Interview D. H. Parker

by

Claudy Conn

1.  Tell us a little about yourself? What genre do you write in and why?

I’m a native of the Missouri Ozarks.  I write cozy mysteries and “fairy-tale” (a.k.a. fantasy) mysteries, probably because I like to read those kinds of books--and maybe because the very first “big” book I ever owned was a book of fairy tales.

2.  Tell me about the current book you are promoting.

Dullahan Mountain Breakdown is one of the fairy-tale mysteries.  Those books aren’t technically a series, but people who have read Donovan’s Dream and/or The Cameron Connection will find some continuity between the three books.  Here’s the short synopsis for Breakdown:  Maura Tasgall must unearth the evil that murdered her parents.  She expects no happy ending--even if her mother’s fairy tales weren’t fiction.

3.  How long have you been writing?  What got you interested and what inspired you to write your first book?

Back in the Ozarks in the 1950s, we didn’t have kindergartens.  Just before I went into first grade, my mother put a pencil into my hand and taught me to write my name.  I was fascinated that I could make marks on paper and other people would know what I meant by them.  I’ve been writing ever since.  Writing a book seemed to grow naturally from my love of reading and writing.  Writing is also great therapy.

4.  Did your book require a lot of research?

I require a lot of research for a book, probably more than I need to, because it bugs me to be reading a nice story and hit something totally out of place--something a little research could have prevented.  One example: a writer whose story is set in medieval Europe has his characters eating potatoes.  Couldn’t have happened.  So I try not to make that kind of mistake.  I’m sure I’m not always successful at it.

5.  What are some of the challenges in your writing process?

First drafts are my biggest challenge.  Because I’ve never been able to outline, I have to go along with my characters to see what happens next.  Sometimes they go on strike and don’t want to know what happens next, so I have to push to get them moving again.  Once I can get a first draft finished,  I really enjoy polishing and refining and editing to get a good finished product.

6. What books or authors have influenced your writing?

At the risk of sounding cliché: On the mystery side, Agatha Christie.  On the fantasy side, C. S. Lewis and Tolkien.  The main influence on the way I construct my fiction and the way I live is the Bible. 

7.  What comes first: the plot or the characters?

Neither.  Setting has come first in all my stories.  All but one are set in the Missouri Ozarks, in an “alternate universe” version of my home area. 

8.  What advice would you give a writer just starting out?

Being published does not make you a writer.  If you can’t help writing, if you have enough perseverance to start a writing project, labor over it, finish it, polish it until it’s the best you can make it, you ARE a writer.  Don’t be afraid to say so. 

9.  What are your current books?

The “Fiddling With Murder” cozy mystery series (Donna H. Parker):

Constancy’s Waltz

Dark Diamond Reel

Fiddler’s Lament

Jig of Bones

The “Fairy-tale Mysteries” (D.H. Parker):

Song of Healing  (set in Scotland and Alabama, instead of the Ozarks)

Donovan’s Dream

The Cameron Connection

Dullahan Mountain Breakdown

All are published by Wings e-Press.

10.  Where can people learn more about you and your work?

My website is at http://donnaparker.w4aw.org , my blog site at http://dhparker.wordpress.com.