A Visit with
Canadian Author Joan Hall Hovey
Interviewed
by Jean Henry Mead
Joan is featured
in the book, The Mystery Writers, with Sue Grafton, Lawrence Block and
other well-known and bestselling authors.
In addition to Joan Hall Hovey's critically acclaimed novels, her
articles and short stories have appeared in a number of diverse publications.
She has also held workshops and given talks at various schools and libraries,
and taught a course in creative writing at the University of New Brunswick as
well as tutoring with Winghill, a distance education school in Ottawa for
aspiring writers.
Joan, your work has been compared to Alfred Hitchcock and Stephen King. How
would you describe your suspense novels?
I'm always flattered to be compared with authors I admire, but I like to think
my own writing is unique to me. Of course being a voracious reader all my life,
I'm sure my writing has been influenced by many fine authors. We all stand on
the shoulders of those who have gone before us and paved the way. I'm a big
Stephen King fan. Other authors I enjoy are Edgar Allan Poe, Peter Straub, Ruth
Rendell and more than I can list here. It's not easy to describe one's own
novels, but I will say that I always strive to give the reader a roller coaster
ride and a satisfying conclusion. And characters that will resonate with my
reader long after the books is closed.
I like to write about ordinary women who are at a difficult time in their
lives, and are suddenly faced with an external evil force. I didn't think a
whole lot about theme until I had written a couple of books, but I realized
with the writing of Chill Waters that my books generally have to do with
betrayal and abandonment, and learning to trust again. And more important,
learning to trust oneself. Almost any good book will tell you something about
the author herself. (or himself.) You can't avoid it.
All my books are generally rooted in childhood. I draw on my life for
inspiration and an emotional connection. Then I'm off and running. The seeds
for Night Corridor, for example, were planted in my childhood. On
Sundays, I went with my grandmother to visit an aunt in the mental institution,
once called The Lunatic Asylum. She'd spent much of her life within those
walls. They said she was 'melancholy'. Though the sprawling, prison-like
building has long since been torn down, the sights, sounds and smells of the
place infiltrated the senses of the 12 year old girl I was, and never left. Night
Corridor is not about my Aunt Alice, but it was indeed inspired by her.
My latest
novel The Abduction of Mary Rose was inspired by a true story as well.
After her adopted mother dies of cancer, Naomi Waters learns from a malicious
aunt that she is a child of a brutal rape. Her birth mother, a teenager of
MicMac ancestry, lay in a coma for eight months before giving birth to Naomi,
and died five days later. Feeling angry and betrayed, but with new purpose in
her life, Naomi vows to track down the man responsible and bring him to
justice.
Are your novels set in your home territory of New Brunswick, Canada? And
what inspired them?
My novels are set in fictional towns that could be anywhere in New Brunswick or
Maine, since the flora and fauna are similar. Although I did set part of Nowhere
To Hide (Eppie Award) in New York. I researched the city but I also spent
time there. But New Brunswick, which lies on the Bay of Fundy, Canada, is part
of my DNA. And the town where I live, whose streets and hills and shops are
bred in my bones, is probably in essence where all my novels are set, whatever
fictional name I give them.
What have you stressed in your creative writing classes at the University of
New Brunswick?
I stress to students (and myself because we teach to learn) to relax and let
the story come to them. Not that you don't have to think; you do of course. But
sometimes we think too hard. Imagine, I tell them. Imagine.
Please explain the distance education school in Ottawa for aspiring writers.
I have been a tutor with Winghill School for writing for over 20 years. Most of
the correspondence is conducted over the Internet, though a few students prefer
to correspond by mail. It's a great school. I enjoy my work and get almost as
excited when my students publish as when I do myself. I'm sure I learn as much
from them as they do from me.
How has your writing evolved since your first books, Nowhere to Hide
and Listen to the Shadows.
Language is important to me, and I hope my work is always improving in some
way. Maybe the dialogue is crisper, the transitions smoother, the
characterizations deeper, but always evolving. And that comes simply from being
an avid reader of the best there is, both in my own and other genres. And
writing and writing and writing. Since I both love to read and write, it's not
a chore. Too, I like to think I've grown as a human being over the years. I've
become more insightful, more compassionate. And that reflects in your writing.
What, in your opinion constitutes a good suspense novel? And what’s more
important, character or plot?
With any novel, regardless of genre, characterization is the most important
element. Without a character readers can care about and identify with at some
level, the most ingenious plot won’t matter. That doesn’t mean your character
is without flaws, quite the contrary. Consider the late Patricia Highsmith’s
Tom Ripley. He is a ruthless killer, but we are fascinated by his complexities
and we're happy to follow him throughout the books.
In the end, I don’t think you can separate character and plot. They are
interwoven. With suspense, I am always aware of the thread in my story and I
hold it taut, letting it out a little at a time, but never letting the thread
go slack. It should grow tighter and tighter until it fairly sings. This is
what constitutes a page-turner. It’s a promise I make to my readers and one I
take very seriously. Reviews tell me I’ve succeeded for the most part, and that
makes me happy.
How has the ebook revolution affected your own work and are the electronic
versions outselling your print editions?
Absolutely. It’s totally different now. My first two novels were published by
Zebra/Kensington Books, New York, and sold thousands of books. They didn’t take
the third one and I was suddenly without a publisher. I didn’t feel up to doing
the rounds of agents and publishers again, so I went with a small Canadian publisher,
BWLPP Publishing, mainly an ebook publisher who published authors with a track
record, but also bring the books out in print.
With ebooks you promote in a totally different way, mainly on the Internet.
Although I still do book signings in my local bookstores, I can see that my
focus is different now. I’m quite sure I’ll not see those big numbers again,
and I really don’t mind. That doesn’t mean I’m not always looking for new ways
to promote the books, and without annoying people. Pretty much like most ebook
authors. Once, my books could be found in bookstores across Canada and the U.S.
That's no longer true.
Now they're available worldwide on the Internet. Sounds great, but that means
that you're vying for readers with literally thousands more writers showing up
every day, many of whom are self-publishing. Some of those books should never
have seen the light of day. But I've also found some excellent new authors
among them. We have stars like J.A. Konrath, James Scott Bell, Timothy
Hallinan, L.J. Sellers and others who are making a very good living selling
their ebooks. So in the midst of this gargantuan storefront window, you have to
somehow find a way to make your books stand out. 'Ay, there's the rub'. But the
possibilities are endless.
Describe your writing schedule.
I write in mornings when I’m freshest and the day has not yet had a chance to
intrude on the muses. I work on other things in the afternoon – tutoring,
promoting and whatever else needs doing.
Advice for aspiring suspense novelists.
Try to write true, whatever you write. Find that truth inside the fiction.
Write out of yourself. That’s important.
Thank you, Joan.