So, summer is winding down and it is time to start finishing up on that summer reading list. One book to make sure not to forget this summer is Mediterranean Grave by William Doonan. Mediterranean Grave is a murder mystery set on a rundown cruise ship that is currently catering to the New Age set. Doonan's novel blends both humor and suspense to create the perfect easy, warm afternoon read.
Recently, I had a chance to pose a few questions to the novel's author. What follows is part 1 of our conversation.
The main character in your novel, Mediterranean Grave, and its predecessor , Grave Passage, is a rather humorous fellow by the name of Henry Grave. He is equal parts senile and brilliant. Is he modeled after anyone in particular?
Hi Diane,
Thanks for reading Mediterranean Grave, and for taking the time to chat with me. The idea for Henry Grave, my protagonist and superman, came to me several years ago when I was sitting in a cruise-ship lounge-chair looking down at Venice ’s Piazza San Marco. I had just come from the bridge where I narrated the blow-by-blow, “now off the starboard side, you can catch a glimpse of...” (that sort of thing) as we came in to Venice from Croatia . So I was sitting in this lounge chair eating a sandwich and basically eavesdropping on the conversations around me. And I realized that everyone was talking more or less the same way, the same cadences, the same tones, the same subject matter. Then I realized that these people I was listening to were all pretty old. That’s something you run into a lot on cruise ships; seniors.
I’ve spent a lot of time on cruise ships, and I’ve met some pretty great people, a lot of whom were pretty old. So I started paying attention to how they talked, what their interests were, and how I might create a character who could fit right in. I knew I wanted to write an investigator who solved crimes on cruise ships, but I didn’t know how he would fit in until it hit me that morning in Venice . My guy was going to have to be pretty old, pretty fun, pretty smart, and kind of talk like my dad.
Your story is about a murder set upon a rather modest, run-down cruise ship. This is rather unique for a modern murder mystery. Before writing this novel did you have any experience with cruise ships or their inner workings? Also, have you thought about marketing your novel to the aquatically friendly set?
I've spent a lot of time on cruise ships. For the past twelve years or so, I’ve spent part of my summers working as an onboard destination lecturer. I’m an archaeologist and a college professor, so I give lectures to passengers on the history and prehistory of the places the ship visits. It’s great fun; my family comes with me, and we travel to Greece or Turkey or Italy or Alaska , and I give these lectures to folks and then hang around as kind of a local expert. And over the course of about sixteen cruises, I started paying attention to the different communities that exist on the ships; the passengers on one hand, and the staff and crew on the other.
The passengers are paying for a type of service, an elegant journey. The crew moves the ship around the world, and the staff makes sure everything runs smoothly. But people are people, and sometimes people misbehave. And since any ship is more or less an enclosed environment, they have to be able to respond to emergencies, or crimes. I started thinking that maybe some crimes are beyond the scope of even the most capable onboard security people, and that’s why I brought Henry Grave to life. If there’s a murder on board, he comes into play. His motto:
12 million people take a cruise each year.
Most have fun.
Some die.
Henry Grave investigates.
I’ve thought a great deal about trying to market to cruise lovers. Initially, I thought it would be a slam dunk. Everybody on a cruise is going to sit out by the pool at some point and read a mystery, and every cruise ship has a gift shop, so I’d simply get all the cruise lines to stock my book! It was a great plan but it didn’t work out. Looking back, I think it might be due to the fact that I’m killing off passengers in my stories.
Check back later this week for part 2 of our conversation. Until then, if you would like more information on William Doonan click here or here.
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