Volume 2, Issue 9 -- November-December 2007

Happily marrieds collaborate as writers for fun and profit

Readers are often unaware that an author is really a writing duo (see list following this story). Two of the most successful are New Yorkers Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini. I've read and reviewed books in their two terrific cozy mysteries series written under the pen names Alice Kimberly and Cleo Coyle -- and one written together under their own names is sitting on my bedside table.

The Cozy Library Lady was curious about writing partnerships and Alice and Marc were more willing to indulge her nosiness. Here are CLL's questions and A&M's responses (on which they collaborated, too): 

Q. What came first, the romance or the writing partnership?

A&M: The romance. We were each published writers many times over before we met about fifteen years ago in New York, fell in love, and finally got hitched in 2000 at the Little Church of the West. The collaborative process grew organically through steps.

When Marc agreed to write the very first “instant” book after O.J. Simpson’s arrest for the murders of his ex-wife and Ron Goldman, the schedule was brutal. The publisher wanted the book completed as fast as possible. In nine days, Marc researched and wrote the entire book. At the time Alice was not only a published author but a former newspaper reporter so she stepped up to assist him in research and editing. That process showed us that we could work together as a team to bring a project to fruition.

A few years later, we were approached by Harper to create the first official tie-in book attached to the groundbreaking, Emmy Award-winning television series 24 The schedule was tight once again. We worked with the show’s story editor, immersed ourselves in the episodes of the first season (Day 1), and produced a book that was part episode guide but also part fiction, extending the voices and stories of every major character into a narrative.

A natural next step after those difficult projects was working together to create a book-length piece of fiction that would launch a series of novels. As an admirer of Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler, and Susan Isaacs, Alice suggested a collaboration in the mystery genre and developed proposals. First came the Coffeehouse Mystery series, written under our pen name Cleo Coyle. Next came the Haunted Bookshop Mystery series, written under our other pen name Alice Kimberly.

Q. How do you divide the labor?

A&M: We have friends who enjoy fantasy role playing games, and we’ve described our collaborative process in those terms. Creating fiction for us is a lot like playing a game. A news story or something we see or hear on the streets of New York might intrigue one of us. We toss the idea around like clay. One of us stretches it and shapes it and tosses it to the other, who works with the material a little more. The material goes back and forth and back and forth.

The process of how we collaborate has been fluid and changeable. However, one thing has remained constant. We never, ever create text (scene and dialogue) together. When we sit down to write, we do this in separate rooms of the house, on different computers. What we do together is shape the framework of the story. In other words, as described above, we pass the general plotline back and forth until we have a rough outline. Then we begin the creative writing.

The outline always changes as we write, and we seldom include the last act of the novel in the outline. To borrow Joseph Campbell's “hero’s journey” metaphor, the process is a lot like cutting a path through a forest. We agree on where to enter the forest and the general direction the path will take, but from then on, the specific twists and turns of the path and where it finally leads us is revealed only a little at a time by the characters themselves. One snippet of revealing dialog or introduction of a minor character, for instance, may open up a whole new subplot that alters the overall plot. This way of working always surprises and entertains us—we can only hope the resulting book will give the reader the same experience.

Q. Can you describe a typical writing day for me?

A&M: There really is no typical writing day. We work in the morning or in the evenings, or both, depending on what’s happening with deadlines and other things in our lives. At this time, we pretty much write every day of the week with little time off (even for good behavior). But then we’re both making our living as writers. We have no other source of income but what put on the page and publish, which is both exhilarating and frightening as hell.

Q. Are your personalities similar or dissimilar? How does that help/hurt your writing together? Can you give an example?

A&M: Our personalities are highly compatible. We have the same sense of humor, for instance, similar backgrounds and value and belief systems, similar likes and dislikes. That’s the main reason we’ve been able to create cohesive universes of characters and stories.

Our personalities are dissimilar in some ways that have helped the writing. Alice being a woman and Marc being a man brings added authenticity to the female and male voices in our books. That said, Alice has written her share of male characters just as Marc has written his share of female. When you read one of our books, you shouldn’t assume that Alice writes all of the female characters and Marc writes all of the male characters. Nothing could be further from the truth! But then, isn’t that what defines good storytelling — empathy; the ability to inhabit different characters? Having two sexes involved in the writing process simply insures that the voices, reactions, and attitudes read authentically to each sex. In our case, what Marc writes is reviewed by Alice and vice versa.

Q. What is the best thing about writing in tandem?

A&M: Company! Writing is a solitary endeavor, even in the collaborative process we’ve set up for ourselves. We each write our scenes alone, working in different rooms and on different computers. But then we come together to advance the story and bring the book to fruition, and we enjoy a camaraderie that we can’t experience on a solely authored project. While we could further explain these advantages in psychological terms, it all comes down to one simple thing: writing together is just a whole lot more fun than writing alone.

Q. What is the worst thing about writing in tandem?

A&M: So far, there are no worst things. No kidding. There are “worst” things about writing alone. Writing in tandem resolves a lot of the problems that we’ve encountered tackling projects singly. For instance, there is no writer’s block. When one of us isn’t sure where to take the story, the other almost always picks up the baton and starts to run. Soon, we’re both making tracks again.

Q. Do you both have similar skills, or is one of you better at one part of writing (coming up with ideas, writing narrative, creating dialogue, plotting) than the other?

A&M: We were both experienced, published authors before we attempted collaboration. Because of that, we’re both comfortable and capable with all aspects of creating a popular novel.

Q. What are some of the caveats/pieces of advice for couples/partners who want to write together?

A&M: We can only recommend what’s worked for us. Before attempting to write a novel with another person, make sure you both have experience in the process as a sole endeavor. If both of you are not confident in the process, there will likely be feuds and power struggles.

A satisfying novel should include the expression of a personal world view. Some people believe this can be done only on a solitary journey. As a happily married couple, our world views are closely aligned and we’ve been able to write as one, if you will, because of this. So whoever your collaborator is, make sure you agree more than you disagree on how you see the world (e.g., your value and belief systems, your likes and dislikes, your sense of humor).

Create your ideas together, but go off and write separately. Then come back together to revise and review. And, finally, treat the process as the best creative role-playing game of all time. For heaven’s sake, have fun!

Q. With all the writing you are doing, do you find time to read? If yes, do you both enjoy reading the same types of books? Examples?

A&M: We both enjoy reading, but we usually do read different things. Marc tends to read historical fiction, political history and comic books. Alice leans more toward mysteries, popular fiction, plays, and nonfiction works of sociology and psychology.

Marc is presently reading Armageddon by Max Hastings, a work of nonfiction about the final year of World War II, and the League of Extraordinary Gentleman comic book series by

Alan Moore. Alice is reading Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams by

Alfred Lubrano, and Night and Fear, a collection of stories by Cornell Woolrich.

To learn more about the cozy mysteries of Cleo Coyle and Alice Kimberly or pose a comment or question to the authors on their message board, drop by the "virtual coffeehouse," which Alice runs as Cleo Coyle at www.CoffeehouseMystery.com 

More writing duos featured in Cozy Library

There may be more I’m unaware of! I await enlightenment.