Today, Bookpleasures is pleased to have as our guest Dorothy H. Hayes author of Animal Instinct and her most recent novel Murder at the P&Z.

Good day Dorothy and thanks for participating in our interview

Norm:

How did you get started in writing? What keeps you going?

Dorothy:

When I was a kid, Norm, if something special happened I had to write it down. I also dreamed of writing books. Later, I was a reporter for a weekly then a daily newspaper. I wanted to learn the craft, with the thought of writing that great novel. Then I got a job as a staff writer for a national animal protection corporation. I wrote my first novel, Animal Instinct, from that experience. Murder at the P&Z comes from my experience as a reporter.

What keeps me going, Norm, is that I have to write. It’s my natural habitat.

Norm:

What's the most difficult thing for you about being a writer?

Dorothy:

It’s the agony and the ecstasy. You put your heart into it, it takes both joy and exhaustion. Yet, there are no guarantees that anyone will read your book. And, while you’re getting rejections, you’re writing your next book.

Norm:

As a follow up, did you learn anything from writing your books, if so, and what was it?

Dorothy:

Yes, join a writers’ group. I belong to Sisters in Crime, the New York City Chapter. It’s important to test out the material with fellow writers. Then let a professional editor go over it. The final step is allowing people to read it. Murder at the P&Z has gone through many conversions. It would never have gotten published without the feed back from fellow writers.

Norm:

Who or what has influenced your writing?


Dorothy

Great writers. Homer, Hugo, Tolstoy, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Shakespeare and so many others, to present-day writers such as Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson. I was always in awe of their talent and they helped me learn my craft.

Norm:

What do you think makes a good mystery?

Dorothy:

Suspense and emotion. Something drastic occurs at the beginning of the story, but you don’t find out why or who did it until the end. It’s that suspense that will keep you reading. Characters the reader cares about bring the story to life and before you know it you’re hooked. At least that’s what happens to me.

Norm:

Did you work from an outline when writing Murder at the P&Z and did you know the ending of the novel at the beginning?

Dorothy:

No, Norm, I’m an organic writer. I usually start with a vision and work from there. In Murder at the P&Z, I had a huge black spruce with a dead women’s body under it. The spruce was a magnificent tree in my backyard, and the woman was an incredibly wonderful person I met 20 years ago. I didn’t have a clue about the murderer.

Norm:

How much of Murder at the P&Z is realistic and how much of you is in the book?

Dorothy:

A great deal is based on my experience as a reporter covering the planning and zoning department in Wilton, Connecticut and the workings of a newsroom. You write about what you know, Norm, of course. But the story itself is pure fiction. There was no murder and no corruption.

Norm:

How did you go about creating the characters in Murder at the P&Z and how much research did you conduct before writing the novel?

Dorothy:

I thank those who followed the development of organized crime in New York and New England who provided me with a horrible but realistic villain. My main character, Carol Rossi, is pursued by him. And, I’m afraid she takes on some of my traits such as having an insatiable curiosity that gets her into trouble. The other personalities are loosely based and pieced together on those people I met as a reporter and those I discovered in my research. I love to put my stories in perspective, Norm. For instance, Wilton is a colonial town that was founded in 1726, fifty years before our independence so that history offered rich material to draw from.

Norm:

Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?


Dorothy:

Thanks to the internet, yes. The best comment is that they couldn’t put the book down, I love that, Norm. I as a writer, I must be entertained by my own characters and the material. A book takes about two years to write, you want to spend that time with characters you love and those you love to hate and rich material.

Norm:

Where can our readers find out more about you and your books?

Dorothy:

On my WEBSITE  I also write for a couple of blogs with other writers on WomenofMystery.net and Criminal Element.com. They can also Google my name and Animal Instinct or Murder at the P&Z and the above plus will come up.

Norm:

As this interview draws to a close what one question would you have liked me to ask you? Please share your answer.

Dorothy:

 What’s next, would be the question, Norm. I’m attached to the reporter turned amateur sleuth, Carol Rossi, in Murder at the P&Z and her vegan detective boyfriend, Jerry Stevenson, so much so that I can’t think of leaving them. I’m writing another book and this time a young girl; a recent graduate of Wilton High School is missing in New York City and Rossi and Jerry are devastated along with her parents, and determined to find her.

Norm:

Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors

Follow Here To Read Norm's Review of Murder at the P& Z

Follow Here To Purchase Murder at the P&Z

Check Out Some Great Deals On Amazon.com