Morgan and Phyllice, tell us about yourselves.
MORGAN: I split my time between the Los Angeles area and Las Vegas and often joke that I live on the 15 Freeway. I listen to audio books in the mystery genre during the drive, constantly paying attention to the techniques of other writers…the “do’s and the don’ts.”
I spent many years as an interior designer, working with some celebrity clients, model homes and office and restaurant interiors. When I was co-owner of an interior design studio, my partner and I were approached about writing an article for a slick design magazine in the Western United States. After doing many articles for them, I realized I loved writing, and expanded to articles for other publications covering diverse subjects.
In the mid 1990’s my sister Phyllice, also a published writer, and I decided we could write our own funny mystery series. We discovered we had a lot to learn about writing fiction. After many false starts, workshops, seminars and a wonderful manuscript consultant, we had a publishable novel.
“A Corpse in the Soup” was named “Best Mystery Audio Book 2007” by USA Book News.
PHYLLICE: I grew up in Los Angeles and majored in Graphic Design and Journalism. I went to work for an advertising art studio after college, and moved to Alaska in my 20’s. There I found great opportunities for women in the late ’60s and ’70s. At 25 I was the Art Director of a large advertising agency in Anchorage and later ran my own communication consulting business for 17 years. For 7 years I was the Publication Specialist for the Alaska Division of Tourism, and later produced television commercials at ABC TV in Juneau.
But that’s not all! I also owned an antique shop, worked as an interior designer, acted as a political consultant and people in Juneau remember me most for designing and coordinating the restoration of the Governor’s Mansion, portions of the Capitol Building, and other historical buildings.
A few years ago I moved to Oregon from Alaska where I lived for 39 years. I am one of the founders of a co-op art gallery in McMinnville, Oregon, and also have a little art shop, Katz and Dawgs Boutique, in my 100 year old house. When I’m not writing books with my sister, I produce whimsical art. I work in oils, printmaking, and painted silk.
Most writers are well established before they even think about collaborating. When did it begin and what sparked the idea?
MORGAN: Phyllice and I never knew each other very well, because as she said, she moved to Alaska when she was only twenty. We’re five-and-a-half years apart, so that was just about the time we would have become friends as adults. Instead, we barely spoke to each other. Our mother was the conduit and kept each of us posted on the other’s accomplishments and exploits.
When our mother became ill in the mid 90’s, we spent quite a bit of time together getting her settled in an assisted living facility. After all those years, we actually talked to each other, and discovered that although we are different in many ways, we also have many similar traits and interests.
PHYLLICE: …And one of those interests was our love of funny mysteries. We began to seriously think about writing together, and brainstormed some ideas. The result was the Silver Sisters…identical twins who are our alter egos in some ways, although Morgan insists that she’s not as selfish as Godiva, and I have no interest in Goldie’s astrology.
Next we created a whole host of quirky characters and zany situations, drawing upon family members and friends as models, recalling all the fun our family had while we were growing up. We received an unexpected bonus in the process. We’ve become best friends because of our writing.
Writing together long distance must be a challenge. Do you have a specific method to ensure everything runs smoothly?
MORGAN: We certainly do. First of all, we bless e-mail and unlimited long distance phone plans. But that is more about the technical aspect. Still, when you have editing and creative sessions as long as four hours at a clip on the phone, it’s nice to know there isn’t a meter racking up charges by the minutes.
When you write with a partner, it is very important to set up the guidelines and know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We quickly discovered that I’m the one who can churn out chapters quickly and Phyllice is the consummate editor, so she adds all the fine touches, cleans up my scenes and most important, adds that particular quirky touch of humor that is a Silver Sisters trademark. I write funny, but she writes funnier.
I also write novels and short stories of my own, and am working on a few other projects with different partners, as well. Writing with Phyllice has been a great training ground for “playing well with others.”
PHYLLICE: When we start a book, all initial brainstorming is done as a joint effort…figuring out the story line, creating the timeline and what we call the chapter sheets. We try to do that in person if we can, and schedule one or two writer’s retreats a year, either at my home in Oregon or Morgan’s in Las Vegas.
We also had to agree upon how to disagree. By that I mean, when do we back down? What happens when we are adamant about something we think must be in the book? If we are at odds, whoever is not passionate about something is the one to back down. If we both feel strongly, we talk it out and make the best decision for the work, not for our personal agenda. At the beginning, after a few ruffled feathers, we made a pact that criticisms of each other’s writing were not to be taken personally.
What is The Silver Sisters series about?
MORGAN: Simply stated, identical twins as different as Goodwill and Gucci can’t resist snooping. Goldie Silver is an over-the-hill flower child who owns an antique shop in Juneau, Alaska. Her twin, Godiva Olivia DuBois, is a manipulative, wealthy Beverly Hills widow who writes the syndicated advice column, “Ask G.O.D.” (her initials.)
They cook up schemes that backfire, lead the reader on zany romps, generally accompanied by a lot of hoopla, but they always solve whatever the caper is. Their eighty-year-old mother and uncle, former vaudeville magicians, love to get into the act. Sometimes they dress in disguises and go under cover, despite the twins’ protests.
“A Corpse in the Soup” involves an over-the-top TV chef’s competition called the “Greatest Gourmet Gladiator’s Tournament.” When one of the contenders winds up face down in the bouillabaisse with a knife in his back, the twins set out to prove Godiva’s boyfriend didn’t do it. But they wind up in some pretty hot water.
PHYLLICE: Since we decided early on that we would only set our Silver Sisters novels in places we know well, the first caper takes place in Hollywood, and our second book, recently released “Seven Deadly Samovars,” is set in Juneau, and eventually takes the twins to Seattle and Los Angeles. We find the twins tracking the bumbling, but dangerous, Russian thugs the Dumkovsky brothers. Goldie receives the wrong shipment of fancy tea urns—called samovars—at her antique store and they sell quickly. But then, people begin to die. What makes the samovars worth killing for?
The third book, “Vanishing Act in Vegas,” currently in work, features “Mara the Magnificent,” a beautiful magician at the Glitz Palace on the famed Las Vegas Strip. Godiva’s son is dating Mara, but there is something baffling about her, and it becomes more and more involved as the story unfolds. Did she do a disappearing act? If so, who’s the magician up on stage?
Every Silver Sisters comical crime caper has a twist ending. Some even have a double twist.
Morgan and Phyllice, what do think it is that fans love about your books?
MORGAN: It all boils down to the humor, fast action and twist endings. They love the funny names we give characters, over the top situations, the friendly rivalry between Goldie and Godiva. Many readers really love our feisty eldersleuths, Flossie and Sterling Silver, the mother and uncle.
PHYLLICE: Many readers love a good mystery, but don’t want to be shocked and horrified by lots of blood and guts and spine tingling suspense that keeps them awake at night. Like me, they want to curl up in an easy chair with a cup of tea and solve a crime and have a good laugh in the process. Who wouldn’t fall in love with Goldie Silver, whose husband is a sea captain named Red Pepper, his mother is Belle Pepper and their daughter is Chili Pepper? Bad guys like Biff Wellington, Manny Manicotti, and the Dumkovsky brothers are the kind of characters our readers love.
To learn more about the authors and their Silver Sisters books, visit: http://silversistersmysteries.com
Related posts:
No Comments on "Morgan St. James & Phyllice Bradner Interview"
Trackback URL