Hank, tell us about your writing schedule.
Ah. "Schedule?"
I have a full time job as a TV reporter, so it was kind of a revelation
for me to be able to reorganize my entire life to encompass the huge amounts of
time it takes to introduce a novel into your life.
Sleeping was the first to go. Then, cooking. (Pizza and takeout became my best friends. My husband was extremely patient!) Then, exercise. (I usually worked out after coming home from work. I started doing that in early morning, which is much more difficult for me!)
Then, fun had to go. No movies, no vacations. Not even movies on TV. No days off, even. I took all my vacation days from work to write. (We have a swimming pool in our back yard. I did not set one toe in it all summer. I did not sit in the sun.)
So I'd be at work at 9 am, work at the station til 6:30 or so. Get home at 7, write til 10 or so, then make dinner (or nuke it) and chat with my darling husband) then he;d go to sleep and I'd write a bit more.
I loved it all.
And remember, it's not only time for writing, but for thinking. I'd get from place A to place B and realize I had no idea how I got there, I was so deep in Charlie world.
How long did it take you to write 'FACE TIME'?
Compared to Prime Time--what a different experience! With Prime Time--I had all the time in the world. The good news and the bad news! I had no agent, the book wasn't sold, I had no idea if it would even be any good !
I had no idea actually, if I could even do it. I called my Mom one evening, when I was in the middle of the book. I said to her, gee, I hope I can finish this. And she said: you will if you want to. And there it was. That was all that mattered. It was up to me.
So writing Prime Time took maybe two years. Fast forward through getting an agent (yay), selling the book (yay) and getting a contract for two book (double yay). Then everything changed.Then I had a deadline. I had six months to write Face Time. No way around it.
I became very, very organized!
When you're penning your series...what is the best and worst part of the process?
It's all the best part.
Prime Time started as a stand-alone. I had no plans for a series, but loved Charlie McNally and wanted to write a mystery about computer spam.
One night, as i was drifting off to sleep, I thought: Face Time . Air Time. I opened my eyes. Drive Time, I thought. Equal Time.
That's when I realized I had a series. I was already mostly through with Prime Time, so I had to ratchet back Charlie's potential romance, because if she was going to be a main character in a series (yay!) her romantic life story would need a slower arc of progression. And there would need to be a big picture plan about what would happen to her, as well as what would happen in each book.
I also had to think of which characters might return, and which could leave in each book. It was like making a new world, just like a real one, where people come and go, and have influences on your life.
Oh. There is a bad part. Keeping track of everyone's
ages. My books take place focusing on
the news ratings months: November, February, May and July. And in Air Time, (which should be coming out
next year) I almost forgot that Charlie would have had a birthday--as a result,
she was almost 46 for a year and a half. And I'm sure some of you would have
caught that!
When you're want to relax with a good book, what series or author tops this list?
Ah. And what do you mean, actually, by "relax"?
Well, I guess I do remember that, from pre-book days. But who tops the list? No way to tell you. The 'tops' is always changing.
I've had a huge love affair with Julia Spencer Fleming's books. Nancy Pickard's Virgin of Small Plains was incomparable. John Lescroart--I buy his books instantly. John Katzenbach. Hallie Ephron's Peter Zak series. I like spy novels, too. There's a great one called The Faithful Spy, that I just loved. Nelson DeMille's Charm School may be the best ever of that kind of book. David Hosp's legal thriller Dark Harbor. Lee Child's Jack Reacher series, I must admit, is irresistible. Linda Fairstein's Alex Cooper books.
And I reserve the right to send you phase two of this question. When I think of all the books I should have added!
Oh. And in another area--If anyone hasn't read the Philip Pullman books--The Golden Compass books--they;re terrific. Such genius fantasy. Such an amazing writer. And the movie of the first book--with Nicole Kidman in a perfectly cast role--is coming out this December.
Sounds weird, maybe, but I don't really read funny-funny books. Rosemary Harris-funny, as in Pushing Up Daisies is just right..wry, witty, clever, grown-up. Not slapstick. I can't wait to read our Jessica Conant-Park's newest.
But I just can't curl up and read anything til I totally
finish AIr Time. (It goes to the publisher the Friday! Yikes!) And then Drive
Time. And then, I may..what was that word you used? Relax.
Okay let's talk about your personal life...give us some background and setting on where you were born and raised.
I was born in Chicago. My father was the music critic for the Chicago Daily News. We lived the near north side, near the Lincoln Park Zoo. My mother is responsible for my despised-during-adolescence first name, Harriet. It could have been worse, though. My dad wanted to name me Harmony.
When my parents were divorced, my mother and sister Nina and I moved to Indianapolis. (Where Mom still lives.) Dad moved to Washington DC. (Where he still lives.) I went to public schools, and was a geeky smart kid. Which was fine in grade school--I just read all the time. In high school, it was not so much fun. I just read all the time. Honor Society, great grades. No dates. I went to the prom with someone from another school, and was voted "Most Individual." Which is exactly what you don't want in high school. (Okay, yes, I was a majorette. But in the back row. And a cheerleader. But not varsity. ANd I was in all the language clubs.)
