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Bestselling Author Nevada Barr ReadersRoom: Nevada Barr, welcome to ReadersRoom.com. Thank you for taking the time to chat with us today. NevadaBarr: My pleasure, I assure you. ReadersRoom: I'd like to start this off by asking about your upcoming novel, High Country. Could you tell our readers a bit about it? NevadaBarr: High Country is set in Yosemite National Park where Anna is working undercover at the Ahwahnee Hotel as a waitress. Four young people have vanished and she's been brought in because the chief ranger is not convinced they merely got lost. ReadersRoom: And when will High Country be released? NevadaBarr: February 10. I leave on tour Monday. I have it on good authority (Mom) that it is already available on Amazon.

ReadersRoom: Moms are wonderful. Tell us a bit about your tour. Where will you be going?

NevadaBarr: This year's tour is blessedly short. I start with North Carolina, Washington, D.C., Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona and Texas then return to Mississippi for a few days and finish up with five days in California.

ReadersRoom: A very busy schedule! Can you tell us how you came up with your character, Anna Pigeon?

NevadaBarr: Anna was partly autobiographical. I was working as a ranger in Guadalupe Mountains National Park tracking mountain lions and Anna (taller, smarter, braver and prettier than I) came into my mind with a great adventure.

ReadersRoom: And you have ten books that feature Anna?

NevadaBarr: This one will be the 12th. The TWELFTH! Can you imagine that? When I dreamed of growing old with someone who knew it would be a feisty imaginary ranger?

ReadersRoom: The first book was Track of the Cat. One of the things that has been fascinating to me about the series is that unlike a lot of other series characters, you have aged Anna more or less in real time. Was that something you saw doing from the beginning of the series?

NevadaBarr: I didn't know this would be a series so there was no forethought about any of the things there should have been. I have aged Anna because (contrary to my personal wishes) I have aged and that process has proved fascinating.

ReadersRoom: Nevada, can you tell us a little bit about your research in writing these books? Do you visit each park as you are writing the books?

NevadaBarr: Research is the best part. My husband and I go to the chosen park for a couple weeks and we do all the things Anna will do (short of killing folks). We cave and climb and horse pack, snorkel, dive and hike. Grand work.

ReadersRoom: Thus far, do you have a favorite park?

NevadaBarr: I don't. Each has its own magic. For snorkeling it has to be Dry Tortugas, for climbing, Yosemite, for canoeing, Isle Royale, and Lassen wins for hiking. There are too many factors to compare them linearly.

ReadersRoom: But what a wonderful opportunity you have to get to explore them. Do you have a favorite Anna Pigeon book?

NevadaBarr: Most delicious. Part of the fun of this series is dreaming about where to kill somebody. As to favorites, I have favorite pieces: Track has my favorite ending, Deep South my favorite characters, High Country my favorite action, etc.

ReadersRoom: The action in High Country was excellent -- I felt as though I were right there with Anna.

NevadaBarr: Thank you. I've been told it's my most violent book to date. My agent, a genteel British gentleman, on reading it suggested we entitle it: Don't F*** With Anna.

ReadersRoom: Perhaps the biggest departure for you in the series was 1999's Liberty Falling -- set on Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Was that a difficult novel for you to research?

NevadaBarr: Very much so. I didn't know if I could do an urban book. A friend of mine, Becky, who was working there, suggested I come do a book. I went without much hope. When she showed me the closed bits of Ellis I was taken.

ReadersRoom: Nevada, would you like to tell us a little bit about your book, Seeking Enlightenment Hat by Hat?

NevadaBarr: I think all the time about everything. When I ask people what they're thinking and they reply "Nothing," I cannot comprehend it. So, during the trials and tribulations of my journey through life, I thought about each and every step and put them down in short essays. I had no idea how it would be received but it's been a joy from start to the present and hopefully will never be finished.

ReadersRoom: Nevada, since we announced this chat we've had a lot of questions from our readers. Would you answer a few of them for us?

NevadaBarr: Certainly.

ReadersRoom: First question. Elma W.- Naples Florida: I have read that your mother, your aunt, and your grandmother were the strong independent women who influenced your life. Who do you hope to be an example to and why?

NevadaBarr: I would hope, if anything, girls and young women might read my books and know they are strong, competent, that they will find the courage to be honest and do difficult things. That they will know they aren't victims.

ReadersRoom: Daniel P.- Tarrytown, New York: In the May/June issue of National Parks magazine, you wrote an article titled "We Can Go Home Again."

NevadaBarr: Yes.

ReadersRoom: The quote "National Parks are home of our history, dyed in our blood, warmed by our hopes and inspired by our accomplishments," is one of my favorite all-time quotes. Where can I get copies of this article for my nature group?

NevadaBarr: I would try the National Parks magazine's web site. If they keep back issues, it might be possible to download them. Other than that, perhaps the library and the good old copy machine.

ReadersRoom: Ravi V.- Columbia, South Carolina: The National Parks in Europe are very interesting, maintained well and have an abundance of history. Is there a chance that Anna will be traveling overseas in the future?

NevadaBarr: Oh my yes. I discovered while fiddling around in Rocky this summer that there is an exchange program for rangers and Anna definitely thinks well of being sent to Australia.

ReadersRoom: That sounds fascinating! Katrina C.-Ogden, Utah: You have won the Agatha (1994), The Anthony (1994) and The Mississippi Library Associations Award for Fiction. Of these awards, which one means the most to you?

NevadaBarr: All awards are most welcome but the Agatha has a special place in my heart because it was the first.

ReadersRoom: Phil H -- Kensington, Montana: Anna seems to be a very spiritual kind of person, and yet she really has no trouble dispatching the bad guys -- and in some quite unpleasant ways -- when need be. Do you find it difficult to write the more violent scenes in your books?

NevadaBarr: Nope. I love 'em.

ReadersRoom: Is that because you feel the bad guys are getting the justice they deserve?

NevadaBarr: Yes. And because I am a gentle soul who has never been in so much as a fist fight so it's rather cathartic to just kick some serious butt now and again, even if only on paper.

ReadersRoom: Last reader question, Nevada. Holly C., Colorado Springs: Where can I find a schedule for your signings? I cannot wait to read High Country!

NevadaBarr: On my website www.nevadabarr.com. And I hope you enjoy the book. I shan't be signing in Colorado this year, more's the pity.

ReadersRoom: Thanks for answering those.

NevadaBarr: Any time.

ReadersRoom: One of the questions our readers who are also writers are interested in is the writing schedule and habits of our guest authors. Do you have a set schedule? Set number of pages to write per day?

NevadaBarr: I goof off May thru July. Research August through September and try to write 3-5 pages each day October through January. Then promote the book February-April. All these plans occasionally gang agley.

ReadersRoom: What is your favorite part of being a writer?

NevadaBarr: Working alone.

ReadersRoom: Are you solitary by nature, do you think? Anna seems to reflect that trait.

NevadaBarr: I am not solitary precisely. A part of me is very social. But I do need long stretches of time by myself. I like to form an idea and see it through to completion without input from others. Then sink or swim as fate decrees.

ReadersRoom: Before we end this -- and apart from the tour -- can you tell us what is next for Nevada Barr?

NevadaBarr: I am about finished with the thirteenth, set in Rocky Mountain National Park. Then, perhaps, off to Norway to annoy my elder stepdaughter for a few weeks.

ReadersRoom: Off to a nice warm clime in the winter!

NevadaBarr: No, no, my dear, not in winter, I love the girl but August is my secret plan.

ReadersRoom: Finally, is there anything you would like to say to your fans who may read this chat at ReadersRoom.com?

NevadaBarr: To the readers: I love the fact that you have found Anna as real as I have and that I have been able to give you one zillionth of the pleasure other authors have afforded me over the years.

ReadersRoom: Nevada Barr, this has been a true pleasure. Thank you for joining us today, and much continued success!

NevadaBarr: Thank you so much.




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