Countdown to Malice Domestic 2012--Anne Hillerman

This is another post in the countdown to the 2012 Malice Domestic Conference in Bethesda, MD. from April 27-29. I am featuring the writers who will sit on a panel I'm moderating called "Have Gun Will Travel: Mysteries Set Out West." This panel will take place form 10:40-11:30 a.m. in the Diplomat/Ambassador rooms. If you're attending Malice, join us!

Anne Hillerman will attend Malice this year to accept an award for her father, deceased mystery great, Tony Hillerman, and to join in honoring his contributions to the mystery field. Anne is, however, a writer herself with a number of nonfiction books published and is writing a mystery novel (which I can't wait to read). She'll sit on the panel to discuss a book she and her photographer husband, Don Strel, published about the landscape through which her father's famous characters move, Tony Hillerman's Landscape: On the Road with Chee and Leaphorn. 

Here's a link to learn more about Anne's books and to order them.

Anne Hillerman Bio

Anne Hillerman is the author of the award-winning Tony Hillerman's Landscape: On the Road with Chee and Leaphorn and seven other books. Tony Hillerman's Landscape was honored as the best photo book of 2010 by the Mountains and Plains Booksellers. 

Together with husband/photographer Don Strel, she has just finished a project with the University of New Mexico Press---an introduction and new photographs for a re-issue of mystery giant Tony Hillerman's book of non-fiction essays, The Great Taos Bank Robbery. In her introduction, Anne talks about growing up as one of Hillerman's six children. She and Don also collaborated on Gardens of Santa Fe, which was a finalist for the prestigious Eric Hoffer Award, as well as earning a New Mexico Book Award and first place honors from the National Federation of Press Women and New Mexico Press Women. The duo presents on their books frequently. 

 Anne's other books also include: Santa Fe Flavors: Best Restaurants and Recipes (winner of the 2009 New Mexico Book Award), The Insider's Guide to Santa Fe, Children's Guide to Santa Fe, Done in the Sun, and Ride the Wind: USA to Africa. 

In more than twenty years as a journalist, she worked as editorial page editor for the Albuquerque Journal North and the Santa Fe New Mexican, and as an arts editor for both papers. 

Since 2001, Anne has been the Northern New Mexico food critic for the Albuquerque Journal, New Mexico's largest newspaper. She writes about a different restaurant each week; you can catch her reviews each Friday in the "Venue" section. Her job takes her to Four Star food palaces and tasty little dives, up to Espanola and Taos and out Cerrillos and Madrid way. Her reviews have won first place honors from the National Federation of Press Women. Her book Santa Fe Flavors grew from this experience. Anne is often asked to volunteer to judge food-related events including the Girl Scout Cookie Caper, featuring desserts created from Girl Scout cookies. Now that's a sweet job!

In addition to working on a new book, Anne is a director of Wordharvest Writers Workshops and the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference both of which she helped to establish in 2001.The Tony Hillerman Writers Conference is held in November in Santa Fe. Click for more information about the conference and Wordharvest.

Anne, your nonfiction books have been focused on a sense of place and lifestyle (cooking, gardens). Will these concerns be central to your mysteries, as well?

A sense of place, definitely. The first mystery in this news series moves more of the action to Santa Fe, NM, although it also includes the Navajo reservation. As for food and gardening, I love them both so my characters will have to go along with that. By the way, Jim Chee, one of my Dad's famous detectives, is becoming quite the cook.

What's your writing process? What is a typical writing day like for you? Do you keep to a set schedule? What are your writing habits?

For fiction, on good days I spend the morning working on new material and the afternoon for my other business projects. I try to keep a set schedule, have my husband screen calls, etc. I'm a slow writers, easily tempted by the siren call of "more research."

Non-fiction is a different animal. I work on those projects in sections rather than in a linear fashion which keeps the writing, and my interest, fresher and enables me to work longer days.

What projects, literary or otherwise, are occupying you at the moment?

I'm on the fifth revision of my mystery, working title Spider Woman's Daughter.

I'm revising a proposal for a non-fiction book my photographer husband and I want to create together.

I'm leading three tours in 2012 for Road Scholar (formerly Elderhostel) based on my book "Tony Hillerman's Landscape: On the Road with Chee and Leaphorn."

I'm organizing book launch events for the re-vised edition of Dad's non-fiction essays, The Great Taos Bank Robbery, for which I did a new intro and my photographer husband Don did the photos.

I write weekly restaurant reviews for the Albuquerque Journal. That's a great gig!

I'm the co-founder of Wordharvest Writers Workshops,www.wordharvest.com, and in that capacity I'm helping coordinate one-day writing workshops this spring and summer and putting together the annual Tony Hillerman Conference. At the conference, we offer two awards in honor of my Dad: The Tony Hillerman Prize for Best First Mystery with St. Martin's Press and the Tony Hillerman Mystery Short Story prize, in collaboration with New Mexico Magazine.

