Today the Deadly Duo, Sharon and Bill Hopkins of Missouri, answer some of their most frequently asked questions. They are a married couple and both writers living in Missouri. It’s not uncommon to find them traveling on the weekends to bookstores, gift shops, craft fairs, conventions and more with their loyal dogs Scooby and Diesel, selling their books and some tasty Scooby snacks too!
How the Deadly Duo writes!
Sharon Woods Hopkins and Bill Hopkins (that’s us!) are the Deadly Duo, mystery writers who write about murder and mayhem, but only funny murder and mayhem. We live in a small town in Southeast Missouri (Marble Hill) which makes being writers a lot of fun. It’s a thrill when people around us tell one or the other of us that they love our novels.
Sharon writes the Rhetta McCarter series and has three published: KILLERWATT, KILLERFIND, and KILLERTRUST. Due out in 2015 is KILLERGROUND. Bill writes the Judge Rosswell Carew series and has three published: COURTING MURDER, RIVER MOURN, and BLOODY EARTH. Due out in 2015 is UNFINISHED GRAVE.
Since people ask us the following questions a lot, we assume they’ll be of general interest.
Q: Do you compete with each other?
A: No. We write completely different kinds of stories. We both love mysteries. We treat serious questions with humor (on the part of our characters). One of our favorite books is Don Quixote. The reason this book is still popular even though written hundreds of years ago is that it makes serious remarks about society, but does so in a satirical and humorous way. The message is serious but the delivery is funny.
Q: Do you critique each other’s work?
A: Yes. This is a great benefit. When two writers are married, if they have a solid relationship, can critique each other’s work without hurt feelings. If either of us writes something that makes no sense to the other one, then it’s changed. If one of us doesn’t get it, then we can’t expect our readers to understand.
Q: Do you each have your own writing space?
A: Yes. We each have a room set up in the basement (cool in the summer and warm in the winter) where we write. Each has a door and we can shut ourselves off from the world. And, what makes it really handy, is that if either of us gets stuck, we can ask the other for help. Recently, Sharon asked me to help get her heroine out of a bad situation. We talked about it for awhile and came up with a couple of different solutions. (No spoilers. Sorry!)
Q: Does someone else edit your work?
A: Yes. We want to have the very best product we can write. After either of us completes a story, the other edits it fully. Then the revisions go in. After that, we will send it to a “neutral” third party to edit. If you want to make it in the writing world, you have to learn to at least listen to criticism. You don’t have to accept just one person’s suggestions. But if two or three people are telling you the same thing about your story, then you best listen up.
The Deadly Duo
Sharon Woods Hopkins (The Rhetta McCarter Series)
and
Bill Hopkins (The Judge Rosswell Carew Series)
Owners of Deadly Writes Publishing, LLC
www.deadlywritespublishing.com
The Lone Writer: Shannon Yarbrough 