Ann Cleeves

Ann Cleeves, whose Raven Black-- chosen as the best crime novel of 2006 by the judges of the prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger award -- was recently released in the U.S., was interviewed on the occasion of the release of another of her novels, Hidden Depths.

A couple of exchanges from the interview:

Are you influenced by real-life crimes when writing your books?

Not really. I don’t think the crimes are the most important factors in the stories. They provide stress and tension for the characters and allow me to explore relationships in a dramatic way. I’m not very good at writing plot, so the traditional detective novel works well for me. In a sense, the plot is already given – there’s a murder and a limited number of suspects. The established form gives me the freedom to write what really interests me.

Are there common traits you’d write into your characters who head up the police investigations in your books?

The central characters have to be sympathetic. You couldn’t expect a reader to stick with a series character who was tedious or irritating. And intelligent – they do after all have to come to the solution at the end of the book. So far, all my central characters come from small communities. I don’t think I’d be much good at writing about city people.

Read the entire interview, and visit Ann Cleeves's website.

--Marshal Zeringue