Carolyne Topdjian

Carolyne Topdjian is a suspense writer with publications in PRISM International, Dreamers Magazine and Firewords Quarterly. She has an interdisciplinary PHD from York University and is a professor in the Faculty of Media and Creative Arts at Humber College in Toronto. She is a two-time Pitch Wars mentor and lives in a 112-year-old haunted house.

The Hitman's Daughter is Topdjian's first novel.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

Great question! I think my title The Hitman’s Daughter definitely sets the stage for some cross-genre action; it promises edge-of-your-seat thrills. But more importantly, I think it suggests how my protagonist’s identity is overshadowed by the sins of her father. The world pre-judges Mave Michael Francis because she’s the daughter of an incarcerated hitman. This bias is the core of Mave’s internal and external struggle throughout the story. Over the course of the novel, she must learn to cope with and stop running from her unwanted past. With everyone trapped inside a rundown grand hotel during a blizzard on New Year’s Eve, there’s a killer on the loose, trying to pin murder on Mave; so only by accepting who she is—what she is—can Mave save herself.

What's in a name?

Since I already mentioned my main character, Mave, above, let me steer this question to my novel’s supporting character, the setting itself. The Château du Ciel—my rundown grand hotel where Mave’s story takes place—is named, in part, for its location: on an isolated mountain in Western Colorado. The fictional hotel’s motto is “soar in luxury, remain forever.” Ciel means sky in French, and when trying to come up with a name for my grand hotel, Château du Ciel sounded magical and luxurious to me. It’s an inviting name, which is intentionally ironic since the hotel is also rumored to be haunted and is the site of a murder… or two.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

I don’t think my younger self would think twice about The Hitman’s Daughter; she’d dive right in and enjoy all the nail-biting, gothic drama! After all, back in high school, Bram Stoker’s Dracula was my favorite assigned reading in English class. Also, I was devouring Stephen King as early as age 13. I grew up reading mostly horror and thriller novels, whether or not they were age appropriate. Along with King’s early staples like Carrie, It, The Shining, I read a ton of Christopher Pike, R.L. Stine, Dean Koontz, Anne Rice… I knew early on, I loved gothic thrillers, so The Hitman’s Daughter feels like it would be an eagerly anticipated book for my teenage self.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

Well, my father is a hitman, and I was once a shopgirl in a grand hotel reputed to be haunted. Okay, only the second half of that sentence is true! I know nothing about being raised by an antisocial, lethal criminal. This aspect of Mave’s personality—the paranoia, instinctual sleuthing, and heartbreak of losing her mother at age 3—is (thankfully) completely foreign from my own lived experience. I think it’s also what makes Mave so fascinating to explore as a writer. I’d be bored if she was too much like me.

Regarding the second half of my connection, I did indeed have a stint as a shopgirl in a grand hotel/chateau that remains haunted till this day. And yes, just like Mave, I’m terribly neat and organized. I don’t like disorder. Crooked paintings give me anxiety, and I hate losing things. This is why I loved developing Mave’s quirky sixth sense: she can intuitively place the lost inanimate objects of strangers. Forgot your keys or cellphone somewhere? Just ask Mave. She’ll tell you where to look.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I love, love music and pictures! I create playlists for all my projects and almost always listen to songs while I write. My educational background is visual arts, so I’m also enthusiastic about novel aesthetics. Similar to playlists, I use aesthetic boards as inspiration for developing my novels. I can easily spend hours on Pinterest, finding images as writing prompts and visual guides. Images certainly helped with writing and plotting The Hitman’s Daughter. I can’t give too many details due to spoilers, but for those who read the novel, if you were to visit my Pinterest page afterward, you’d see several unique examples that directly influenced my visual descriptions and choices.

Visit Carolyne Topdjian's website.

--Marshal Zeringue