Inside The Indie Author: A Conversation with Erica Miner

Diana Kathryn
Jul 24
8 min read

Have you ever considered writing under a pseudonym, and why or why not?

I once wrote some letters to the New York Times Sunday Magazine under two different pseudonyms, both of which were published. The subject was directly related to my workplace at the time, and I didn’t want to rock the boat. Other than that, when it came to my novels and arts journalism, I’m happy to use my real name.

What is your “go-to” method for working through or around writer’s block?

As a musician, I had to acquire a great deal of discipline, both to learn and to perform my art. I made use of this steadfastness in my writing the few times I encountered writer’s block. Just power through and do it. Generally speaking, however, I have more story ideas than I know what to do with, so writer’s block doesn’t occur that often for me.

From your perspective, what are the most important elements of good writing?

The first important element of good writing was something I learned from screenwriting: ‘Never be boring.’ I think that’s a good place to start in creating fine writing. Add to that a golden rule I learned in high school from Strunk and White’s famous Elements of Style: ‘Omit Needless Words.’ That’s the hardest thing to do. You may feel a phrase, sentence, or scene is terribly clever, but if it doesn’t move the story forward, you have to resist using it. If you can master those two elements, you’ve got a good foundation.

What comes first – the location, the plot, or the characters – and why?

This is the eternal debate in fiction, whether a novel or a screenplay. I’ve debated this endlessly, in my mind and with other writers. There is no definitive answer, and it’s very subjective; but for me the characters win out. You can have a fascinating setting and some clever plot twists, but if the reader or viewer doesn’t care about the characters you’ve created, then you will lose your audience early on.

What are your least favorite and most favorite things about publishing a book?

My favorite thing is the writing: creating the characters and plot lines and weaving them together to tell a story. I love telling stories! My least favorite, which will come as no surprise to any writer, is the marketing. Almost without exception, writers first and foremost want to write. In a perfect world, someone else will do the marketing. But as marketing guru, the late Dan Poynter, pointed out in his many books on the subject, writing is 5% writing and 95% marketing. It’s best to let that reality sink in and just do it. And it’s not all negative. Marketing is how I get to meet fantastic people like you, Diana, who help me promote my work!

What is a significant way your book changed from the first to the final draft?

There are so many, but if I had to choose just one it would be something I mentioned above: to mercilessly cut scenes and details that did not move the story forward. My passion for opera, the underlying theme of all my books, tends to make me want to include lots of aspects of opera that would interest only the most sophisticated opera-savvy readers. My publisher was insistent that I judiciously cut these details down to the most necessary ones. In the end, that made the final draft tighter and more appealing to a wider range of reader.

What was the inspiration for your most recent book?

It was similar to the inspiration for the first two books in my Julia Kogan Opera Mystery Series: the unique atmosphere that makes an opera house the perfect setting for murderous mischief and mayhem. Every opera house is fascinating in different ways. After setting the first two books, Aria for Murder and Prelude to Murder, at two amazing theatres, the Met and Santa Fe Opera, I was inspired to have the latest book, Overture to Murder, take place at San Francisco Opera. I have a long history with that company, having spent time there with various friends and relatives who worked there. One of them, the company dramaturg, having learned I was writing Prelude to Murder at Santa Fe Opera, asked me if I would be interested in setting my next book at San Francisco. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. Plus, the War Memorial Opera House is the creepiest atmosphere you can imagine; a uniquely mysterious milieu. The house manager took me on a tour of the theatre from top to bottom, and the stories he told me inspired some great scenes.

Where are your most productive writing spaces, and what elements are important about that space to keep you focused on writing?

My home base is my home office with my desktop Mac, where I’m surrounded with the equivalent of a writer’s comfort food: books on writing and music; my two stuffies of opera characters and Minions (I’m mad about them); photos of loved ones; and a picture window with an inspiring Pacific Northwest view of our garden and evergreens. When I’m trying to gather my thoughts into a coherent piece of writing, I can look around and feel motivated to create. My most productive hours are early to mid-morning and early afternoon. Most importantly, to create words on a blank screen, I need total silence and no interruptions from the outside world (as much as humanly possible). I’m unable to block out anything, I think because of my musician’s sensitive ear. Thus, my office is located at the far end of the house, with doors that close!

If you were to give one of your side characters a novella of their own, who would it be, and why do you think they need their own story?

