“…the real triangle in any detective novel is the classic triad of murderer, victim, and detective.” ~~Sydney Graves, reviewer for Kate Christensen’s newest novel
Detective Fiction is Psychological
In The Arizona Triangle, Kate Christensen takes on a new genre and assumes a new author name, Sydney Graves. She explains why in the interview below. She also tells us about how she prepared herself to write mysteries and why reading is so critical to her writing.
My review of The Arizona Triangle appeared in the last edition of Writer Advice, and you can find it at https://writeradvice.com/winter-2025-hooked-on-books/. By the time you read this, it will be the third one down on that page. I was fascinated by gutsy, determined detective Jo Bailen, and that, combined with her strong descriptive powers and sense of place made me want to know more about the author.
BLG: Tell us about your background. When did you know you were a writer?
KC: Some people are born writers and know it right away, others come to it later on. I’m among the former. As soon as I knew there were such things as stories, I wanted to spend my entire life reading and writing them. I started reading voraciously right away, wrote my first story at six, kept reading and writing, and have never stopped.
BLG: Why are you writing this series under a pseudonym?
KC: In short, because it’s fun. I love the cloak-and-dagger aspect of it. Since I was a teenager, I’ve been a passionate reader of detective novels, especially series—I chose my pseudonym, Sydney Graves, to pay homage to two of my favorite creators of hardboiled private eyes: Sue Grafton and Sara Gran. I’ve read everything by them, as well as Agatha Christia, Raymond Chandler, Ellis Peters, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, Dick Francis, J.A. Jance, Sara Peretsky, Janet Evanovich, Robert B. Parker, Henning Mankell, and on and on, so many greats! I’ve just discovered Louise Penny and Louisa Luna, hooray.
BLG: What makes Jo Ballen unique and what makes her someone readers can relate to?
KC: Befitting the tradition of hardboiled detectives in the American southwest (the Jo Bailen books are set in and around Tucson), she’s a vulnerable loner, a creature of appetites both high and low, a dogged, intrepid solver of crimes. But unlike most other private eyes, Jo works in an all-female detective agency.
As the series goes on, she won’t always work alone. She’s got backup and professional camaraderie in the form of Erin Yazzie and Ronnie Taffet, the two other female P.I.s in her cohort. I want to show women solving crimes together, the power of teamwork, a trio of tough, smart chicks.
BLG: Arizona Triangle has lots of twists, turns, and tense moments. How did you learn strategies for pacing a novel?
KC: By reading hundreds of detective novels, I’ve absorbed the conventions and techniques of suspect interrogation, following clues, watching people for their tells, red herrings, pacing, dialogue, and storytelling. I don’t know any other way to study a literary craft, no shortcut. You have to read, read, read, read — absorb and synthesize and cogitate. After I spent decades of reading detective fiction, Jo Bailen emerged from my imagination fully formed, as did her setting, a place I know deeply. I spent my childhood in Arizona, but this is the first time I’ve ever set a novel there.
BLG: What inspired you to pick this title?
KC: With “The Arizona Triangle,” I wanted to give a sense of setting and place as well as a sense of what the story is about. There’s a love triangle at its heart. And the real triangle in any detective novel is the classic triad of murderer, victim, and detective. The entire plot is built around these three elements. So the word “triangle” is symbolic for me of the entire genre.
BLG: Tell us about finding your agent.
KC: My agent is Richard Abate at 3Arts. He was the agent of a friend of mine. Over twenty years ago, when I was looking for an agent, she recommended me to Richard, who was then at ICM. I had been rejected by a few other agents, so I was resigned to yet another “no.”
At Richard’s request, his assistant set up a meeting at ICM. We talked for over an hour in his office—mostly about books and food, our shared passions. At the end, as he walked me out to the elevators, I thought, well at least it was a fun conversation. As we shook hands, he said, “Let me know what you decide.”
I blurted, “Wait, you want to represent me?”
And he said, “I thought that was the whole point of this meeting.” So that, as the saying goes, was that. He’s an incredibly good agent, and also my friend.
BLG: What tips do you have for those who want to write character driven PI and/or mystery stories?
