Claire O'Keefe is a teacher, not a professional detective, but she keeps getting involved in solving crimes in Cozumel, in the Bay Area in California, and soon at Beaver Lake. Claire O'Keefe is at the center of novels written by Fayetteville author Cindy Quayle. Quayle's fourth novel, Lies Are Better at the Lake, involves a death in a fictionalized version of Northwest Arkansas. Quayle recently visited the Anthony and Susan Hui News Studio to talk about her cozy mysteries, and why she decided to integrate her passion for scuba diving into the Claire O'Keefe series.
Cindy Quayle: I've had Claire as a protagonist for a really long time, and I couldn't figure out how to put her in a mystery. And then a few years ago, my family and I went to Cozumel for a scuba diving trip and, being in that environment, listening to people talk, I thought this would be a good setting to start off the series because she transitions from an international English teacher to this recent book where she's teaching stateside. So that transition period kind of helps with each book develop her character through the scuba diving mysteries.
Kyle Kellams: Mystery obviously has to happen. It's an important part, as is character development. We meet Claire O'Keefe. She is a teacher, not the most secure person in the world. What's the ratio for you? Developing character? Developing mystery.
Quayle: I think it kind of depends on the purpose of the book. Book one, I felt like there was a lot of scuba diving because that kind of is the backdrop of my book compared to other mystery books. But then the second book goes more into character development, because you don't really get to see that in the vacation that she was on. And then the third book, you see a little bit more of a mix — 50-50 with scuba diving related activity and then character development. And then the fourth book, I would say, goes more into character development. So all the books have a scuba diving theme, but it really depends on how much I want to share with the readers about Claire, because each book is in a different location, so it's hard to bring in outside characters without fully developing them.
Kellams: Cozumel first, Bay Area second, Florida third, South Beach — now Lies Are Better at the Lake. It's Beaver Lake?
Quayle: It is. It's set in the fictional town of Osage Springs. I came up with that because there are so many small towns with "springs" in the name, so I thought that would be fun to add. And Beaver Lake is where my family and I did our open water test certification, and it's the freshwater lake that we know best. So I'm very familiar with the diving and the diving site that I mentioned in the book. That's kind of where I started with that.
Kellams: Let's not give too much away about Lies Are Better at the Lake, but Claire's parents live in Northwest Arkansas. Her father has had a stroke, so she comes back. And then something — there is a mystery.
Quayle: There is. In book three, her intention is to go back to teach overseas. And then her father has a stroke, which kind of forces her to change direction and come home. She was just going to stay in the area and help out and take care of her dad. But then she meets a former classmate from high school that needs a sub while she goes on maternity leave. Claire — she kind of jumps into these things because she feels an obligation to help out, or there's a sense of injustice she feels that needs to be righted. So Claire just kind of jumps in and volunteers to be a sub. And then as she's teaching, something happens to a character that is water related, and she gets to use her search and rescue diving skills.
Kellams: You had a vacation in Cozumel — that was the inspiration that got you started with Claire O'Keefe published. Experience with the Bay Area and South Florida?
Quayle: The Bay Area comes from the time when I was stationed there. I was in the Navy, and I was going to school at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. So I know that area well from my time there. And then South Beach was a location that I thought would be really fun, because when I taught international students at the University of Arkansas, all my students said that South Beach was by far the most international city in the United States. I thought that would be a fun location to use.
Kellams: But now you're writing about where you live. Is that different?
Quayle: I wanted to bring Claire back home so I can have a place to anchor her, and then the future book will be more international because I'd like to focus back on the scuba diving. But I think this is good because readers will get to see more of her upbringing. Claire is half Korean, half American, so there are some family dynamics that readers get to see. I hope they enjoy that part.
Kellams: Did Claire go to school in Northwest Arkansas?
Quayle: Theoretically, she went to Wheeler High School. There is a Wheeler in Northwest Arkansas, but it's not an actual high school. Again, I live in the area, so I'm familiar with the setting. I threw that in there, but just like Osage Springs, I kind of made it a fictional place.
Kellams: What was it that you wanted to make a fictional place? I mean, you put us in Northwest Arkansas, but it's sort of another universe, Northwest Arkansas.
Quayle: I mention places like Bentonville and Fayetteville. I bring up Crystal Bridges and the Walton Arts Center, and I mention Eureka Springs. I do want to give credit to this area because I think it's a wonderful place — it's my adopted home. But at the same time, I feel like if I use real towns, people might say, "Well, that's not quite right." As a writer, it gives me creative license to do more things that may not mesh with what people know.
