A Conversation with Suspense Novelist Patricia Hale

with Patricia Hale

We are delighted to welcome mystery author Patricia Hale to Omnimystery News today, courtesy of Partners in Crime Tours, which is coordinating her current book tour. We encourage you to visit all of the participating host sites; you can find her schedule here.

Patricia's debut novel of suspense is In the Shadow of Revenge (Carina Press; July 2013 ebook and audiobook formats) and we recently had the opportunity to talk with her about it.

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Omnimystery News: Is In the Shadow of Revenge a first in series book?

Photo provided courtesy of
Patricia Hale

Patricia Hale: This is something I'm wrestling with right now. While writing In the Shadow of Revenge, I really came to like the narrator, Cecily Minos, and the P.I. she hires, Nick Marquette. The chemistry between them came about naturally and unplanned. So now that I've completed the story I'm reluctant to let them go. I'd like to begin a series, but I'm not sure if I want to continue these characters or develop new ones. There are things about each character that I'd want to do differently if I do continue them, so my quandary becomes the reader. How will readers feel if I change something about the character that they happened to especially like? Naturally, careers change, people age, marry, have kids etc. I'm not concerned with life changes, but if I change a characteristic that is no longer useful for subsequent stories will I disappoint readers? Changing a series character has to be a well thought out decision with both the writer's needs and the readers' expectations carefully considered.

OMN: Tell us something about the book that isn't mentioned in the publisher's synopsis.

PH: The synopsis focuses on three friends' driven by revenge, after experiencing a terrifying event as kids. What it doesn't reference is the supernatural thread that runs through the book regarding Cecily's sixth sense, and her conflicting relationship as both a child and an adult with the Ouija Board.

OMN: What is the best advice you've received as an author?

PH: The best advice I've had came from my dad and though it didn't pertain to writing, it often applies. He told me to learn from my mistakes and not to personalize them. Those words have helped keep me focused when I read a rejection letter or get a long list of revisions from an editor. My first response is always to throw it in the trash with a comment I won't repeat here. But after an hour or two of sulking (sometimes it takes a full day) I re-open the email and read the response carefully. Almost always there is advice that can help me become a better writer, I just have to put away my ego so I can hear it. My dad's advice has not only helped with writing, but in my day job, my marriage and as a parent. Mistakes are very valuable. When we set aside our defenses and allow ourselves to be open to critique, we not only become better writers, but better people. My advice to aspiring authors is don't get discouraged. We all hit obstacles, roadblocks, rejections. Pay attention to them, use them to your advantage and then go around them, go over them or go under them, but get past them and keep moving forward.

OMN: Complete this sentence for us: "I am a mystery/suspense writer, and thus I am …".

PH: I am a mystery/suspense writer, and thus I am drawn to anyone or anything that exists on the fringes of what we as a society have labeled "normal". I'm also a Criminal Minds junkie and admit to spending numerous hours with Hodge and the team tracking down the craziest of crazies. I tell my husband that I missed my calling and if I could do it over again I'd join the BAU. He laughs and tells me I'm sick. So, am I? Because I'm drawn to the crazed and insane among us, does it make me one of them? Actually, for me, I think it's that I'm the antithesis of them. I'm a chicken. I sleep with a flashlight beside my bed in case we loose electricity and my nightlight goes out. Researching and writing about the deviants of our society allows me to visit a world that frightens me from the safety of my computer and that's where my intrigue stems from. I think many of us have the desire to be scared. Why else do we ride Space Mountain — the two things I am most afraid of, roller coasters and darkness — partake in haunted hayrides with hatchet toting zombies and watch movies like Hannibal and Psycho? We crave the thrill. We want to feel that adrenalin surge triggered by the things that frighten us most and experience it all within the safety of DisneyWorld, or a movie theater or even within our own homes. Writing mystery/suspense provides me with an entrance into a world I would never encounter. Serial killers and psychopaths are not a part of my mundane life, (knock on wood) of work, children, dishes and dogs. I like to make my heart pound, and hopefully yours too, from the safety of the page.

