Interview & Signed Paperback Giveaway with Mystery Author Caleb Peiffer: Part 1

I just love it when I find a new author that I can recommend without reservation! :-)

Caleb Peiffer is such a one. Caleb and I crossed paths earlier this year while I was reviewing one of his novels, Gone Like the Shadow, part of the "Wheelchair Sleuth" mystery series which follows a genius wheelchair-bound detective in an very dangerous worldwide game of real-life chess. While great for individual reading, they're also good for read-alouds with older children. Here's an excerpt of my review:

My overall impression: This is an exquisitely-crafted mystery story … not your average detective novel at all. Though this works perfectly as a standalone book, it is connected to the two other books Peiffer has written. I haven’t read them, as I downloaded this one as a Kindle freebie, but I’m looking forward to getting to the others in the near future. If they are anything like this story, they are well-worth the purchase price.

The funny thing is, straight-out mystery is not my usual go-to genre for leisure reading. My feeling toward them usually is, “Once you’ve read one, you’ve read them all.” But this author snagged me with witty (but not sarcastic) dialogue, fascinating and diverse secondary characters, and turns and twists I didn’t see coming. The story keeps moving, and I found myself thinking about the plot during my non-reading hours, trying to figure out how the pieces would fit together. Turns out – and this was one of the great things since I’m a little hard to surprise with plot twists – I was wrong almost every time! I loved, too, how the main characters had numerous faults coupled with their redeeming virtues.

Caleb's stopping by today to answer a few of my questions - and any you might have for him. :-) He's also generously offering a signed paperback copy of one of his mysteries for the winner of our giveaway! So, pull up a chair and "drop some eaves" (as Sam Gamgee would say) while Caleb and I book-talk ... then enter your name in the giveaway! (This is a longer interview, so we'll be having part 2 tomorrow, as well.)

Welcome, Caleb! I'm glad to have you here today. Something I always like to know about authors is: What books and authors inspired them to write?

CALEB: The farther back you go, the more authors there have been who have inspired me in different ways. Before I could read, sometimes my father would read "Calvin and Hobbes" to me, and my mother would read "Trixie Belden," and those are two vital elements right there. A lot of the things that continue to influence and inspire my work as a writer trace back to Watterson, I think, and my interest in mystery might have started with Tatham. The first book I ever read on my own was "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" by Beverly Cleary, and I knew from the moment I put that book down that I didn't like putting books down, and I wanted to keep picking them up and even make my own. I've been a lifelong mystery lover, but I don't think it as until I met Agatha Christie that I realized I wanted to write mysteries myself. When Poirot propounded his first solution to me in "Murder on the Orient Express," I knew that what Agatha Christie had just done to me was something I wanted to do for my readers. That was a great feeling. My mysteries owe most of their inspiration to Christie. In fact, the solution to my first detective novel, "The Second Death," was based off a guess I made reading, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd." It turned out I was wrong, but I liked the idea so much it stuck with me and a few years later I used it on my own.

I sympathize with you about "The Mouse and the Motorcycle." I didn't want it to end, either! Now, has your writing changed since you wrote that first book?

CALEB: That's an interesting question. My writing process evolved a lot going from book one to book two. In writing and life and everything, the second time is always easier. And I think my writing style has definitely matured and grown since my first book as I've gained experience, and thereby confidence, in working with the novel form. There were some things I did that I've learned not to do, things I would change if I were writing it now, some things I even regret, and then there are even things I can look back and say, "Why did you stop doing that?" Anything worth doing isn't done just once, it has to be done continually, and it will grow. Mistakes will be made, and so will improvements. It may never be perfect, but it will always get better, even if there are times when it gets a little worse, too. I've even been asked if I planned on rewriting my first book, but that's really not something I approve of at all. Not because I'm afraid to say I made mistakes, but because why should I hide them? A friend of mine was growing a garden recently. The first tomato they grew rotted and died before it ripened. But the plant didn't try to regrow that same tomato and my friend didn't try to fix it. That's against nature. The second tomato the plant grew came out beautiful and red, and I think it was one of the best tomatoes I've ever seen. As Ray Bradbury put it, "I don't believe in tampering with any young writer's material, especially when that young writer was once myself."

Caleb, is there a particular theme that comes out in your writing frequently?

CALEB: There are a lot of themes I tend to write about. It's hard to pick just one. My faith of course and related principles come into my writing a lot. Love is another one, because love is very important to me and I feel like it's something that's undervalued, or at least largely and widely misunderstood. But I think if there's one theme I write about more than any other, one that almost always sneaks its way into even my shortest work one way or another, it's beauty: admiring and appreciating it, taking notice of the things we take for granted, and having the sense to walk fast enough so you have the time to stop and smell the roses when you get to them. Plainly put, I don't think we appreciate the pretty things about our lives and our world enough in our day-to-day lives, and one of the reasons I write at all is to encourage people to open their eyes a little wider.

Caleb, thanks for stopping by today! We'll be finishing up our interview with you tomorrow. :-)

A couple of Caleb's novels are FREE on Kindle this weekend, so if you have a Kindle, snap them up on Amazon! Meanwhile, as I mentioned above, Caleb is providing an autographed paperback copy of ANY of his novels to the winner of our giveaway! The winner will be announced next Friday. (This is a GREAT, no-risk way of gettting a taste of a new-to-you author!) Please feel free to SHARE!

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