Dana Stabenow: My usual smartass reply to that question is "I never let the truth get in the way of a good story." I have lived my life listening to storytellers, pilots, set netters, crab fishermen, Natives, snerts players and state troopers, and one of the things you learn while listening is that the stories always change in the telling.

These are my stories about my Alaska, and while much of the time the seed of the story comes from a factual incident, the story evolves into something completely different. Of course, I also feel free to drop in little nuggets of Alaska history here and there, and in every one of the Alaska novels there are always one or two references that only Alaskans will get. Not fair, is it? Sorry.

Gumshoe: Okay, I have to ask; in Hunter's Moon, I was absolutely shocked at the ending. Since then I've never felt completely comfortable reading the books because I know you can and will do what's necessary for the story. However, while reading one of the Liam Campbell books, a character is reading a book and throws it across the room because the author killed a main character. I got the impression she was reading Hunter's Moon. Did you get a lot of feedback about Hunter's Moon?

Dana: Hah! Made you nervous, did I? Good! It's not safe in here in the Stabenow ouevre. I am still getting a lot of feedback about Jack. One woman called me a murderer. Another said when she finished the book she went out and burned it in her back yard. Without exception, at every public appearance a hand shoots up and The Question is asked: "Why did you kill Jack?"

Gumshoe: You've got quite a following for your mystery series. You've edited an anthology of mysteries with fantasy elements.. And you've written some science fiction. Do you think you'd ever do a fantasy novel or try science fiction again?

Dana: Yes. I'd still like to write the next three novels in the Star series. Someday when I have time. I'm editing the second Powers of Detection anthology for Ace Science Fiction as we speak, and I've been approached to write a novel set in the world of the stories I write for those (Seer and Sword). Again, when I have time...

Gumshoe: In A Deeper Sleep, there are lies, secrets, omissions and diversions. It's much darker and in some ways richer because of the deepening textures of the characters. Do you feel that this is a change in the series for you?

Dana: Yes. At the end of A Deeper Sleep all the major characters are in trouble and I haven't the slightest idea how I'm going to get any of them out it. It's a great place for a series to be.

Gumshoe: There are a lot of hanging threads from A Deeper Sleep not to mention a lot of skeletons now in everyone's closets. Will some of these come back to haunt Kate, Jim, and the Aunties in future books?

Dana: All of them will. You take action, or you don't, and you have to live with it. And so does everyone else.

Gumshoe: With an ongoing series, how do you get inspired for the next book? Is it a newspaper report, a chance conversation partially overheard, or do you just imagine them moving on from where you left off?

Dana: All of the above. And the idea fairy.

Gumshoe: What has surprised you most about your readership and their response to your novels?

Dana How smart and funny most of them are. A pleasant surprise.

Gumshoe: One thing I'm always curious about is what is your work schedule like? How do you work? Do you write then research or research then write? What's a typical day like for you?

Dana: I rise early, take a caffeine hit and a shower in that order, check my email, take care of business, shower and dress and then sit down and write. I have a set amount of pages I write a day, the number depending on how close my deadline is.

When I start to get claustrophobic from too much keyboard time, I go ice skating or cross-country skiing or clam digging or sailing (I crew on the Gwylan during the Homer Yacht Club races. She said very proudly.)

Gumshoe: What do you do to relax and recharge? What are the last 5 books you read? What are the last 5 movies you watched?

Dana: I travel. This year I went to Spain, last year I went to China, before that I hiked the Coast to Coast Trail in England, before that I rented a villa in Chianti with eight friends and ate and drank waaaaaaay too much. Glorious!

Last five books:

1-Blood and Roses by Helen Castor
2-The Odyssey by Homer (a young friend is in the honors course at her high school and I'm reading all the assigned books with her and helping her with her papers)
3-The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
4-Allegra Goodman’s Intuition.
5-Reflex by Steven Gould

Over the Hedge
The Wire Season 4
The West Wing Season 7
Bride and Prejudice (like five times)
Why We Fight

Dana: Write every day. Even if it's only a page a day, it's one page more than you had the day before. You'll keep your skills sharp and at the end of the month you'll have a chapter. At the end of the year you'll have a book.

Gumshoe: : Anything you'd like to say to your readers?

Dana: Go to my website and post to the blogs. It's there for you. I read them all and respond to all the questions, honest.

Gumshoe: Thanks, Dana for your time.