A couple of their exchanges:
Your books have such intricate plots. Do you tinker with them as you go along?Read the complete Q & A.
The plotting is normally done before I begin writing, but the plot does change during the writing. Sometimes new ideas come and the characters behave rather differently from howI thought they'd behave. The plot becomes quite richer that way. I never really get the book I thought I would at the end.
Does technology get in the way of plotting murder mysteries? Everyone has cellphones now so people don't have to, say, drive through the rain to relay a message.
You're absolutely right. Cellphones have been a real problem to me. And DNA, of course. Everything has changed with cellphones and DNA. Now, for example, there could be a clue that A made a telephone call to B at a certain time, but he could have been on his cellphone in the next room. In the old days if he made it from a certain number at home, you'd know where he was.
--Marshal Zeringue