CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Mystery writer Robert Walker has a selfish reason for wanting his wife, Miranda, to write books of her own.
“It’s easier for another writer to sell someone else’s books,” he said.
Sitting across a table at Taylor Books, one of several locations in the area the pair will be signing books this summer, the two talk about how they met and how Miranda got started writing.
Walker, 60, originally from Chicago, is an established, working-class novelist — a paperback writer. He published his first book in his mid-20s, and after 35 years has 44 books under his belt, always with another one or two on the way.
Walker’s books range from horror thrillers to historical crime dramas and detective stories. Some he considers more serious than others.
“I do some of these for the paycheck,” he said, “with the hopes of paying for the art.”
Miranda got into writing more recently. A nurse, she’s worked in Charleston area hospitals for nearly 20 years. She met Robert while his mother was recovering from an illness. His mother had become ill while she was staying with his sister.
The Walkers say that from the beginning the attraction between them was very strong, but Miranda was uncomfortable with getting romantically involved with a family member of one of her patients.
After Robert’s mother was released they kept in touch, corresponding by e-mail, then by phone. Eventually, Miranda went to Chicago for a visit. Robert showed her the city. He visited her in Charleston and got to know her four children.
“I really thought that was going to kill it.” Miranda shook her head. “Four kids.”
But it didn’t. The two were wed last July.
Romance was one thing. Writing was another. Miranda was interested in writing, had always been interested in stories, but it wasn’t something she thought she could actually do.
“I hate to type,” she acknowledged.
Robert encouraged her. Miranda told stories from her daily life, from what she did as an ER nurse. She’d been in the thick of many life-and-death situations. She’d witnessed chaos and calm. Some of these experiences made for pretty good stories, Robert thought. She managed to hold his attention. He figured she could draw on her medical and sociology background. Miranda has a degree in psychology.
“I did a lot of research,” she said.
She did a lot of reading and even struck up a friendly conversation with an off-duty police officer she’d met while walking their dogs. When she wrote her book, like a lot of first-time authors, she drew on her own experiences — particularly her memories of when she lived in Baltimore.
After she was finished, Robert took a look at it, helped her polish up the draft, and they went looking for a publisher.
“She did it on her own,” Robert said.
Last fall she found an editor and a publisher. Miranda’s debut novel is called “The Well Meaning Killer,” which she says is “a suspenseful mystery and an exposé of the corruption and graft in the underbelly of our nation’s foster-care programs and systems.”
“It has happened a lot faster than I expected,” she said. “Usually, when you sell a book, it takes about a year or two to see it through to publication. That’s what I’ve heard.”
Robert nodded.
“They said they’d have this one out by the summer.” Miranda shook her head. She still can’t believe it’s really happening, but adds she’s already hard at work on a follow-up.
Meanwhile, Robert’s latest thriller, “Dead On,” is in stores.
The couple says they’re not averse to looking at each other’s work, and are considering some kind of collaboration eventually, but they tread carefully when offering advice.
“She’s had me look at stuff,” Robert said. “I’ve asked her about medical things.”
“But we don’t write each other’s stories,” Miranda said.
They each have their own side of a desk and their own laptops. The Walkers have their own writing schedules. Robert writes between teaching classes at West Virginia State University; nursing shifts at the hospital Miranda works at are 12 hours long.
They hope traveling and doing publicity for their books together will be a lot of fun — almost a couple’s activity. Miranda has been along for Robert’s book signings. She says she knows what to expect, and the two have toyed with the idea of offering the other’s book at their table, though the logistics of signing could get complicated.
“Really, nobody can sell your book better than somebody else,” Robert said.
Reach Bill Lynch at ly…@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5195.
