Lauren Henderson Interview
http://www.tartcity.com

1) For the un-initiated how would you describe Sam Jones and the series?

Sam's a very badly-behaved metal sculptor who, in the great British tradition of amateur sleuths, keeps stumbling across corpses. She's like Miss Marple's decadent descendant

2) I have to admit that the reason I bought Black Rubber Dress was the title. (I was thrilled that it was also a great book). Do you pick the titles?

Oh yes! Luckily in Britain you come across a lot less pressure to change your titles into something more generic, as happens frequently in the States.

3) With the books coming out in the UK first, have they been a little slower to catch on in the states?

They've been slow builds everywhere, as usually happens if you don't get a megadeal for your first book. And in the US the first two books aren't published yet, which doesn't help. But they're still doing nicely - the sales are getting better with each book, thanks in no small part to my f***ing fantastic fans and the www.tartcity.com website.

4) What are some of the cooler perks to being a writer?

The freebie overseas conferences/book trips. So far I've scored Courmayeur in Italy, Paris (I get Paris once a year, which is amazing) and Montpelier, and Bremen (Germany). And I just got to go to Australia to do a Sisters in Crime conference there, and managed a holiday as well (my diary is on the Tart City website). It was absolutely fabulous. Oh yeah, and I wouldn't have met my boyfriend if I hadn't been a crime writer. He probably regrets that deeply.

5) What is your personal definition of Tart Noir?

Crime girls behaving badly. More seriously, it's about women overturning all the stereotypes our gender is usually forced to suffer in crime novels - dead tarts, femmes fatales, divorced wives/infatuated girlfriends of ex-alcoholic detectives.

6) Your books have a extreme hip-ness to them. And they also have some classic mystery elements as well. What kind of things influence your work?

PG Wodehouse!! And as everyone who's read an interview with me knows, the Modesty Blaise books and the Tank Girl comics.

7) Before writing full time you were a journalist. What other jobs have you had?

Waitress, bartender - just pulling pints, not the NYC cocktail-making kind - cleaning lady, temp, safari salesperson.

8) Have seen any interest in Sam for the big screen or TV?

Yep, the books were optioned by the BBC but I didn't let them renew the option. They had a very unsuitable actress lined up to play Sam, and the
guy who wrote the pilot script didn't get Sam at all. He made her very chip-on-her-shoulder and anti-guy. Sam ,as any fule know, is very pro-guy.

9) Who are some of your favorite authors?

Tanith Lee, Angela Carter, Anita Brookner, Jane Austen, Dennis Lehane. And the Tarts, of course.

10) Is there any of you in Sam?

Heh. Is this a serious question? You've met me, after all! I always say that Sam is like the cartoon version of me. She has no sense of guilt, an admirable trait I'm trying to cultivate.

11) Do you have a work schedule that you follow?

Get up in the morning, do some writing. I would love to write every day; I'm uncomfortable if I'm not writing regularly. I work in short concentrated bursts and when that's going well I'm very fast.

12) What kind of Music do you like to listen to?

Listen to: trashy pop/disco, Everything But the Girl, the Cowboy Junkies, Garbage, Italian pop. Dance to: trashy pop/disco, grunge, indie, hardcore thrash garage, industrial. (And as I write this my neighbour is playing Alvin and the Chipmunks, for which I have a certain nostalgic tenderness too.)

13) How about movies? What are some of your favorites?

Near Dark, The Long Kiss Goodnight, anything by Eric Rohmer, The Last Seduction, anything with Arnold Schwarzenegger/Jean-Claude Van Damme/Jet Li, and Hollywood musicals.

14) If you were able to go back and talk to a 16 year old Lauren, what would you say to her?

1. You're not fat.

2. In a few years they will bring out Frizz-Ease Serum and all your hair troubles will be over.

3. Levis European-cut 505s, available in Italy, are your miracle jeans. In the meantime, always buy low-rider trousers because you are short-waisted.

4. You are too olive-skinned to be a really successful Goth.

5. Yes, you will get published.

6. When dating, take every man for what he's good at and can give you - don't assume you have actually to have relationships with all of them..

7. You will start getting hangovers at 27, just like your older sister told you.

15) What do you think is more important in writing, characters or story? Or are they both just as important?

Gosh. Well, you can have a good crime novel with characters who are ciphers, and a good non-crime novel without much plot. But both would be nice.

16) Have you given any thought to writing a non-series book? I hear it’s all the rage.

Doing it as we speak.

17) The mystery genre in general seems to have some very loyal fans. Why do you think this is?

Ooh, interesting question. Maybe every genre has its loyal fans. There are loads of mystery conferences, so maybe this helps; the fans get to know the authors in person and that builds a closer rapport. Mystery fans are in it for the long haul.

18) Do you put much stock in reviews of your work?

Only when they're good! I did have one which said I had a "Mills and Boon (that's Harlequin romance, for US readers) approach to character". Still trying to figure that one out. I later met the section editor of that review (the UK Times) and he didn't know what it meant either, which cheered me up somewhat! Usually I think the reviews are pretty fair - I'm good with constructive criticism. Though I did get a review for the first book ('Dead White Female') which said the (male) reviewer would like to meet the real-life Sam, 'but only for one night'. You'd better have a really good body, buster.

19) Is there anything about you that people would be surprised to know?

I bake. I cook a lot, in fact. I have muffin tins and Tupperware cake carriers and all different kinds of spatulas and cookie cutters. Val McDermid was completely amazed by that for some reason.

20) What kind of things do you like to do with your free time?

Lie around watching Judge Judy, mostly

21) Your books being as hip and trendy as they are, do people meet you and have preconceived ideas about what they expect you to be like?

OH yes! If I don't sink 5 Cosmos a night people are very disappointed.

22) Your bio on the books say that you spend time in Italy, New York and also lived in London. What is it about these places that appeals to you?

Born in London, moved to Tuscany 9 years ago and have been in New York for a year now. I'm not a great traveller so much as a serial mover. I like a constant sense of adventure and forward movement.

23) Do you think a sense of humor is important? Not just in books, but in life?

Only when I'm not the butt of the jokes.

24) What’s the one thing that’s always in your refrigerator?

Can I have more than one? Vodka, spumante, and lots of cheese.