Mom married my stepfather, a genius lawyer who taught me a lot about "how to find out" and analytical thinking. I had more siblings: Nancy who is now a chef. Liz who trains horses and teaches English in Florida. And Chip who is an environmental Lawyer in Colorado.
Back then, we lived in very rural Indianapolis, took the bus to school every day, and I had to clean out stalls every morning. Very character building. But there was no house within walking distance of us. And no place to go on bikes. We rode our ponies places, like to the dime store in the nearest town.
My first job was at the Diary Queen. I can still make a great dip cone with a twist on the top, I bet. I got very good at making Dilly Bars. I was always getting yelled at for wearing a white mini-skirt and a white oxford shirt and white tennis shoes instead of the nurse-nylon uniforms and clunky shoes we were supposed to wear. I kept saying, it's white, you wanted white. This is white.
We had three Irish setters, a cat named Picnic, and gerbils named Chet and David. Until Picnic ate them.
Reading this, it sounds very farm-y and rustic. It wasn't.
(My parents collect contemporary Russian art and had a huge gallery in our
house. We had a second home in Acapulco.) But it was rural. And beautiful. And
I got to mow the lawn with a riding mower, until I got in trouble for mowing
the shape of the United States in the front yard. I did a good job, too.
Tell us about your book covers, website, publishers, editors and agent?
AH--easiest first. My agent is the fabulous Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency, who said she loved Prime Time from moment one. She loved the main character, loved that Charlie was older (Though not too much older-- Charlie was 55 when the book was written--and K suggested we make her younger!) She's in Denver. And represents some very wonderful authors.
My website designer is in Colorado, too, just by chance. Madeira James of Xuni.com is a genius. You can tell that from my site! I do all the content, she does the graphics and hosting.
Publishers..the juggernaut of Harlequin. I'm constantly delighted by how wonderful and supportive they are. My editor, Ann Leslie Tuttle, is a true marvel and a real team player. She makes my work so much better!
Covers. Well, hmm. I loved Prime Time from the first moment I saw it. I bet other authors here will share the same moment when you get the email that says: here's your cover. And you know in one click, the future will be revealed. It was really fun for PT-- I adored it. As for Face Time there was an initial cover that I wasn't too happy about. But the lovely folks at Harlequin tweaked it and now I adore it. Gotta love them!
Okay now let's talk about Charlotte McNally, how long did you have her in your head before you decided to put her down on paper? Of course everyone wants to know if she is shades of you?
I had the basic plot of Prime Time before I had the main character. But Charlie arrived in my life fully formed…I absolutely knew her life, her background, how she looked, how she thought. She’s definitely not modeled after anyone in particular I know—but the question: "is she modeled after you?" is one I always struggle to answer.
We’re both investigative reporters for a Boston TV station. We’ve both been in television a long time, and we’re both devoted to our jobs. But Charlie’s—younger than I am. I think—she’s braver than I am. We do share a sense of humor. And of course I’ve brought my experience and my experiences to her world. But sometimes people say—oh, I’ve learned so much about you from reading the book! And I warn them—a lot of Charlie’s psyche and personality and history—is absolutely fiction! But confession: not all.
In 2008 what comes next for you as an author?
Ah. Wish I knew. (Or maybe I don't wish I knew!)
Anyway, here's the plan. Air Time is now at the publisher, and they are happy with it. They are making some changes in the NExt line, which they say will be wonderful. What the changes are, I don't know because they are still being worked out! So the next step is to see what happens with Air Time! It should be on the shelves in 2008! Which would be very exciting.
Drive Time is now in the works, and that should be published in 2008 or 2009. Also--very exciting! (DO you think Charlie and Josh should get married? Or...will there be someone new?)
I'll continue to write...whether it's more Charlotte McNally
mysteries(maybe the pre-quel? Where Franklin arrives at Channel 3? Maybe call
it Just In Time?) or move into another main character. We'll see!
Do you have publicist and where will you be signing books in the future?
Yes, I have a publicist here in Boston. She's a new addition. Up until I think last May, I was doing everything myself. Then it got to the point where I was overwhelmed--I could not possibly neglect or short-change my job, and there just were not enough hours in the day to do everything I was supposed to, let alone everything I wanted to!
Plus, it's difficult for me to gracefully call, say, the Boston Globe and say hey, you should do a story about me! So I handed the PR reins to Newman Communications. They are spectacular.
Oh, and please come see me if you're in the neighborhood! My
signings are on my website
http://www.hankphillippiryan.com
and click on events! There are also some terrific photos of past events
there.
Leave us with some writing words of wisdom.
I read an interview with Anne Sexton, where she was asked: what's the most important thing a teacher can give her writing students? And she said: Courage.
Here are the quotes that are on my bulletin board:
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?"
"There are three secrets to writing a best-selling novel. Problem is, no one knows what they are."
Visit Hank on her web site!