Q. How old are you?

A. Old enough to know bettter than to answer a question like that! Let's just say that God was two years behind me in grade school and we'll leave it at that.

Q. I'm sure you've been asked this a thousand times, but Gilbert isn't your typical cat. What do say about that?

A.True, but then he wouldn't be a very interesting character if he were. And, for those of you who have already read Hotlanta!, you will recognize that there is a certain paranormal aspect to the storyline, and Gilbert is all tied up with that. He doesn't have nine lives like most cats. He has ten, and if you've read the book, you can guess where he got the tenth. So, yes, Gilbert has extraordinary abilities. Now, personally, he doesn't seem all that odd, because I have had two cats in my life, both of them strays, and each had some unique abilities. My first cat, Burfle, actually did "hunt" upon command. Quite frankly, that's the only thing in the book that I think readers question. So, he's special, but then all pets are, each in their own way. Oh, excuse me, I forgot: Gilbert is not a pet. He's Frank's roommate.

Q. Do you have a favorite character in Hotlanta!? Mine is Margaret Chandler. I loved everything about her and couldn't wait for her to keep showing up.

A. She's my favorite as well. And she was the easiest to write. All I had to do was drop her onto the page and she took control of the keyboard.

Q. Will Margaret Chandler appear in the sequel Swan Song?

A. You betcha!

Q. I noticed that all of the victims in Hotlanta! are female. Do you have something against women?

A. Have you met my mother? Just kidding. Without giving too much away for those of you who have not yet read Hotlanta!, there is a very good reason why all of the victims are female. But, I assure you, in the sequel and in my other books, many of the victims are male. I'm a strong proponent of equal opportunity murder.

Q. I heard through the grapevine that Fire and Ice, the first in the Memoirs of Beryl Cross series, began as a play. Is that true?

A. Yes, my training is as a playwright. Only recently have I ventured into novels. I wrote this particular play for my advanced acting class back when I was teaching at Chapel Hill High School. It was then titled, Over Your Dead Body. So, Ida Phillips, if you're out there somewhere, I never gave up on the character that you first brought to life. Beryl, like Margaret Chandler, writes herself. I just wind her up, and she's off to the races. I sometimes have trouble keeping up with her. I had to make some minor adjustments to novelize the play, but I'm very happy with the results and hope that it will be available soon. While I inject humor into everything I write, both the Gilbert & Sullivan and the Kate Reardon novels are essentially serious. The Memoirs of Beryl Cross are pure satire, a send-up of all of the great plays and movies of the thirties and forties, where the suspects were always assembled in the drawing room. Beryl's methods may be antiquated (as is she) but they produce the desired results.

Q. What made you a mystery fan and what inspired you to write your first mystery?

A. When I was seven or eight years old, my grandfather gave me a copy of Sherlock Holmes short stories and I was hooked. I started to devour every mystery I could lay my hands on. I read the entire Hardy Boys series, and then Agatha Christie. I consumed the James Bond books, much to the dismay of my junior high school librarian. I was an English major in college, so I read everything. No, seriously, I think I read everything! But, when it was me time, I always went for a mystery book. Now, you're reading this website because I assume you too are a mystery aficianado, and, as such, you know that when you open up a mystery book, the game is on--can you solve it yourself before the author reveals the ending? And there is always a great sense of satisfaction when you do. The books that disappoint me the most are the ones where I really wasnt't given all the information needed to solve the case. No offense to Dame Christie, but she is notorious for withholding information, and I feel cheated. However, somewhere in the late eighties (refer to the first question above for clues to my age), a former student of mine, Eric Carl, loaned me a copy of Thomas Harris' Red Dragon, and it changed my life. For the first time, I read a mystery where I felt certain I knew how it would turn out, only to be fooled in the end. But, and this is the important thing, Harris had not withheld anything. In fact, he had blatantly set out all the clues I needed to solve the mystery, but in such a way that I missed it. I remember wanting to thump my head when I got to the end. If you've ever seen the movie, The Sixth Sense, then you know exactly what I'm talking about. So, when I set out to write my very first mystery, which was the play mentioned above, Over You Dead Body, I wanted to put all my cards on the table, to hold nothing back. In fact, I hope will be the hallmark of all my books. You be the judge to see if I have done so with Hotlanta!.

Q. Do you have a process for writing?

A. Yes, and it's absolutely the opposite of everything I was ever taught. All of my instructors stressed that it all depends on character. Develop the character and the story will follow. Well, sorry, folks, but that's not how I do it, and maybe it's because what I'm creating is a puzzle as much as it is a book. I start with the surprise ending, at least, I hope it's going to be a surprise, and then I develop the plot that will lead to the that conclusion. What I am then left with is figuring out what kind of person would be capable of doing what the plot requires of them. So, for me, plot dictates character. Former teachers of mine are turning in their graves I know, but it works for me.

Q. So you were a teacher. Did you ever teach anyone famous?

A. Wow, that's a loaded question. Yes, I've taught a great many students who have gone on to excel in their chosen fields, but I suspect what you're really asking me is have any of my former students gone on to success in the theatre or in film. And the answer is yes, quite a few. Peter Spruyt has made a gazillion commercials. Susan Sanford has performed in regional theatres from coast to coast. Karen White lends her vocal talents to audio books. Celia Schaefer and Allison Heartinger both performed in improvisational acting companies. Jerry Sipp is both a playwright and a director, and has served as artistic director/producer for numerous theatrical companies, as well as appearing in commercials and films. John Haymes Newton starred as the original Superboy on television, and was a regular on Melrose Place and has appeared in many other television shows and films. Clark Gregg has appeared in many independent films, as well as major motion picture releases, including a bit part in my favorite movie of all time, Clear and Present Danger. He was also a regular on the New Adventures of the Old Christine but is perhaps best known for his role as Agent Phil Coulson in the Avenger movies and star of ABC's Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Clark also wrote the screenplay for the hit film, What Lies Beneath, starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer. He is also married to actress Jennifer Grey, and no, there is no truth to the rumor that I paid to see Dirty Dancing seventeen times when it was first released. It was eighteen times. And finally, although I never actually taught her or directed her, I did have the opportunity of working with Evan Rachel Wood, who has had a remarkable film career and been nominated for both Golden Globe and Emmy awards. She was six or seven at the time when I worked for her father at Theatre in the Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. So, yes, I've been lucky to work with some of the most talented and dedicated people I could ever hope to. I'm sure that I have left out a great many, and I hope they will call me to task for not mentioning them. Most important of all, however, is that so many of my former students have encouraged their own children to actively participate in the arts, and what better legacy could I have than that?

Q. Where did you go to school?

A. Okay, let's start at the very beginning...a very good place to start. My formative education took place in Gastonia, North Carolina. I attended Mrs. Howell's kindergarten, and then W. P. Grier for both elementary and hunior high school. After graduating from Frank L. Ashley High School, I went to Duke University, where I majored in English. I then attended The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where I earned a M.A. in Theatre History and Criticism and a M.F.A. in Playwriting. Some of you may be aware that Duke and Carolina are fierce rivals, so by attending both universities I'm sure I'm seen as a traitor to both, and I have possibly even violated several state laws. To make it worse, I'm a rabid college basketball fan and I root for both Duke and Carolina, which, apparently, is also illegal.