Latest Books Bye Bye Blackbird by Elizabeth Crowens

Bye Bye Blackbird by Elizabeth Crowens

The Big Thrill caught up with award-winning author, Elizabeth Crowens, for a quick chat about her latest novel, BYE BYE BLACKBIRD:

Was there anything new you discovered, or surprised you, as you wrote this book?

I discovered a lot of things, including everything you wanted to know about taxidermy but were afraid to ask. Taxidermy is not particularly a popular pastime these days, but thank heaven for YouTube where one could actually watch videos of people performing the process. In fact, I did so much research beforehand that when I walked in to a Hollywood props shop specializing in renting taxidermy figures for motion pictures, the shop manager was impressed I knew something about his craft, especially when I showed him a photo on my iPhone of something he’d never seen—an extinct dodo I had seen in a museum. Back around the time of Darwin’s expeditions and throughout the late nineteenth century, explorers and zoologists used taxidermy to preserve their specimens.

What authors or books have influenced your career as a writer, and why?

Obviously, for BYE BYE BLACKBIRD, since it’s about a crazed killer who threatens the cast of The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammett was a notable influence. My first book in this series, Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles, blends the Sherlock Holmes of Basil Rathbone with the Thin Man movies and, of course, Hammett wrote the original book and the screenplay for the first film. Not only does it involve Myrna Loy and William Powell acting similar to their characters of Nick and Nora Charles, but the story revolves around the dognapping of Asta. Hammett, along with his girlfriend, Lillian Hellman, have significant roles in Hounds, and my private investigators come to him seeking advice in Blackbird, as well. Between those two books, Dashiell Hammett and Arthur Conan Doyle were major influences.

What attracts you to this book’s genre?

BYE BYE BLACKBIRD is a historical mystery-suspense novel that takes place in 1941 during the Golden Age of Hollywood. For many years, I wore many hats in the entertainment industry and worked in film and television production. Now, I’m bi-coastal. Although I’m rooted in New York City, I spend a few months out of the year in Los Angeles and am trying to move back there permanently. What attracts me to write Hollywood mysteries is that it gives me the opportunity to create stories using so much of the knowledge I already know while discovering new tidbits all of the time.

Without spoilers, are there any genre conventions you wanted to upend or challenge with this book?

Yes! That one can write suspenseful mysteries and even thrillers with comical elements that aren’t necessarily cozies, whether they have professional PIs or amateur sleuths. For some reason, I can’t seem to get away from the black humor. One of the best books I read this year was Tom Straw’s The Accidental Joe. He nailed that subgenre, with an Anthony Bourdain-like, traveling cooking show host but with a snarky sense of humor, who is recruited by the CIA to extract a Russian mole. Not only was I on the edge of my seat, but I laughed out loud. Books like that are my favorite.

Which took shape first: plot, character, or setting?

With BYE BYE BLACKBIRD, it was definitely character. How could you not fall in love with the characters from The Maltese Falcon? It was Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre who made the movie so memorable.

Elizabeth Crowens has worn many hats in the entertainment industry, contributed stories to Black Belt, Black Gate, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazines, Hell’s Heart, and the Bram Stoker-nominated A New York State of Fright, and has a popular Caption Contest on Facebook.

Awards include: Leo B. Burstein Scholarship from the MWA-NY Chapter, an NYFA grant, Eric Hoffer Award, Glimmer Train Awards Honorable Mention, a Killer Nashville Claymore finalist, two Grand prize, and six First prize Chanticleer Awards. Crowens writes multi-genre alternate history, time travel, and historical Hollywood mystery in Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles and Bye Bye Blackbird. www.elizabethcrowens.com