Interview with well known mystery author, Joan Hess
Mysteries because I've been a dedicated mystery reader since I was ten years old. Before I began to write them, I read an average of ten a week. I never truly understood the structure and essence of romance novels, but I do know mysteries. Trust me.
SUITE: Oh I definitely do J Did you have another occupation before you became a published author?
JOAN: I have a BA in fine arts and an MA in early childhood education. I sold real estate, somehow or other passed the state insurance exam and operated an agency (I knew nothing whatsoever), and eventually taught art at a private preschool.
SUITE: Do you have something you wish to accomplish with the things you write? i.e. enjoyment, challenging, fear...what do you want people to take away with them when they read your writing? Do you ever have a message?
JOAN: The most touching feedback I receive is from people who have told me about going through a heartbreaking ordeal and finding an escape with my novels. In ICU waiting rooms, my name is probably better known than John Grisham's. My only message is that there is humor in the human condition, that tragedy does not exclude comedy.
SUITE: What time of day do you find you are most creative?
JOAN: 10:00 pm to 4:00 am, to be candid. I do not recommend this as a lifestyle for those who prefer to live in the real world.
SUITE: What sort of things do you do for fun?
JOAN: I kill people who annoy me.
SUITE: Now that’s something a lot of people would love to get paid for doing J Do you have a favorite author/authors?
SUITE: I read very little these days, and primarily keep up with my friends, such as Elizabeth Peters, Carolyn Hart, Dorothy Cannell, and Margaret Maron. Okay, and I read Carl Hiaasen, who does not consider me a close friend (which is why, I'm sure, he won't give me a blurb -- that must be it, right???)
SUITE: How cool for me as a fan to find out 3 of my favorite authors are friends. Now I’ll have to go out and try the other authors you mentioned. Is there a book or author that influenced you a lot? Personally or professionally.
JOAN: When I decided to try to write mysteries, I thought about the kind of novels I read with relish, which were comedic from the likes of Charlotte MacLeod, Elizabeth Peters, Simon Brett, Robert Barnard, etc. I'd always admired the nippy satire
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