I'm also working with Santa Fe Botanical Gardens to help lasso some business members to support Santa Fe's first-ever botanic garden, now being built.

I also love to walk with my dog, take yoga classes, pull a few weeds in what passes for my garden, experiment in the kitchen, and ski.

Who were your literary influences growing up? Are there any authors (living or dead) that you would name as influences?

Like most writers, I've always loved to read. I inhaled Walter Farley's Black Stallion books which, when I look back on them, combined elements of thriller and mystery in a gentle way. I read the Edith Nesbit series which started with "The Five Children and It," Nancy Drew, of course, although I would have liked more action in those stories. My Dad was a great storyteller and invented bedtimes stories for me and my siblings every night with us as the central characters. My Mother has the most wonderful curious and active mind, and always talked to us about what she was reading. What would life be without these wonderful stories?

What inspired you to write your first book? Had you always wanted to be a writer?

My first book, "Done in the Sun," was a collection of solar energy experiments for K-third graders. I was inspired by the idea that it might make some money to supplement my salary as a reporter, and that it was something new for me to learn. After that, the ideas came from my passions---travel books about Santa Fe, N.M., a place I love--"Santa Fe Flavors," restaurants and recipes I'd encountered in my career as a restaurant reviewer. Etc.

Do you belong to a critique group of other authors. Do you find it helpful? In what ways?

When I'm ready--or stuck---I show my work to my long-standing critique group of two other published writers. They show me no mercy, but in a respectful and funny way. They see problems I didn't even think of. I don't always take their advice, but I always consider it. Sometimes their recommendations help me come up with great new ideas, better than any of us would have developed individually.

What is your advice to aspiring writers? How important is it for a young writer to be a reader? What would you recommend they read?

If you want to write, you have to read. I'd recommend they read anything and everything that interests them, fiction, non-fiction, poetry. I'd also recommend that if a book doesn't engage them by the third chapter or so, move on to something else. If you love something, consider what makes it wonderful and find an idea or two for your own process.

What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned in your writing career? What has been the hardest part about being a writer?

Because of the Hillerman name, the most surprising thing I've learned is how many lives my Dad touched in so many ways. I'm always honored when people share their stories of him with me, and I hope to hear some new ones at Malice Domestic in May. The hardest thing for me are those days when writing is work instead of pleasure. Sticking with it until it becomes fun again. Also, I enjoy socializing, and writing is a solitary pursuit.

A Poem for National Poetry Month

For National Poetry Month, I thought I'd post one of my poems. And a photo of the very real mammal that inspired the poem.

 

THE AMAZON RIVER DOLPHIN

The sudden pink shape

surfacing in black-water lagoons

shocked explorers of the Amazon-River basin.

All dolphins share man’s thumb and fingerbones,

but these also wear his flesh.

When the river overflows

each rainy season and floods the varzea,

these dolphins travel miles from the channel

to splash in the shallows

amongst buttress-roots of giant

rainforest trees, never stranding themselves.

The waters abate, trapping fish,

dolphins never.

Local legends claim a lamp burning dolphin oil

blinds. At night

the pink-flesh contours melt and blur.

The flipper extends the hidden hand

to lift its woman’s torso

to the land. An Eve,

born each night from the black Amazon,

roams the dark banks for victims to draw

to the water and death.

Taboo to the Indians,

this pink daughter of the river’s magic

always looks, to explorers,

like she’s smiling.

Published in Heart’s Migration (Tia Chucha Press, 2009)

Also, there's news about Every Last Secret at these links--Barnes & Noble mystery must-reads for April, Book Bitch Book Blog thriller giveaway, La Bloga feature.

Countdown to Malice Domestic 2012-Casey Daniels

Malice Domestic 24, the national mystery conference, begins Friday, April 27 in Bethesda, MD. I'll be moderating one panel on Saturday, April 28, "Have Gun Will Travel: Mysteries Set Out West" from 10:40-11:30 a.m. Then, on Sunday, April 29, I will be a panelist on "Well-Schooled in Murder: Academic Mysteries" from 11:10 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. Afterward at 12:05 p.m., I will have a signing for Every Last Secret. I'm all excited to head out to Malice Domestic again, so periodically I'll post profiles of those sitting on the panel I will moderate and guest blogs from the other panelists and moderator Judy Hogan on the panel on Sunday. I think you'll enjoy learning about these writers who are often very different from each other and from me.

