Frequently Asked Questions
Why do you write crime fiction? Because you have a twisted imagination?
Because crime fiction gets to the heart of the human condition. It’s about people facing severe danger, or confronting an evil that has invaded their world.
It’s also fun. I get to slingshot readers into situations they would hate to face in real life. A kid in danger? Bring it on. Sadistic killers? Here, have another helping. My book gave you nightmares? Thank you, that’s wonderful.
Any other reasons?
Yes. When I was younger I tried writing romance and science fiction, and those stories sucked. Sucked so hard, they created a vacuum on the opposite side of the planet.
What’s the order of your books?
The Evan Delaney series:
China Lake
Mission Canyon
Jericho Point
Crosscut
Kill Chain
The Jo Beckett series:
The Dirty Secrets Club
The Memory Collector
The Liar's Lullaby
Your most recent novels feature Jo Beckett. Does that mean you’ve finished writing about Evan Delaney?
Not at all. I have more stories to tell – about both Jo and Evan.
Jo is a forensic psychiatrist. Does such a job actually exist?
Yes. Forensic psychiatrists actually perform psychological autopsies in cases of equivocal death, to determine whether a victim’s death is natural, accidental, suicide, or homicide.
The Dirty Secrets Club makes San Francisco sound beautiful. But should visitors worry about earthquakes?
San Francisco is a magical city. Go. Enjoy. But also look up “San Andreas Fault.”
Jo is a rock climber. Are you?
Hardly. I’ve competed in cross-country, rafted the Zambezi river, won Jeopardy three times, and had three kids. Rock climbing is harder than any of those things.
Is Evan Delaney based on you?
No. We’re both from Santa Barbara, but Evan is more courageous and prone to trouble than I am. Unlike her, I’ve never chased a killer down the street while dressed as Diana Ross. Or stolen a Sidewinder missile. Or found an FBI agent hogtied to my bed, stark naked.
But Evan is a former attorney, just like you.
The proper term is “escaped attorney.”
Are your other characters based on real people?
Nope. Not the lethal hooker in the Catholic school uniform, or the lovelorn fighter pilot. Not Evan’s brave, sarcastic and wounded lover. Friends, neighbors, husband: they’re not you. Seriously.
Is China Lake an actual location?
Yes. A history of the place is titled Secret City. Drive west from Las Vegas, skirt Area 51, cross Death Valley, and stop when the Marines shoot at your car. Eat at Denny’s.
In Crosscut, Evan’s high school reunion goes hideously awry. Did you model the story on your own reunion?
Down to the smallest detail. Except that at my reunion, no cheerleaders were butchered. And of course, no characters in Crosscut are based on real people.
Jericho Point features crime among rock stars and reality show contestants. Are you a musician?
No. Married to one. Daughter of two. Mother to three. The book was written as self defense.
Mission Canyon is about a hit-and-run killing; how did you fit in a subplot about a bridal shower and bad lingerie?
Mission Canyon is about revenge. The bad lingerie is a bonus.
Speaking of weddings, is Evan ever going to marry Jesse Blackburn?
You’d like to know, wouldn’t you?
Is Santa Barbara as beautiful as is sounds? And as crazy as Evan makes it seem?
Santa Barbara is paradise. Here are a few of the things that prove it:
Hiking in Rattlesnake Canyon
Fourth of July fireworks at the harbor
Midnight Mass at the Old Mission
Friday night high school football games (Go Dos Pueblos!)
Eating out: at Joe’s Cafe, The Cajun Kitchen, Rudy’s, The Beachside…
I have an idea for a book, but I’m not a writer. Do you accept story ideas from other people?
I don’t. I need to come up with my own stories.
So where do your ideas come from?
Prophetic dreams.
No, seriously.
I start vicious rumors about my relatives, then sit back and watch the fur fly. After that, the books write themselves.
You’re starting to annoy me.
Oh, all right. Headlines. The human heart. My deepest fears. The inner voice that says: if it scares you, it’ll scare readers too.
I have written a book. Will you read my manuscript?
Sorry, no. On the advice of legal counsel, I won’t read unsolicited, unpublished works. Doing so only leads to grief.
You’re no help at all. Can you at least recommend some books on writing?
Here are three excellent ones:
Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott
Story, Robert McKee
Stein on Writing, Sol Stein
Can you sum up your crime series in 100 words?
No – for that I defer to Nancy Fraser of Midpoint Publishing:
"A bold, brash, slightly-too-much-gumption-for-her-own-good kind of girl. Harpoon guns, GPS tracking devices, rabid coyotes, airplane crash mementoes, the FBI, homemade bombs, explosive Redi-Whip, imposter nuclear warheads, navy fighter pilots, flirtatious fighter pilots, ladies' lingerie, small dogs, religious megalomaniacs, fires, imprisonment, alcoholic in-laws, has-been rock stars, never-were rock stars, smashed pumpkins, AIDS, broken glass, burning cowboy boots in trash cans – still attached to the feet that wear them – kidnappings to Las Vegas, NCAA swim meets, men in swimsuits, men in wheelchairs, men in Mustangs, margaritas, murder by guitar chord, and efforts (failed efforts, often) at redemption from every angle known to man."
That’s –
101. But I’ll take it.
How can I contact you?
Email me:
meg@meggardiner.com
Or reach me care of my publishers:
c/o Dutton
375 Hudson Street
New York, NY
10014
USA
c/o Blue Door
HarperCollins Publishers
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London
W6 8JB
UK