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BIO
Born
in California to an alcoholic mother and a painter/paperhanger who
uprooted the family often to try his hand at farming, prospecting,
and racetrack betting, Noreen was also reared in the states of Oregon
and Oklahoma. She entered college later than most, graduating Cal-State
University at Los Angeles with a B.A. and an M.A. in English. Before
becoming an author, Noreen held a variety of jobs, then became a
college instructor and a technical communicator working in the aerospace
and oil and gas industries.
Noreen is the author of two other Smokey Brandon mysteries, A WORLD
THE COLOR OF SALT and CARCASS TRADE. A recent short story, Delta
Double-Deal, from the anthology THE NIGHT AWAKENS has been selected
for inclusion in the forthcoming anthology, WORLDíS FINEST CRIME
AND MYSTERY II. Another story, Ladder Work,î from FATHERS & DAUGHTERS,
was a finalist in the New Century Writer Awards 1999.
I love stories of the disenfranchised, the loner traversing ground
with steady progress despite being error-prone, she says.Perhaps,
in stories, there is a kind of redemption for us all.
INTERVIEW
November
10, 2000
Fans of Noreen Ayres who have been eagerly awaiting her new Smokey
Brandon novel, THE JUAN DOE MURDERS, won't have to wait any longer.
The new book is out and our prolific reader and writer extraordinaire,
Joe Hartlaub, has already talked to the mystery writer about her
new book, the casting for a Smokey movie, and much more. Don't miss
what this sassy talented writer has to say about writing, life,
and Smokey in this Bookreporter.com interview.
TBR: You introduced Smokey Brandon in A WORLD THE COLOR OF SALT
in 1992, followed by CARCASS TRADE in 1994. Then...no sign of Smokey
until now, with the publication of THE JUAN DOE MURDERS, some six
years after CARCASS TRADE. You haven't exactly been absent from
literature, having published a number of short stories and pieces
in mystery and other genres, but this is your first novel in quite
awhile. Inquiring minds want to know: where have you, and Smokey,
been?
NA: Ah, Smokey, that bad girl.
AWOL from the job! Actually, I finished a version of THE JUAN DOE
MURDERS in 1994. Then I made a mistake: I retrieved the book from
my agent just as he had begun to submit it, thinking Iíd do some
easy revisions, pump it up a little. Soon a fast-moving freight
train of disruptive ìlife eventsî intervened. By the time the manuscript
was ready again, the publishing world was in its own upheaval. My
editor was long gone to another house, and fiction was a harder
sell. Iím extremely grateful that some people kept asking for Smokey,
and now sheís shaped up and back at work.
TBR: THE JUAN DOE MURDERS is my favorite book title of the year
for a number of different reasons. It takes a unique twist on a
familiar term; it has a tight, direct relationship to the subject
matter of the novel; and it reflects the ongoing changes in US population
demographics and culture, secondary to the recent dramatic increase
of Mexican and Hispanic immigration. From what creative wellspring
did this title come?
NA: I guess the present
title IS better than the one I started out with, a pretentious thing
originating from a poem I wrote about buried bodies: ìThe Long Slow
Whistle of the Moonî (sh-h, donít tell anyone!). The expression
ìJuan Doeî is one I heard while doing research at a county morgue;
so, the originality is not mine. To me the term described a soul
lost in a foreign land, nameless, disconnected, an end without a
beginning; the helplessness of that odd condition haunted me.
TBR: Another impressive element of THE JUAN DOE MURDERS is the
way the central focus of the novel --- an investigation of a series
of murders of unidentified Hispanic males --- subtly plays out against
the backdrop of late 20th Century southern California. What inspired
your interest, and observations, in the cultural changes presently
taking place in Southern California?
NA: Most of us are
proud of our countryís history of embracing different cultures.
At the same time, weíre befuddled by the stresses that inevitably
ensue. In Southern California what struck me is seeing great expanses
of agricultural fields with mainly Hispanic laborers stooped in
the rows, while behind them high-rises tower, freeways swirl, and
giant passenger jets creep in for landings in what seems like a
mere hundred feet overhead. Iíd wonder what kind of hope fuels the
hearts of people who bend to work in this way? In our country the
potential for switching stations in life makes for the stuff of
grand and inspiring stories, but I think the more common outcome
is inglorious.
TBR: You have an uncanny ability to transport your readers right
into the middle of the investigative stages of a crime scene; you
have demonstrated this repeatedly in A WORLD THE COLOR OF SALT and
CARCASS TRADE, and display it yet again in THE JUAN DOE MURDERS.
Do you have any background in the field of forensic investigation
or in other areas of law enforcement?
NA: A talented non-fiction
author named Arlo Karlen once said that if you know 10% of a subject,
you probably know 90% more than your audience; that you need only
a brushstroke here and there to render a sense of authenticity.