That is a difficult choice, but given my readers’ enthusiastic reactions, I would love to write a novella featuring the young kid Rebecca, the daughter of my series protagonist Julia in Overture to Murder. At the age of five, Rebecca already is a polymath in the making: brilliant at playing the violin, writing music and poetry, and more. She has a strong personality, is able to express herself verbally way beyond her years, and is intuitive about how to survive in tough situations. Her liveliness and spirit have engaged the other characters in the book, not to mention the readers. She has told me she has a lot more to say, and I’d love to write about that.

What risks have you taken with your writing that made the book better?

Notwithstanding the unwritten rule that prologues generally are not considered advantageous in a novel, I decided to write a prologue for each of my mystery/thriller novels. It was taking a chance, but the feedback on these has been overwhelmingly positive. I’ve been able to integrate them well into the stories and have been able use them successfully to foreshadow important elements to come.

What is your writing software of choice, and what is its best feature?

For screenwriting, Final Draft is the top in its field, hands down. It is the industry standard for a good reason: it has every feature you could possibly need, all of which are outstanding, especially its ease in formatting. For fiction and arts journalism, MS Word is my choice. It’s universally accepted and allows me to edit in sophisticated ways. I especially like the Read Aloud feature. Hearing my work read back to me, even in a computer-generated monotone, gives me a whole new perspective and helps me catch and correct things I would not have noticed otherwise.

Do characters’ names come immediately to you? Do you add them in a final draft? Where do you find names, and how do you make a final decision about the names you’ll use?

Choosing character names is my favorite part of writing a novel! Since my stories take place in an environment which by nature involves so many characters, I draw some of my names from the real people I worked with at the Met, bring to mind those people’s traits, and pair them with the fictional personages I create. Or I will think of characteristics of the fascinating people I encountered and combine them into one person, either with a name of a similar real person or a name that evokes something about them. I also have some favorite names that I decide I want to give to a character and decide which character is most appropriate for that name. One exception is the aforementioned Rebecca. I wanted to give her a Biblical name and had to do a lot of research to find exactly the right one. But I loved that process, too. It’s just a lot of fun.

Tell us the title of one of your favorite novels, and why this book is a favorite.

Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca has been one of my favorite novels since I first read it as a kid. Her writing is so beautifully crafted, her sense of mystery so intense, and her plotting and characters are mesmerizing, not to mention one of the most brilliant first lines every written: ‘Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.’ That just gets me every time. It’s like literary music to me. How could you not want to keep reading?

Think of the title of a hugely popular novel. What is one major thing you would change about the book?

I may get some arguments about this, but The Da Vinci Code, though the premise is fascinating, is not as well written as it is popular. It could use some heightening in its use of language. Don’t hate me!

What are you reading right now?

I’m just coming to the end of Michael Crichton’s Timeline. He was such a great writer. He knew how to create excitement and tension on every line of every page. I’m usually not a big fan of time travel stories, but I am a history buff, and this one had me hooked from the beginning. To have a peek at what Medieval France was like, all the fascinating personages and places, and horrifying things people subjected each other to during the Hundred Years War. Of all of his novels that I’ve read, this one stands out the most.

If you could take on the identity of a character in one of your favorite books for twenty-four hours and retain the memory of that experience, which character would you choose? Tell us the title, author, character name, and why you would want to be that character.

As a young adult, I was a great fan of Erica Jong’s books. Notwithstanding our common names, her brave, take no prisoners protagonist in Fear of Flying totally resonated with me. As I remember, it’s written in first person, and there was no actual name, which I thought worked well. And, true confessions, I actually found myself in some similar situations to hers. If I could heighten those experiences by becoming her for a day, I’d jump at it.

Tell us a little something about your current WIP. When do you expect it to be released?

I’ve discussed this with my publisher, and we are trying to decide whether to continue with Book 4 in the series or perhaps diverge on a different path. Maybe true crime and/or historical fiction, both in the opera world. Stay tuned.

What are the titles and genres of each book you’ve written.

1. Travels with my Lovers, romance:

Winner of the Fiction Prize in the Direct from the Author Book Awards

2. Fourever Friends, YA

3. Murder in the Pit, mystery/thriller

4. Death by Opera, mystery/thriller

5. Staged for Murder, mystery/thriller

6. Aria for Murder, mystery/thriller:

Finalist in the CIBA Murder & Mayhem Awards and Eric Hoffer Book Awards

7. Prelude to Murder, mystery/thriller:

Distinguished Favorite in the NYC Big Book Awards

8. Overture to Murder, mystery/thriller: