Anne Frasier

Anne Frasier's novels have spanned the genres of mystery, thriller, romantic suspense, paranormal, science fiction, and horror. Garden of Darkness continues a dark tale started in Pale Immortal of a spooky Wisconsin town. In Before I Wake, a secret government medical experiment goes wrong. Play Dead plays out amid the voodoo scene in Savannah, Georgia. Sleep Tight, a traditional police procedural, is set in Minneapolis. Publishers Weekly says Frasier "has perfected the art of making a reader's skin crawl." The Minneapolis Star Tribune calls her a "master."

Frasier is a USA Today bestselling author of nineteen novels. Her books have been printed in both hardcover and paperback, translated into twenty languages, and featured in Mystery Guild, Literary Guild, and Book of the Month Club. She won the RITA for romantic suspense, and the Daphne du Maurier for paranormal romance. She was a best hardcover judge for the Thriller presented by International Thriller Writers. This summer she was the guest of honor at the Diversicon 16 conference held in Minneapolis. Anne spent twenty years living on a working apple farm, and now divides her time between St. Paul, Minnesota, and a century-old Gothic church in rural Wisconsin.

Anne Frasier----------

2. Can you give us a sense of what you're working on now?

It's being described REBECCA meets VERTIGO. Much of it is based on a specific period of my own life, and oddly enough it has kind of a REBECCA feel to it. I've taken real events and added some fiction to bump up the plot. A totally new thing for me, and definitely more literary. My new agent plans to submit a partial in January, so I'm full of anxiety right now! This is something I'd planned to write when I was semi-retired since it's such a long shot, but because of the way certain things played out in my life I decided to go for it now. And I'm sweating bullets.


3. What is the greatest pleasure of a writing career?
I think the highlight has been all of the great people I've met. That's something that never entered my mind when I started writing, but it's a bonus that has definitely enriched my life.


4. The greatest DIS-pleasure? Not really a displeasure, but it's incredibly hard to accept that we have no control over our books once they're written. I've tried all of the things suggested by publishers and editors in order to boost sales. Now I'm trying to focus on the one thing a writer can control – the story.


5. If you have one piece of advice for the publishing world, what is it?
Please don't expect the writer to market her own book. I know you're in trouble, but self-promotion doesn't work for so many reasons.


7. Tell us about selling your first novel. Most writers never forget that
moment.
I got that call in 1986. Pocket Books published a book that sparked a small cult following. The book had a tiny print run and zero backing, but people started talking about it, especially editors. No internet then, so I had no idea anybody was even reading it because family and friends across the country couldn't find it. I would go to bookstores expecting to see it on the shelf, but it was nowhere. That was my introduction to the strange world of publishing.

8. What do you consider the highlight of your career thus far.

Wow, that's tough. I haven't had one big highlight, but instead a lot of small ones.

9. How about the low point?

Low points come again and again, because unfortunately if you stay in the business long enough you will fail over and over. Sometimes you can see the crash coming years in advance, but you still have contracts to fulfill, and you still have to keep going and act like everything is fine. The periods of unemployment that follow are devastating and they crush the creative spirit at the very time we need to be producing our best stuff.

10. Which book or short story would you recommend to readers unfamiliar with your
work? I would probably suggest PLAY DEAD. Not as well written as HUSH, but more fun.