Visit Mysteries Galore website for an interview of Earlene (posted August 2002). 

Visit Crescent Blues website for an interview of Earlene (posted January 2001).

Five Questions with Earlene Fowler
(from Berkley Prime Crime website)

Why did you decide to use arts and crafts, specifically quilts, as a theme for your series?

By acting on the old saying to write what you know. I attempted to write literary short fiction for ten years before I wrote my first novel--FOOL'S PUZZLE. During that ten years I quit writing many times in discouragement. During those "off" times I did crafts--leather tooling, quilting, needlepoint, counted cross-stitch, basketweaving--so when I decided to write a mystery I wanted to write about things I knew about and also things I loved. I've always been drawn to the folk arts (what is sometimes called outsider art) rather than the fine arts probably because of my parent's rural and working class background. It's the art that regular people make after the real work of making a living is done. It was at a quilt show that I got the idea to name my book after a quilt because it suddenly occurred to me how evocative the pattern names were, how much they sounded like stories. I gave Benni a job I would have liked, being a curator at a museum that honored this type of art. Also, my maternal grandmother, the one from Arkansas, made the most beautiful quilts and I own some of them. I've always admired that art form even though I'm not a very good quilt maker.

What is the most difficult part of writing for you?

I know some authors who really hate starting books, but that has never been hard for me. I love the feeling, the possibilities that are there at the start of a story. For me, it's always been ending the story. Not because of the technical part of figuring out the plot, but the emotional part of letting the characters go and also letting the book itself go. The day I drive to Federal Express to send the manuscript to my editor is the hardest part of writing. Once the clerk takes it from my hands, I feel utter desolation. It feels as if it is no longer entirely mine, and, truly, it isn't. But that's part of writing and publishing. I always wish I could keep the manuscript for a few months without someone reading it, savor the fact that I finished it and it's mine. Once it's gone, I start to let go a little. You have to if you want to survive emotionally. By the time my readers have it, it's gone through revisions, copy-editing and many readings so I'm not so attached.

What is it about Benni Harper that people relate to?

I think she's a pretty understanding person and is anxious to give others the benefit of the doubt. She believes in grace and tries to give it to others. She looks at more than just a person's outside appearance or actions and tries to figure out the person they are underneath. She can be stubborn, which I think a lot of people relate to. And she can also be a little spoiled, or maybe sheltered is a better word. She hasn't seen much of the world outside of the small town she grew up in so sometimes has an overly optimistic view of life that people from larger cities can find irritating. She has not seen the true evil that Gabe has and she is sometimes too naive. That's why she can't always understand Gabe's protective instincts toward her. Being married to Gabe has matured her. She's a much different person in the twelfth book than she was in the first, more mature, though she is still much more innocent than Gabe. Being married to her is a good thing for Gabe because I think he is too cynical, has seen too much of the harsh and ugly side of humans. They balance each other. Each has changed the other in a constructive and loving way.

What part of researching a book do you especially enjoy?

First, I only write about things I like so I enjoy all of it! That's something I make a point to tell new writers. This isn't school, writing a novel isn't a term paper. You get to write about whatever you want! So, first I read everything I can on a subject, which is not like work at all to me. For example, when I wrote KANSAS TROUBLES, my third book, part of the plot had to do with the Amish. I bought and read every book I could track down, but I only used about 1/20th of what I learned. I sure enjoyed the research though. I love the travel my writing allows me to do, as well as interesting experiences I would probably not have had other such as ride-alongs with police officers, riding fence lines with ranchers, going to a dude ranch, touring the stables at a horse racing track, even having a Catholic lay minister walk me through giving confession so I could write about Gabe's experience. For DELECTABLE MOUNTAINS, I watched a children's play being produced from tryouts through the final performance. I was only able to use a fraction of what I saw, but I was sure impressed with the director, as well as the kids. Writing has enlarged my life in so many ways, much in the same way reading always has.

What aspects of your personality are especially suited to being a writer?

Thought it's hard for people who meet me (or even some who know me well) I love being alone more than anything in the world. It was even hard for me to get a dog, as strange as that sounds. I've always been a bit of a loner, though I appear to be an outgoing person. I grew up in a big family so I've learned to be around people and I've worked at many jobs that dealt with the public, but being alone in my fictional worlds has always been how I preferred to spend my time. I actually start to get jittery and cranky if I don't have enough alone time. I need that time to write. To write, you really need to like being alone. Lucky for me, my husband understands because he's a bit of a loner too. We're perfectly matched.

 Publishers Weekly Talks With Earlene Fowler

April 3, 2006 by Dean James

The Importance of Family

Agatha Award-winner Earlene Fowler, author of Delectable Mountain and other titles in her Benni Harper Southern cozy series, tries her hand at a stand-alone mystery about Ruby Gavin, a young widow who discovers some unsettling secrets about her late husband.

You've taken a break from your Benni Harper series to pen a stand-alone, The Saddlemaker's Wife. Why now?

I wanted to write about someone who was entirely different from Benni Harper, but who faced the same tragic circumstance, becoming a widow early in her life. I often thought about how Benni had such a loving, supportive family surrounding her and what would it be like for someone to go through the same tragedy and be alone. As for why now, it just seemed like time for Ruby's story to be told.

Your mysteries are very character-driven. Did that make it easier to write a book that examines family relationships so compassionately?

People have always fascinated me. I just love hearing about people's lives. So it makes sense that my books and stories would be character-driven.

Setting is important also, and in particular, regional variations and how they inform character. For example, having Southern roots.

I'm really thankful for having a Southern mother, a Western father and growing up in Southern California. I think it gives me a perspective that enables me to see things from more than one point of view. I love the straightforwardness of Westerners, their toughness, their bravery, their stoicism. But I think my spiritual self resides in the South. I love the wit of Southerners, their humor, their love of language. When I'm with Southerners, I never have to apologize for talking too long or asking too many questions about their family.

The importance of family is a consistent theme in all your books.

I do think about the whole concept of family a lot, about who is our family, what defines a family.  Since my husband, Allen, and I don't have children, we've never been what is considered the traditional family unit. I understand what it feels like to be different because you aren't exactly like the norm. Thank goodness, that's changing.  With so many blended families now, the word family means something entirely different than what it did 30 years ago. Family, I think, are people we love. Maybe it's as simple as that.