Interview with Tracee de Hahn

Tracee de Hahn

What is the title of your newest book? How many books have you published?
My most recent book is A Well-Timed Murder, the second in the Agnes Lüthi mystery series. Right now I'm working on two manuscripts, a follow up in the Agnes series (working title Poison in the Veins) and a new one set in Kentucky about a woman who inherits a distillery, working title, 120 Proof. Before turning to fiction I published several non-fiction books as part of educational series.

How did you develop your character and choose your location?
Location is key to all of my writing. My undergraduate degree was in architecture and that may have something to do with it. The Agnes Lüthi series is based in Switzerland, where my husband grew up and where we lived for some years. The characters formed after I’d chosen the location, because, after all, people are part of their surroundings – even if they are uncomfortable with that fact. Agnes was born in Switzerland, but her parents are American, which means she grew up in a household that wasn’t 100% Swiss in its customs. This was important because it helps her see the Swiss as a native and through the lens of outsiders.

I find that characters grow organically. There is a starting point (female police inspector), then they emerge as the story develops (adding age, family life), and eventually the details fill in. Habits, triumphs, and trials. What do they need for a full life, what is standing in their way and why.

What do you enjoy about the author’s lifestyle? What do you not enjoy?I do enjoy the freedom to write everyday, however, I have worked ‘in an office’ as an architect,executive director of a non-profit, and a university administrator so there are aspects of that daily interaction that I miss. I’m a member of a blog group, The Miss Demeanors, and connecting with them every day helps fill that void. We share the same ups and downs of pages coming together or edits going too slowly. We also have great conversations about writing and reading – join us on line and you’ll see! www.MissDemeanors.com or on our Facebook page

Do you model your character after yourself or any one you know?
Technically every character has elements of people I’ve met or heard about. Someone’s hair or voice or the way they use their hands. A particular problem or triumph. For example, when writing dialogue or the reaction of a character to a situation authenticity matters to the reader. As a writer I may need to research the situation (what goes through the mind of an accident victim) or rely on my own experience or the experience of someone I know. However, inevitably, that kernel of reality is manipulated to fit the fictional character I’ve created. No one ends up like their model.

How do you get yourself out of a writing rut?Writing is work and I don’t know any other job where someone walks away saying, I’m in a rut I’ll go home. My father was an ER doctor and I’m sure there were days he thought, wow, not another car wreck, but he kept at it. In the end, set a task and focus. If you really don’t know what to do then type something (or write long hand). Anything. Type names over and over, list places you’d like to visit, anything. The mind will get in gear and shift to what you really want to work on. If you walk away from the page/screen then it’s a guarantee that nothing will happen.

If your books were made into a movie, who would you want to play the lead character?
I’d love to see Jessica Chastain as Agnes Lüthi. Chastain has such a range of character, and she’d bring smart but caring to the role.

Who is your favorite author?
Too many to pick from. I think of ‘favorites’ as childhood favorites like Agatha Christie, and slightly later, Tolstoy. (I loved epics and would have to add Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove and James Clavell’s Shogun to the favorites list along with War and Peace.) As an adult I continue to return to those favorites, having added Jane Austin for a different kind of epic. In the mystery genre, I’ve long been a fan of Martha Grimes and Elizabeth George.

If you could invite five people – living or dead – to a dinner party, who would they be?Recently I’ve decided that Benjamin Dreyer has to be at the top of this list. Perhaps Winston Churchill. Elizabeth I. Cleopatra – no, wait, I’d replace Cleopatra with Marie Antoinette to see exactly how misunderstood she was. And to round out the numbers for the table, another man…. Peter the Great. It would be a political dinner with Dreyer there to keep things lively!

If you could not be an author, what would like to do as a career?
I have had other careers, so I think I’m where I should be. If I could have a skill (that might have resulted in a career) it would be a great singing voice. Operatic because I love opera and classic staging. But I’m so far from that, not even the best vocal lessons would help!