Kellams: As you're writing Claire O'Keefe book three, are you thinking about book four?
Quayle: With the first book, I was not thinking about future books. But with each book I definitely thought about how it could be used in the next book. So yes.
Kellams: We as readers often think: how much is Claire O'Keefe Cindy Quayle? Scuba diver, went to Cozumel.
Quayle: There are some shared traits. Obviously she's Korean — or has a Korean background — and I am also Korean. But I think Claire is a little different from me because she's a little bit more persistent, willing to go against the grain, where I am more laid back. If I see caution tape, I'm probably not going to go underneath the rope.
Claire is more — She's not a rule follower in that way. She is a people pleaser, but when things come up where she feels like there needs to be something solved, or a wrong to be righted, she will go that extra step — especially if it involves someone she really cares about.
Kellams: I love reading mysteries, and I might pick up a Laura Lippman — it's the fourth Baltimore mystery in a series, but it can be standalone. There are some references back to previous events. How do you balance that? Because I imagine a lot of people are going to pick up Lies Are Better at the Lake as the first Claire O'Keefe they're going to read. So how much do you want them to feel like they can just drop in, but also know there's a history?
Quayle: I wrote each book hoping that people can just read it as a standalone, because they center on a different scuba diving mystery. Each of the mysteries is a different type of scuba diving. In Cozumel, it's a boat dive. In Monterey, it was supposed to be a beach dive, or shore dive. And then South Beach is another boat dive, but in deeper waters. And Lies Are Better at the Lake is a freshwater shore dive. So each of them has a different type of scuba diving — if you like that part, you can totally read each book separately. But if you're interested in character development, and I know a lot of mystery readers are and like to start from the beginning of a series, then I would recommend starting with the first book.
Kellams: Do you want us, as we're reading, to think about who did it, or why it's done? I prefer to just read and go along. I'm not trying to out-sleuth Sherlock Holmes or Detective Erlander.
Quayle: I think readers can do both. A lot of cozy mystery readers do like to figure out who did it, and when they find out it's the person they thought, they feel very vindicated. They really enjoy that part. So if you would like to just enjoy the mystery from start to finish, great. But if you are an amateur sleuth yourself who would like to solve the mystery, I encourage that as well.
Kellams: Published Feb. 24. Are there events connected?
Quayle: Thank you for asking. I'm doing an author event at Pearl's Books on April 12 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and then at the Farmington Public Library from 1 to 3 p.m.
Kellams: Scuba diving — which I don't do, I don't know how to swim, so diving is probably not a good idea — my friends who do say it's very meditative, wonderful, you can just be in the moment. Writing, especially now that you've got a series and probably deadlines with your publisher, seems the opposite of meditative. It's like focused work. But is there a similarity between diving and writing?
Quayle: I think there is, because I enjoy both. There's a lot of work for scuba diving — a lot of gear to maintain, a lot of things to remember. But when you're in the moment, you can just relax and focus on slowing your breath. Scuba diving is probably the one sport where you do not want to rush. You want to stay as long as you can underwater, so you want to conserve your air, go slowly, be very deliberate. And I think with the writing, as I've written more books, I feel the same way. I want to be more deliberate. I don't feel like I need to rush to get the next book out.
Kellams: If I could tell you that next month you can go anywhere to scuba dive that you haven't been, where would you go?
Quayle: There are so many different places on my bucket list. But my husband and I are big wreck divers.
Kellams: Shipwreck diving?
Quayle: Yes, and so I think the place that a lot of shipwreck divers would like to go is Truk Lagoon, near Indonesia. There are a lot of old World War II airplanes and equipment that are underwater. I think that would be really interesting to see.
Kellams: Maybe book six can be Claire O'Keefe at Truk Lagoon?
Quayle: Maybe. In order for me to do that, I would have to visit the site and do a little research. But that might be a good area.
Kellams: Lies Are Better at the Lake — the most mysterious of the titles yet, I think — is out Feb. 24. Quayle is at Pearl's Books on April 12 and the Farmington Public Library on April 18. Thanks so much.
Quayle: Thank you.
Cindy Quayle's fourth Claire O'Keefe mystery, set at Beaver Lake, is available Feb. 24. She will discuss the book at Pearl's Books in Fayetteville on April 12, and at the Farmington Public Library on April 18. The conversation took place at the Carver Center for Public Radio.
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