It’s always great fun when an author and a character have a chat, especially when they are nice to each other. Randy Rawls is here today with Beth Bowman, the protagonist in the Beth Bowman Mystery Series. The latest in the series is Saving Dabba, which I reviewed last Sunday. Grab a glass of iced tea and enjoy the interview.
Beth Bowman Interviews Randy Rawls
BETH: My guest today is Randy Rawls, my penman for the Beth Bowman series. I’ve been waiting a long time to get him in my crosshairs. He’s written four books about my cases and never given me an opportunity to get under his fingertips and ask some serious questions.
BETH: Are you ready, Mr. Rawls?
RANDY: Sure. Let fly. I’ll answer as accurately as I can. However, you must promise to call me Randy. As the old adage goes, my father was Mr. Rawls.
BETH: Okay, RANDY. First question. Before me, you wrote seven mysteries featuring a male lead. What made you decide to take on a woman?
RANDY: It starts with reports I read before I met you. Some enterprising researcher looked at the marketplace. They discovered that women buy most books. They also found that women like to read about women. Now, these results weren’t too surprising, especially the second one. So, it seemed logical to try my hand at writing a story featuring a female protagonist. Meeting you clinched it.
BETH: Good answer. So, I give you my case files and you interview me a lot. However, when you sit down at the keyboard, you are on your own. How do you manage to capture me as a woman?
RANDY: I admit that is more difficult than I anticipated. I have read too many female-protag mysteries featuring little more than a man in women’s clothing. I never want to write such a story. Fortunately, when I started HOT ROCKS, your first adventure, I was a member of a critique group consisting of four women and two men. I ask the ladies to keep me on track. If I write something that doesn’t fit a woman, let me know. They do. In fact, I think they rather enjoy correcting me. We have lots of laughs around some of the things I write. But when HOT ROCKS was finished, I felt like it was about a woman, not that proverbial man in a pants suit. They have stuck with me through the next three of your adventures, correcting me when I need it.
BETH: Thank you. I’m glad you had the foresight to face the problem. I wear jeans, but they are women’s jeans. You do a nice job of presenting my homeless friends, Dot, Dabba, Blister, and the rest of the group. Any secrets to how you pull that off?
RANDY: Not really secrets. I try to put myself into their shoes. Each of them has a sad background that shapes their life. You didn’t mention Bob, probably because, technically, he’s not homeless. However, he is an inspiration to me. Here’s a man who lost his wife and daughter in a tragic accident, then his job, and moved to Florida only to turn into an alcoholic. That he straightened himself out and became a benefactor of the homeless is pretty impressive. Yeah, I have to admit I like Bob. A lot of us could take lessons from him.
BETH: How about Dot?
RANDY: A character. I never know what she’s going to pull. Every time you tell me one of her exploits, I’m surprised that I’m not surprised. What a woman she is. I look forward to each of your adventures if for no other reason than finding out what Dot did. I’m never disappointed.
BETH: Time’s almost up. Wrap it up by telling our readers about my adventures.
RANDY: My pleasure. First there was HOT ROCKS, a smuggling case. Then, BEST DEFENSE, kidnapping. Followed by DATING DEATH when you got tied up with that dirty politician. Finally, SAVING DABBA. In this one, you take on the world of paid demonstrators. Is it okay if I mention the story I’m writing?
BETH: Sure.
RANDY: I don’t have name for it yet, but it’s about the time you involved yourself in the illegal immigration situation.
BETH: Sounds good. Before we go, though, you forgot the time another private investigator brought me in to help—the one you named JINGLE AND HIS MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. That one has a terrorist connection, and Maryann reviewed it HERE
RANDY: Glad you could help with that one, Beth. Solving the case was getting a bit tricky.
BETH: That’s it from here, Maryann. Looking forward to talking to you again.
Thanks for bringing the interview to the blog today, Beth. I look forward to your next exploit and maybe another interview down the road.
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For a peek at all of the books Randy has written, visit his AUTHOR PAGE at Amazon.
I have purchased all of Randys books except the 2 on Kindle and the history book, “Down By The River”. I will purchase, “Down By The River”, shortly. I like the way Randy brings to completion each event in his books.
I need to check out Down by the River, and I agree that Randy does bring a story to a satisfying conclusion. I’m really not fond of books that end with a cliff-hanger, as I may not remember enough of the first book to be up to speed on what is going on in the story. I do, however, like series books where the main story wraps up at the end of each book, with continuing sub-plots – sort of like episodic television. We get involved in the lives of the people who live between the pages. 🙂
Yes I do enjoy the continuing sub-plots too. That’s why I like to read them in the order they are written.