The Hot Author Report

Interview with True Crime Writer Lynda Drews

Lynda Drews, a Wisconsin native and dedicated runner, recently gave the commencement speech at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, her college Alma mater. One lesson she shared with the graduates was: “to journal your life.” When Lynda, a marketing executive, made the decision to retire after her thirty-year career, she returned to an earlier passion. Run at Destruction is the outcome. Lynda and her husband, Jim, a retired guidance counselor and an accomplished runner, have two sons, Collin and Chris, and a golden retriever named Bailey. The family has lived in Green Bay since the mid-seventies and helped launch the local running movement. The city now hosts the nation’s fourth largest 10K, the Bellin Run.

www.lyndadrews.com

www.lmdrews.wordpress.com

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Q: It’s rare today to find an author who does nothing but write for a living. Do you have a ‘real’ job other than writing, and if so, what is it? What are some other jobs you’ve had in your life? Have they influenced/inspired your writing?

As a freshman in college, I’d loved two basic studies courses – creative writing and introduction to computer science. In the seventies, the latter was an emerging field. Encouraged, I became the first graduate and was hired by IBM, putting my writing passion on the backburner until I retired in 2004. Ever since some terrible tragedies occurred within Green Bay’s close-knit running community, I knew I had a story to tell. 

This became Run at Destruction: A True Fatal Love Triangle that was released on August 7, 2009. I’ve had the luxury of retiring with a pension, enabling me to write full-time. At IBM I’d always been comfortable with such things as computers, creating brochure/web copy, speaking in front of large groups, and conducting research. These skills really aided me as I embarked into my new career. My true crime book required extensive research. I immersed myself in court and police records that pertained to my best friend’s death and the subsequent first-degree murder trial of her husband. I also interviewed the detectives, attorneys, judge, coroner, and jurors.

My IBM background helped me scan and organize these records and voice files that became invaluable as I searched for the truth about my best friend’s death. Now that I’m published, I’ve become a marketing demon, again utilizing my previous IBM skills. This phase is key for a first-time author otherwise there will be a slim chance of success!  It’s been non-stop giving television and radio interviews, doing book talks and readings, sending out press releases, arranging reviews, doing e-mail blasts, blogging, twittering, and, of course, social networking through facebook. Who would have figured?

Q: Tell us briefly about your book.

Run at Destruction is unique. It’s the only book categorized in these two ways: first – True Crime and second – Sports/Running. There’s a love triangle between three teachers/runners, a suspicious bathtub drowning, and a small-town community rattled by speculation. But rather than an intriguing work of fiction, the events in Run at Destruction really happened and they happened to my best friend and running partner, Pamela Bulik.

My book takes place during a historical U.S. time period – the running boom of the 80s.  Pam and her husband, Bob, were members of our close-knit running group and two corners of a three-teacher love-triangle, while Linda, a charismatic teacher/runner, completed the third. Normally, football is Green Bay’s only obsession… but that changed when Pam died. Our city prided itself on its extraordinary low crime rate, fifty percent below the national average.

There’d never been a tragedy like hers – “somebody up on the hill with a fancy bathroom.” Inside this baffling murder mystery, portrayals of our running community’s friendship are layered between detective work and courtroom drama.  When the trial, deemed to be one of the most sensationalized in Green Bay’s history, unfolds, and I take the stand, the evidence teeters between premeditated murder and a tragic accident, and the reader must decide.

Q: Do you have a favourite character? Why is s/he your favourite?

Since my book is a true story focused on my best friend, Pamela Bulik’s tragic death, she would have to be my favorite character. I met her by chance, but we became soul mates by choice.  Pam had a special smile, warm and genuine. Beneath her rough exterior, she often hid her tender side.

As runners, we’d often jog at a comfortable pace while delving into every imaginable topic. There was nothing like a run, with miles of roads stretching out in front, to give us uninterrupted time to really talk.  This is where we shared our aspirations, joys, and pains. It became our therapy, until, for Pam, my words were not enough…  Dr. Ronald Rook, an orthopedic surgeon, once said, “I do not run to add days to my life– I run to add life to my days.”  And so did Pam.

Q: How did you feel the day you held the copy of your first book in your hands?

It was amazing to see my name printed on the cover of Run at Destruction and to see the photo of my best friend and running partner on the back. This book has been a labor of love to honor Pamela Bulik’s memory.

My excitement was multiplied when my publisher, TitleTown Publishing also released Torture at the Back Forty, a book written by my friend, Mike Dauplaise, on the same day – August 7, 2009. TitleTown hosted a book launch party for the two of us at, appropriately, the TitleTown Brewing Company. This blog highlights that particular celebration: http://tinyurl.com/mz62tg

Q: When growing up, did you have a favorite author, book series, or book?

Forever I’d been intrigued by mysteries. I’d loved Agatha Christie, Nancy Drew, and the Hardy Boys. I also remember seeing the move Anatomy of a Murder which was based on Robert Traver’s book by the same name. I was intrigued by the courtroom scenes.

Q: What about now: who is your favorite author and what is your favorite genre to read?

I like fictional mysteries like John Grisham and Scott Turow, but I particularly like True Crime, especially Ann Rule who’s written such favorites as The Stranger Beside Me, Small Sacrifices and Mortal Danger. I really admire her writing style – the way she gives a face to the victims. Because of this, I sought out her endorsement for Run at Destruction. Back in the spring of 2007, I’d been able to locate Ann’s e-mail and naively wrote her, asking if she’d read my manuscript and possibly provide a blurb. 

