Elizabeth Hand's latest book is Hard Light: A Cass Neary Crime Novel. From her Q & A with Joan Silverman for the Portland Press Herald:Q: What has it been like hanging out with Cass Neary, in your head and on the page, for 10 years? She’s a lot of trouble.Learn more about the book and author at Elizabeth Hand's website.
A: She is a lot of trouble. On the one hand, I feel like I’ve nailed her as far as channeling that voice. I realized I had created this vital, viable character, and a lot of readers love the fact that she’s this total screwup-alcoholic-speed freak.
She’s really out there. But there is an overarching narrative arc, and she is changing as a character. I’m working on the fourth book in the series now, and she gets superficially cleaned up. But it doesn’t last. I don’t want her to harden into schtick, so I’m trying to give her a slightly broader, more complex emotional and psychological palette. But she’s still a freaking mess.
Q: Now that you have a decade of history with this character, do you, as the author, have less control?
A: It almost feels like a form of method acting. I feel like I can project into her whatever I want her to do, or be, that feels, to me, rational. Could I buy this person acting this way? Would I, on my worst possible day, do something like this? If I can say “yes,” then I don’t feel too constrained. She’ll pretty much do anything if she has...[read on]
Read about Elizabeth Hand's six favorite books.
My Book, The Movie: Available Dark.
--Marshal Zeringue