Alyson Spotlight: Morgan Hunt

Morgan Hunt enjoys redefining the mystery genre by walking a fine line of murder and comedy. In the latest installment of the Tess Camillo Mystery series, FOOL ON THE HILL (Alyson Books/February 2008/ 14.95 trade paperback original) Tess returns to solve the murder of folk-rocker Cody Crowne, whose body was found crucified in a San Diego park the morning after his concert. Tess takes the investigation to the buzzing streets of Hollywood where she confronts the most vicious creatures of all: Music producers. But does Tess have the strength to confront the murder before she faces a similar fate?   

In a candid interview, Morgan sits down with Alyson to talk about FOOL ON THE HILL, surviving breast cancer, and which Golden Girls she thinks her characters are.

There seems to be a difference in the ways Tess and her roommate, Lana, solve mysteries. Which do you think is the better approach?

HUNT: Tess and her housemate Lana are very much an [odd couple]. Tess is very bright, very analytical and logical. She majored in math in college so when she approaches solving a murder mystery she digs up clues, she does background searches, she interviews suspects. And Lana is just a total space cadet and lets ideas bubble out from her intuition. She doesn’t care about reading police reports like Tess does and she doesn’t care about all the history of all the suspects. She just floats along the surface and every once in awhile hears a piece of information that resonates something for her and adds her little insight to Tess's. In each book it always takes both of them in some way collaborating together to solve the mystery.

Tess seems like a character that is close to your heart. Do you find any qualities of yourself written into her personality?

HUNT: I decided to draw on my own life for the character of Tess. What this mystery series is really all about is because I became fascinated with how much fun it would be to play off two extreme personalities living under one roof. I think most of us have internal battles…we fight our own hearts vs. mind in our personal life. I thought how interesting it would be to personify that and put these two characters who are their personifications but I try to make them as real and as life like as possible but I intentionally made them be opposite. Its my way of expressing my personal philosophy that none of us is in this world to go at it alone. We need each other. In a sense I think of this as the Golden Girls who solve mysteries. Sort of like having Dorothy and Rose under one roof. Except give Dorothy Blanches’ libido. And Tess definitely has that kind of libido.

We love the Golden Girls here at Alyson! In Sticky Fingers, the romance element was played down quite a bit. Will we be seeing more romance in this one?

HUNT: In the first book I had her undergo something I personally went through which is breast cancer diagnosis and reconstruction surgery. I didn’t do a lot with romantic interest in the first book because, trust me, when you get hit with all that diagnosis and surgery, thinking about sex is not the first thing on your mind. I intentionally set the second book a year later and she has been healed, recovered. She’s feeling good again, she’s strong. She wants a little fling and some fun in her life. And she meets a woman at a party that was hosted by a music producer in Hollywood. I don’t want to give too much away.

That’s incredible you create a breast cancer heroine. How big do you think breast cancer is to women today?

HUNT: Depends on the cup size laughs. I wanted to have a heroine who survived the same things I had. I wanted to write a book that was so much fun that somebody who was in the same situation as I was in, recovering from a surgery in breast cancer could pick up this book and laugh and could just get distracted. Just take their minds into a different world and make them laugh. That was a big part of it.

That’s a beautiful and unique message for a mystery series…

HUNT: Another part of it was to put a message out there that breast cancer survivors live every single day aware of the possibility for reoccurrence of the cancer. It's part of who we are, but it doesn’t have to be a melodramatic part of who we are. Everyone has problems; everybody has something they deal with. We all have these things, but there wasn’t a whole lot out there in the mystery realm that showed it from a breast cancer survivor perspective so I felt I had something to contribute.

Shifting gears for a second, what other qualities separate this mystery from other mysteries in the market?

HUNT: It is what I would consider a romp. It is a romp of a mystery.  It’s very breezy. I wrote it to provide just a good summer beach read for the intelligent reader. I don’t write down to my readers. You need to understand certain cultural references and historical references have a decent head on your shoulders to really understand the books. I do that intentionally and I think people appreciate it. Reviewers have commented on the fact I don’t write down to my readers and they like that.

What are some challenges that go with mystery writing?

HUNT: The biggest challenge is to keep things fresh. Often mysteries tend to become very formulaic. There are some basic formulas that I think mystery writers should follow once you’ve established a certain kind of genre. If your book is a whodunit type book, and mine tend to follow that, I try to give enough clues so the reader can solve the mystery from the clues I’ve give in the book. I think the challenge is for the writer to make that formula never get stale. Keep it fresh, keep it exciting. I like that challenge, I enjoy that challenge.

And how do you as an author do that?

HUNT: One of the things this book is about—and it is no secret cause its in the back cover— is that the murder method is a crucifixion. And that’s something you don’t pick up everyday and read a book about a murder done by crucifixion so that in itself is a way of keeping it fresh. The other thing about writing mysteries that can be difficult—especially for a novice mystery writer—is at some point when you’re writing a murder mystery you’re going to start getting in touch with the evil of the world, the darker sides of life. And I think for each writer you need kind of deal with that in yourself and reflect on that and come to terms with it and understand we all have a dark side.

How do you deal with your dark side?

HUNT: I bring my dark side out on ink on paper. Some people bring their dark side out on blood splattered wall. So I prefer my way of dealing with my dark side.

Comments

[Marion]

OK, I admit it. I'm a shameless Morgan Hunt fan! One night I really did plan to go to bed at a decent hour. Then I picked up "Sticky Fingers," just to thumb through the index. Next thing I knew I was up most of the frigging night reading "just one more chapter" (They're so short.)

I was prepared to do an all night reading binge for "Fool on the Hill." But, I purposefully slowed myself down to savor the contents. Morgan has such a great turn of phrase and light-hearted way of describing the most challenging and gruesome of circumstances.

I've already pre-ordered Morgan's next book, "Blinded by the Light." I'm now addicted. Keep those books coming!

[Chelsea]

Every night I have paw through the covers on my bed to look for Fool on the Hill to get to the next chapter, I have been falling asleep with my glasses on Because I haven't been able to put down the latest Morgan Hunt creation before fading off.
I guess I will just have to start crawling into bed earlier. Can't wait for the next Tess Camillo adventure! Thanks Morgan for such a great read!