A Place of Fog and Murder follows a female detective as she asserts herself in a profession dominated by men while fighting to save a missing woman. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I’m a tremendous fan of the Thin Man movies, as well as the writings of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. But those were produced in the 1930s and 40s, and thus suffered from the misogyny of the time. I fell in love with the idea of reversing the trope: make the woman the smart, wise-ass detective and let her “drop dead gorgeous” client be a L’homme fatal rather than a Femme fatal. To me, that’s the most interesting challenge – making the heroine the muscle of the story without emasculating a male character … at least not if he himself will be a hero. Nobody likes a wimpy hero. Even those heroes who profess to be cowards turn out to be surprisingly strong.

It is also the witty repartee, the snappy comeback, and the Chandler specialty — profound and striking descriptions wrapped up in unique comparisons. “It was one of those dusty trails that tricks you with a childhood horseback memory while choaking you to death,” or “her eyes were as dark as a dark alley and just as likely to be hiding something deadly.”

What was your approach to writing the interactions between characters?

Studying my Chandler and Hammett. Watching the noir movies of the period. Looking up slang collections. Writing a sentence, then fluffing it up with the right vernacular. Then, throwing myself on the mercy of two great editors: both authors themselves, Sharon E. Cathcart and Ana Manwaring.

Your book is such an interesting blend of noir crime fiction and steampunk. How did you go about achieving a balance between the two genres?

The time period seems ripe for futurism. People were so very hopeful that the technology of the age would save them from the Great Depression. And in many ways, historically, it did. This was also the moment when movies became talkies and started using more special effects. This is when we got Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. Combined, you get what is called these days Dieselpunk. Period authenticity mixed with technology that was “not yet?” Absolute fun!

Can fans expect to see more of Lou Tanner in the near future? What are you currently working on?

Yes, I am working on a sequel to A Place of Fog and Murder. Tentatively it is being called No Requiem for the Tin Man. Of course, that could change, but I rather like the name. I’m also working on the follow up to my other novel, released through Indies United Publishing House, called The Skin Thief – A Paranormal Romantic Thriller.

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