Your new book, Some Like It Hot-Buttered, is a departure from the Aaron Tucker series you’ve written in the past. Was that strange for you?
It was, a little. The new series, the Double Feature Mysteries, came about because I was wondering one day what Aaron Tucker’s life might have been like if his circumstances were different. I started making Elliot Freed the opposite of Aaron: he’s divorced, he has no children. And I indulged myself, because I’ve always had a fantasy about opening an all-comedy movie theatre. I can’t do it because it would probably be a financial disaster—but Elliot can.
How does a movie theatre owner get involved in murder investigations?
Good question. When I wrote Some Like It Hot-Buttered, the answer was obvious: the victim dies in Elliot’s theatre. Then, I had to come up with two more scenarios in which a movie theatre owner has to investigate a murder. I’m still working on some of the details, but I hope I have to come up with problems for Elliot to solve for a long time.
There’s an undercurrent of classic comedy references in Some Like It Hot-Buttered. Are you a fan of the classics?
I’m a huge fan of the Marx Brothers, especially; they’re pretty much my religion. I can’t understand how anyone could not find them funny. But I’m also fond of Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, sometimes W.C. Fields and Mae West, among others. It worries me that some things people consider comedies today are going for such easy laughs; there’s plenty of comedy out there, but with the exceptions of Jon Stewart and a few others, very little wit.
The Double Feature Mysteries take place in Midland Heights, New Jersey, the same town as the Aaron Tucker series. Why repeat the (fictional) setting?
As a writer, it gave me a comfortable point of reference. I thought loyal readers of the Aaron series would be tickled to see Police Chief Barry Dutton in a new light, through the eyes of a character who had never met him before. And because I didn’t think I was finished with the atmosphere and the attitude of central New Jersey.
The attitude of the main character is somewhat familiar, too.
Yes, Elliot has a certain sarcastic streak that Aaron exhibited on occasion. I wanted to keep that, because I think it’s funny, and because I think it’s true when depicting this area. Sarcasm is the National Language of New Jersey.
What should readers expect from the Double Feature series, your first from a large publishing house?
Hopefully, they’ll find some laughs, and a challenging mystery. But mostly, I want them to find a new cast of characters they can take to their hearts. I had a lot of fun visiting with Elliot, his ex-wife Sharon, the teenage staff at Comedy Tonight, and the rest, and I think readers will, too.
How has your background as a freelance reporter and author of more than 20 feature length screenplays for the likes of Jim Henson productions and CBS prepared you to be a crime fiction writer?
To be honest, it didn’t. Well, that’s not fair, either: all that writing, especially the 8-trillion screenplays, developed my story sense and a knack (I think) for pacing. And freelancing gives me a very healthy respect for deadlines, so I’m always on time—so far. So I lied when I said it didn’t help, but in respect to subject matter, not really. That stuff just happens by itself.
What’s your next project all about? And is it in the can yet?
The second book in the Double Feature series, which picks up right where Elliot leaves off, is called It Happened One Knife, and it’s written and currently going through the usual editing process. It’ll be out in 2008. I haven’t started the third book yet, but I really do need to give it some thought... I’m sorry, what was the question?
