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An Interview with Megan McMorris - June 2008by Penny McMorris
This month we go "behind the curtain" to interview Megan McMorris, the writer behind our popular EQ Mystery Quilt mysteries, starring Mitzi McDruben, Quilt Detective extraordinaire. Megan's 12-episode "Mystery of the Missing Quilt" appeared throughout 2007. This month we introduce Part 1 of her 8-part EQuinox mystery in which Mitzi, and faithful sidekicks Raoul and Ruthie, solve another quilt-related caper. Megan has long been one of my favorite authors; I've been entranced with her work since she first put crayon to paper while sitting on my lap, back in about 1972. Megan is my youngest daughter, now living in Portland, Oregon. Q: You're normally writing non-fiction. How different is it to try to develop fictional characters and plots? It's so fun to write fiction because I rarely do it! As you mention, I'm usually writing non-fiction for my "day job," which, while it can be creative at times, mostly tends to be quite formulaic (I typically write how-to articles for women's magazines, on health and fitness topics). The Mystery Quilt is definitely a cool change of pace, where I don't have to worry about the "facts" or if I attributed this study correctly or if I quoted this person right. Instead, I can just write!
Q: When you first conceived of Mitzi as a character, how did you come up with her personality? Do you visualize her as having a certain physical look? Or did you form her based on someone you knew, or a combination of characters? I came up with Mitzi McDruben during a funny stage of my life. I was a magazine editor at a teeny magazine, where it was literally just me and the editor-in-chief—until the editor-in-chief got fired that is! So here I was, 26 years old, and they just told me to work on that issue until they hired me a new boss. I ended up lobbying to hire our former intern, Shannon, and she came from Georgia to help me put together that issue. So here we were, 26 and 22 years old, putting out a national magazine by ourselves! Maybe it was the surreal atmosphere of it, and it didn't hurt that both of us had become fast friends and have slightly zany personalities, but somehow we just created this character and would pretend we were Mitzi McDruben, Bumbling Female Detective, at the office (and would often peek over our cubicle walls at each other mysteriously). At the time, Public Access TV was our obsession (where people just got their own shows for free, it was very grass-roots), and we wanted to create a show around Mitzi. But then real life intervened: I got a new boss, and Shannon started graduate school. Sigh. Anyway, so that's how the character started in my head, thanks to my fellow partner in crime, Shannon. Then shortly after that, you wanted me to write the Mystery Quilt so I used what I had in my head already and went with it. I thought up the name because Mitzi was my childhood cat, and Druben is my favorite word in German (it just means "there" but it's very fun to say, especially with an umlaut!), and I thought it was fun to put a Mc before a German name because I'm a big fan of the Mc. But I digress. Where was I? Mom? Mom? (snoring sounds) I can hear you snoring, you know!
Q: In your first series, The Mystery of the Missing Quilt, did you base some of the members of the Trade Winds Board on people you actually knew from living in Brooklyn at that time? For example, did serving on jury duty give you the idea for Episode 5, with Ellie Englewood? Or did your early work as a waitress suggest scenes from Episode 2, where Garret Green works as a waiter at the fancy Top of the Sixes restaurant? The beauty of living in New York was that I had characters all around me, all the time. So yes, I definitely based some characters on those in real life! Now that I live in Portland, there are a whole new set of characters (she says, rubbing her hands together in glee!), so stay tuned!
Q: Some writers pre-plan the entire plot before setting down word one; others let the story emerge and surprise them. How about you? Do you know the solution to the mystery before you write episode 1? Or does it all evolve more organically? It's very strange how it happens, but I never plan what I'm going to write beforehand. In fact, many times after leaving the story for a while, I'll return to my computer and start typing and then realize I have already typed the exact same paragraph already. Meaning, somehow it's just in my head! Actually, now that I say that it sounds kinda creepy, huh? Ha ha.
Q: You've been around quilts since you were born, but how much do you feel you actually know about them? Don't writers often consult with specialists for more in depth information about specific topics? Could I consider myself your quilt consultant? I rather like the sound of that! I know, I have been surrounded by quilts forever (sometimes literally, when I would play during quilt shows and loved to walk around and hide behind the hanging quilts!). So I suppose I know more than the average person, but unlike my sister I have ZERO arts or crafts talent, so I haven't gotten much further than being able to know the difference between a log cabin or crazy quilt, for example. That's where my quilt consultant does come in handy. It does have a nifty ring to it, doesn't it? Consider yourself my Q.C.!
Q: OK, give us more dirt on how you envision Raoul and Ruthie. Does Raoul have a girlfriend? What can you tell us about his personal life? Or does he even have one? Is it all work, work, work for Raoul? Any possibility he and Ruthie might become an item? I based Raoul on a friend I met while doing some duathlons (bike and running races) in New York, and we became great friends even though we were so different: Here I was a white girl from Ohio and he was a Puerto Rican guy from The Bronx, ha ha. He was so exuberant about life and was up for anything, we would always create mysteries together and pretend we were spies, so he was a natural fit for a Mitzi sidekick. As for Raoul the character's personal life, he is all about work, work, work when he's at work, but he's quite the charmer with the ladies too. But no, I'm afraid if I disappoint, Raoul and Ruthie I do not see together at all. Ruthie is more of a girl from Queens who just fell into this private-detecting business when looking for a secretarial job, but she's learning more about the biz and is really getting the hang of things and could have a glowing career ahead of her. They're good kids, both of them. But their relationship is strictly business.
Q: What about Mitzi? Is your female gumshoe a New York City native? Did she study criminology in school? Are her parents anywhere in the picture? Does she have siblings? Boyfriend? Mitzi likes to keep her private life private, thank you very much, sheesh! Trust me, these are questions I have asked her more than once, but she keeps her lips sealed. I think she likes peeking into other people's business more than she likes people peeking into hers. But I do detect a slight Midwestern accent, and once while rifling through her desk drawer (don't ask!) I saw a diploma from a school from John Jay college in New York (they have a renowned criminology department). I'm hoping she opens up a little in future episodes, but for now that's all I've got (hey, I'm just the writer, I'm not the detective!).
Well, they do say write what you know. And seeing as I'm currently typing this from Portland, Oregon, with my dog (and cat!) at my feet, it's safe to say a move, and a coupla animals, may be in her future. Stay tuned!
Q: Well you can trust me, and every one of our readers, to keep anything you've told us about your still to be named "Mystery 3" mum: our lips are sealed. If asked, we heard nothing…. Thanks, Megan! Thanks for letting me write it, it's so fun!
Megan McMorris is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She's the author of Oregon Hiking (Foghorn Outdoors, 2004), co-author of Pacific Northwest Hiking (Foghorn Outdoors, 2005), and editor of Woman's Best Friend: Female Writers on the Dogs in Their Lives (Seal Press, 2006), and Cat Women: Female Writers on Their Feline Friends (Seal Press 2007). Her magazine articles have appeared in Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Runner's World, Fitness, Self, Shape, Cooking Light, Woman's Day, Ladies Home Journal, InStyle, Real Simple, Mademoiselle, among others. www.meganmcmorris.com. And now, read the second mystery in our Mitzi McDruben series...
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