Amazingly, Ann wrote me back and said she’d have to say ‘no’ right now, but that I could contact her when I had sold my book to a publisher. I’m sure she figured I wouldn’t get one! But, time warp to the spring of this year. I had met Ann’s criteria and mailed her my galley.

Even though she was in the process of writing two new books, and working on a mini-series about an earlier one staring Rob Lowe, she e-mailed me and said, “You’ve done a good job… I will give you a quote. Congratulations on finding a publisher. It’s not easy these days.”  In addition to saying Run at Destruction is “wonderfully written… a must for true crime readers,” I was honored when she added it to her recommended reads on her website’s front page.

Q: What is your writing space like? Do you have a designated space? What does it look like? On the couch, laptop, desk? Music? Lighting? Typing? Handwriting?

A: We live in a “cottage” nestled between a jogging trail and the Fox River where my office has a marvelous view. This is where I do my writing on my laptop, sitting at a white desk and chair, purchased from Pier One, a antique lamp with a green glass shade, lighting my workspace. My best creativity occurs, however, during a run. I’ll dash back into the house, sweat dripping onto the keyboard, as I capture my thoughts.

Q: Is there anyone who has inspired, motivated, encouraged or supported your writing?

Shortly after I retired from IBM, a good friend and I initially launched into writing a fictional account about Pamela Bulik’s death. For a span of two years, we worked on the story until it sounded like one voice. As we neared completion, a publishing attorney told us that since the characters were recognizable, there would be legal issues.

At that point, my friend dropped out of the project with no ill feelings. This was an important juncture for me. Many friends believed that I might not be able to continue this project alone, but I dug in and began to rewrite the story into a non-fictional account. Shortly after Pam’s death, I’d found another running partner that had become my new soul mate.

On our weekly runs, she’s been my biggest cheerleader, inspiring me, giving me advice, and letting me bounce ideas off of her. Without her support I may not have realized my dream – to get Run at Destruction published.

Q: Do you have any book signings, tours or special events planned to promote your book that readers might be interested in attending? If so, when and where?

My website www.lyndadrew.com has a page that includes my talks and signings. In October, I ran the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco and scheduled a mini-book tour in California around that event. For the holiday months of November and December, I will be doing a number of signings and talks throughout Wisconsin.

My focus next year will be to replicate what I did in California, finding a race to run and then scheduling signing events around it. My target audience is true crime readers, teachers, runners, and women, but runners are the easiest to find. For example, www.runningintheusa.com provides a link to more than 1000 running clubs and 10,000 races. Since my book’s release in August, I’ve had good results connecting with clubs to setup speaking engagements, newsletter interviews, book reviews, and booth space at race events. But I know I’ve just scratched the surface.

Q: It’s one thing to write a book and another to edit it. How do you feel about the editing process? What was it like to edit your book?

When I completed my non-fiction account, I used an editing firm to get some candid feedback. The critique was an eye-opener. It led to another extensive rewrite. I actually like the editing process as much as writing. Rather than sitting at my desk, I work from hard copy. Seeing my manuscript in printed form is far different than reading it from a computer screen. I do my editing on a bench situated at the end of our dock or curled up under an afghan by our fireplace.

Of course, a cup of coffee or a glass of wine is within easy reach.   Once I found my publisher, my manuscript went through two more edits. Again the feedback I received caused me to do extensive rewrites that made my story more suspenseful, and into the page-turner, I’ve been told it now is. You can check out my Amazon.com reviews to validate this claim.

Q: Now that you are a published author, does it feel differently than you had imagined?

There is a lot of exhilaration during the first month, but then you realize how much work is necessary to make your book successful. I’ve become a marketing demon. This phase is key for a first-time author otherwise there will be a slim chance of success! 

It’s been non-stop – giving television and radio interviews, doing book talks and readings, sending out press releases, arranging reviews, doing e-mail blasts, blogging, twittering, and, of course, social networking through facebook. Who would have figured? Once your first book is published, you realize there is no turning back. It’s like giving birth… exciting, lots of hope for it’s future, but unless it’s constantly nurtured, and I mean constantly, it won’t grow up to become memorable.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?

In addition to being a writer and a runner, I’m a die-hard Wisconsinite, a wife, a mom, a terrible cook, and an eternal optimist. I married the cute kid that I unsuccessfully hid from while playing kick-the-can and sardines. No wonder he caught me since he later qualified for the Olympic Marathon Trials! I’ve never been a running star like my husband. I’m just one of the 20 million U.S. women runners and am proud to say that I’ve completed eight marathons and more than a dozen halves.

My former IBM career was global, allowing me to accumulate air miles. During each of our two son’s middle and high school years, I let them pick a one-on-one trip with just their mom. I’ll never forget each trip and the close bond I established with each of my sons. One chose exotic places like Cancun, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, skiing in Oregon, while the other son went to the bathroom-sized PEZ Museum in San Francisco, and to eight different locales where the Dave Mathews Band played. Yes, that was me sitting in the first five rows of those 15 Dave Mathew’s concerts!

I never believed that when I retired from my thirty-year IBM career that I’d find a new venture that I’d be as passionate about – but writing has surpassed IBM hands-down. I love relishing every new step, even though there are many disappointments and snags along the way. But with tenacity and the belief in yourself, you can’t help but have an amazing journey!

The best place to find out more information about Run at Destruction: A True Fatal Love Triangle is at www.lyndadrews.com. The front page provides reviews and links to purchase my book on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Target. My book-signing tab provides future appearances, and my contact page directs you to my email, facebook and blog at www.lmdrews.wordpress.com.