Writing Anna Hoyt: A Novel of Colonial Crime—Welcome Back Dana Cameron

I love when writers are fearless and change things up and Dana is one such writer. She’s written mysteries, urban fantasy, and now a historical crime novel that sounds incredible.

Dana: Fear, outrage, and desperation are powerful motivators. If everyone in the world was against you and if your life was worth only what others want from it, what would you do to survive?

         I asked that question when I wrote what would become the first chapter in Anna Hoyt: A Novel of Colonial Crime in 2009. It was originally a short story in Boston Noir, featuring Anna Hoyt, who has the uncommon right to own and run her tavern in 1740s Boston. She believes the tavern is the one thing that will keep her safe from poverty, but every thug on the waterfront wants the profitable place for themselves. Her husband wants her to sell it, and isn’t above beating her to get his way. The religion and law of the period demanded women’s subordination to their husbands or male family members, and the criminals her husband wants to please aren’t worried about her legal rights. Anna’s back is always against a wall, and at every moment, I had to ask: what would she do to survive this? 

         It turns out, over the course of the novel following that first story, Anna was willing do a lot more than I expected. She’s a broken soul, and I didn’t know just how badly until after the story came out and someone pointed out her true nature to me. When I was writing her, I felt only her peril and her resolute will to survive, which somewhat mirrored my own emotions at the time—though of course, I was only angry about gender politics within the mystery-writing community and getting a good story written in a new style in a very short period of time. The depth of her rage surprised me, because it seemed to come so easily to me, and our lives couldn’t be more different.

         I’m not even sure you can call Anna an antihero, much less a hero.

         A few weeks ago at a convention, someone asked me how to keep writing when you learn how amoral a character is? My answer was that eventually I realized that, despite Anna’s skewed view of the world, she kept learning. From the first moment she realized she was in danger, Anna learned from every situation she was in. She knew she could not survive as she was, and dedicated herself to being willing to change in ways that would make her more secure. She wasted no time on wishing for what should be. Anna navigated legal loopholes and the social mores in every sort of society, from the guttersnipe to the aristocrat, as well as among the criminal classes, though for her, the two groups were never mutually exclusive. When given the chance for a little education, she was transfigured. Her interpretation of Biblical passages would scandalize any cleric and her take-away from Shakespeare’s tragedies would have baffled a scholar, but she learns from them in her own way. For her own sake, to keep her world together, and that’s what kept me able to continue writing her.

         I learned so much from channeling a deep emotion in my life into my fiction, so I ask you, Writers: what’s an example of a character who surprised you when you were writing them? What did you learn from them about writing? Readers: Has a characters ever surprised you?

About the book: Anna Hoyt is in the enviable position of owning and running her own tavern; in 1745 Boston, Massachusetts, women had to be granted the legal right to run a business alone. The Queen’s Arms is located on the busy Boston waterfront and the thriving tavern’s location makes Anna a target for the toughs who want her to sell the place to them. The tavern is Anna’s only security, and she’s stubbornly determined not to sell, despite the threats of her abusive husband and the thug he wants to impress. There’s no one to turn to, no organized police force to protect her, and while the law may be on her side, a piece of paper won’t stand in the way of dangerous men. Faced with the choice of a quick and brutal death or enduring misery in poverty, Anna takes matters into her own hands.

Bio: Dana Cameron writes across many genres, but especially crime and speculative fiction. Her work, inspired by her career in archaeology, has won multiple Anthony, Agatha, and Macavity Awards, and has been nominated for the Edgar Award. Dana’s Emma Fielding archaeology mysteries appear on Hallmark’s Movies & Mysteries Channel. Her latest book is Anna Hoyt, a noir novel set in 1740s Boston. When she’s not traveling or visiting museums, she’s usually spinning, weaving, and yelling at the TV about historical inaccuracies.”

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