We've already had a guest blog from Camille Minichino, who sits with me on the academic mystery panel. Today, I have a profile of Casey Daniels to share with you. Casey is one of the panelists on the western mystery panel I'll moderate on Saturday by virtue of her current Pepper Martin novel, Wild, Wild Death, much of which takes place in New Mexico, but most of the Pepper Martin books take place in Cincinnatti and in this one, Pepper is definitely not happy with her forced trip to the Southwest!

Casey Daniels Bio

I learned to love mysteries early thanks to my dad, a Cleveland Police detective who enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes stories and spent his days off searching for stolen cars. Often on those trips, I was in the back seat and to this day, I have Dad to thank for my knowledge of some less-than-savory parts of the city. Later, I read my way through every mystery story I could get my hands on. Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle are still among my favorites.

I have a degree in English, experience as a journalist and writing teacher, and lots of ideas for more Pepper Martin mysteries. When I’m not writing, I’m usually with my family and our two dogs, Ernie, an adorable Airedale pup, and Oscar, a rescued Jack Russell who spends far too much time watching TV. I enjoy knitting, gardening and of course, stomping through cemeteries in search of history, stories and inspiration.

For those new to your series, can you describe your mysteries? What was your inspiration for your series? How would you describe it to someone who has not read any of your previous novels?

I actually currently write two mystery series (with two more coming). As Casey Daniels, I write the Pepper Martin mysteries, and as Kylie Logan, I write the Button Box mysteries.  Since our focus at Malice is Western-themed mysteries and since Pepper Martin mystery #8, "Wild, Wild Death," is set mostly in New Mexico, I'll stick to that series!

Can I describe the Pepper Martin mysteries? Well, I've heard it described as Sex and the City meets Six Feet Under.  What that means is that they're about a 20-something cemetery tour guide in Cleveland who solves mysteries for the ghosts in her cemetery.  My inspiration?  I love cemeteries!  And I actually once applied for a job as a tour guide in a historic cemetery.  I didn't get the job, but I got the idea for the series.  A pretty good trade-off in my opinion!

I would describe the series as light and sassy with just enough of the paranormal to keep things interesting. Still a mystery, start to finish, but with a little dose of bump-in-the-night.

What's your writing process? What is a typical writing day like for you? Do you keep to a set schedule? What are your writing habits?

Writing is my fulltime job and yes, I do try to keep to a schedule.  At least until life gets in the way!  I write all day, five days a week.  I'll write on weekends, too, if I have a deadline breathing down my neck.  I'm one of those writers who follow the 45-minute rule: I set a clock for 45 minutes and in that time, all I'm allowed to do is write (no email, no Spider Solitaire).  At the end of the 45 minutes, I get 15 minutes to do whatever I want.  This works well for me and I write more pages per day than I used to before I started this routine.

What projects, literary or otherwise, are occupying you at the moment?

Ah, there's always a literary project and for this, I am grateful!  Book #9 in the Pepper Martin series ("Supernatural Born Killers") will be out in September, and I've just finished book #3 in the Button Box series (#2, Hot Button, will be out in June).  Right now, I'm starting into a new series that will premier from Berkley Prime Crime next year. 

As for non-literary projects, I am proud to say I just got my tapestry loom up and running.  I inherited it about two years ago and pretty much had nothing to go on as far as assembly and use except some very poor instructions and some worse photos.  Days of simply staring at it helped and ever so slowly, I've figured it out.  Actually wove a small sample piece over the weekend. 

I'm also knee deep into family history.  Love looking into the lives of ancestors and that makes sense, of course, since it's like piecing together a mystery.

Who were your literary influences growing up? Are there any authors (living or dead) that you would name as influences?

My dad was a Cleveland police detective, and he loved Sherlock Holmes stories, so they were my first introduction to mystery. Have always loved the classics, like Christie, and I'm a big Elizabeth Peters fan.  Love her combination of humor and intelligence.

What inspired you to write your first novel? Had you always wanted to be a writer?

I actually started my career writing historical romance, and I was inspired to do it just to find out if it was possible.  Had always thought of writing fiction, didn't think I could do it.  Finally woke up and told myself if I didn't try, I'd never know.  To date, I've published 40 novels.

Do you belong to a critique group of other authors. Do you find it helpful? In what ways?

No, I don't belong to a critique group.  Not that I have anything against them (if it's the right group with the right people and the right attitude), I simply don't have time.

What is your advice to aspiring writers? How important is it for a young writer to be a reader? What would you recommend they read?

Read everything, in your genre and outside it.  Read classic books.  Read bad books.  Read what's being published now because that will give you an idea of what editors are currently looking for.  After that, my advice is to write, and to always, always remember that writing is mostly re-writing.  I run into so many people who want to write but who think if their work isn't perfect the first time, something must be wrong and they're simply not meant to be writers.  Wrong!!!  Write and re-write and re-work and re-shape.  Remind yourself that nothing is written in stone and that just like no one sits down at the piano for the first time and starts playing Chopin (except maybe for Chopin), no one sits down for the first time to write fiction and does everything perfectly.  It's a learning process, and the only way to learn is to do.