OMN: How do you approach turning a story into a novel?

PH: My writing process has never been what I'd call organized, but it is disciplined. When I get an idea for a book, I just start writing. Sometimes I have the whole story in my head and sometimes I have just the beginning. Either way, I just sit down and write and even when I think I know the direction the story will take, an unexpected twist or two is inevitable. Not always knowing what comes next can be a good thing because it keeps me open to possibilities, but sometimes I don't know where to go next and I have to give the story time to unfold in my head. Though I don't work from an outline, I do keep a very disciplined schedule. I write everyday, early in the morning while the house is quiet. I also work full time outside of the house and so writing everyday can be a challenge, but one paragraph is better than nothing and writing everyday keeps the story fresh in my head.

OMN: Do you have a regular place where you write?

PH: I'm not sure if I want to tell anyone where I write. I used to have a lovely office with a very beautiful writing desk, then a few years ago life took an unexpected twist and one of my children moved back home with their two children. My office was turned into a bedroom for the kids and my husband's office became a playroom. My husband took over my desk for his desktop computer and I have set up a collapsible, card table set up in our walk-in, bedroom closet for my laptop. My clothes are pushed to one side and above me on a shelf that I screwed into the closet wall are pictures of my kids, my grandchildren, my Ouija Board and an array of mugs holding old coffee. At my feet are two German Shepherds and one crazy Beagle patiently waiting for their walk.

OMN: It all sounds very busy for you! Do you have time for other activities?

PH: As I mentioned before, I also work outside of my home at a holistic veterinary practice. As hard as it is some days to break away from writing, I do enjoy my job and the people I work with. Animals have always been a big pat of my life. We had dogs when I was a child and as a teenager, I had a horse and participated in 4-H. Now, I have two German Shepherds and have recently taken in a Beagle/Dachshund mix. My husband and I are hikers so the dogs get lots of exercise accompanying us on trails throughout New England. Yoga also plays a big role in my day, keeping me sane (most of the time) and fit. Years ago, when aerobics hit the scene I was an exercise instructor and so physical fitness and nutrition are important to me as well. Sometimes Cecily, the narrator in my novel mentions one of my interests. More often, she's pouring wine … my weakness.

OMN: Give us a Top 5 list on any subject.

PH: My top five books (in no particular order):

• On Writing by Stephen King;
• How To Be Good by Nick Hornsby;
• A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving;
• A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick;
• Mystic River by Dennis Lehane; and
• Broken Harbor by Tana French.

That's six, but I couldn't decide which to eliminate from the list.

OMN: What's next for you?

PH: Now that In the Shadow of Revenge has been released, I'm working on two more novels that will feature a male/female P.I. team. The next book engages the team in hunting down a serial killer and the third has one of them going under cover in a religious cult in search of a detective's daughter. Hope that whets everyone's appetite for more …

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Patricia Hale is a graduate of the MFA program at Goddard College in Vermont. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, NH Writer's Project and Maine Writer's and Publisher's Alliance. Her essays and articles have appeared in New England literary magazines and the anthology, My Heart's First Steps. When not writing, she enjoys hiking with her dogs and kayaking on the lakes near her home. Patricia lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two German shepherds.

To learn more about the author, please visit her website at PatriciaHale.org or find her on Facebook and Twitter.

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In the Shadow of Revenge
Patricia Hale

Everybody thought brilliant Cecily would leave dead-end Millers Falls for something better. But a two-decades-old tragedy locks her in place. Few understand the fierce bond that Cecily and Amelia share with Hilary, who was assaulted one summer as the two other girls watched helplessly. It's a bond of love and guilt … and a desire for vengeance that cuts clear to the bone.

So Assistant DA Cecily Minos waits, eager to see the guy in her courtroom. When Amelia meets a man who has the tattoo the girls remember seeing that day, they think they've finally caught a break. But the police refuse to reopen the case, and it's up to Cecily and Amelia to pursue their suspect.

Their investigation soon uncovers secrets best left buried. But the law is slow, and they've waited long enough for revenge …