LiveWorld Transcripts

Time Warner Bookmark presents

Beth Saulnier
Author of "The Fourth Wall"

February 8, 2001

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Leticia: What do you think is so special about Alex Bernier that makes her so admirable to readers?

Beth Saulnier: She's smart, spunky, and brave, but she's also very self-effacing. She doesn't take herself too seriously. She's not really like a super woman, but a normal girl in her 20s trying to pursue her career, date a nice guy, and not get murdered.

Barbara: What is your philosophy for life?

Beth Saulnier: My philosophy for life is to spend as much time gazing and adoring your dogs as humanly as possible.

Shawks: The title of your book reminds me of the theatre. Do you 'see' the plot and characters set on a stage of sorts as you are writing?

Beth Saulnier: The book is all about the theatre, actually, and I'm extremely excited that someone had picked up on the theme of the book, in which "The Fourth Wall" is a theater term between the actor and the audience. The book is about the efforts to save the historic theatre, and the mystery involved a body found bricked up in the basement of the theatre, which is a 19-year-old actress who disappeared in 1926.

Sb Q: What techniques do you use as a writer to keep the suspense going?

Beth Saulnier: Well, partly, I don't work with an outline. I kind of let one chapter follow from the next. So for me, the suspense keeps going. I'm never entirely unsure what is to happen when I sit down to write the book, but I have a general idea of where I want the plot to go. I don't have it all planned out before I start writing it.

Beressa: Some writers tell us that a story has to 'age' - that sometimes, they may put an unworkable story in a drawer until something links with it, sometimes years later. Have you experienced this?

Beth Saulnier: No, not at all, actually. I think part of the reason for that is that my training is as a newspaper reporter. I'm used to writing something and having it appear in print, sometimes a matter of hours later. The idea of having to 'sit' on a story for years and years is really odd to me.

Effie: All of your books take place in Ithaca, New York. I understand that you yourself live in upstate New York. Does your current location inspire you to center your novels on your current geographic area?

Beth Saulnier: Oh, absolutely! I live in Ithaca, and the books are set in Gabriel, which is very obviously in Ithaca, also. As far as I'm concerned, the setting is integral to the mystery series. I'd never remove Alex from Ithaca, from Gabriel, at least not permanently. A lot of the feedback that I get from readers is that in addition to the characters and the mystery plot, the thing they really love about the book is the setting.

Sammy: How has your family taken your celebrity? Are they supportive of your choice?

Beth Saulnier: I'm sure no celebrity! (laughing) My mother gets a big kick out of it, and she caters all my signings--shrimp, fruit salad, Brie, and brownies. She bakes like crazy, and she loves it!

Julia: How did you make the transition from newspaper reporter to full-fledged author? And what especially inspired you to write mysteries?

Beth Saulnier: I always loved mystery books as a kid. In the 1980s, there was a real boom in popularity in women's mystery fiction. I loved those, but they really weren't about women of my generation. They were about a generation older than me. I loved those books, but the women in them weren't really facing the same kinds of issues that my friends and I were--sort of Generation-X kind of deal. I wanted to write a mystery book for my generation. I also wanted to write a book about a reporter, because that was what I was doing. So to answer your question, I basically started the book as I was working as a reporter. A lot of the discipline and the techniques that I learned as a reporter are immensely helpful now. For example, when you are a news reporter you can't get all fussy about writing. You cover the news and you have to write about it within a few hours. It's published within hours, and that has taught me my philosophy of writing, "Shut up, and write!" It also teaches you to write very quickly and not agonize. In fact, I think a lot of writers hate actual writing; they find it very painful. I think it's a lot more fun than the real world.

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