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Mark Cohen discusses the story behind his first book, The Fractal Murders, both in terms of the book's plot and the long road to getting it published.
Editor's note: Originally self-published, Mark Cohen's The Fractal
Murders won tremendous praise from reviewers and was a Book Sense Top Ten
Mystery in 2002. Impressed by Cohen's voice, creativity, and humor,
Mysterious Press purchased The Fractal Murders and will release a hardcover
version in May of 2004. A sequel, Bluetick Revenge, is in the works. In this
Q&A, Mark takes time to discuss The Fractal Murders (TFM) and how it
came to be.
Q. First tell us, what is a fractal?
A. A fractal is a geometric shape with a pattern that repeats itself at
different scales of magnitude. Most objects in nature are fractals. Ginger
roots are a great example; every ginger root is unique, yet they all look
somewhat similar. And the "branches" of each root have the same
general shape as the root as whole.
Q. How do fractals come into play in TFM?
A. The mystery begins when math professor Jayne Smyers discovers that
three other math professors in different parts of the United States - all
specialists in fractal geometry - were murdered or committed suicide within
a short period of time. Unable to chalk it up to coincidence, she contacts
the FBI. When the feds tell her the three deaths are unrelated, she hires
private eye Pepper Keane to find the connection.
Q. Tell us about Pepper Keane.
A. Pepper is a former Marine JAG who got burned out practicing law and
now makes his living as a private eye. He lives in the mountain town of
Nederland, Colorado, west of Boulder with his two dogs - Buck and Wheat. He
has an encyclopedic knowledge of rock 'n roll and a knack for quoting song
lyrics at just the right time. Although he is only 5'10" tall, he was a
heavyweight boxer and is not easily intimidated.
Q. He does not seem like a typical "tough guy." I mean, he
reads philosophy for fun and flirts with vegetarianism. Where does that come
from?
A. He's a deep thinker, though you might not know it by talking to him.
He's struggling to make sense of life, and he's more comfortable doing that
by reading western philosophy than through organized religion. He jokes that
his authority problem prevents him from believing in God.
Q. He also has some strong feelings about soft drinks?
A. Definitely. He loves Diet Coke, but only if it is from a fountain -
not from a can or bottle. It irritates him when someone asks, "Is Pepsi
okay?"
Q. Jayne Smyers is an interesting woman. Can you tell us a little
about her?
A. She's very bright, of course. She earned a doctorate in mathematics at
Harvard and teaches at the university in Boulder. Pepper finds her
attractive even though she is as tall as he is. She volunteers at a women's
shelter. Her parents were killed when terrorists blew up an airplane over
Lockerbie in Scotland, so she has strong views about right and wrong, which
is one reason she wants to prove that the deaths of three specialists in
fractal geometry were not a coincidence.
Q. One character I really liked is Pepper's sidekick, Scott
McCutcheon. Where did you come up with the idea of an unemployed
astrophysicist as a sidekick?
A. A friend I have known for many years did graduate work in
astrophysics, but couldn't find a job and ended up as what he describes as,
"a self-employed techno geek."
Q. Some of the banter between Pepper and Scott reminds me of the
relationship between Spenser and Hawk in Robert B. Parker's
"Spenser" novels. Were you consciously trying to achieve that?
A. I love the "Spenser" novels, but I was not trying to imitate
Parker. The relationship between Pepper and Scott is in some ways similar to
the relationship between Spenser and Hawk, but the relationship between
Pepper and Scott is based on my real life experiences with male friends.
Q. One of the things I enjoyed about the book was the humor. Where
does that come from?
A. I've always had a gift for that. As a kid I often assumed the role of
class clown. In my twenties and thirties I competed successfully in humorous
speech contests. I think part of my sense of humor arises from the fact that
my father was Jewish and my mother was Baptist; the absurdity of that has
helped me see other humorous inconsistencies as I go through life. Even when
I try to write something dark and bloody, the humor just seems to come to
me.
Q. You've practiced law for more than twenty years. When did you
decide to write a mystery?
A. In 1993. I had just gotten divorced and had time on my hands. I was
reading several mysteries each week, really enjoying them, and at some point
I told myself, "I can do this."
