Guest Post: Doing Q&As as Characters

In promoting Baby Grand, I’ve been asked a few times to do a written interview as Jamie Carter or Don Bailino, two of the book’s main characters, and so far I’ve declined. It feels weird to me—bringing those characters out of their worlds to answer questions in this world. But authors do it all the time. Just yesterday, I read a character interview done by my writer-friend Chris Nickson, and I asked if he wouldn’t mind putting together a guest post regarding his thoughts on using character interviews as a promotional tool. He was kind enough to say yes.

Over the last couple of weeks, my blog has featured an interview with Richard Nottingham, Constable of Leeds in the 1730s. It’s part of a build-up to the At the Dying of the Year, the fifth novel in my series featuring, you guessed, Richard Nottingham.

These kinds of interviews are a good way to introduce people who haven’t read my books to some of my characters, and they also serve as a reminder to those who might have read one or two. It perhaps works best where there’s a whole life built up around the character (there was a real Richard Nottingham and he was in fact Constable of Leeds from 1717 to 1737). It gives me something to draw from, and there’s an entire backstory, a history and family.

Admittedly, it’s strange, having the character address readers directly. It’s even a little jarring; he’s out of his usual context and doesn’t generally speak at such length, most certainly not about himself. That made it a challenge, which is never a bad thing, having to consider the character in a new light. It helps that he’s so familiar by now, an old, trusted friend, but it doesn’t necessarily make it easier.

And it’s fun – that’s the most important. Finding that fine line so that people are intrigued but without going into too much detail (I’m also a music journalist, and over the last 20 years I’ve conducted many interviews, I should probably add) adds to the pleasure. It’s an exercise in writing, after all, and in character, sustaining that person and making him (or her) seem real – just like a book, really.

Advance Praise for ‘Baby Grand’

Here’s a sampling of some of the advance praise for Baby Grand. Thank you to all of you who took the time to read my debut novel. I am grateful for your kindness and humbled by your kind words.

• “A perfect thriller from Dina Santorelli—heart-stomping, emotion-packed and utterly surprising. Readers will be gripped by the tightly woven story and richly layered characters. A terrific read!”
  —Ellen Meister, author of The Other Life

• “What an enjoyable read! It pulled me in at the beginning and didn’t let go until the last page. Very difficult to put down! I’m already looking forward to the author’s next book.
  —Joseph Mugnai, publisher, Family magazine

• “A superb debut for Dina Santorelli. A well-crafted novel that’s also a page-turner. Baby Grand’s a winner; you won’t want to put it down.”
  —Julia Markus, critically acclaimed biographer and winner of the Houghton Mifflin Literary Award for her novel Uncle

• “Dina Santorelli has the gift of a natural storyteller, and Baby Grand sweeps along at a frantic pace, plunging the reader into a tale with wonderfully real characters you care about. It’s very human, very exciting, and absolutely engrossing.”
  —Chris Nickson, author of the Richard Nottingham series of historical mysteries