Like the fictional
professor Molly Barda, author Frankie Bow teaches at a public university.
Unlike her protagonist, she is blessed with delightful students, sane
colleagues, a loving family, and a perfectly nice office chair. She believes if
life isn’t fair, at least it can be entertaining. In addition to writing murder
mysteries, she publishes in scholarly journals under her real name. Her
experience with academic publishing has taught her to take nothing personally.Welcome to the blog, Frankie. Please enjoy a pineapple whip while we talk.
Thanks for the interview and the whip, Susan.
Congratulations on publishing your first book! I love the cover. Tell us what The Musubi Murder is about.
It’s a campus murder mystery set in the age of budget cuts and
higher ed “disruption.” My protagonist and amateur sleuth, professor Molly
Barda, longs for working air conditioning. She sits on a yoga ball because
there is no budget for office furniture. Her dean, unwilling to lose paying
customers, won’t let her report cheating students.
Having been in education for thirty years, this book speaks my language. Please tell us more.
Molly just wants to keep her head down and stay out of
trouble until she gets tenure, but there’s a problem. A grisly prank at a donor
banquet pulls the introverted (and untenured) Molly Barda into a stew of
corruption,revenge, and murder. Along the way, she finds herself drawn to the
too-good-to-be-true Donnie Gonsalves, an enigmatic entrepreneur with a few
secrets of his own.
Uh oh. Sounds like real trouble.
Frankie, how much of yourself is hidden in the characters in the
book?
Molly Barda is supposed to be a complete invention, a
character so comically obsessive and neurotic that she couldn’t possibly exist
in real life. So of course everyone who has read the book thinks she’s me. I
actually identify with Dan Watanabe, Molly’s beleaguered department chair, who
keeps a jumbo-sized jar of antacid tablets on his desk and downs them by the
handful.
Where do you store ideas for later use: in your head, in
a notebook, or on a spreadsheet?
Definitely not in my head. I have to write things down. I
have several documents full of leftover bits of text, research, and random
ideas. They are labeled, creatively enough, “leftovers.”
Have another pineapple whip and tell us what you think is the greatest lesson you’ve learned
about writing so far. What advice can you give new writers?
Listen with an open mind and don’t take anything personally.
Easier said than done, I know. But paying attention to others’ opinions can
help you to improve your writing. Rejection letters can be very helpful.
I agree, Frankie.
Compared to academic
reviewers, I have found that literary agents and editors are absolute
sweethearts. Publishing is very subjective, they will say in
their gently worded rejection letters. What doesn’t work for us might
work for someone else. Don’t give up! I have never seen a literary
agent use the adjective “retarded” to describe someone’s work. I can’t say the
same for academic reviewers.
How did you come
up with the title "The Musubi Murder" ?
I was hoping that
writing a book would be something like the way I imagine writing a country song,
where once you come up with a catchy title, (“Eighteen wheels and a dozen
roses.”) the thing almost writes itself. I wanted a title with alliteration, a
clear Hawaii connection, and a signal to the reader that it was a murder mystery.
Unfortunately the book did not write itself, but I do like the title.
I do believe that creating a title can drive the direction of the book, though, even if the title changes later (either by my own decision or my publishers).
Who should read
your book?
If you’re looking
for an entertaining murder mystery involving small town life, big academic
egos, corruption, revenge, and Spam musubis, The Musubi Murder is
for you. (Even if you don’t know what a musubi is). It’s the first campus crime
novel set in Hawaii, and the perfect gift for mystery lovers, Hawaii
expatriates, disillusioned academics, and anyone who fancies Spam (the meat).
Okay. I gotta ask. Just what is musubi?
What’s next?
The next Molly Barda
mystery is The
Cursed Canoe, which moves between the dimly-lit halls of academia (they
removed half the fluorescent tubing in the building to save on energy costs)
and the competitive world of Hawaiian canoe paddling.
Molly investigates a
mysterious paddling accident, and realizes that it isn’t just business majors
who cheat to get what they want. Whether it’s moving up in the college
rankings, getting a seat in the big canoe race, or just looking out for
themselves, some people will do whatever it takes-including murder.
A new series! YIPPEE!
Where can people find The Musubi Murder?
Audiobook:
Hardcover:
Where can people find you?
I have certainly enjoyed interviewing you, Frankie, and I'm going to pick up a copy of the book. Let me know when the second novel is released. I wish you the best.
Thank you again for having me over, Susan. I can never resist a pineapple whip or a chance to promote my book.
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