Meet Robin Hathaway

I'm so excited to introduce mystery author, Robin Hathaway. She kindly agreed to be interviewed on my blog, and to discuss the subject of writing.

Robin grew up in Philadelpia and married a cardiologist who bears a remarkable resemblance to her sleuth, Dr. Fenimore. They moved to the country where she started a graphic arts business, Barnhouse Press, so named because of a printing press in the barn and another in the house. They also owned nine cats, three ducks, and a dog. Soon they added two daughters, Julie and Anne. In 1997 Robin’s first novel, THE DOCTOR DIGS A GRAVE, was published by St. Martins Press, and in 1998 won an Agatha Award. Since then she has written five Dr. Fenimore and three Jo Banks novels. She is now working on a spy novel set during WWII.

Please welcome Robin.

Thanks for inviting me to your blog, Susan.

My pleasure, Robin! Thank you for being here! If you don't mind my mentioning it, you seem to have come to writing later in life. What prompted you to write your first book?

On my 50th birthday my husband said to me,“You’ve always wanted to write a novel. Don’t you think it’s about time you started?” I began the next day.

Well,  your loyal readers are very thankful to your husband then! What drew you to writing mysteries as opposed to some other genre?

I’ve loved reading mysteries since I was ten and read Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE. I also had a mystery writer in my family, Helen McCloy. She wrote psychological mysteries during the ‘30s and ‘40s and was one of the founders of The Mystery Writers of America.

That is so cool, Robin! I'm going to have to look her up. Obviously, the genre is in the blood. What is the hardest part of writing mysteries?

The plot. I’ve always had trouble plotting.

Do you use any plotting tools (like a story board, for example)? Do you work from an outline, or do you just go with the flow? 

My editor always required me to write a one-page synopsis before I began a novel. This was a pain, but I was grateful for it, because it forced me to come up with a plot. I didn’t always stick with my original idea, in fact--rarely. But it helped me to get going.

So your books are more character-driven then? How do you develop them?

Developing characters is the easy part. First I have to come up with a name. Then I think about his/ her background, family, friends, education, finances, occupation, life experiences, etc. Finally I try out my character in different scenes. What would he or she do if threatened, flirted with, made fun of, insulted, etc. How would they react? By now I have a pretty good idea what my character is like and I can start writing about him/her. They always change as I write, however, and--I hope--grow.

Do you have a regular writing routine? If so, what is it?

Routine? I’ve never heard the word. I write when I can find the time. And I wish it were more often. I write the first draft by hand on yellow legal pads. Then I switch to the computer.

Oh, good. I'm not alone then. In wishing I wrote more often, I mean. It's funny about the yellow legal pad thing, though. I was just reading the other day that a lot of writers still use them. I only write longhand if there's no computer around. Speaking of other writers, which writers inspire you?

That is a really great question. There were so many. Most of them are dead. Louisa May Alcott was the first. Like millions of others I wanted to be like Jo March. Agatha Christie was next, then Dorothy L. Sayers, Robert Louis Stevenson, Dick Francis, Raymond Chandler, and on and on they go…

And what's the most helpful piece of writing advice you've ever received?

There were two pieces of advice that helped me immensely. “Cut to the action,” and “Pick up the pace.” The first advice was directed at the beginning of my first novel. It had three pages of exposition that were totally unnecessary. The second advice referred to the middle of the same novel where things began to bog down, drag, nothing much was happening. It was after I took this advice that I won the prize. I have these two maxims tacked over my desk.

What is the biggest challenge to publication?

The biggest challenge to publication is getting someone to read your manuscript--an agent and/or an editor. It took me ten years of rejection slips before I finally won a contest sponsored by St. Martin’s Press, and they published my first novel,THE DOCTOR DIGS A GRAVE. I'm now working on my ninth.

Yikes - ten years! Writing for publication takes a lot of persistence and determination. What do you like most about the process of writing itself?

I love getting into another world, losing myself in it, becoming part of it. My husband says he can always tell if I’ve been writing when he calls, because my voice sounds far away. I have been far away and it takes some time to return.

I'm like that when I'm reading! On that subject, I'm looking forward to your next book. What are you working on?

I’m working on a spy novel, TRACE, set during WWII at Cape May. New Jersey. It has taken me longer than any other book because I got so caught up in the research. But that's all over now. I’m revising and polishing, and hope to give it to my agent in a month or two.

Yay! I can't wait to read it! And I trust you have many more stories you want to tell. Keep them coming!

For more about Robin and her books, please visit her website, http://www.robinhathaway.com/.