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Ayo: For those that do not know much about you would you like to give us some background information?
Louise: Love to, now’s probably not the time to be bashful. I am 48 years old and was born and raised in Toronto. For many years, I worked as a journalist and host with CBC radio – like the BBC only smaller and less influential. In addition, pays less. Moreover, less prestigious. So not really like the BBC at all. Who said that it was?

After 20 years or so of that, I was tired and burned out. My lovely husband Michael though he knew what my real dreams were and said to me if I really wanted to write a book, he would support me. And he has. We moved a few years ago from Montreal to the village of Sutton, Quebec, near the US border. Instead of kids, we have dogs. Like kids, only smaller, talk less, poop more, less work. So not really like kids at all. Who said they were?

Ayo: How were you introduced to the genre of crime fiction?
Louise: My mother loved crime fiction and introduced me to all the greats: Christie, Marsh, Sayers, and Josephine Tey. I still read and re-read them. And Simenon, of course.

Ayo: Where did the character Chief Inspector Armand Gamache come from?
Louise: I decided early on that the book probably would not be published; after all, most are not. So the writing of it had to be enough. I had to really love what I was doing. To that end, I decided the main character had to be someone I would fall in love with, someone I’d have into my home, someone I’d want to spend a great deal of time with. So a troubled, angst ridden, repressed main character was out of the question. Voila, Gamache appeared. He is partly based on Michael and partly on my idealized man. Calm, courtly, large like a bear, thoughtful and compassionate and strong. And, above all, happy. Gamache loves life and I love him. Quite a relief.

Ayo: What makes a character real for you? Must you work out everything about them or do you let it flow?

Louise: I need to start to feel them. What makes them run, what they want, what scares them? I spend some time with them in my head and assign little qualities to them. Before I let them loose with the other characters, I have to know what makes them different from everyone else in the novel. Then, once the action starts, they are free to walk and breathe, react and act and it’s so much fun to see what happens and hear what comes out of their mouths. But for me, I need to hear their voice and feel inside them before I can let them loose.

Ayo: Since 2004, things appear to have happened in a bit of a whirl. Still Life missed winning the Debut Dagger by a whisker - how much of an effect did that have on you? Did it make you more determined?

Louise: Wonderful question. When I received the email from Kay Mitchell of the CWA that Still Life had been short-listed for the Debut Dagger, I screamed. I knew then that my life had changed. And I knew something else. I knew I did not have to win. Being shortlisted was enough. So when I did not win I was not disappointed or surprised - I was, and will forever be, grateful to the CWA for creating the splendid Debut Dagger award. I was very, very lucky and am filled with gratitude.

Ayo: Still Life received a lot of rave reviews when it was released - were you surprised with the attention that it received?
Louise: Totally. Frankly, I am still surprised it is finished, never mind published. My head is about a year behind the events. To be noticed, never mind get a good review from the Times and the Daily Telegraph and the other publications is astonishing. The publisher, Headline, warned me that debut books are usually ignored, so I was prepared to be satisfied with just holding my own book in my own hand. Reward enough. And it was. The rest has frankly taken my breath away.

Ayo: What was your reaction when you heard you were shortlisted for the Canadian Arthur Ellis Award and the CWA New Blood Dagger and when you won?

Louise: I think puzzlement and wonder more than anything. I have as healthy an ego as the next writer, but this was beyond anything I could reasonable even dream. And it has left me filled with wonderment and a slight suspicion I do not deserve it. At each occasion, I honestly expected to hear someone else’s name called out. And you know, that would have been fine. I have been so fortunate, if it is someone else’s turn, who am I to be upset? I have had so many blessings it is impossible at this stage to feel as though I have lost anything. As you can see, gratitude plays a big part in my life, as does bafflement.

Ayo: As a Canadian author, many would have thought that you would have set Still Life in somewhere like Toront, Ottawa, or Vancouver. What made you decide to set Still Life in Québec?
Louise: I live in Québec, and it was just plain laziness. I wrote what I see every day, and created a fictional, intentionally idealized village, so that I did not have to get the details right. It is my creation, who will contradict me? Besides, there is such culture and depth to question, and even mystery. How the French and English get along and thrive. It is a rich and delightful place.

Ayo: What were you looking for as a novelist that made crime fiction so attractive?

Louise: Well, it helped a great deal that it was a structure I understood, having read so much crime fiction. But intrinsically mysteries allow us to look deep into the soul of a person. When the worst of all crimes takes place, when someone had made a ghost in our very midst, how do people react? What happens to us in extreme circumstances? It is perfect for looking into ourselves and seeing how marvellously complex we are.

Ayo: As a journalist, you covered many ‘hard’ and ‘cynical’ stories - what therefore made you decide to write what has been called a traditional mystery and not a hard-boiled thriller?
Louise: I was tired of ‘hard-boiled’. When I read, it’s to escape. I sure do not want to escape into a world of serial killers and baby killers and into the heads of vicious, cruel, grotesque characters. No – I want a place of beauty and joy and humour – and when a murder happens it is slightly off stage. Little gore, little violence. It’s like Hitchcock – and the closed door. What I hope to create is suspense and a quiet, growing dread.

