Contest & Interview: Meet Hank Phillippi Ryan by Gerri Brousseau

Welcome, Hank, to Nights of Passion.  I would like to take a moment to congratulate you on your recent EMMY win and thank you for agreeing to allow me to interview you.  I have to say I read your website and was quite impressed.  I came up with a few questions which I hope the readers will find helpful and informative.

You have had quite a successful career in television. What inspired you to start writing?

Well, thanks! The way I look at it, I've been writing every day for thirty years.  Telling stories, illustrating conflict, helping the good guys win.  Why did I start writing mysteries? I've always wanted –but I never had a good idea.  Then one day, I got an email, a spam, which intrigued me.   And I thought—maybe it's a secret message.   And ding ding ding—I thought—that's the plot of my mystery!   And from then on, I was obsessed.   That became PRIME TIME, which won the Agatha for  Best First Mystery.   So what inspired me to start writing?   One good idea.   That's all it takes, right?

What are  some of your favorite novels?

Oh, gosh.  The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton.  Winter's Tale, by Mark Helprin.  Look Homeward Angel by Thomas Wolfe.  Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe.  Dracula by Bram Stoker.   The Stand by Stephen King.  Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. Way too many to list!

When you first began writing, how did you balance writing with your working career? 

Not well. And I continue to do it "not well."  I work all the time—whether it's at Channel 7 on my reporting or at home on my novels or out on the road doing promotion.  I have a full time job as a reporter, a full time job as a writer, and a full time time job as a book promoter.  And a full time job as a wife!  How I juggle—is never multi-task.  I pick what I'm going to do, and do that.  I attempt not to get distracted.  I have a wonderful cleaning person.  I always take the stairs and walk a lot because my exercise routine is dead in the water.  And we eat a lot of carry-out salmon from Whole Foods.  The last vacation my husband and I took was last March—and before that, I hadn't had a vacation in five years. I used all my vac days to write.  I wouldn't trade a moment!

Do you ever get writer's block? And if so, how do you handle it?

Knocking on wood—no.  After30 years as a Tb reporter, there's no time to "feel the muse."  Can you imagine if I said to my boss—can I be on at ten after six instead of six?  So I just sit in my chair and do the best I can.  If I'm having a bad writing day—and oh, I do—I just resign myself to having a bad day.  I do my words, no matter what.  If they're terrible, I can fix them later.

 Of all the characters you have created, who is your favorite?

No way I can answer that!

What advice do you have for new authors trying to break into the business?

Write the best book you possibly can.  There's not one thing that's more important than that!  If you don't have a good book, there's no amount of savvy promotion or knowledge or connections or blogs or bookmarks or conventions that can help you.  There are no shortcuts, no easy ways, no secrets.  There's just you and your book.  Do that.

You have had many accomplishments in your career.   Which one are you the most proud of?

Oh, you ask the most impossible questions!  I love every one of my Emmys as if it were the first—I look at each one as a secret someone were trying to keep the public from knowing—a secret I got to make public.  My two wonderful Agatha awards—for best first mystery and best short story—are you kidding me?  I almost burst into tears when I see them.  The Anthony and the Macavity—how amazing is that?  And I just finished another book—please keep our fingers crossed—that I wasn't quite sure I could do.  And right now?  I'm thinking that's a pretty huge accomplishment.  When I finished Prime Time, too, I literally burst into tears.  It's amazing when your dreams come true.

You have interviewed Prince Charles, President Carter, Warren Beatty and Muhammad Ali; have you ever been "star struck"?

Yes, of course!  But I know they are just regular people like anyone else, and just want to be understood and admired and respected.  I REALLY do my homework.  I study, study, study.  SO going in knowing my stuff makes a huge difference.

You have 27 Emmys and are a best selling author … so tell us, what's next for Hank Phillippi Ryan?

I have NO idea.  I really don't!  I love my reporting job—it's exciting, and challenging, and incredibly rewarding.  I love my writing job—it's, well, exciting, and challenging and incredibly rewarding.  I'm the poster child for following your dreams, right?  I didn't start writing mysteries until I was 55, six years ago.  So for anyone who is wondering—should I give it a go?  Or is it too late?  I'd say…absolutely go for it.  I'm the perfect example.  My husband and I don't celebrate the anniversary of the day we met.  We celebrate the anniversary of the day BEFORE we met—and we call it "You Never Know Day."  Because you never know what wonderful thing is around threw next corner.  SO when you ask what's next—I smile, and say—you never know.

Thank you so much for taking the time to meet wi th me and for sharing your insight. 

Now dear readers, Hank has offered a signed copy of her latest novel, Prime Time.  In order to get into the running to win, please tell us in your comment why you would love to add this personalized novel to our library.  Good luck. This contest is open to residents of US and Canada.  Void where prohibited by law. Deadline is midnight EST July 16, 2011.

Website: http://www.hankphillippiryan.com/

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