Kia Ora,

Today we have DMS Fick in the house.

Tell us a bit about who you are:
I grew up in a town of three hundred people in rural Minnesota in the upper U.S. midwest, just south of Canada. My school had just twelve students. After it closed I studied in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, home of Laura Ingalls Wilders’ Little House on the Prairie and On the Banks of Plum Creek.
As a graphic designer and animator for television stations, I came into contact with people such as 60s singer/songwriter Donovan, governor and wrestler Jesse Ventura, Hillary Clinton, and Barney the Purple Dinosaur.
Other fun facts about me:
I was an extra in the movie Fargo (Carlton Celebrity Room scene.)
I once road in a coach from Valencia, Spain to Calais, France with a retired British showgirl who may have tried to coerce me into sneaking hooch through customs. (I didn’t do it.)
I was a fake contestant for a game show rehearsal. I pretended to be nervous. The host, Bob Eubanks, (Baby Boomers might remember him as the original host of The Newlywed Game) held my hand to calm my pretend nerves. It pretend worked!
I once misjudged the distance between towns on a Cornish coastal walking path and out of necessity spent the night huddled betwixt a rock and a shrubbery.
I have deceased millionaire and former governor of New York Nelson Rockefeller’s autograph on a folded up newspaper hat.

Favourite genre/s to read or write? 
I prefer to read and write books that are leavened with humor. I write Traditional Mystery (no gore, all violence off-page.) and women’s fiction.
I read A LOT of memoirs by musicians, comedians, and behind-the-scenes TV folk, plus everything by Anne Tyler, Nick Hornby and Richard Osman.
I’d love to read more New Zealand authors.

Please tell us about your latest work: 
Lew Sinclair and his band, the Gentlemen Cowboys, are booked into FallFest, a major U.S. music festival. Before they play a note, Lew’s girlfriend breaks up with him and his recently fired manager proposes to her on stage in front of 40,000 festival fans. That manager turns up dead, his head face-down in cement, at the festival’s walk of fame. 

Library Journal said, “Patrons looking for thrilling mysteries that include love, jealousy, and betrayal set against a music-festival backdrop will enjoy. Suggest to fans of Dolly Parton and James Patterson’s Run, Rose, Run.” 

Podcast The Perks of Being a Booklover said, “If you’re a music lover who would like a little bit of a backstage pass into the nuts and bolts of a music festival, this provides it. I highly recommend it.”

Do you like chocolate fish?
I’ve never had chocolate fish, but I love chocolate-covered marshmallow bunnies, so I’m sure I’d take to chocolate fish like a chocolate fish to chocolate water.

What’s your main character like? 

• Would you go to the pub with them? Definitely. And he’d insist on buying the first round. The main character is Lew Sinclair, an earnest and loyal country western musician with a heart as big as Texas. He’s a sentimental fellow ever since he lost his parents, causing him to be a bit of a mother hen to his band––but he can steel his nerves when he needs to. I no longer drink alcohol, but I’d welcome the chance to hang out in a pub with almost every character in my book. (Wouldn’t let my guard down around the murderer though.)
• Would you have them over for dinner? Oh, yes. I’d serve him fried potatoes and chili beans like his mama used to make. White cake with whipped frosting and crushed peanuts for dessert. I think he’d appreciate the gesture.
• What music do they listen to? Country, of course. Mostly Honky Tonk, Texas Swing and Americana. Classics like Hank Williams and Bob Wills. He’s written some lyrics that would fit right into an Elvis Costello tune, and he’s a deft hand at playing some blistering guitar solos a la Jimi Hendrix or The Ventures.
• What type of car do they drive? The band tours in a nondescript van with sliding side doors because it seats them all comfortably, they can all drive it with ease, and it holds all their equipment. Lew keeps an old Ford stepside pickup he inherited from his pop at home on his small Texas farm.
• Are they a series character? Yes, but the second book hasn’t come out yet.

What piece of advice would you give a new writer? 
Be concise in your queries. Do a little research when deciding whom to submit to, but submit to many, many agents and publishers.
Have multiple sources of income. There are A LOT of books out there and it’s a challenge to compete with them and get your book into the hands of readers. It’s a challenge to get enough of your books into enough hands to earn a living.
Write what and how you want because that’s what makes your book unique and interesting. That’s your hook.

What part of writing do you find the hardest?
Getting my book onto shelves and promoting it. But that’s also pretty fun as well. Writing-wise, facing the blank page is hardest. I prefer revising.

Have you ever had lolly cake?
No, but I’d truly like to try it.

Pantser or outliner? And why?
Combination. I have a general outline of maybe four-to-six points I want the story to cover. More are added as I go along. To get past the fear of the blank page, I’ll start writing something that just seems like it’d be fun to write, usually involving food or a social gathering. That usually leads to some very good stuff and inspires more plot ideas. I’ll eventually have enough plot ideas to make up an outline. I’ll arrange and rearrange those ideas to find the best structure. I then write scenes for whichever idea I’m in the mood to try. So, I start spare and it fleshes out in this manner. Once I’m really far along, I’ll likely make a chart with characters and plot elements color-coded so I can see at a glance if the story is well-distributed. I made such a chart for an Agatha Christie work and consult it if I’m stuck or worried something isn’t working.

Do you write in silence?
Usually silence, but I will sometimes listen to instrumental music like Debussy or simple piano. I’ll listen to some country music beforehand to get me in the swing of writing for my Lewis Sinclair characters, but not during. The only music with singing I can listen to is a collection of songs sung by Fred Astaire from his movies, and a CD of the Kings of Convenience titled Riot on an Empty Street (an ironic title for an extremely mellow record.) They sound like a Norwegian version of Simon & Garfunkel. Old Fred, Debussy, and the Kings have some sound that works for my brain and helps me order my thoughts.

Do you like to listen to audio books?
No. I LOOOOVE podcasts and radio but have trouble paying attention while listening to fiction. I wonder why we’re like that.

Have you ever visited New Zealand?
No. It would be swell to though.

Dogs, cats, guinea pigs, or some other type of pet?
I played with barn cats as a kid. As an adult I had a beloved tabby cat named Aldo who lived several years past the age of twenty. I lived on a farm not so long ago and foxes frequented our yard and grove. That was wonderful. I’ve since developed allergies to cats and dogs and must satisfy my delight of animals by watching them frolic outside or on social media.

Where do you write?
In a big comfy chair in our living room. I have a writing desk that always has too much stuff piled on top of it to fulfill its original purpose. What does that say about me psychologically?!?!?

Here are links so you can find out more:
Web Page
Bluesky
Instagram