A. H. Gabhart Interview

Q: How long have you been writing and what other careers or jobs have you had?
A. I picked up pen and started my first mystery novel when I was ten. Of course, it was just for fun then, but I’ve been writing ever since. I’ve been a stay at home mom, a farm wife, and a secretary, but now even though many of my contemporaries are retired, I’m writing full time. Do writers ever actually retire or do they just ride off into the sunset of their stories?

Q: Do you write in only one genre and if so which one and why? If not, which ones and why?
A: I’ve written in several different genres. My first published books were historical romances in the general market. Then I published a number of young adult and middle reader stories. In 2005 my first novel was published in the Christian market, Scent of Lilacs. Since then, I’ve published historical stories, some about the Shakers, some family saga type stories and one set in Louisville. Now I’ve published these three Hidden Springs stories that are labeled cozy mysteries. I like having the freedom to write in different genres so that I can fit my story ideas with the best way to present them to readers.

Q: How does your faith play into your writing?
A. I think the best part of writing for the Christian market–whatever genre I’m writing–is that I can include the faith journeys of my characters. For some of my stories, I have pulled backgrounds and incidents from my own experience of being an active member in a rural country church. I especially like including stories and verses from the Bible when it fits into my stories. I feel blessed when the Lord gives me the inspiration for those faith moments in my books.

Q: How do you choose your settings for your books?
A. Most of my stories are set in Kentucky since that is where I live and the place I know best. In many of my historical novels, the historical events that have sparked my story ideas usually dictate the setting. My Shaker books are all set in my fictional Shaker village that is based on the restored Shaker village of Pleasant Hill here in Central Kentucky. For my Heart of Hollyhill books and Hidden Springs mysteries, my small hometown is the inspiration for the setting. Then the background and setting of my Rosey Corner books are based on my mother’s memories of growing up in a small community during the Great Depression. So I pick the setting that goes with the story.

Q: Do you base your characters on people you know or are they totally made up?
A: I somewhat based the characters in my Rosey Corner books on my mother and her sisters since they were the inspiration for the books, especially Angel Sister. For example, I gave Kate in those books my mother’s can-do attitude and let her father be a blacksmith the way my grandfather was. But the events in the stories are completely fictional. I’d say that all my other characters are totally made up even though I believe all writers gather bits and piece from each person they know or meet that goes into this giant imagination melting pot. Our characters emerge from that melting pot with a bit of this, a touch of that, a smidgen of something else from people we’ve known.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Murder Is No Accident?
A: Murder Is No Accident is my third mystery set in my little town of Hidden Springs. A new character, fifteen-year-old Maggie Green is a viewpoint character and has a big part in this mystery. Michael Keane, my deputy sheriff, is still a main character and his romance with big city lawyer, Alexandria Sheridan gets a little more play in this story. Here’s a little about the story.
Maggie Greene knows she is trespassing by entering the old, empty Victorian mansion on a quiet street in Hidden Springs, but she needs the privacy in the magnificent tower room to write her stories. Certain she’ll be in trouble if caught, Maggie hides when a realtor shows up. But she isn’t the only one hiding. Someone else is in the house too and is even more worried about getting caught than Maggie. When Maggie finds the realtor’s body at the bottom of a flight of stairs and the mystery person missing, she calls 911, then sneaks away before Deputy Sheriff Michael Keane responds to the call. The realtor’s death is declared a tragic accident, until a second person is found dead in the house causing Michael to reopen the case. When Maggie is threatened, Michael must solve the case before anyone else dies.
Q: Where did you get your inspiration for this story?
A: There’s an old Victorian style house on my hometown’s Main Street that I’ve driven past and admired a zillion times. When I was a kid, I used to imagine how it would be to have a tower room like the one on that house to hide away from the world to write or read. So that was the beginning inspiration for my young character, Maggie, in Murder Is No Accident. I let her climb up into that tower room to write. That leads to her being a witness to a death in the house. Then, since this is the third Hidden Springs mystery, following up Murder at the Courthouse and Murder Comes by Mail, I already had my other main characters with their back stories. Just thinking about my little town of Hidden Springs and the unique characters you can find in every small town was enough to get me inspired to come up with yet another mystery for my deputy sheriff to solve.