KC: Read hundreds of them. Steep yourself in all the greats—the ones I mentioned above, plus the likes of Donald Westlake, Carl Hiaasen, Tana French, Patricia Cornwell, Dashiell Hammet, Erle Stanley Gardner—turn pages as fast as you can until you feel this genre in your bones. Then lie in wait for your own detective to emerge.
Think about crime. Think like a murderer.
Come up with an interesting premise set in a place you know well, ideally a place with shadows and darkness lurking just under the brightly lit surface.
Think about how to hide clues in plain sight, how to redirect the reader’s attention with sleight of hand.
Detective fiction is first and foremost psychological. It’s about human nature. Most of all, think about the victim, murderer, and detective. Who are they all, these three deeply interrelated characters?
BLG: What’s the best marketing tip you ever heard?
KC: Don’t write for the market. Write out of obsession, passion, and curiosity.
BLG: What else would you like us to know and where can we learn more about you?
KC: I have two books coming out in the next year— a co-written YA novel called The Sacred & the Divine and a literary novel called Good Company. I’m writing the next Jo Bailen mystery now, working title Saguaro City. My author website is katechristensen.net.
BLG: I’m so impressed with how prolific you are. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
For a new twist in traditional detective stories, please take a look at Sydney Graves’ book The Arizona Triangle: A Jo Bailen Detective Novel.
Want to know more about it? Take a look at the review mentioned at the top of the article.
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“If you are putting the time and energy into a non-fiction book, why not try to get it published traditionally? You believe in your project, so give it a chance to be in the mainstream.” ~~Debra Eckerling
Advice from a Goal Strategist
Struggling to organize your life and prioritize your activities? Debra Eckerling can help. She’s an expert in setting goals and provides all kinds of strategies for figuring out what you want to do and how to go about it. Whether you’re struggling with your personal or professional life, her strategies and tactics in 52 Secrets for Goal-Setting and Goal-Getting: How to Stay Focused, Grow Your Network and Get More Done in Less Time will help you figure out what you want and how to go about getting it.
As I read her book, I found myself trying one exercise after another. I encourage you to do the same. In the interview below she talks about her niche, her techniques, and her blend of business and writing expertise.
BLG: Since you dreamed of writing fiction, how did you decide to write self-help books for goal setting?
DE: While I loved creative writing growing up – who doesn’t want to write the great American novel? – and I still have some creative passion projects, I have been a freelance writer most of my life, along with other endeavors. I actually got my freelance writing break less than a week after I wrote my first screenplay for a class I had been taking.
When I moved home after college, I ended up working at Barnes & Noble. First at my local store, and then I got a job doing events for another location. Whenever I had to fill my calendar, I would hang out in the cafe. I wanted people to think of it as a community bookstore. One day, one of my regulars asked if I would start a writers support group. I said, “If you think people will attend, let’s give it a try.” It was a hit and I learned the power of goal-setting, productivity, and community first hand.
Fast forward several years. I moved to LA, restarted the group, and people who attended would say, “You’re good at this, can you help me write my book. I have been trying to get it done for years.” We got it done in three months. Or “You’re good at this, will you speak at my conference?” That’s how my career evolved from creating this group that I loved to developing a system to help people set the foundation for their goals.
In Spring 2018 my main communication client was going away, so I took it as a sign to really dive into what I believe I was meant to do: Help people figure out what they want and how to get it. My mom said, “You hate SMART goals.Why don’t you create DEB goals?” It turned out my name worked perfectly with the system I had been teaching for years. DEB stands for Determine Your Mission, Explore Your Options, Brainstorm Your Path.
Shortly thereafter, I met an agent who asked for my book proposal, so I wrote one… In December 2018, Mango showed interest. Your Goal Guide came out in January 2020. My book, designed to help people embrace change, by choice or circumstance, came out six weeks before the world had change by circumstance.
BLG: How did self-publishing prep you for the transition to traditional publishing?
DE: I intentionally self-published my first two books. I had already been working with authors, and I wanted to have that first-hand experience. One was a kids’ writing prompts book, the other on blogging, and I published them as ebooks only, which made sense to me given the content.
Before I met my agent, I intended to self-publish the book that became Your Goal Guide. I just rebranded my consulting as The DEB Method, and was excited to share the process that worked well for so many people.
