.
Q: What part of writing these novels was a joy for you and why?
A: I love each and every aspect of writing a novel. From the very first thought, to the last word, I love it. And I even enjoy editing!
The greatest joy comes, though, when a reader tells me that they loved my books, and asks when the next one is coming out.
Q: What authors have influenced your mystery writing?
A: I read an eclectic mix of authors.
Many of them are not mystery writers. I read non-fiction such as memoirs, as well as a few historical books. And I read classic literature as well as modern writing. All of these books have influenced me in a variety of ways. I learn from each book I read. My bookshelves are crammed with great books! (Editor’s note: Vicky lists some of her recent reads on her blog.)
The book I have just finished is, coincidentally, Footprints to Murder, a Hannah Ives mystery by Marcia Talley. I bought the book at a Sisters in Crime meeting where Marcia was a speaker. Her talk was excellent and gave me the boost I needed to keep writing. The story unfolds during the Sasquatch Sesquicentennial conference. Marcia brings the setting and characters to life, and the plot is cleverly based on the controversy surrounding Bigfoot’s existence.
I enjoyed the quotes from books and excerpts from newspapers that Marcia includes at the beginning of each chapter. And I appreciated the research that Marcia had obviously undertaken on the Bigfoot phenomenon. The book was a fun and pleasant read.
Q: What advice would you give yourself if you could look back in time at yourself as a newbie author?
A: It would have been helpful if I had known more about marketing. I am still learning how to promote my books and attract new readers. Familiarity with social media would have been an asset. I’ve spent quite a bit of time learning how to use these tools, including selecting which ones are worth the time to maintain. I still have a long way to go.
I should have been more prepared to invest in my writing, financially. Investment is essential.
As newbie authors, we need to be kind to ourselves. Part of this is giving ourselves time to build a solid and loyal readership. It takes patience and quite a bit of effort. And we should do our best to overcome the waves of self-doubt that roll in from time to time. I need frequent boosts to my confidence from feedback from readers as well as from interactions with other writers.
Q: Can you give us a few “teasers” to encourage us to read Pointed Attacks?
A: Okay, here is the book blurb description:
“Grayson, a racehorse trainer, is found dead in his office trailer and Meg’s trainer, Neal, asks her to investigate.
The members of a syndicate, who owned five horses trained by Grayson, are under suspicion. But the list of suspects grows as Meg learns more about the horses’ unexpected poor health and disappointing performances. Meg is under pressure to uncover the elusive truth, to put a stop to both people and animals being hurt.
And a secret is revealed that has a profound effect on Meg’s personal life.”
Q: Please complete this sentence:
“Because I write mysteries I . . .”
A: Because I write mysteries I have so much fun! I’m challenged too, which is a good thing!
Q: How has being a member of Sisters in Crime affected you?
A: Being a member of Sisters in Crime has given me both encouragement and valuable guidance. I enjoy the meetings in Toronto, although I can’t get to all of them.
The sisters are welcoming, supportive and understanding. The speakers are informative and encouraging.
Also, the webinars from the “mothership” are great. I have participated in a few so far, and plan to register for more in the future. Thank you, Sisters in Crime!
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Crime Scene, the magazine of the Toronto Chapter of Sisters in Crime, is published five times a year. We encourage reprints, but only with credit to the article’s writer(s) and the Toronto chapter, and after notifying the Editorial Director at newsletter@torontosistersincrime.ca
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