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18
January – March
www.deltalivingmagazine.com
By Charleen Earley
S
he’s a contemporary American author
best known for her ‘alphabet series’ of
detective novels, but to me, she’s known as my
favorite author – meet Sue Grafton. My mom,
who was an avid reader and knew I’d love Sue’s
humor and style of writing, introduced her
book series to me back in the early 80s and I
haven’t been able to put her work down since.
Sue Grafton is the daughter of novelist C.W.
Grafton andVivian Harnsberger, both of whom
were the children of Presbyterian ministers.
Her rst book in the series,“A” is for Alibi, was
published in 1982, and today she’s working on
the letter “W.”
I had a special opportunity to interview Sue
about her new book Kinsey and Me, to be re-
leased Jan. 8, 2013. Kinsey Millhone is the pro-
tagonist in Sue’s book series, an independent,
quirky detective whose dressiest out t consists
of only one wrinkle-free black dress. In Kinsey
and Me, Sue gives us stories that reveal Kinsey’s
origins and Sue’s own past.
DL:
Born in Louisville, is that Kentucky?
Raised there too?
Sue:
I was indeed born in Louisville,
Kentucky and lived here until I was in my early
twenties. I graduated from the University of
Louisville with a major in English and minors
in the Fine Arts and Humanities. I had to teach
myself to type in order to get paid employment.
DL:
Now live in Montecito, CA, with your
husband Steve Humphrey and family,
correct?
Sue:
Again, correct. My three children are
grown and gone. My oldest daughter, Leslie,
lives in Virginia Beach. She has two daughters
of her own; Erin who’s 26 and married to an
adorable guy named Daniel, and Kinsey who’s
18 and just starting college in Boston. My son,
Jay, lives in Ventura, 26 miles south of Santa
Barbara, so I see him more often than the other
two, just by reason of proximity. My youngest
daughter, Jamie, lives inVallejo, California. She’s
married to another adorable guy named Rob
and they have two daughters;Taylor who’ll be
10 in January and Addison who just turned 8.
DL:
Do your daughters write or want to
be novelists?
Sue:
Neither of my two daughters want
to write ction. Both write in the course of
their work, but I suspect watching me agonize
for all these years has cured them of any desire
to try earning a living as a writer. My son is a
construction painter in the lm business, so he’s
a hands-on type and doesn’t spend much time
at his computer.
DL:
What is your age? (If you want to
say!)
Sue:
I’m 72.No secrets there.NPR routinely
announces my age every time I have a birthday.
(April 24, 1940 if want to send an expensive
present...)
DL:
Is everything on your website
accurate?
Sue:
I have no idea if everything on my
website is accurate. If you’re talking about
suegrafton.com, I can say with some certainty
the information is correct. I can’t be held
accountable for additions or amendments in my
absence. I check into Facebook most mornings,
but I don’t often go to my website. My bad.
DL:
How long did Kinsey and Me take
to write?
Sue:
Kinsey and Me is a collection of short
stories. Eight of the nine featuring Kinsey
Millhone were written between 1986 and
1990.The ninth I wrote in 2003.The personal
stories were written in the 10 years following
my mother’s death on my birthday in 1960.
My husband did a 300 copy private printing
of the book in 1991. This publication marks
the rst ‘commercial’ appearance with ve new
personal stories added to the mix.
DL:
What if any, were your challenges?
And joys?
Sue:
Writing about my childhood and my
mother’s death was a very painful process, but
I think expressing the rage and dismay helped
me to integrate the experiences into my
working soul. The joy, in the main, is feeling
that I captured those moments in a way that
rings true after all these years.
DL:
What’s it like for you to transition
from one style of writing ( ction) to
another (non- ction)?
Sue:
Most writing is hard for me; not always
the work so much as quieting the chatter in
my head, tuning into Shadow...my Dark Side...
which is where the good work comes from.
That’s something I struggle with every day of my
life. It’s so much easier to avoid the work. I can
always justify cleaning my desk, or taking care
of e-mails, or starting a load of laundry.Those
are areas where I can be productive without
su ering.Writing? That’s mostly su ering with
a few moments of pleasure thrown in when I
do something right.
DL:
Who are your favorite authors to
read?
Sue:
In the mystery eld, I’m a big fan of
Elmore Leonard, Michael Connelly, Lee Child,
Ruth Rendell, and many many others. In non-
ction, Nora Ephron is my all time favorite.
I read ction every chance I get and it’s hard
to single out the writers I admire without
appearing to slight others.
DL:
How do you feel about this
Washington Post quote?: I've come to
believe that Grafton is not only the most
talented woman writing crime ction
today but also that, regardless of gender,
Author Sue Grafton gives readers a snapshot
view inside her 30-plus years of writing
is for Fabulous, Funny
”
“
Courtesy of Sue Grafton