By Gerald Hausman
Santa
Fe, NM, USA
Anne Hillerman’s fourth novel, Cave of Bones, was released in April
2018, and quickly became a New York Times
bestseller. She is an award-winning novelist and the daughter of famed writer, Tony
Hillerman.
GERALD
HAUSMAN: When, and why, did you begin
to write novels?
ANNE
HILLERMAN: I began after Tony Hillerman
died, probably toward the end of 2009, because I missed both my father and his
great stories and characters.
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| Anne Hillerman (credit: Kitty Leaken) |
GERALD
HAUSMAN: How difficult was it to switch
from journalistic writing to pure fiction?
ANNE
HILLERMAN: The hardest thing for me was
envisioning a longer, more complicated story than I was used to and plotting to
create a mystery where clues revealed themselves at the proper pace. The
characters and dialogue were easier. I think they grew naturally from my
long-time exposure to a variety of people in a variety of situations.
GERALD
HAUSMAN: Is there such a thing as pure
fiction?
ANNE
HILLERMAN: I don’t think so. If
characters and situations spring from real life, perhaps twisty or idealized,
but close enough to something seen, experienced or imagined, then readers can
relate. Otherwise, there’s no attraction to the story.
GERALD
HAUSMAN: When did you feel that you
were comfortable continuing, in a sense, the “Hillerman” brand of novel?
ANNE
HILLERMAN: I was pleased with my first
novel, Spider Woman’s Daughter, after
my editors and I thrashed out a score of changes that made it better and taught
me a lot about the art of writing mysteries. I was more comfortable as a
novelist when that book won the Western Writers of American Spur Award as best
first novel of the year. But I wouldn’t say I’m “comfortable.” Each book
challenges me, and I enjoy pushing my self-imposed limitations.
GERALD
HAUSMAN: What things do you do from a
feminine perspective that your father might not have done?
ANNE
HILLERMAN: My books focus more on
relationships – crucial to police work –
as a way to deepen the suspense and mystery. That may be a gender issue,
although many male writers do this very well. There are other differences but not so much connected to gender as
to the changes in technology that make the Navajo world less isolated than back
in the 1970s when Dad started the series.
GERALD
HAUSMAN: What is most liberating about
being a fiction writer?
ANNE HILLERMAN: Fiction offers so many options. You can change course in midstream if you do it carefully. This is harder to do with nonfiction.
GERALD
HAUSMAN: Tony once said that he often
forgot, in the writing, what color shirt a man was wearing when he entered a
room. He added that he sometimes got roads wrong, simply forgetting some detail
of direction. Does this ever happen to you?
ANNE
HILLERMAN: Yep, it happens all the time.
That’s why I am grateful for good copy editors and early readers who try to
keep me straight. Even with that, dumb mistakes creep in. I won’t embarrass
myself further by repeating them here.
GERALD
HAUSMAN: As far as being a writer, what
is the chalice, the highest thing you might wish to reach for?
ANNE
HILLERMAN: Nothing highfalutin. I want each book to be
better than the last, more tightly written, more irresistible, more memorable, more
creative.
GERALD
HAUSMAN: Do you ever feel that it would
be possible to switch from writing altogether, and go into yet another art
form?
ANNE
HILLERMAN: Sure, but not as a profession.
I’d like to know more about music, do more singing, get back to the piano, try my
hand at photography and learn how to draw.
GERALD
HAUSMAN: Have you ever received “angry
mail” where an antagonistic reader doesn’t like what you’ve done in a certain
novel?
ANNE
HILLERMAN: Yes, but it’s rare. Most of
the complaints I get are thoughtful, polite and spot on. My readers know more
about a lot of things than I do and I appreciate their sharing that knowledge
with me, and tactfully pointing out my mistakes. Most angry criticism has come
from people so offended I would attempt to write about Tony’s characters that
they don’t bother to actually read my books. Grrrrrr. That bugs me.
GERALD
HAUSMAN: What is the nicest email or snail
mail you ever received re: your novels or nonfiction?
ANNE
HILLERMAN: After my Dad died, I got a
lovely letter from a woman who had shined his shoes at the Albuquerque Airport
when he was on his way flying here and there on book tours. She said that when
she worked up the courage to tell him she was a fan, he took her to the
bookstore there, bought a copy of his book The
Great Taos Bank Robbery for her and signed it with a personal message. I
was deeply missing my Dad at the time, and it made me feel strangely comforted
to be reminded of his generosity and kindness by a total stranger.
GERALD
HAUSMAN: Do you ever feel your dad is
looking over your shoulder?
ANNE
HILLERMAN: Yes, I do in a loving,
non-judgmental way as a spirit of encouragement. He tells me to enjoy the
process and have fun with it. I try to listen.
Links:
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Gerald Hausman is the author of Not Since Mark Twain - Stories and a regular contributor to Stay Thirsty Magazine.
