In Dead Ringer, Michael A. Black and Julie Hyzy take collaboration a step farther than most writing pairs. Both authors of successful series, they teamed up their respective protagonists - Mike with private eye Ron Shade and Julie with amateur sleuth, Alex St. James - to uncover a grisly conspiracy stretching from Chicago to Las Vegas. Mike and Julie have been critique partners for eight years, but combining their characters in a single novel, they faced challenges of balancing vision, speed, and two first-person voices.
What made you decide to bring your hero and heroine together?
Mike: We actually planned it for a long time. Since both series are set in our home town of Chicago, we had the two characters meet at the end of our preceding novels in our respective series. I always wanted Ron to meet Alex.
Julie: Mike and I had been trading pages and critiquing one another long before we embarked on this project. We'd gotten very familiar with one another's styles, and we'd grown comfortable working together--often suggesting very big changes to one another's work. Working together on a single novel seemed like a natural evolution. And a challenge. We both love a challenge.
Crime novels usually have one hero and one sidekick, how did you decide which character would get the top job?Mike: This one is truly a book with two protagonists. The stories start out separately and intersect a few times before both lead characters realize they're working on the same case. Stephen Marlowe and Richard S. Prather did a similar novel called Double In Trouble back in the 1950s. So have Bill Pronzini and Marcia Muller. We built upon that idea and came up with a novel that's truly a blending of the mystery and thriller genres.
Julie: Mike's right. All of our prior Shade/Alex novels were written in first person. That made combining their adventures a bit of a challenge. We decided to alternate points of view between the two as they investigate individually, meaning that the reader actually knows more than either of the characters do. Shade and Alex eventually start working together. And that's where we also decided to have two separate climactic scenes. I refused to have the big, strong PI save the girl, and Mike could not let Shade be rescued by an amateur. Personally, I think this was the best solution. Way fun to write, too.
Tell us a little about your collaboration. Do you ever fight? How did you decide which author name would go first?Mike: The collaboration was as smooth as silk gliding over glass, which everyone knows creates static electricity. Actually, we only had a few minor bumps in the road, and the process went very well. Of course, I was working with the best writer I know--- Julie. As far as the name order, we went alphabetically, but I guess you could say we saved the best writer for last.
Julie: Mike's being polite. Of course we fought. I remember a couple of good ones. I think Mike always has a clearer vision of where he intends the story to go. We agreed on an outline but we changed it over time, via discussion. But I sometimes write by the seat of my pants. I like switching things up a bit. And those moments didn't go over so well when he read them. But we were both determined to make this work out--there was never a time we didn't believe that. Mike's also right on another thing--he's first alphabetically, but what's also important is that "Black" generally gets eye-level shelf space in bookstores ;-)
You share a publisher, Five Star, how did they react?
Mike: Five Star has always been supportive of our ideas and projects. I think once we explained how excited we were about doing this one, and the unique approach we were taking, the enthusiasm grew by leaps and bonds from everyone.
Julie: No one tried to discourage us--I think people were surprised and a little bit intrigued. Five Star has always been great. Tiffany Schofield works so hard for all her authors and we just love her. They allowed us input into our cover (and I believe the artists came up with a particularly eye-catching one) and have always been a dream to work with.
Individually, the two of you are turning out a lot of books. Julie has her White House Chef series. Mike writes police procedurals. How do you keep characters and deadlines straight? Are you still working your day jobs?
Mike: Yeah, I'm still plugging away at my day (and occasionally night) job as a police officer. In addition to the Ron Shade series, I've just started a new police procedural series featuring the male/female detective team of Frank Leal and Olivia Hart. Keeping things straight is relatively easy for us. These characters are like real people to us. And speaking of real people, my collaborative novel with television star Richard Belzer, I Am Not A Cop, debuted October 14th. It's a novel with the Belz as a character. We're billing it as the first "reality novel."
Julie: I love to write. And I'm very fortunate to have the support of a husband and family that allows me to follow my dream. I wrote my share of Dead Ringer while I was writing State Of The Onion. I always wanted to try juggling two big writing projects at once and, honestly, it was great. As I felt myself growing stale on one, I'd shift to the other. The energy from writing two books at once resulted in tremendous output.
Publisher's Weekly says, "The frisson of mutual attraction between St. James and Shade should make readers hope for future joint endeavors." Will your first collaboration lead to a second? Or will your sleuths go back to their own turf?
Mike: I think Ron's due for a solo effort next time, but I would love to do another collaboration with Julie. Like I said, she's the best writer I know and I always learn a lot listening to her.
Julie: Alex eventually needs to find out about her birth parents. She'll have to do that on her own, and I have an adventure in mind that would allow her to get into big trouble (always fun) and still discover key information. That one's currently on the back burner while I'm working on a couple of other projects.
Visit the websites of Julie Hyzy and Michael A. Black for more information on their award-winning novels.
Contributing editor Julie Kramer's debut thriller STALKING SUSAN was selected as one of People Magazine's Sizzling Summer Reads and one of Parade Magazine's Picks for Summer Suspense. Her sequel, MISSING MARK, will be released by Doubleday July, 2009.
