Interview with Anne Hillerman

Why did you decide to continue your father, Tony Hillerman's series?
A variety of factors: After my father’s death in 2008 I realized that besides mourning him, I was

missing the stories he had created. My husband and I created a non-fiction book, Tony Hillerman’s Landscape with text and photos about the places in Navajo land my father loved. That came out the year after Dad’s death. When we went on tour with that book so many, many people spoke to me of their affection for his characters and expressed their longing for the stories to continue. Their passion for the series, my own sense of loss, and the fact that Dad’s voice was strongly in my memory from the re-reading all his books for Tony Hillerman’s Landscape combined to give me the courage to try my hand at a mystery.

How have you changed the series?
I elevated a minor character, Bernadette Manuelito, better known as Bernie, to the role of full-fledged crime solver. She drives the stories now, with the older detectives busy with subplots or in supporting roles.

What is the title of your newest book? How many books have you published?
The newest book is The Tale Teller, released in April. 2019. It is the fifth book in the mystery series. Before that, I published seven non-fiction books.

How has the character switch been received by long-time fans of Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee?
To my delight, Dad’s fans welcomed Bernie. Their enthusiasm put my first novel, Spider Woman’s Daughter, on the NYT best seller list. I was humbled, amazed and delighted at the reception.

What do you enjoy about the author’s lifestyle? What do you not enjoy?
I enjoy the freedom to be my own boss and the invitations I get to go to places I enjoy and talk about my work. I sometimes miss the camaraderie that comes from working in an office with other folks. And having an IT guy handy in case of disaster.

How do you get yourself out of a writing rut?
I get away from the computer, go to the gym, go for a walk, maybe drive out to re-immerse myself in the landscape I’m writing about. Sometimes I focus on research for awhile or switch from plot to subplot.

If your books were made into a movie, who would you want to play the lead character or in this case characters?
My dream is to see Navajo actors playing Navajo people, and Navajos behind the cameras too.

Who is your favorite author?
My Dad, of course!

If you could invite five people – living or dead – to a dinner party, who would they be?
Mozart, Michelangelo, linguist, author and Navajo trader Louisa Wade Wetherill, my father’s father August Hillerman (who died when my Dad was a kid) and the Navajo healer Hosteen Klah.

If you could not be an author, what would like to do as a career?
Gosh, that’s a hard question. I’ve always loved natural science, so I might have become a biologist of some sort, maybe with a focus on endangered desert life or, because I live in the dry southwest, an advocate for beautiful xeric gardens.