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A Delicate Balance

Apr 16, 2019
by Caroline Miller
Anne Hillerman, Bernadette Manuelito, Harry Potter, J. K. Rowlling, Jim Chee, Joe Leaphorm, The Tale Teller, Tony Hillerman
2 Comments

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The challenge in writing a daily blog is to stay balanced: to choose topics close to centers of interest my readers recognize, while providing enough novelty to prevent them from becoming bored.

All writers face this delicate balance.  Harry Potter put J. K. Rowling on the map. But when she finished the series and tried a new venue, she met with resistance.  Her audience has fallen in love with her fantasy characters and wanted more.  She responded with, Magical Beasts,  a series which required her to add screen writing to her repertoire.  Something old.  Something new.

Anne Hillerman must have faced a similar challenge when she picked up the Navajo mystery series from her father, Tony Hillerman.  No doubt, she moved cautiously before tinkering with his formula.  Detectives Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee had a huge fan base.

Anne Hillerman’s solution was simple and effective.  Take a minor character and expand her role.  By allowing Detective Bernadette Manuelito to flower, Hillerman’s daughter could inject the stories with the insights of a detective who was also a wife and the oldest child of an aging mother.

The expansion worked and I’m confident Tony Hillerman would approve.

The Tale Teller, just out,  is the fourth in Anne Hillerman’s series,  and this time, she returns the stage to Joe Leaphorn, Tony Hillerman’s original detective in the Navajo mysteries.  Now that Maneulito is an established character, perhaps the author felt confident she could tackle that charismatic  detective whose brooding manner and eye for details have made him a legend among mystery fans. I’m glad she did.  I’ve missed him. 

Anne Hillerman is to be congratulated for managing to preserve the spirit of her father’s work while injecting it with a fresh mix of characters.  They change the human landscape for the better in that timeless world. Without question, the moment has come to declare the series hers.

 

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2 Comments
  1. Anne Hillerman May 14, 2019 at 8:12 pm Reply
    I am honored to be mentioned in the same breath as both J. K. Rowling and my dear Dad. I am grateful to have the chance to write these mysteries and thankful that Tony Hillerman's loyal fans took a chance on me. And now, I hear from readers who are discovering my father for the first time through my continuation of the series. Thank you, Caroline, for your kind and astute comments.
    • Caroline Miller May 14, 2019 at 8:22 pm Reply
      Delighted to hear from you, Anne. As we've never met, my comments are objective and free of any personal associations. Being a fan of your father's work, I gravitated to your series. My remarks aren't kind. They are warranted. I look forward to more years of reading pleasure.

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Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Portland, Oregon author Caroline Miller had distinguished careers as an educator, union president, elected official and artist/advocate.

Her play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, was performed at the Post5 Theatre, Portland, OR, January/February 2015

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens.  She also published the story Gustav Pavel,  a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.

Caroline has published four novels

  • Ballet Noir
  • Trompe l’Oeil
  • Gothic Spring
  • Heart Land

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