Here's an article that appeared in the Crescenta Valley Sun on November 9, 2007


The more she writes, the more she loves it

Self published La Crescenta crime writer shares characteristics with her lead character.

She’s described as "a trim woman, in her early sixties" with "salt and pepper hair" and an "athletic spring to her movements, [that] radiated elegance."

If you read the books and meet the lady, you’ll have a hard time discerning which is which — the author or her private eye character whose air and demeanor radiate that same elegance and sprightly step.

La Crescenta’s own Alice Zogg claims R.A. Huber, the fictional character in her series of mystery crime novels, isn’t really an alter ego. But, you might get a different response if you ask her friends. "The ones that know me well say of course she’s me, but I don’t see it," Zogg said. "There are some similarities, but the difference, for one thing, is that she’s right in the action. With me, it’s all make-believe."

Zogg’s newest book, "The Fall of Optimum House," allows the novelist to vicariously solve crimes through Huber, much as Zogg might have done if she’d become a private investigator. That’s something she’d liked to have done as young woman. Now, the 65-year-young author is doing what she loves. "The more I write, the more I love writing," she said.

Zogg was born Alice Rutz in Zurich, Switzerland. She moved to New York at 19 for what she thought would be a short-term opportunity to see the world.

A few months later, she met Wilfried Zogg, who also had moved to New York from Switzerland. The two fell in love and were married within a year. In 1967, the couple moved to Southern California, where they reared their two daughters.

Sitting in the kitchen of her La Crescenta home, one might not guess this is her fifth novel. But, that’s the way she likes things. In fact, given the opportunity for fame and fortune, she’d prefer a simple life, "at least at this point in my life, maybe if I was younger," she said, pausing and looking off into the distance for a moment before adding, "But, no, I don’t want to speculate."

She chooses to self-publish her books because she can write when she feels like it, not on a strict schedule, without planned book tours and a lot of promotion. "I’ve checked into getting an agent and finding a publisher, but it’s all so much work and so much stress. I like things this way. I don’t need to make a living and I don’t want to make life stressful," she said.

Zogg is retired from secretarial work and enjoys spending time with her family. Her husband is a retired engineer. She said her books aren’t really a profitable business, but her passion for writing and plotting her books makes it worth her time and energy. "I sell some books at Barnes and Noble and Amazon, but I do this more because it gives me an outlet," she said. "I can’t just write and not publish, that would be dumb."

Zogg’s primary cast of characters in the R.A. Huber books remains fairly constant, but in her newest novel, Zogg added a young assistant for Huber. "She’s a very young, dynamic assistant, I decided to give [Huber] a sidekick. But, she’s not based on anyone. She’s totally made up in my mind," Zogg said.

Huber’s husband, Peter, is "not really based on" Zogg’s husband. "Oh, his appearance maybe, he has a mustache and a light head of hair and my husband has a mustache and a light head of hair. But, I totally invented Peter," she insists.

Zogg draws on her own experiences for her books. For example, she quit smoking 18 months ago, and Huber’s character quit smoking in the newest novel. She adds characters and crafts her stories based on people she meets with hobbies. "I interview them and then use them. I also have a friend who’s a retired nurse and I use her for research and medical advice for my novels," she said.

Although she has read hundreds of mystery who-dun-its, writing her first novel was a challenge, Zogg said. "I struggled with my first novel, but I’ve been told my writing keeps getting better with each book," she said, adding that she has two proofreaders who make suggestions and help with anything that doesn’t work grammatically.

Her insecurities as a writer caused her to ask her now-mentor, retired editor Charles Watry if publishing her first book was worth the trouble. "He critiqued and made me do some changes, but he said "It’s worth reading," and that was just wonderful," she said. "I’d thought if he had said, ‘Don’t even try,’ I’d have had to go back to gardening or something else to occupy my time."