Q&A | Joanna Schaffhausen
Joanna Schaffhausen (pictured) is celebrating the UK release of her third novel All the Best Lies this week. This is the latest installment of the Ellery Hathaway series.
This novel focuses on FBI Agent Reed Markham's haunted past, the unsolved mystery of who murdered his mother? Unable to trust is family with the details he turns to Hathaway to help him solve the mystery the pair soon end up on the path towards a vicious serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight for the past 40 years and isn't going to go down without a fight now!
The lovely lady did a Q&A with me and without further ado here it is...
If you had to describe Ellery in three words what would they be?
Stubborn, brash, vulnerable
Can you share something with us something about the book that isn’t in the blurb?
Ellery’s basset hound, named Speed Bump, never makes the blurbs but he’s often mentioned as a favorite character. With his impossibly long ears, overweening hunger and his gentle determination to win over everyone who pretends to dislike him, he wins lots of hearts.
Where do you get the ideas for your novels?
Bits of them come from all over the place, but there are frequently pieces that originate from true crime tales. Ellery and Reed are both loosely inspired by real people involved in the Ted Bundy case. Robert Keppel had been working in a homicide just one week when he was assigned what turned out to be one of the biggest serial murder cases of all time. Carol DaRonch was only 18 years old when Bundy kidnapped her from a shopping mall. This was over forty years ago, but Carol still gets fifteen messages a day about the case. People will not leave her alone about it.
What is the most surprising thing you have discovered while writing your books?
I once Googled where to hide a dead body in Chicago. I got hits.
Where is your favourite place to write?
In my bedroom, in total silence. These days, I usually have a basset hound pressed up against me while I do it.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I can write up to 15,000 words in a day. I do most of the “work” of writing away from the keyboard. By the time I sit down to write, I am just downloading scenes from my brain.
How do you pick your book titles? Which is your favourite?
The publisher has the final say on titles, so I’m always loath to become attached to one. I quite like The Vanishing Season, which I named back in 2003 when there was no other book by that title. There are now three, soon to be four, I think.
Which book is currently on your bedside table?
Heaven, My Home, by Attica Locke. It’s a sequel to Bluebird, Bluebird, which I loved, so I can’t wait to dive in!
Who is the author you most admire in your genre?
I don’t have a “most” admired author because I learn something from all the authors I read, but I think Tana French is just terrific.
Are you working on book 4 now? Is it another Ellery Hathaway novel?
I’m pleased to report book 4 is already completed. It’s tentatively called Every Waking Hour, in which Ellery must track down a missing twelve-year-old girl whose family holds lots of secrets.
Huge thanks to Joanna for answering my questions.
Check back soon for my review of All the Best Lies xx
Joanna Schaffhausen (pictured) is celebrating the UK release of her third novel All the Best Lies this week. This is the latest installment of the Ellery Hathaway series.
This novel focuses on FBI Agent Reed Markham's haunted past, the unsolved mystery of who murdered his mother? Unable to trust is family with the details he turns to Hathaway to help him solve the mystery the pair soon end up on the path towards a vicious serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight for the past 40 years and isn't going to go down without a fight now!
The lovely lady did a Q&A with me and without further ado here it is...
If you had to describe Ellery in three words what would they be?
Stubborn, brash, vulnerable
Can you share something with us something about the book that isn’t in the blurb?
Ellery’s basset hound, named Speed Bump, never makes the blurbs but he’s often mentioned as a favorite character. With his impossibly long ears, overweening hunger and his gentle determination to win over everyone who pretends to dislike him, he wins lots of hearts.
Where do you get the ideas for your novels?
Bits of them come from all over the place, but there are frequently pieces that originate from true crime tales. Ellery and Reed are both loosely inspired by real people involved in the Ted Bundy case. Robert Keppel had been working in a homicide just one week when he was assigned what turned out to be one of the biggest serial murder cases of all time. Carol DaRonch was only 18 years old when Bundy kidnapped her from a shopping mall. This was over forty years ago, but Carol still gets fifteen messages a day about the case. People will not leave her alone about it.
What is the most surprising thing you have discovered while writing your books?
I once Googled where to hide a dead body in Chicago. I got hits.
Where is your favourite place to write?
In my bedroom, in total silence. These days, I usually have a basset hound pressed up against me while I do it.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I can write up to 15,000 words in a day. I do most of the “work” of writing away from the keyboard. By the time I sit down to write, I am just downloading scenes from my brain.
How do you pick your book titles? Which is your favourite?
The publisher has the final say on titles, so I’m always loath to become attached to one. I quite like The Vanishing Season, which I named back in 2003 when there was no other book by that title. There are now three, soon to be four, I think.
Which book is currently on your bedside table?
Heaven, My Home, by Attica Locke. It’s a sequel to Bluebird, Bluebird, which I loved, so I can’t wait to dive in!
Who is the author you most admire in your genre?
I don’t have a “most” admired author because I learn something from all the authors I read, but I think Tana French is just terrific.
Are you working on book 4 now? Is it another Ellery Hathaway novel?
I’m pleased to report book 4 is already completed. It’s tentatively called Every Waking Hour, in which Ellery must track down a missing twelve-year-old girl whose family holds lots of secrets.
Huge thanks to Joanna for answering my questions.
Check back soon for my review of All the Best Lies xx
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