by Anne Perry
Q. Now that you have two long-running series—the Pitt mysteries as well as the more recent William Monk novels—you write two complete books a year. How do you organize your writing time?
A. Organizing my time? I love working. I usually begin around nine A.M., break for half an hour’s lunch, work again until five P.M. or six P.M., have supper, and often go back for an hour or three in the evening. Monday to Saturday. No one is driving me to this. I do it from choice.
I plan a book in considerable detail long before I start Chapter One, etc. I brainstorm with my assistant, who picks all the holes she can, and then we mend them (I hope). Usually a full single space, legal page per chapter—twelve or thirteen chapters. That may be done up to a year before I start. I like to have two or three in hand.
Q. Do you have a favorite character in your novels?
A. A favorite character? Whomever I am working on at the time. Of all of them, if I have to choose—possibly Great-aunt Vespasia.
Q. In the Monk series, the protagonist is plagued by a faulty memory—sometimes inopportunely faulty. Do you plan to have Monk fully regain his memory, or will he always be troubled by partial amnesia?
A. No, Monk is not going to regain all his memory. Two reasons: I believe it is medically unlikely, and I have far too much pleasure dealing him his past a card at a time to spoil it by dealing the cards all at once. Then I could not spring any surprises.
Q. Some of your novels are being adapted for television. Please tell us about that. And how do you feel about your creations being interpreted by flesh-and-blood actors?
A. I am delighted to say that The Cater Street Hangman has been filmed for TV, as a pilot for a series, we hope. I think they have done a superb job, everyone involved, but particularly the casting director, who could have taken the actors out of my imagination and given them flesh. The physical appearances are all exactly as I would have wished, but far more important, the spirit is there. I am totally delighted. It is a most extraordinary thrill to see what has been inside your head become real in front of you.
Q. You also write short fiction, notably a story in Ballantine’s Canine Crimes anthology. For you, does the writing process change when you turn to the shorter form?
A. I enjoy writing short stories, from the totally light, and I hope funny, stories like “Daisy and the Archaeologists” in Canine Crimes, through to the dark and tragic mystery, such as the one called “Heroes,” set in the trenches of World War One. Yes, the writing process has to be tighter, the plot cannot be fudged at all, and there is little time to set an atmosphere. But drama does not change, nor does dialogue or character—and perhaps not mystery either. You still need a crime, some detection, and an honest resolution.
Q. In your spare time, what writers do you read?
A. Whom do I read? I have just been rereading a little Dante, a lot of poetry, sometimes fantasy, and am about to start a book given me today about religious versus humanist ethics.
I also enjoy all sorts of mysteries, particularly present-day American—as far from my own as possible!
Find out more about whodunit! For sample chapters from current and upcoming Ballantine mysteries, visit us at www.ballantinebooks.com/mystery
Don’t miss the next
Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novel:
BEDFORD SQUARE
by
ANNE PERRY
Another matchless Victorian mystery of men and women who embrace the best and the worst of human nature, where vicious lies become weapons of destruction—and dead men tell no lies.
Published by Ballantine Books.
Available at a bookstore near you.
If you enjoyed this exciting
Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novel,
why not go back to the beginning?
THE CATER STREET HANGMAN
THE FIRST CHARLOTTE AND THOMAS PITT NOVEL
by Anne Perry
While the Ellison girls were out paying calls one afternoon, a maid in their own household was strangled to death. Quiet young Inspector Pitt found no one above suspicion—and his investigation at the staid Ellison home caused many a composed façade to crumble into panic.
But it was not panic beating in the heart of Charlotte Ellison, and something more than brutal murder was on Inspector Pitt’s mind. Yet a romance between a society girl and a common policeman was impossible—especially during an investigation of murder….
Published by Fawcett Books.
Available at your local bookstore.
A BREACH OF PROMISE
An Inspector William Monk Novel
by Anne Perry
Stripping away the pretty masks that conceal society’s darkest transgressions, Anne Perry unflinchingly exposes the human heart’s deepest hiding places—and creates the most mesmerizing courtroom drama of her distinguished career.
Published by Fawcett Books.
Available at your local bookstore.
MYSTERY
ON THE INTERNET
Subscribe to the
Mystery on the Internet
e-newsletter—and receive all these
fabulous online features directly
in your e-mail inbox:
• Previews of upcoming books
• In-depth interviews with mystery authors and publishing insiders
• Calendars of signings and readings for Ballantine mystery authors
• Profiles of mystery authors
• Mystery quizzes and contests
Two easy ways to subscribe:
Go to www.ballantinebooks.com/mystery
or send a blank e-mail to
[email protected].
Mystery on the Internet—the mystery e-newsletter
brought to you by Ballantine Books