I did do a fair amount of research and took a few classes in criminal
investigation, but my novels, in reality, are not all that filled
with forensic detail. If scenes ring true, the effect comes from
the sleight of hand of a storyteller, is all.
TBR: Smokey Brandon is a unique character. While her plate certainly
seems to be full in terms of personal and professional issues, she
never seems to lose sight of the fact that the person --- the victim
--- who is the subject of the investigation was once a human being
with cares, concerns, and someone who is missing them. Is there
a real world model for Smokey, or is she a composite of several
individuals you have known?
NA: For better or
worse, I confess that Smokey is less a composite of people I have
known than a pretty close reflection of the bleeding-heart me who
is at the same time fairly toughened by life. Other characters within
the works are certainly composites. Many authors unconsciously keep
writing to a ìtype,î even if their protagonists are supposedly different
from each other. I suspect that that type is probably more of who
the author is than the reader really wants to know!
TBR: I don't want to spoil things for your readers who have yet
to read, or finish, THE JUAN DOE MURDERS; but the ending, in at
least one aspect, was unexpected. Do you have plans for any future
Smokey Brandon novels?
NA: Smokey is retrievable,
should there be enough outside interest in continuing the series.
But plans? Not at this time, because other projects beckon.
TBR: What are you working on now?
NA: A novel set in
Houston, where I lived for three years until recently. This rich,
colorful Gulf city is itself almost a character. My protagonist
is a PI named Cisroe Perkins who makes more money through his barbecue
joint than he does his snooping, but that doesnít keep people from
rapping on his door. Cisroeís current sleuthing challenges have
roots in Civil War times. He has appeared in two anthologized stories
this year, one of which will also have a repeat bow in a second
anthology called ìWorldís Finest Crime and Mystery II,î published
by Tor.
TBR: There is already a bit of buzz concerning some interest
in creating a film version of THE JUAN DOE MURDERS. If you had studio
backing, and a blank check, who would you cast for the principal
characters?
NA: Oh wow. There
were so many names thrown at me when the first books were generating
ìmeetingsî that I kind of shut them all out. I mean, everyone from
Bette Midler to Madonna was mentioned for Smokey! Early on, I had
in mind someone like Ellen Barkin, Theresa Russell, or Rebecca DeMornay,
someone with that hot-ore-beneath-the-surface quality. Iíd kill
for Andy Garcia to play sidekick Ray Vega. Ed Harris for Joe Sanders.
There are also many fine actors a generation-step down who could
fill the bill. All of this is fanciful imagining, though. Film has
its own fragile dependencies completely apart from an authorís conceptions.
TBR: On a related note, I also understand that you have a completed
screenplay which is unrelated to any of your previous novels. Can
you compare and contrast for us the experiences of writing a novel
and drafting a screenplay?
NA: I have completed
three screenplays, as many teleplays, and fiddled with several more
that I hope to get back to someday. I love the form. Itís fun, freeing,
and fast -- well, faster than I can write a novel. Thatís not to
say itís easy. In fact, I have not mastered the art. However, I
can say the same about the novel. Not mastering it is why we continue
to write the next one. I do think there is much for a writer to
learn by cross-fertilization of forms. Novels become more visual,
scripts may gain more depth, short stories force better plotting,
poetry waves flags for language.
TBR: What books have you read in the past six months which
you would recommend to your readers?
NA: I confess to
an unfair habit, unfair to the author who has so carefully crafted
his or her tale. My crime is that I read books simultaneously; hence,
I finish each slowly and do not read as much or as closely as I
probably ìshould.î In the mystery-suspense field, recently I have
been taken with Ernest Gaineís A LESSON BEFORE DYING, Daniel Woodrellís
TOMATO RED, Gerald Duffís MEMPHIS RIBS, and T. Jefferson Parkerís
RED LIGHT. And even more recently, Frank Conroy's THE ELEVENTH DRAFT
and Stephen King's ON WRITING. These books are by turns spare, eloquent,
witty, and wise in the art of dialogue.
TBR: What authors and/or books would you consider to be the
primary influence on your career?
NA: As different
as they are, I would say that without a doubt I owe a debt to Elmore
Leonard, James Lee Burke, and the poets Anne Sexton and William
Matthews. This is not to say my words will ever match the level
of theirs, but merely to acknowledge an influence, an aspiration,
an affinity with their tone, rhythms of language, observations,
and a certain defiance of literary traditions. But truly, if we
have any clarity at all, every reader and writer must admit we are
affected by every book we read, every author who compels us to peek
into a portion of the eternal mind in its process through the world,
as someone once said.
Thanks for asking terrific questions. Itís been fun! For more information
about me, check out my website at http://www.noreenayres.com
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