What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned in your writing career? What has been the hardest part about being a writer?

Wow, I've learned so many surprising things.  The most valuable thing: writing is a business.  At least if you're writing to get published.  So you can, say, write the most fabulous and the cleverest book in the world, and that book might not get published if it isn't what editors are looking for.  If publication is your goal, know your market and keep up with trends. 

The hardest part of being a writer?  Sitting down and writing!  There is that tapestry loom, after all, and a million other distractions.  It's hard to keep on task. It's hard to keep motivated.  That's why they call it work.

A Literary Festival in Iowa City and Two Poems

Last weekend, Ben and I drove up to Iowa City to set up a table at the book fair of a big music and literary festival they were having, Mission Creek Festival. The photo at left is of the coffee shop that shares space with the great independent bookstore, Prairie Lights. One of the things I love about Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa and the Iowa Writers Workshop, is that it's one of the most bookish towns you'll ever visit. Renowned poets and writers have their names engraved in the sidewalks downtown. You find people reading books in public everywhere you go.

We stopped at youngest son Joseph's apartment to spend the night, only to find he'd turned in his dissertation that afternoon. This called for celebration. Joseph's been battling the diss for a year and a half. His normally huge smile is back, and it's obvious a weight has been removed from his shoulders.

Next morning, we headed out to the book fair, and as soon as we had unloaded the boxes of books, catalogs, and subscription cards for New Letters and BkMk Press, Ben headed to Cedar Rapids to catch a plane for Boston. One of the books he'd published, We Are Taking Only What We Need (BkMk Press, 2011) by Stephanie Powell Watts, had been named a finalist for the Hemingway Foundation PEN Award, and the award ceremony would take place the next day.



Fortunately for me, almost-Dr. Joseph helped me at the book fair all day. That evening, I was scheduled to read at an event at Prairie Lights, and we scrambled to make it there in time. This was a reading in honor of New Letters, the award-winning literary magazine.


We had a large crowd show up for the reading with a number of people having to stand throughout. They were a wonderful, receptive audience, also. That's another of the things I like about Iowa City!

In honor of National Poetry Month, I thought I'd post two of the poems I read last weekend.

OKLAHOMA POEM

(for Jim Barnes)

In his first words, I can hear Oklahoma,

the hill country way back behind his talk

about teaching French literature in translation,

as if I have gone home, drifted back

through all the years to that childhood place I fled.

I have described it to others

as the armpit of the nation,

when I was young and not long free

of its windy roads and redbud trees and overgrown

hills, still hurt and bitter

about things Oklahoma had little to do with,

beyond being the last place to stand

for a people and the place where one of them

was born and the place where he left

his wife and kids. The last two events were

what ate at me, and they could have

happened anywhere.

Only the first was unique

to Oklahoma, the old Indian territory

where my ancestors limped off the Trail of Tears

to join other tribes forced from their homes

by other ancestors of mine,

founded the Cherokee Female Seminary

at Tahlequah and a newspaper

all over again,

were finally forced to give up their lands

so rich ranchers could take the best parts

of the reservation and leave the hilly, scrub lands

to my great-grandparents, great-aunts, grand-uncles,

and Grandma.

What does any of this have to do with me now

all these years and miles away?

Me, with the broad squaw face,

as my father, from whom it came, called it?

When I hear Jim say about Oklahoma

(as one refugee to another), “We both got out,

but it’s still inside—it settles in you,”

I know he’s right, Oklahoma in more than his voice,

in the way he makes light of misfortune,

in his penchant for poking fun

at pretensions, his own and others’.

Oklahoma’s settled in us both.

And through the echoes in his voice of its turtledoves

and winds and sky that could pull you off your feet

into infinity if you didn’t have troubles to weigh you down

to the earth, I make my peace with it

and come home.

Published in Heart’s Migration (Tia Chucha Press, 2009)

MEETING HECATE

How I fear the witch in me,

the one in touch

with power, the one who knows

without knowing

how, the secret

priestess, spirit-bearer, the ugly side

of woman, the crone—

and I remember the Cherokee

legend of Stoneskin, superhuman

cannibal, devouring whole

villages, how the People

set up a fortress of women

menstruating, how the sight

of each weakened Stoneskin

until he died and, dying, told them

all the secrets, ways

of power, conjure spells, ways

to do things. The Cherokee live

off the wisdom

of a dying monster and the power

of bleeding women, and they remember

this. There is a witch somewhere

in every woman.

Published in Heart’s Migration (Tia Chucha Press, 2009)