Mystery writer Michael Craft to present at the Desert Hot Springs Library

Local mystery writer Michael Craft will discuss his two latest books, "Desert Getaway" and "Desert Deadline" — both set in the Coachella Valley — on Thursday, Oct. 19.

This prolific writer has been at his craft for 30 years and has published 19 books. During our interview, we discussed how his life impacts his writing.

The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.

When did you start writing?

I began my first novel in 1980. It took 12 years of submissions and revisions to catch the interest of a small independent Publisher and the book, “Rehearsing,” was published in 1993.

When did you realize there weren’t many books portraying gay characters?

I came out in 1969, during my sophomore year in college. At that time, books portraying gay characters were totally unknown to me. Later in grad school, I became familiar with Joseph Hansen’s groundbreaking series of mystery novels featuring a gay private investigator. Those books had an “underground” feel. Then in 1974, Patricia Nell Warren’s landmark novel “The Front Runner” was published, featuring a gay track star and his coach. It was gay fiction for a mainstream audience, and it truly opened the floodgates.

I read you started writing on a train. Can you elaborate?

I was commuting by train from Kenosha, Wisconsin, to my job as an art director at the Chicago Tribune, so I spent a lot of time traveling. I decided to make use of that time by writing a novel. That was before laptops and computers, so I wrote the manuscript on legal pads, then at night transcribed it onto a typewriter. Revising the novel meant re-typing the whole manuscript. The advent of word processing changed my life.

How long does it take you to write a book?

Most of my novels are installments in a series and are released a year apart. I spend about a year on each book, including planning, research, writing, revising, many steps involve editing and publishing. The actual “writing” takes about three months, four hours a day, 7 days a week. My novels usually contain about 80,000 words. Writing is personally creative but can be emotionally and physically exhausting.

Have you ever had a setback or writer’s block?

Most of my books are part of a series which makes it easy to hop to the next installment. The main characters, setting and themes are in place. I’ve been at this for so long; I rarely feel flat-out blocked.

I understand you outline your stories. Do you ever get surprises from the characters?

I love it when one of my characters surprises me by insisting the story needs to take an unplanned turn. It forces me to verge from the outline. The beauty of an outline is there when you need it to tell you “What’s next,” but its easily modified when inspiration strikes.

How do you think your books help bridge the understanding and acceptance between gay and straight readers?

Bridging those gaps is the underlining purpose of serious fiction. Novels are always entertainment. The reader expects that. But serious, artful fiction takes the further step of expanding our vision of the world and inspiring us. I have always aimed for that in my writing.

Most readers like mystery and romance series. They get hooked on the characters and their adventures and can’t wait for the next sequel to be published. Such is the case in “Desert Getaway.” This book introduces the main two characters, Dante O’Donnell’s, a gay concierge for a high-end vacation rental and Jazz Friendly, not your everyday Black woman ex-cop turned investigator. This unlikely pair are forced to work together to solve the murder of a wealthy tenant, and recover a valuable piece of art. The vivid descriptions of the familiar settings in our west valley give the reader a feeling of being there when the action takes place.

In the sequel “Desert Deadline,” Dante and Jazz change their antagonistic attitude towards each other. They begin to work as a team and get involved in each other’s personal problems. Dante rents a guest house on a large estate to a well-known romance writer, Maude Movay. Maude is on a tight deadline to finish a multi- million-dollar book deal. It isn’t long before Maude disappears, and a murder is committed. The question being,” Who is the real Maude Movay?” Dante and Jazz must work together to solve a murder, a child abduction and save a fortune. Craft describes his books as “cozy mysteries” where the investigator is an amateur not a professional law enforcement person. His writing style of cleverly written prose has earned him many literary honors. I personally can’t wait for the next one!

If you go

What: Friends of Desert Hot Springs Library Author's Series Presents: Michael Craft

When: 1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 19

Where: Desert Hot Springs Library, 14-380 Palm Drive, Desert Hot Springs

Tickets: N/A, free and open to the public

More info: Craft's books will also be available to purchase.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs-area writer Michael Craft to present at the DHS Library