Hannah Dennison was born and raised in Hampshire, but on leaving school landed a job as an obituary writer/amateur dramatic reviewer for a Devon newspaper.
Hannah is the author of the Honeychurch Hall Mysteries and the Vicky Hill
Mysteries, both set in Devon, England. Also, two books in Island Sisters Mysteries.
She has been an obituary reporter, antique dealer, private jet flight attendant and Hollywood story analyst.
Hannah originally moved to Los Angeles from England to pursue screenwriting.
She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, The Crime Writers Association, Mystery People, The Historic Houses Association, the National Trust and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.
She enjoys hiking, horseback riding, skiing, theatre and seriously good chocolate.
www.hannahdennison.com
Lizzie: You have just published your twelfth book in the Honeychurch Hall series. Can you tell us about this latest book and how Honeychurch Hall came about. Is it completely out of your head or based on somewhere?
Hannah: Honeychurch Hall itself is fictional—a mash-up of two grand houses I know very well (although there is a real Honeychurch in North Devon which I only discovered after the first book was published). The idea really came from my own recently-widowed mother, who rather alarmingly bought the wing of a country house in her seventies, which led me to create Iris, the romance writer–and my protagonist, Kat Stanford, who quit her TV job in London, to move 200 miles to the West Country to keep an eye on her.
As for book 12, Deadly Derailment has all the elements of a juicy mystery—a 50-year old heist at nearby Honeychurch Halt, missing diamonds, collectible “railwayama” and, naturally, the discovery of a body or two.
Lizzie: Your main character in the Honeychurch Hall series is Kat Stanford, a dealer in antiques. Is that something that you are particularly knowledgeable about, or you are interested in?
Hannah: In my early twenties, I was lucky enough to work for an antique dealer who had a beautiful shop in The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells. I’ve always been fascinated by antiques—the idea that objects carry stories and history with them. Kat’s profession gives me a chance to do just that. Each book features an antique in some shape or form.
Lizzie: Your first series features investigative journalist Vicky Hill who will do anything to get a front-page story. The first book in this series was published in 2008. Things were quite different for female journalists at that time. Was Vicky your pioneer to a journalist career?
Hannah: Ah, good old Vicky Hill. Full disclosure: she was based on my experiences as a trainee reporter who really was stuck writing the obituaries. So, in this case, it was quite the opposite rather than a pioneer! The series was born in a writing class, when our assignment was to submit five different ideas. Vicky was the last one, but she jumped out. By the way, I am nothing like Vicky Hill! Lizzie: In 1993 you moved to the Los Angeles in the US. Can you tell us what prompted that move, the chance of becoming a better writer, a better climate or … ?
Hannah: I had been studying screenwriting—taking classes (I still take writing classes—I love learning). I was accepted into Bournemouth University to do a degree, but a director friend of mine insisted that if I was truly serious about my craft, I should move to Los Angeles. Yes. Just like that. A series of lucky breaks made that happen. I got a job working for a studio and read a lot of other people’s screenplays (called ‘doing coverage’) and wrote a gazillion of my own. Some of which got very close to being made but never quite did. As for the weather—the American work ethic is brutal. I enjoyed looking at the sunshine from my window.
Lizzie: I read that you missed the UK countryside, the pubs, Christmas and Easter, and everything British, especially their sense of humour. Did you consider writing a series set in the US?
Hannah: You’re right about how much I missed the UK. Writing my series set there eased the homesickness a lot. I think I have a manuscript in my bottom drawer about a British assistant who moves to Los Angeles to work for a film producer—I should get that out again and see if it’s any good. Once I’ve finished a project, I completely forget about it!
Lizzie: Do you have the whole book planned out when you settle down to write, or does it change during the writing process, or does it pan out exactly as you had originally planned?
Hannah: I wish! A story is usually sparked by an idea or perhaps a conversation overheard in a restaurant (writers are terrible eavesdroppers). I already have my foundations—my characters and setting—so I write around that kernel of an idea. For example, the train idea in Deadly Derailment came from talking to a handful of train fanatics (and I mean that literally) who were restoring an old railway carriage from the 1950s. I just thought – hmm there’s a story around that. As always, it provided the spark, but the final product was quite different. I know the ending, but it’s a case of freefalling to get there. I trust the process and my characters to show me the way.
Lizzie: Why did you choose to write crime novels?
Hannah: Believe it or not, it’s not the crime that interests me. I think crime is such a natural way to explore people and relationships—what makes someone ‘cross to the dark side’? A mystery gives you structure, but within that you can look at all sorts of human behaviour. And of course, I do enjoy the puzzle—although it gives me sleepless nights when I worry I can’t make the pieces fit.
Lizzie: Do you have a favourite part of the writing process?
Hannah: The early stages, definitely—when the idea is fresh and anything feels possible. And the moment when everything clicks into place and you think—it works! Hurrah!
Lizzie: Do you write for a certain number of hours each day or set yourself a target of x number of words.
Hannah: I tend to work more by time than word count—usually two to four hours a day, more when I am on deadline. I admire fellow writers who can produce a thousand words a day—or even two thousand—but if I focus on that, I seem to lose the creative momentum. Sometimes I could spend three days working on one page. Often in that case, I realise —wait, that scene isn’t important anyway. That’s why I can’t get past it. So I cut it. You have to learn to kill your babies, as they say.
Lizzie: What triggers the idea for a new book? Something that you see or read about, or a personal experience ….?
Hannah: All of the above. I’m always amused when someone asks me if I ever run out of ideas. The answer is— never. I don’t think I’ll be alive long enough to write everything I want to write.
Lizzie: Who are the authors whose work you enjoy and why?
Hannah: I’ve always loved authors who create strong worlds and memorable characters—writers like Barbara Pym and Jane Austen for their observation of people. I enjoy Daphne du Maurier, Mary Stewart, M.M. Kaye, authors I read as a much younger woman, that have stood the test of time. I hope, one day, my books will too!
Thanks for chatting with us Hannah.
Books by Hannah Dennison
Vicky Hill Mysteries
Exclusive
Scoop
Exposed
Thieves
Accused
Trapped
Honeychurch Hall Mysteries.
Murder At Honeychurch Hall
Deadly Desires at Honeychurch Hall
A Killer Ball At Honeychurch Hall
Murderous Mayhem at Honeychurch Hall
Dangerous Deceptions at Honeychurch Hall
Tidings of Death at Honeychurch Hall
Death of A Diva At Honeychurch Hall
Murder in Miniature at Honeychurch Hall
A Killer Christmas at Honeychurch Hall
Dagger of Death at Honeychurch Hall
A Fatal Feast at Honeychurch Hall
Deadly Derailment at Honeychurch Hall
Island Sisters Mysteries
Death at High Tide
Danger At The Cove
Tim Grant who is a distinguished academic and consultant at Aston University. He has extensive experience in forensic analysis. In his talk he explained that his research interests also extend to the linguistics of police interviews, and the analysis of threatening communication and the pragmatics of non-verbal consent in rape cases. In his talk he cited the cases of Derek Bentley, Timothy Evans, the Birmingham six, and Reg Christie who committed 8 murders. 
