I mention last month that I attended an Bookstock Author's fair which was held at the main public library. I meet a few of the published authors and I have invited them to Imaginings to talk about their last books.
Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to Dr. James Paavola author of the Murder in Memphis Series.
Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to Dr. James Paavola author of the Murder in Memphis Series.
Dr. James “Jim” Paavola is semi-retired, but for over 40
years, he has been a practicing psychologist. His primary focus has been
children, adolescents, families, and the education system as well as participated in
numerous projects involving law enforcement. Paavola used that experience to
create rich characters such as Memphis police
Lt. Julia Todd, the heroine of his Murder in Memphis series. Book three, Which One Dies
Today?, was recently released joining The Chartreuse Envelope and They Gotta
Sleep Sometime. The stories hook readers by setting the action around
hot-button issues such as the financial collapse, bullying, the scandalous side
of the health insurance industry, and sexual activity in retirement homes. Of
course, it doesn’t hurt that Paavola is writing about our hometown.
Good morning Jim, I want to first thank you for agreeing to
this interview.
I'm delighted to be here, Glynis.
Tell me how did you come up with this fearless female sleuth?
We
raised our four children to believe their options in life were not limited by
their gender. And, having worked with several female law enforcement officers,
I chose my lead character to be a woman. Of course, my antagonists are often
women as well.
What inspired you to write your first crime novel, THE
CHARTREUSE ENVELOPE?
I had cut back on my post-retirement work hours and was
recuperating from my second surgery in fifteen months. I was sitting on my
artificial hip while elevating my recently repaired Achilles tendon when an
email came in from my brother. He’d attached a draft of his first book. I read
his manuscript and give him feedback. It got me thinking: If he can write a
book, maybe I could. That was the push I needed. I’ve always enjoyed teaching,
and I wanted to educate the public about psychological principles. I chose
trauma, resilience, and family dynamics to be prominent influences in character
development. At this time the country was heading into an economic crisis. The
bottom fell out of the stock market, retirement funds disappeared, and
unemployment climbed. This became the backdrop for my story. Being a fan of mysteries,
I chose a murder mystery genre. And lastly, I set the story in the mid-south—Wall Street meets Main
Street , in Memphis ,
Tennessee
Do you have a specific writing style?
My editor tells me I
write “soft-boiled” mysteries, reminiscent of the style of Sue Grafton or
Charlaine Harris. Once I have a pretty good handle on the general concept of a
story, I begin filling it in with characters. I enjoy the times when the juices
are flowing and I can sit at the computer and just write. I ask myself: What
might a selected character do or say in a given situation? How would another
character react? What happens next? What piece of information should be
revealed at this point, and how might it be discovered? I also tend to have short
chapters (sometimes only one page). I think that comes from my experience in
the Memphis City Schools where paperwork was measured by the pound. A half-page
email was a godsend.
Which came first, the character's story or the idea for the
novel?
Definitely the idea for the novel. And a good conceptual idea for a
story is highly motivating. I wanted to weave threads of psychological tenets,
the stock market, and greed, using Memphis
as the setting . My challenge was creating the general concept of a story that
would make sense. My characters appeared and evolved in the process of filling
in the story.
Can you tell me a little about your main character, seasoned
police lieutenant Julia Todd?
Julia is the kind of person who seems to be able
to fit into any group, adjusting to the climate of the situation. She’s
competent, confident, and intelligent. She is driven to protect those who
cannot protect themselves. Her actions in the field have earned her respect
from fellow officers, and the fairness with which she treats her team engenders
cohesiveness and loyalty. She’s athletic, jogging and regularly working-out at
the neighborhood gym. Her one challenge is finding the right man—one who is
equally competent, and not threatened by her.
A practicing psychologist, I wonder how much of this book is
realistic?
The histories of family-based trauma are composites of real
situations, as are the examples of resilience. I have feedback from a
high-ranking female police officer enjoying the mystery and praising the
depiction of Julia. Similarly, a former New
York City hedge-fund manager confirmed the existence
of the psychology of power which affected Charleze, the fictional hedge-fund
manager in the story. Mental health professionals who deal with child abuse
suggested that this novel would be helpful to non-offending parents in
households dealing with family violence.
Are any of the characters based on actual patients and
events in your own practice?
Like most writers, characters reflect bits and
pieces of people we have known or known about, including ourselves.
What was the hardest part to write in the book(s)?
My
biggest challenge was to make the psychological aspects understandable to the
reader within the story, as opposed to presenting them in a lecture format.
This is a skill I found in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. She was able to
describe in non-psychological terms examples of mental illness, effective
mental health therapies, stages of social development, as well as the importance
of relationships and empowerment. I do not claim to be as proficient as she,
but she is certainly a role model for me.
We all hate to edit but it is unavoidable, can you tell us
what you left on the cutting room floor?
Author Stephen King wrote that he expects
to edit out as much as fifteen percent of every manuscript. That was certainly
the case with The Chartreuse Envelope. However, my experience was primarily a
matter of trimming excessive narrative, as opposed to deleting pearls of prose
as I’m certain King does. I’ve grown up with learning disabilities. One result
is that my brain refuses to help me spell words, understand how/when to use
commas, or understand the nuances of grammar. I depended heavily upon my editor
to help me with these issues.
Is there a message in your novels that you want readers to
grasp?
Of course, I hope readers enjoy the novels. Within each story is lots of
information. Issues of the day, such as the financial collapse, the stock
market, aging and the elderly, bullying, Alzheimer’s Disease, Asperger’s
Syndrome, spin doctors and the health insurance industry, Iraq War veterans,
the homeless, car bombings, and HIPAA. Psychological issues include trauma,
fear, loss, and revenge, as well as the human capacity to be hopeful, to be resilient,
to recover. There are many examples of the influence of family, positive and
negative. I suppose deep in my stories is a message that we can overcome
adversity with the help of at least one person who takes the time to care.
Who designed your covers?
Our daughter, Shannon Paavola,
designed the covers. She is an artist and graphic designer. It has been fun
watching these book covers blossom through her creativity.
Can you share a little of your current work with us?
My
third book, Which One Dies Today?, was released last week (October 22, 2012). I
was inspired by former Memphian Wendell Potter’s national best seller: Deadly
Spin, An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out On How Corporate PR Is Killing
Health Care and Deceiving Americans (2010, Bloomsbury Press, New York). Wendell
was gracious in giving me feedback on my depiction of the scandalous side of America ’s
health insurance industry. People are dying when health insurance companies are
more focused on making money than on covering the cost of essential medical
treatment for their policyholders—a powerful motive for murder. This story is
punctuated by car bombs. One Iraq War demolitions specialist works to catch
another.
What might pique the reader’s interest in They Gotta Sleep
Sometime?
This novel highlights the consequences of bullying, not only for the
victim, but across generations. The investigation of hospital deaths of elderly
patients leads Julia and her team back to the Central High School
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to my readers?
I would encourage those of you who have yet to write your
first novel, or memoir, to begin. Take it from a person who waited 65 years to
publish his first book, now is as good a time to start as any. Just be sure to
have fun doing it. It will make all the work worthwhile.
Thanks so much Jim, can't wait for the next book in the series.
Glynis, thank you for inviting me to be interviewed for your blog.
If you would like to know more about James Paavola or any of his books you can contact him at www.jamespaavola.com
For those in the Memphis
area, Jim has a book signing scheduled for 2:00 pm, December 15, 2012 at the
Booksellers at Laurelwood (former Davis-Kidd).
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book ( They Gotta Sleep Sometimes) will go to the Memphis Police Department's 501(c)(3) charity to support
training: http://www.memphispolicefoundation.org
