BY STEVE SCHMIDT Northwest Arkansas Times
Stay home.
In essence, that’s what the publishers at the time told Joan Hess after she finished her second book in the Theo Bloomer series in 1988. The first book took place in Jamaica; the second, Israel. The powers that be, though, wanted the now-nationally known mystery writer to kill off that series so she could put her focus on two female protagonists, Claire Malloy and Arly Hanks, who usually opt to stay within the confines of their fictional Arkansas towns.
“Because both of my series are set in Arkansas, it’s hard to get people to travel,” Hess said from the comfort of her living room in Fayetteville while fully clad in one of her trademark black outfits.
“I have a gray sweatshirt,” Hess noted, “which is a big step for me.”
For the latest installment of the Claire Malloy series, “Mummy Dearest,” Hess came up with the perfect reason for her leading lady to venture far away from her hometown of Farberville: a honeymoon. Thus, the next book, to be released April 15, takes place in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor.
The 59-year-old Hess is no stranger to international travel, having gone to such destinations as Europe, Japan and even the Galapagos Islands, yet none of her trips was the impetus for her more than 35 novels. At least, not until she went to Egypt in late February 2006 with good friend and fellow mystery writer, Barbara Mertz, who has a doctorate in Egyptology from the University of Chicago.
“She has been going for years and years and years and I finally said that I might be interested in going with her. I don’t think I could go to Egypt on my own. We might consider the trip to Egypt as research for a book, which makes it a business deduction,” Hess said, followed by a smirk. “If I hadn’t wanted to come to Egypt, I would have written a book about something else.”
A memorable trip
The two toured Luxor and the surrounding area for two weeks. They had hoped to be there when the KV-63 excavation site was opened. The site contains the first tomb found in the Valley of the Kings since the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter. Unfortunately, they missed the “high drama” — as written in the author’s note in the back of the book — by two weeks.
Still, the trip was far from being a wasted effort. Highlights of their twoweek expedition included a lengthy stay in Aswan and a cruise on Lake Nasser where the two, at one point, gave speeches about their work. After her trip back home, Hess took a couple of weeks off before tackling the 17th book in the Claire Malloy series.
“Egypt is not an easy place to visit,” she said. “[There is] a lot of walking on very rough surfaces and going into temples, that sort of thing, physically, can be very tiring.”
Last April, she submitted her book to her publisher in New York City. The writing process was a little more difficult than her other books largely because her editor at St. Martin’s Press had been facing health problems and was slow to provide the needed feedback to keep her forging ahead.
“I’m about to finish and it’s all falling into place for me and I can’t imagine why the readers can’t see these things. It’s like juggling. You get all the balls in the air and then … ,” Hess said, gesturing with a cigarette in her left hand as if all of those balls had hit the floor.
“Mummy Dearest” starts with Claire and her daughter, Caron, and Caron’s best friend, Inez, staying at an opulent hotel in Luxor, while awaiting the arrival of Claire’s husband, Peter Rosen. Unlike the downhome domestic issues of her other books, her latest offering delves into deeper topics.
“I think it follows the series,” Hess said. “It is in a more exotic locale. It deals, to some extent, with some very contemporary issues: terrorism and an anti-Muslim mentality that seems to be rampant in our country.”
Hess added that the book could also be considered a parody of the Elizabeth Peters series, which is written by Mertz, who found her niche long ago by writing Victorian archaeological mysteries. “So, to some extent, I poke fun at her,” she said.
Persistence pays off
After writing the book, battling with the publisher’s art department became an exhaustive process of its own — one that lasted from May of last year to November. Although Hess had the backing of her editor, the creative minds in charge were fervent about putting a pyramid on the cover. The problem? There are no pyramids in Luxor, where the entire book takes place. Hess bartered by saying they could use a camel or a date tree. The end result was a likeness of “an exceedingly impressive temple” that Hess — and Claire — actually saw called Abu Simbel.
“I just kept on insisting,” Hess said. “I don’t have control. I have cover consultation rights.”
Hess is currently working on the 16th book of her Arly Hanks series, more commonly known as the Maggody series for the small town where the main character lives. The book, which centers on the town starting up a charity golf tournament “to raise money for the poor golf widows,” is scheduled for release in April 2009. She has no idea how many more books she will write in either series.
“We’ll see how I feel about things,” she said.
Although Hess is a fifthgeneration resident of Fayetteville, she is entertaining the notion of one day moving to Austin, Texas, to be with her daughter and future grandchildren.
“I’d certainly like to be available to be a baby sitter when the time comes,” she said.
When that move will be, however, remains a mystery.
Publication:Northwest Arkansas Times; Date:Mar 9, 2008; Section:Living; Page Number:17
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