Body Dump Sites and a Nice Merlot

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Today TKZ welcomes acclaimed Aussie author PD Martin, for an in-depth discussion of why crime fiction authors make the most stimulating dinner companions…

by P.D.Martin

Like most crime fiction authors, I do a great deal of research, everything from handwriting analysis and lockpicking to forensics and police/FBI procedure. It’s part of the job and a part that I love doing.

However, sometimes getting into the mind of an author can lead to some bizarre conversations. For example, I was away on a writing retreat doing some edits when I came to a crucial part…I had to finalize my killer’s MO and signature. I wanted to bounce some ideas off someone, so I rang my husband. This is how the conversation went:

“Hi, honey. Do you think my victims should be raped pre- or post-mortem?”

Silence, then: “Hang on, I’ll just take you off speakerphone.”

I’d called him on a Sunday and he was at a local football game (Aussie Rules, that is) with our one-year-old daughter and a group of our friends and their children. He’d seen it was me calling so had immediately hit the loudspeaker button on his mobile (cell) phone expecting a lovely chat. Maybe he should have known better.

A more recent example that comes to mind happened last year. I was in the States for Bouchercon and then headed to LA for some location research. While you can find pretty much anything on the Internet, nothing compares to actually seeing a location first-hand. And certainly for me, living in Australia and setting my series in the US has some challenges. Anyway, through my online research I’d picked out a body dump site and crime-scene location for the book – Castaic Lake – and decided my characters would live and party in Santa Clarita. However, Santa Clarita wasn’t what I’d envisaged. It was way too clean cut and “suburban” for my characters and when I drove through it I couldn’t see a bar in sight. That night, as I had dinner with the family friends I was staying with in LA, I was asked:

“So what did you do today, Pip?”

To which I replied in between mouthfuls: “Checked out a couple of body dump sites.”

There was an initial stunned silence, and then we laughed. I guess it’s not your usual tourist trail for Aussies in LA. When I explained my problem with Lake Castaic and that I had to find a new location, my host said:

“I’ve got the best body dump site, ever. Have you checked out Temescal Gateway Park?”

And so, after a dinner conversation about potential body dump sites in LA, I had the crime-scene location for my fifth novel. Isn’t that what everyone talks about over dinner?

PD Martin – Phillipa Deanne Martin – is an Australian author with a background in psychology. She has written four novels featuring Aussie FBI profiler Sophie Anderson, of which the first two are currently available in North America – Body Count and The Murderers’ Club. Her third novel, Fan Mail, will be released in North America in July this year. See www.pdmartin.com.au for more information.

15 thoughts on “Body Dump Sites and a Nice Merlot”

  1. Welcome PD! The speakerphone story made me laugh out loud. I sometimes get a similar funny-pause reaction from my husband when I toss him a crime-musing question, usually because I’m in search of a male POV. They’re just not always prepared for it in the middle of their routine day, while our minds are always tracking crime, to a certain extent.

  2. I told the speakerphone story to my Beloved Spousal Equivalent right away, so she’d know I’m not the only person who does those kinds of things.

    For anyone concerned about meeting PD in a dark alley, I had the pleasure of chatting with her at one of last year’s Bouchercon cocktail parties. She missed her little one and was seriously jet lagged, but was still charming and witty when she must have been about to fall over.

  3. Welcome to TKZ, PD. Ain’t research fun! The speakerphone story was LOL. My co-author and I were sitting in the Atlanta airport a few years back on our way to Bouchercon. We were brainstorming a scene in our thriller THE LAST SECRET that involved the shooting down of a commercial airliner. After 5-6 minutes, we realized the passengers sitting around us had all stopped chatting and were giving us very disturbing stares. At that point, I assumed that our future daily conference calls would be tapped and we would be placed on a government watch list. Still didn’t stop us from shooting down the plane. 🙂

  4. Maybe we should all wear signs or something telling folks we are harmless writers. I once asked a neighbor of mine (who is a nurse in a Peds ICU unit) how someone might break into the secure unit. He cocked his head like a dog, mouth dropped open, turned on his heals and walked away. I shouted after him, “I’m writing a book!”

  5. Loved the speakerphone incident. Needed a laugh for the day. Next time hopefully your husband won’t have it on speakerphone. Have a great day.

  6. Thanks, Kathryn. Yes, I think our minds, or at least part of them, are always somewhere else! Our poor spouses.

    And that’s very kind of you Dana – although I must have been very jetlagged because I don’t remember being charming or witty that night 🙂

    Joe…talking about shooting down a commercial airliner at an airport. Wow, I’m surprised you weren’t arrested on the spot!

  7. Loved the speakerphone story. My husband is a police office and when he calls from work I NEVER put him on speaker. Learned my lesson on that one! I do have to say that thriller writers scare me a little. I’m writing a YA series about angels. Church and Heaven is where I do my research!

  8. Welcome Philippa! sorry I couldn’t comment earlier as I’m literally on a train for Denver from Emeryville…but I’m finally at civilization. I worry if anyone checked my google searches they would think I was a real nutter:)

  9. Mark – wearing signs is a good idea! It would let us off the hook for a few things. Although when people meet me they don’t seem to think I look like a crime author so they might not believe the sign. I think I need to look scarier!

    Thanks, Housemouse. Unfortunately hubby is a big fan of speakerphone!

    Glad you liked the story, Georgia. Yes, heaven and hell may be nicer research topics!

    And Clare, thanks for the welcome. Our google searches – now that would be scary!

  13. Great post!
    As my family have grown used to me and my crime fiction over the years, and we all enjoy a good crime film we might have similar conversations in the living room over the coffee.
    My husband is critical whenever something is unlikely or unrealistic, I bud in when the research has not been carried out properly.

  14. Great article, Sunnie. Thanks! Sounds like the makings of a book.

    Clare…if only a body dump site was as easy as choosing a good merlot! Of course, it depends on the scenario, but I needed somewhere that was rural but also close to LA, to a nightlife. Temescal Gateway Park is perfect!

    And thanks, Dorte. I think those around crime fiction authors do quickly become used to ‘strange’ conversations!

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