Friday, December 8, 2017

Friday's Guest - Joan Hall Hovey #MFRWauthor #Suspense #What she Was Before

 What were you in your life before you became a writer? Did this influence your writing?

I have an employment history that would give most employers nightmares.  As a young girl I worked as a waitress, hulled strawberries one summer, clerked in a number of uptown stories, graded eggs and eventually becoming a legal secretary, all the time striving to be a writer. The jobs provided a paycheck and writing in the evenings kept the dream alive.  Nothing is lost on the writer, and every job I ever had I’ve pretty much woven into my books in one way or another, through my characters.  For example, in my very first book Listen to the Shadows, Katie, the main character, owns a small café.  Our life experiences and our responses to them are all grist for the writer’s mill.

2.                 2  Are you genre specific or general? Why? I don't mean genres like romance, mystery, fantasy etc. There are many subgenres of the above. 

     My psychological suspense novels often overlap with mystery, paranormal and sometimes there’s a thread of romance woven through.  I don’t choose the type of book I write, but more it chooses me.  I’m drawn to explore the dark side of the human psyche.  

3. Did your reading choices have anything to do with your choice of a genre or genres? 

Yes, I’ve always been a big fan of suspense novels.  Among my favorite novelists are Charlotte Bronte, Edgar Allan Poe, Phyllis Whitney, Ruth Rendell, Mary Higgins Clark and Stephen King.  There are many more.

4. What's your latest release? 

And Then he was Gone

5. What are you working on now? 

I’m working on a screenplay adapted from my novel The Deepest Dark.  

6. Where can we find you? 


" Joan Hall Hovey knows suspense. She keeps it simmering in every scene she writes and knows just the right moments to turn up the heat and bring it all to a boil. She also knows character, creating richly layered people to populate her books, sometimes with no more than a single sentence stocked with perfectly chosen descriptive words or phrases. THE DEEPEST DARK is a terrific suspense novel.” James Hankins, Author of BROTHERS AND BONES and SHADY CROSS

Review quotes:
oubt that much is more frightening than being alone and away from anyone that might help when you

“…visceral fear is at the heart of The Deepest Dark…Mrs. Hovey is a genius at suspense…`  Lelia Taylor, Buried Under Books

"…Ms. Hovey's talent in creating characters is so real, you feel their emotions and their fears. You want to yell at them to warn of the danger . . . and you do! Your shouts fall on deaf ears . . . and you cry! The best suspense writer I've ever read!
Beth Anderson, Author of Raven Talks back

"...Alfred Hitchcock and Stephen King come to mind, but JOAN HALL HOVEY is in a Class by herself!…"
J.D. Michael Phelps, Author of My Fugitive, David Janssen

"…CANADIAN MISTRESS OF SUSPENSE…The author has a remarkable ability to turn up the heat on the suspense… great characterizations and dialogue…" James Anderson, author of Deadl

“…what a great story! Couldn't put it down… An exciting and suspenseful  ending wraps up this incredible novel.” Lynn Demsky: Book Reporter

2 comments:

  1. I plan to purchase her recent book. I should have asked when in Saint John.

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  2. Thank you for sharing this with us. I lived overseas for twenty-four years and had so many experiences but they rarely creep into my stories, although some characters in my historical fiction do.

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