Author: Gale Deitch

Welcome to author Gale Deitch and we thank her for taking time away from her passion of cooking and her busy writing career to answer a couple of questions for us.

Describe your current writing spot or space.

Almost two years ago, my husband and I moved from the DC area, where I’d lived my whole life, to a wonderful beach resort area in southern Delaware. In our new house, I’m using what would be the dining room as my office with its glass French doors and large window where I can look out toward a small forest of trees. In the morning, the sun bathes my office with light as I sit at my desk. Behind me are bookshelves filled with my favorite books and many I have yet to read.

Do you write under a pseudonym? If not, have you ever considered it?

My Trudie Fine Mystery series is written under my real name, but I have considered using a pseudonym for a different series in another genre, possibly Romance.

What comes first for you, the plot or the characters?

My Trudie Fine Mystery series is definitely character driven. Trudie Fine came barreling into my mind while at a week-long writer’s workshop several years ago and wouldn’t let go until I began putting her down on paper. She’s been with me so far through four books, and I have just begun the fifth. I feel all the characters in my series drive the plot.

Can you hear your characters talking?

Yes, I can. Each character has his or her own voice, and I feel as if Trudie Fine, a first person character, sits on my shoulder as I wonder what she would say or do as each scene unfolds.

Were you a part-time writer before you became a full-time one? For how long?

The first three books in my Trudie Fine Mystery series were written while I worked full-time over about five or six years. In order to get in writing time, I would get up at 4:30 each morning, write until 6:00, then shower, dress, and leave for work. It was challenging, but it was the only way I could make the time to write.

In 2017, I retired and now write full-time. I do have to admit that now I sleep until 7:00 or 8:00, have breakfast, read the paper, do the crossword puzzle, and then sit down at my desk to write.

What kind of research do you do for a book?

First of all, I write what I know. My series is based in the DC area where I lived my whole life, so streets, businesses, and landmarks are familiar to me. But as I write, I will visit specific places or speak to professionals or others who know a particular subject well.

For example, in my first book, A Fine Fix, I needed to know the type of gun that would be used so I consulted a good friend who has a gun collection. In book two, Fine Dining, I needed information on a fire and contacted another friend whose husband is a former fire chief and now a fire inspector. I also google places and subjects I write about. Also in book two, I needed to know about dispersing of someone’s cremated ashes, the texture and look of them, something I had no knowledge of. I found what I needed to know online.

My next book in the series will take place here in the beach resort community where I now live, but I am still unfamiliar with certain areas and will ride through them to be able to use accurate descriptions.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk??

I am a “pantser,” which means that I write from the seat of my pants. When I begin a book, I know in general what will happen, but I don’t plot out scenes ahead of time, which I find stunts my creativity. Instead, I write my books chronologically, from beginning to end, deciding each scene as I go. Often, I don’t even know who the murderer will be until I get well into the book. Then I go back and place clues and red herrings where appropriate.

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?

Definitely the writers’ workshop I attend for a week every summer in the mountains near Ashville, North Carolina. With quality writing classes from amazing published authors, student and faculty readings, various writers’ events, and room and board for an entire week, this workshop is the best deal around.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Like my character, Trudie Fine, who is a caterer, I like to cook, read cookbooks, watch cooking shows on TV, and eat. I’m a bit of a foodie and like to try a variety of restaurants.

Gale Deitch enjoys writing all types of fiction–novels, short stories, flash fiction and poetry. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in various literary magazines and journals. Although most culinary mysteries take place in small town USA locales, having been born and raised in the Washington, DC area, Gale’s Trudie Fine Mystery Series, and much of her other writing, is based in her hometown, Washington, DC.

Like her protagonist, Trudie Fine, Gale loves to cook, read cookbooks, watch cooking shows on TV, and of course, eat. All of the books in the series include recipes of dishes that appear in the stories. Many of these recipes are provided by James Turner, the executive chef at Blue 44 Restaurant in Washington, DC. Gale is retired and writing full time.