Five Questions with Aimee Hix
Aimee Hix has been nominated for just about every prize there is (think Lefty, Agatha, Anthony, Shamus, etc.) and her protagonist, PI Willa Pennington is why. The tough-as-nails private investigator puts herself on the line in her first two outings. We’re eagerly awaiting more…
How does a book start for you?
Something, and it can be something that I’ve seen a dozen times, will catch my eye and instead of seeing it as it is, I see something more, something awful. It’s like finally remembering something that’s been on the tip of my tongue and it’s finally ready to ignite sparks; it starts tumbling in my head, setting everything ablaze like an errant firework.
Who in your latest book has surprised you most – and why?
I think Detective Jan Boyd surprised me the most. She gave Willa freedoms that I wasn’t expecting. She challenged her in ways I wasn’t expecting. She seemed to zig when I had planned for her to zag. She ended up being more like my mentor, Matt Clemens, than I had originally planned even though he was, role-wise, the inspiration for her in the first place.
When and/or where is your latest book set and is there a story behind that setting?
My Willa Pennington PI series is set in contemporary Fairfax County, Virginia. It’s my “hometown” and such a richly diverse area financially and culturally that it’s rife for setting fictional mischief.
What are you working on now?
I actually have three books in progress right now.
The third Willa Pennington book, which I have just received the rights back from Midnight Ink/Llewellyn as they won’t be publishing mysteries anymore.I’m starting a new series, cozier than my Willa books, based around the family secrets of a French-American woman.I have a very dark thriller about what happens when a woman reaches her breaking point and refuses to be a victim any longer.
Which question didn’t I ask you that I should have?
Is having three dogs the best thing ever? Yes, it is the best thing ever if you like loud, muddy, and drool and fur on everything. Luckily, I do. Or I don’t necessarily like those things but I’m willing to put up with them to snuggle with the sweetest dogs ever. #teamblackdog
Aimee spent twenty years working as a federal contractor, so she spent a lot of time contemplating murder. It made total sense that once she retired she would devote her whole life to it. Fictional murder, of course.
She is a native of Northern Virginia and so she truly understands the trials and tribulations of her main character, Willa Pennington, an apprentice PI starting her new career in the Starbucks-laden, decidedly non-gritty streets of Fairfax County.
Aimee lives in Virginia her family, three dogs, and all her killer thoughts. You can visit her at www.aimeehix.com.