Ayo: Do you miss the world of journalism and have you managed to bring any of your experience as a journalist to your fiction writing?
Louise: I have never once regretted leaving journalism. It was time. But I was extremely fortunate to be able to spend decades listening to people. Watching them. It is a very handy thing – being a voyeur. Good interviewers are good listeners. Same with writers. We listen and we notice things. So I had decades worth of that – of seeing people in extreme circumstances.

Ayo: Have you had any experience with the Sûreté du Québec?
Louise: Beyond interviewing some members, I am happy to say no. Not yet.

Ayo: To outline or not to outline?
Louise: Outline. I am slightly anal. But, then I usually divert from the outline, but it relaxes me to know I at least have a ‘fall-back’.

Ayo: What is the most important element for you when you are writing?

Louise: Character. Give me good, rich, multi-dimensional characters and I am perfectly content.

Ayo: What do you enjoy the most when you are writing?

Louise: Creating my own world. And there is nothing like finishing work for the day and feel good about what I’ve done. Does not always happen, but when it does, wow. And being surprised by what appears on the page. That’s a gas.

Ayo: What is your biggest distraction when you are writing?
Louise: Jelly beans, café au lait, biscotti, gummy bears.

Ayo: Who were your influences when you first started writing? Do other authors/ books still influence your writing and if so, what other types of writing are you attracted to?

Louise: My influences continue to be the classics – Christie, Marsh, and Michael Innes. One sadness for now is that I find I am influenced by other writers so I have had to stop reading other crime writers. I am either influenced by their style, or so astonished by their skill it depresses me. So now I read Agatha Christie, Michael Innes and non-fiction. Love books about obscure scientific events or discoveries.

Ayo: Part of being a crime writer is the camaraderie that goes along with it. Do you enjoy attending conferences and book signings?

Louise: That has been one of the great gifts. I like people. Like meeting them and listening to them. I also crave privacy – but I have found the crime writing community unbelievably supportive! Such a joy. Being a journalist, I have hung around with a lot of them. Mystery writers do not take themselves so seriously. My husband Michael was the chief of Haematology at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. He tried to cure children with cancer. Now that is important. Frankly, being a mystery writer is not. It is a privilege and a blessing.

Ayo: Your second book is called Dead Cold - without giving too much away, what’s it about?
Louise: It is set in Three Pines at Christmas. Each of my books will take a season, since in Canada the seasons are characters too. In this one a universally hated villager is electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake at the annual curling match. It is about friendships and fears and how we finally become what we believe.

Ayo: What are you working on now and does it have a title?
Louise: I am just finishing book 3 – that is the title. It is set in Three Pines at Easter. A psychic holds a séance at the haunted Old Hadley House, and instead of conjuring a ghost, they create one. Someone dies! Loved the idea of trying to raise the dead at Easter. All the books feature Chief Inspector Gamache.

Ayo: Are you a crime/mystery reader yourself? If so, do you still find time to read and what type of book do you prefer?
Louise: I love crime fiction but right now am trying to stay away from the modern ones, for fear of being influenced. But normally I would be reading Reginald Hill, Caroline Graham, and Ann Granger. Instead, now I am reading about how salt revolutionized the world and the discovery of a living fossil fish off the coast of South Africa.

Ayo: If you were on a desert island and could take five books and three items of food what would they be and why?
Louise: Love the question but I am afraid my answer will be typical. For books, I would take the Bible - Old and New Testaments. I would take a dictionary, Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, Robinson Crusoe (for its helpful hints), and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Agatha has accompanied me my whole life, why not to the island? As for food, bananas, lamb and ice cream. I would not last long, but I would die happy.

Ayo: Crime fiction is often looked down upon as it is not considered ‘literary’ enough. Do you believe that this is the case?
Louise: Not even close. I have heard this before and do not understand it. Like most of you I have read, and continue to read with joy literary fiction, but it does not seem as though there is reason for the distinction. I read a quote from a quite pissed- off John Grisham who scoffed at the distinction and said he figured he just made too much money to be taken seriously as a writer. Honestly, I do not much care. If literary types want to look down on me, let them. Look at my life. It is perfect. I am doing what I love, I get paid to do it, and I get to hang around the most interesting readers and writers. What more could I want? Approval? I do not think I need that.

Ayo: Is there a book out there that you would like to have written?

Louise: To Kill a Mockingbird. Sublime.

Ayo: Ice hockey or Baseball? Which team and why?

Louise: You’re a riot! Hockey and the Canadiens – because it is part of the deal if you want to be a citizen of Québec! They double your taxes if you support any other team, or so I have heard.

More information about Louise Penny can be found on her website:

http://www.louisepenny.com