Readers and book lovers will be delighted to know that the mix of well-known and emerging authors sharing insight and experiences at the 13th Books in Bloom Festival on May 20 includes bestselling and award-winning writers in various genres from crime to cooking. Among them is New York Times bestselling author, Deborah Crombie, who also happens to be a big fan of Eureka Springs.
A native Texan who writes crime novels set in the United Kingdom, Crombie flies across the pond yearly to research stories for her Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid/Sergeant Gemma James series. The latest book, Garden of Lamentations, is now available, and an 18th Kincaid/James novel is in the works.
But what led this Texas gal to write about murder? And why murder in England?
“Many things,” Crombie says. “I have an insatiable curiosity about people. I wonder what makes them tick, what their lives are like. Then there’s Britain itself, an endless source of inspiration for me.”
A post-university trip to England had already cemented a life-long passion for Britain, and Crombie later immigrated to the UK with her first husband, Peter Crombie, a Scot. But it wasn’t until after she returned to live in Dallas that a trip to Yorkshire inspired her first Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James novel, A Share in Death, in 1993. Since then, the series continues to collect numerous awards and has been published in more than a dozen countries to international acclaim.
For Crombie, writing is both craft and passion. “The research and plotting is very much left-brained, a very logical process, and one that I think can be learned. The actual writing, the flow of words, description, and dialogue – all of these are right-brained. That’s where the passion comes in. And then there are the words themselves, the addictive process of putting words on paper, of language unfolding. When writing is going well, it’s like being plugged into a cosmic socket. No other experience compares with it.”
Keeping core characters alive, interesting and evolving over a quarter century of murderous adventure is something Crombie has mastered, but not without unexpected results. “I usually have a story arc in mind that spans a couple of books but there are always surprises. When I started the series, I didn’t know that Gemma and Duncan would become romantically involved. I also didn’t know Kincaid had a son by his first wife, and that has been one of the most interesting developments of the series.
“I did worry a little about whether readers would lose interest if Gemma and Duncan married,” Crombie told the Independent, “but I also felt very strongly that they should, and that marriage and a blended family would be much more interesting in the long run than having them continue to tread water in their relationship, book after book.”
Deborah Crombie’s appearance at Books in Bloom will be a homecoming of sorts.
“I’m so looking forward to Eureka Springs! My husband and I used to come stay at Dairy Hollow House when it was a B&B, so we have very heartfelt connections there. I loved Eureka Springs so much I wanted to move there. And I’m so looking forward to Books in Bloom. I can’t wait to see how the event has grown, and what’s changed in Eureka Springs.”
On her many visits to Arkansas growing up, Crombie spent time at Oak Lawn Park with her dad, a horse racing fan. So, it’s no surprise Dick Francis is one of her favorite authors. Might that mean there’s a horse racing murder scenario coming up for Duncan and Gemma?
“I have thought about it,” she confessed. “In fact, I’ve had some brainstorming sessions with my friend Caroline Todd (half of the mother/son team writing as Charles Todd) about a racing novel. That would be such fun, but I am such a huge Dick Francis fan it would be a bit like treading on sacred territory. But it’s definitely in my ‘future book’ file.”
For a peek into presentations (by Deborah Crombie, Lisa See, Marcus Sakey, Lisa Wingate and nine others), at Books in Bloom on Sunday, May 20, beginning at noon at the Crescent Hotel, pick up a copy of the current Fun Guide or go to www.booksinbloom.org. The Carroll and Madison Public Library Foundation sponsors this free event.