Today the Huletts Current is happy to sit down with Anne White, author of many Lake George mystery stories. Her most recent novel, Cold Winter Nights, has just been released. All of her books take place in the Lake George region. They’re all great reads for the entire family.
To begin I understand you grew up in Whitehall, daughter of Helene and Bernard Murphy, and spent many happy hours in Huletts Landing. Could you give us some of your earliest recollections of Huletts?
“I grew up in Whitehall and loved visiting Huletts, which always always seemed so serene with its beautiful views of the lake. As an adult, I enjoyed going to the Casino. Several friends spent summers there as cooks, waiters or waitresses and visiting them was always fun.”
Are there any spots from Huletts Landing that you’ve included in your novels?
“My last four Lake George Mysteries take place in the fictitious town of Emerald Point just north of Lake George Village. (I consider it not far from Diamond Point, as you might suspect) My first book, An Affinity For Murder, involving paintings which may have been left behind by Georgia O’Keeffe, is set near the Village. I live in Glens Falls now, so I’m more apt to visit the southern end of the lake. I confess I haven’t included scenes from Huletts yet. Maybe next time.”
The Lake and how it changes during different seasons of the year, plays a central role in your stories. For people who perhaps only visit during the summer, can you explain how you see the Lake change during the year?
“I love seeing the changes and trying to capture them — the lush beauty of summer when the lake and all the places around it seem to be bursting with life; the unbelievable colors in the fall, that breath-taking panorma as you drive down the west side and look across at the mix of orange and gold with dashes of fiery red and the cool accents of the evergreens; the frosty blue, gray and white of winter; then the burst of life as spring comes on. Lake George has been called one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, and for good reason.”
Your characters are quite colorful and when I’ve read some of your books, it’s clear that you portrait the essential elements of Adirondack living quite well. Without naming names, are there some people from your everyday life that you use for inspiration?
“My characters are a mix. I might start with the idea of somone I know, or knew, then change age, job, family connections, even appearance. I like to recast my characters the same way I do with locations. It’s fun when people guess. In the last couple of books I’ve tried to create characters who are closely tied to the locale — the man who studies bats in Secrets Dark and Deep and now the Adirondack Woodsman in Cold Winter Nights.”
I remember a good writing instructor once saying a great novel “has lots of conflict”. I don’t want to give any of your plotlines away but this is actually harder to do than it sounds. Are there any local conflicts that you’ve used that you’ve gotten positive feedback on?
“Because Loren, my leading character, is the mayor of the town, she’s pulled into whatever is going on. But Loren’s biggest problem is that she doesn’t know when to quit. She is a “buttinski”, but then so are most other amateur detectives in fiction. She’s often at odds with the Sheriff’s Investigator and increasingly with her fiance. So there’s built-in conflict there. My teenage character, Josie, serves as a kind of Watson. She’s more apt to be in conflict with her mother, Loren’s friend Kate. As for feedback — now with the Internet and e-mail, I sometimes hear from people who’ve visited Lake George, not about (political) conflicts, but to say how beautiful it is and how many happy memories they have of staying there.”
Anne, one character that would make sense in a future book, is an intrepid blogger who stumbles upon a sensational local news story and ultimately saves the day. You’re more than welcome to use this idea in your next book. (Big smile.)
“I love this idea since one of my goals is to do more blogging myself. Of course, someone would have to try to murder the blogger at some point.” (Big smile also.)
Anne’s Lake George Mysteries are available in Red Fox Book Store in Glens Falls and Dog Ate My Homework in Saratoga Springs. They can also be found on Amazon.com and her website, www.annewhitemysteries.com also.