I am glad that I have had both self- and traditional publishing experiences, because I know that makes me a better asset to my book proposal clients. I believe that you need a book proposal, regardless of how you publish, so you have a plan that keeps you and your concept focused … and with the saleability of your book in mind.
If you are putting the time and energy into a non-fiction book, why not try to get it published traditionally? You believe in your project, so give it a chance to be in the mainstream. If you fail to secure a publisher, then you can consider going the self-publishing route.
BLG: What did you have to do to start your podcast and how do you find wise, articulate guests?
DE: I host two podcasts: GoalChat and Taste Buds with Deb. Both of these are recorded via video. GoalChat – my panel show – is live streamed to Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube Mondays at 4pm PT; Taste Buds with Deb is pre-recorded and new episodes are posted to YouTube and live streamed to Facebook and LinkedIn. Both shows are uploaded to podcast platforms for additional distribution.
I started GoalChatLive in spring 2020, after the pandemic kept everybody inside. I had been leading a Twitter chat, called #GoalChat, and this was a way to continue the conversations on the topic of the week. It began as one-on-one interviews and it evolved into the panel format within the year.
For Taste Buds with Deb, I was approached by the podcast manager of Jewish Journal about starting a food show – I am their food writer. I am almost at 100 episodes of that one.
Guests are all friends; people I have interviewed, have interviewed me, or I have met at events; or people who have been pitched to me. Since GoalChat is a live broadcast, and since I say I am bringing friends together for a conversation, anyone who cold-pitches me is invited to attend one of my monthly mixers, so I can meet them and find the best topic fit.
BLG: How much coaching did you do before you wrote the book? When did you know you were a qualified coach and how did you know? How is 52 Secrets different from Your Goal Guide? How can people find both books?
DE: I call myself a goal-strategist. My business background is in communications and project management.
I have been leading goal-setting groups since the mid-1990s in the Chicago suburbs; I restarted the group in LA in 2002. It has evolved over the years and has had versions in-person, hybrid, online online, etc. My Facebook group – https://facebook.com/groups/writeononline – has been on The Write Life’s list of Best Facebook Groups for Writers since 2016.
When I re-branded my business as The DEB Method, I realized the name worked perfectly with the methodology I had been teaching for years. Shortly thereafter, I decided it was time to put my system into a book: Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning and Achieving Your Goals.
The new book, 52 Secrets for Goal-Setting and Goal-Getting, is kind of a book version of my GoalChat show. Instead of bringing diverse, talented experts together for a broadcast, I interviewed them all – a few through email, but most through Zoom conversations – to get their best advice, which I share in my book.
You can find Your Goal Guide and 52 Secrets for Goal-Setting and Goal-Getting on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, and/or your favorite place to buy books.
BLG: You show a talent for keeping ideas organized. I’m grateful that you’re sharing all these steps. How did you learn them?
DE: It goes back to my communication and project management background; I have worked in publishing, education, financial services, ed tech, social media, and more. This is in addition to my years of leading goal groups, public speaking, and working with clients on figuring out their projects and/or paths and creating plans that set themselves up for success.
BLG: Can you share a few tips for publicizing a how-to book?
DE: Start with your network: Let people know you have a book coming out. Ask your friends and peers if they have a podcast you can be on; also ask for podcast recommendations and introductions. This also applies to blogs. Isn’t that how we ended up having this conversation?
BLG: I’m sure you’ve used these clear, specific techniques effectively in your own life. What’s worked well for you? What’s the best tip you can give an amateur writer who wants to become a professional?
DE: Whenever I start a new project, I go back to The DEB Method. Determine Your Mission – what do you want, what makes you unique, how do you want to be known. Explore Your Options: what will you create to make your mission a reality. Brainstorm Your Path: write down your goals, divide and conquer.
Most importantly, set aside time to work toward your goals. Especially when you’re working on things that will not have an immediate result, you need to schedule appointments with yourself – and keep them. Little bits of time add up, but you need to gift yourself the time, energy, and space to do the work.
BLG: What else would you like people to know and where can they learn more about you?
DE: I am @TheDEBMethod everywhere on social media: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram. You can find me on LinkedIn. Also TheDEBMethod.com and 52SecretsBook.com. Email is Deb@TheDEBMethod.com.
BLG: Thanks for all that you shared with us. I love the way you’re expanding your niche.