Q. How did you decide to make use of fractals in the plot?
A. It's funny. I remember reading an article about fractals while sitting
in a dentist's office, and years later when I decided to write a mystery I
remembered that article and thought fractal geometry might be a fun concept
to include. Then I just had to figure out why someone would want to kill
three math professors with expertise in that area.
Q. Are you a "math person?"
A. No, that's one of the great ironies about the success of TFM. Math was
always my worst subject. I hated math, and I'm sure one reason I went into
law was that I lacked the mathematical skills necessary for some of the
other professions. I became interested in math only after I started studying
philosophy. When I was reading Descartes I realized there are aspects of
philosophy that overlap areas of mathematics, and so I became something of a
"math buff."
Q. One of the things I liked about TFM is that even a person with
absolutely no background in math can understand and enjoy it.
A. Yes, I'm proud of that. I explain the concept of fractals through
dialogue. I have a knack for explaining complex concepts in plain English. I
believe TFM will expose many readers to the concept of fractals and the role
they play in our world, and these are readers who otherwise would be
completely unaware of the concept.
Q. Critics have stated that your writing is exceptionally clear. Have
you always had a talent for writing?
A. I think so. My father was an English teacher, and when I was young he
actually made me write letters to my grandparents every month. He would
check them for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Later, as a judge
advocate, one of my duties was to draft correspondence for high-ranking
officers. My boss was a Colonel and he would review each document, using a
red pen to cross out unnecessary words. It helped me to develop a very
concise style.
Q. You went through quite a bit to get TFM published. Tell us about
that.
A. By the time I had completed the first draft I was confident I had
written a darn good mystery. My first three agents were unable to sell it,
and I knew I'd never write another one until I got TFM published, so I
decided to form my own publishing company - Muddy Gap Press - and we printed
2,000 copies. It was somewhat frightening when the truck showed up with all
those books, but we sold them in fairly short order. One day I received a
call from a literary agent named Sandra Bond. Her sister had read TFM, liked
it, and passed it on to her. She asked whether I had an agent. I told her I
did not and we agreed to meet when I did a book signing at The Tattered
Cover in Denver. She was enthused about TFM, and I felt that was something
that had been lacking in my prior agents. She also impressed me with her
professionalism; I knew she wouldn't give up after one or two rejections. So
I hired her and she began contacting publishers. Sometime after that Book
Sense named TFM one of its Top Ten mysteries for the Fall of 2002 and people
began taking it more seriously.
Q. And the rest is history?
A. Yes.
Q. The next Pepper Keane mystery is Bluetick Revenge. What's that
about?
A. It begins with Pepper's theft of a bluetick coonhound from the leader
of an outlaw biker gang. Karlynn Slade is the girlfriend of the gang's
leader, Thadeus Bugg. Karlynn decides to leave Bugg and steals a lot of cash
from him when she does. The feds are pressuring Karlynn to testify against
Bugg and then go into the witness protection program. She refuses to
cooperate unless she can get her dog, a bluetick coonhound, from Bugg, so
her attorney hires Pepper to steal the dog. Her attorney then asks Pepper to
keep an eye on her. In the meantime, not knowing that Pepper is serving as
Karlynn's babysitter, Bugg hires Pepper to locate her. Pepper figures there
is no harm in taking Bugg's money, so he agrees, though he has no intention
of doing any work for Bugg. Karlynn gets scared and gives Pepper the slip.
Pepper must find her before the feds arrest her or Bugg kills her, and thus
begins a multi-state journey. Then Bugg learns that Pepper was protecting
Karlynn all along and puts a contract out on Pepper. While all this is going
on Pepper crosses paths with biker gangs, white supremacists, and neo-Nazis,
gradually obtaining leads on the identity of the man who who killed his
cousin, a Denver police officer. In the end Pepper must protect Karlynn,
avoid being killed by Bugg's gang, and find his cousin's killer.
Q. Wow. I'll look forward to that.
A. It will be a fun read.
Copyright © 2004 Mark Cohen
Unless otherwise stated, this interview was conducted at the time the book was first published, and is reproduced with permission of the publisher. This interview may not be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the copyright holder.
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