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AN INTERVIEW WITH... JOAN HALL by Barbara Hodges
Joan Hall Hovey has been called the female, Stephen King and I would have to agree. Her stories keep you up into the night if you are a bedtime reader like I am, or I can see them stealing time away from, oh let’s say, washing dishes or vacuuming the floor’ As well as writing award-winning suspense novels, Joan’s articles and short stories have appeared in The Toronto Star, Atlantic Advocate, Seek, Home Life Magazine, Mystery Scene, The New Brunswick Reader, Fredericton Gleaner, New Freeman and Kings County Record. Her short story Dark Reunion was selected for the anthology investigating Women, Published by Simon & Pierre. She has held workshops and given talks at various schools and libraries in her area, including New Brunswick Community College, and taught a course in creative writing at the University of New Brunswick. She is also a tutor with Winghill School in Ottawa for aspiring writers. Joan is a member of the Writer's Federation of New Brunswick, past regional Vice-President of Crime Writers of Canada, Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She lives in New Brunswick Canada, on the banks of the beautiful Kennebecasis River, with her husband Mel and dog, Scamp. The author also enjoys playing the piano, although admittedly, not very well. Currently, she is working on her latest suspense novel.
Joan’s suspense novels are all available at Amazon.com in both print and Kindle formats. Chill Waters Nowhere to Hide Listen to the Shadows Night Corridor
BMH: Tell us your favorite joke. Make it a clean one. JHH: Okay. How do you know if an elephant's been in your refrigerator? Answer: footprints in the butter. Now you know my silly side, and my age too. JHH: What time is it? BMH: How many hours of sleep do you get (on average)? JHH: 6 hours. BMH: Describe your level of ambition. JHH: I'm not terribly ambitious in terms of career, especially as I grow older. But I am driven to write stories. And then you must promote your novels so that readers know they're out there. BMH: You're president of the United States for enough time to only make one executive decision. What is it? JHH: I'd have all the world leaders together in a room, including those we may not like, and talk about world peace. BMH: What's a common and accepted practice for Americans nowadays that you think we'll look back on with regret? JHH: Our easy acceptance of pornography. It demeans both women and men and renders love making not terribly special.
BMH: What would you attempt to do if you knew that you could not fail? JHH: If I knew I couldn't fail there would be no challenge, and I probably wouldn't do it. BMH: Describe a few pet peeves of yours. JHH: It's not a peeve exactly, but I don't like being around people who are negative. Or who say things like: If I had time, I'd write a novel too. Which suggests that the author hasn't anything else to do but write novels, or that you're selfish for indulging yourself that way. BMH: How often do you Google yourself? JHH: When I was new to the internet and had just put up my website I was always googling to see if my website would come up, but these days, hardly ever. BMH: What do you know now that you wished someone had told you ten years ago? JHH: That most people don't care whether you write your novel or not, they've got their own lives to think about. And if you're novel is not available, they'll find another author they like and read their books. This frees you to write the book you want to write. Don't compete with other authors: that way lays madness. There is always someone more talented, slimmer, younger and richer. BMH: What childhood event shaped or scarred you the most? JHH: When my little sister drowned at 11 years of age. I was 15. That same year I lost my beloved grandmother in a house fire. BMH: Why did you choose to write suspense fiction? JHH: I believe suspense fiction chose me rather than the other way around. I am drawn to the dark side of the human psyche and read voraciously in the genre, though not exclusively. Growing up, there wasn't a scary movie I didn't see or book I hadn't read. The genre is very flexible, and allows me to be creative and imaginative and true. I want to give the reader a roller coaster ride an ending that's satisfying, believable, but not predictable. BMH: Did you try other genres? JHH: Not with the novels, but I have written for the confession magazines, other short stories and articles. 'The Dreamer' a coming of age short story was published in the now Defunct Atlantic Advocate. My novels often overlap various genres – paranormal and horror with a thread of romance. JHH: I could live without TV, but I'd miss American Idol. BMH: Be gossiped about or never talked about at all? JHH: I don't think in these terms. But I would like my books to be discussed. -:) BMH: Do you blog? If so, why and what do you usually blog about? JHH: I rarely blog unless I'm invited. And then I always feel very lucky to be asked because it pushes me to do this. I've made a commitment and I keep my word . It's also a great way to find out what you think about things. BMH: Do you enjoy doing promotion? JHH: I enjoy some aspects of it. I like meeting readers at signings or speaking at the library. BMH: What’s the oddest thing you’ve ever done to promote your work? JHH: I gone into bookstores and like a thief in the night, put my book in front of others, face up. Not so odd and not original, but bold. BMH: What’s the strangest fan question/request you’ve ever gotten? JHH: One fan wanted me to sign a copy of my book 'Especially for the bitch', for a friend of hers. I begged off, of course. BMH: Respond to these pairings and tell why you respond the way you do:
JHH: I bore easily, so I like standalones. I want new characters in the next book, whether I'm reading it or writing it.
JHH: On a need to know basis. BMH: How have you grown as a writer? BMH: What has gotten better? JHH: I've become quieter inside so that I can hear and see my characters more clearly. I'm more focused. BMH: What things have you dropped along the way? JHH: Nothing I'm aware of, but I'm sure there are some things I no longer do. BMH: What helped most in your growth as a writer? JHH: Reading voraciously, practice, being centered. BMH: What historical or present day famous figure would you like to have dinner with? JHH: Charlotte Bronte. BMH: What would you talk about? JHH: The writing of Jane Eyre. I'd want to know all about her great unrequited love in her life. She would probably not be likely to share that with me. Which is why she gave all her passion to Jane. BMH: What book do you wish you had written? JHH: No regrets. I'm happy with those I wrote. Although I admire many fine authors. BMH: Do you have children, grandchildren? JHH: Yes, I have four children, nine grandchildren (eight of them lovely young women, the last one a boy) and one grandson. BMH: What would you say to them if they told you they wanted to be authors? JHH: My youngest son is very interested in writing, and I'm thrilled about that. I'd tell any young writer: If you're getting into it because you think that's a great way to get rich, you're in for a disappointment. Write for the sheer joy of it.
BMH: What advice do you wish someone had given you when you first started out on the path to being an author? JHH: I sought out great advice by reading Writer's Digest, The Writer. I bought books for writers and those authors taught me a lot. I read scads of articles about how difficult getting published is. Someone said only 2% of author submissions to publishing houses get accepted. I truly expected my book would be one of them. And that's because I did all my home work before I sent it. I wrote the book to the best of my ability, polished it within an inch of its life, found a publisher (Zebra/Kensington NY) who published the sort of book I had written and followed their guidelines to the letter. BMH: What is the worst and best advice you’ve received about writing? JHH: Go write a best seller. BMH: What surprised you most about your writing journey? JHH: That like life, it is a journey. And you never know where it might take you. A great way to meet people of like mind and heart. To teach, and learn something along the way. BMH: Where can we find your books? JHH: Amazon.com barnesandnoble.com both Paperback and Ebook, as well as Smashwords.com all formats.
BMH: What are you working on now? JHH: Another suspense novel titled 'The Abduction of Mary Rose'. Writing the second draft.
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