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?
A: I want readers to be glad they decided to visit Hidden Springs for yet another mystery. I hope they will like my characters and want to read about them again. I would hope they like the way the characters care for one another and be glad that at least in this story, good conquers evil.

Q: Tell us what you like about the main characters of this book.
A: You have to love Michael Keane. He’s not only good looking but he’s down to earth and loves his town of Hidden Springs. Michael carries a torch for his childhood sweetheart and you have to root for him to finally find love. I also really enjoyed getting to know Maggie Greene, a new character in this story. Maggie doesn’t have all the fancy clothes and phones or electronic gadgets as the other kids. Her family is barely squeaking by, but Maggie has dreams of going on to school eventually. She shows a lot of courage when things get scary for her. I not only like her spirit, but also her youthful vulnerability.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I’m going back to my historical story roots for my next two books. Next September I’m excited to have These Healing Hills, a story featuring the Frontier Nursing Service, scheduled for release. The story is set in the Appalachian Mountains at the end of World War II. That book is going through edits now. Next up is a story based on a true story of a black man’s courage and steadfastness during a cholera epidemic and how the town later rewarded him for what he did for the town’s citizens. My story will be what I imagine might have happened at that time. My working title is Hero of Springfield, but I doubt if that makes it through all the steps the book will go through before release.

Q: If money were no object what vacation would you like to take and why?
A. It would be fun to drive across the country, taking time to visit every state. I’d have to get on a plane to visit that last state, Hawaii, or maybe an ocean cruise to Hawaii would be nice. Then, while I’m about it, I’d head up into Canada too to see some of their wilderness areas and mountains. But why stop there? Since money is no object, maybe I’ll just keep going and fly to England, Ireland and Australia.

Q: What is the silliest thing you have ever done?
A. Believed I could be a writer when I was ten years old? I don’t know. That’s a hard question to answer. I’m one of those people who has always been too self-conscious to abandon all restraints and just be silly. Maybe someday I’ll learn to dance as though no one is watching, but I haven’t gotten there yet. LOL

Q: What is the hardest thing you have ever done?
A. The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do is walk through dementia valley with my mother who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. They say Alzheimer’s is the long death and it certainly is. You lose your loved one long before they die when they can no longer remember their pasts or their family members. My mother was always self-reliant and a caring, loving woman. For four years, my sister and I stayed with her and had to witness her downward spiral until finally she was released from that terrible disease to move on to heaven. It was without a doubt the hardest and saddest thing I have yet had to do. I couldn’t have made it through that dark valley without prayer–both mine and those of my friends and readers.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet?
A. To find out more about my books or me readers can visit my website, www.annhgabhart.com. There you can find my blogs, One Writer’s Journal and The Heart of Hollyhill. I like getting to know my readers on my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/anngabhart or Twitter @AnnHGabhart. I share book research pictures and more on Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/annhgabhart.

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?
A. I grew up reading mysteries and as I said earlier, a mystery was the first book I tried to write. So it’s extra fun to finally have some mysteries of my own out there for readers to try. Since I had written various other genres, my publishers thought it would help readers know these Hidden Springs books were a little different from my other stories if I used a different author name, A.H. Gabhart instead of Ann H. Gabhart. Perhaps that was necessary but I have been very pleased that many of my readers have hopped from one genre to another with me without the first complaint. That has been a blessing.

I do so appreciate each and every person who picks up one of my books and gives it a read. And I appreciate being able to stop by here at the Suspense Zone to talk about my Hidden Springs mysteries. I hope you will enjoy going back down Main Street, Hidden Springs to see what new mysteries are happening. Thank you so much for reading.