E H Storm: Twenty Questions

Q1: Describe "The Coldest Case" in a sentence.

A1: A classic battle of humor vs tragedy, hope vs fear, and truth vs lie, and all the other little battles that rage daily to shape our existence.

Q2: You've returned to writing after a long hiatus. What made you come back?

A2: I never stopped writing, but I gave up on fiction. I was writing dark, dirgy fiction, trying desperately to be Raymond Carver. I had a couple of pieces published and looked up at the mountain I was climbing and said, "Nah."

Q3: "The Coldest Case" is hardly "dark and dirgy." What changed in 20 years to lighten you up?

A3: Nothing, that's the funny part. In fact, age and all of the crap that comes with it, should make everything darker! I'd say the short answer is that anyone who knows me knows that I'm a clown, and the "Cleveburn Biddies" are closer to my natural state of nonsense.

Q4: You use that word -- nonsense -- a lot to describe your work. Self-deprecation seems your default mode 

A4: I believe it's best to pop your own balloons. My problem is, I start popping balloons other people give to me. I've only recently learned to just say "thank you" and shut up when people say kind things about my work.

Q5: You abandoned fiction for art back in 2002. That's quite a change.

A5: Huge change -- I had no training, just an affinity for woodcut printmaking and some good books. It was very fulfilling, though the business side is about as awful as writing. The arts are not for the weak.

Q6: You appeared to reach a Pinnacle of your printmaking career by designing the 2023 Erie County Fair poster. And then you stopped making prints. Did you "top out?"

A6: Oh, hardly. In fact, I had been studying for a series that I was really excited about. Then vertebrae in my neck collapsed, pinching my spinal cord. I lost much of the use of my drawing hand.

Q7: Sounds scary. Will you draw again?

A7: Yes, the doctors are confident, but it will take time. In the meantime, I started writing as a creative outlet.

Q8: So, back to the book then. It's inspired by a real crime?

A8: Yes. My great uncle was murdered on Chippewa Street in the 1960s.

Q9: Not something most people would find a good subject for comedy.

A9: I don't think that's true at all. The Cozy Mystery genre, which I believe includes classic TV shows like "Columbo" as well as the pun-filled titles common on bookshelves. Gallows humor is in my DNA.

Q10: Speaking of DNA, the protagonists -- Toots and Vi -- are real people?

A10: Well, "inspired by real people" is more accurate. My grandmother and her sister did share an apartment after both were widowed, but other than a few small details, there's not much similarity. I never saw my grandmother on a bicycle. 

Q11: Is it difficult for a male author to write a female lead character?

A11: I do worry about whether I've given them enough depth and identity. I hope Toots is more than a grieving widow, and that Vi is more than a timid mother. In the beginning, that's all I knew about them. But now I know Toots is boiling with rage under her level exterior, and Vi is a certified badass. 

Q12: Trevor West, who helps the Biddies dog for answers, seems a little lost. He's a fun character, but he never really gets to be the hero.

A12: Yeah, I'd say Trevor is a lot like me -- a romantic, an idealist, sort of an old soul and a victim of circumstance. I studied journalism, and was really good, but the landscape changed. I guess I just wanted to walk that dog around the park, work out some stuff in my own head. 

Q13: if you did a spinoff series, which character would you choose?

A13: Well, I do expect Kirkland West to have his own run. But the character I adore, who wasn't even in the original plan, is 98-year-old bartender Bedrock Jilly Jillene. I've never had so much fun. I credit hours of listening to "Fibber McGee & Molly" for his banter.

Q:14: You set the story in Buffalo, but you don't spend much time detailing the area. Was that a conscious choice?

A14: Very much so. If I knew that I'd be publishing it myself, I likely would have put in some gratuitous this or that. But I'm glad I didn't, because unless it was germane to the story, I didn't want it.

Q15: Tell me about self-publishing.

A15: When I worked for Borders, I met so many self-published writers, and it was a stigma then. It still is now, but I think with the blog and podcast revolution, self-publishing is more "forgivable." The fact is, there are fewer traditional publishing gates, and the gatekeepers are more selective than ever. For this genre, agents and publishers demand that you have already sold thousands of books on your own. So, traditional publishers want you to self-publish. That's the biz now 

Q16: So, this is strategic?

A16: Suuuurrre.

Q17: Without spoilers, what can you tell us about the climactic chase scene?

A17: it was probably the first scene I envisioned when I had the idea. It was so ridiculous, and I laughed so much, when I wrote the idea down. How it actually unfolds is, I think, very dark and tragic -- but also heroic and insane. When the men talk earlier about what a mother will do for their family, that's a direct line to this scene. The humor comes later, but in the moment I wanted that guy punch.

Q18: Will the Cleveburn Biddies remain an "urban cozy mystery?"

A18: My intention is to get the gals out to the cottage at the lake, and then maybe some trips around NY, PA and Canada.

Q19: who was your least favorite character?

A19: Oh, I hated Les Gurley. But then he had to be a hero. Jerk.

Q20: Ok, what's the next stop?

A20: CHRISTMAS PARTY! There will be food, drinks, decorations, kidnapping, a freak blizzard, an escaped murderer looking for revenge, an antiquities theft ring involving a favorite character, and music!