Get to know April's Author of the Month, Kate Hannigan, as she talks about the inspiration behind her latest book, The Detective's Assistant, how she got her start in writing and her love of Chicago history.
Where did you get your idea for this book?
I stumbled across a single sentence about Kate Warne while I was researching another story. Immediately, I was intrigued and wanted to know more. So I started reading anything I could find about her and the Pinkerton Detective Agency, which began right on Washington Street in downtown Chicago — not far from where the Harold Washington Library is today!
I thought it would be fun to join Kate Warne on her wild adventures, so I decided to plunk a fictional niece — 11-year-old Nell — on her doorstep so we could see firsthand what Kate Warne was up to.
What was your favorite book when you were growing up?
I read Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell over and over again. I would even act out the story in my back yard, pretending to forage for berries with my imaginary dog on my own island in the middle of Oklahoma. This book made a big impression on me, which might be why historical fiction has always been my favorite genre.
How old were you when you started writing?
I always identified myself as a writer, before I even had a clear concept of what it meant. At first I thought it sounded important. Then I realized how much I liked stories and books. I loved writing mysteries in the style of Encyclopedia Brown in grade school — Mrs. Tucker, my fourth-grade teacher, held a Friday read-aloud challenge — and I spent a lot of time world building with my toys and in my diary. One of my favorite things to do in sixth grade was diagram sentences and really break down the mechanics of writing as well as the components of a story. After that, I dove into high school newspapers, journalism school in college, and then working for daily newspapers.
What is your favorite word?
Onomatopoeia. I tend to speak in sound effects and onomatopoeia, imitating the sounds of things that happen to me throughout the day. When I watch my sons play soccer, I'm always yelling things like "whoosh!" "smack!" "bam!" When I trip on the staircase, which happens fairly often, I'll say "splat!" or "boink!"
What is your favorite book about Chicago?
I love anything and everything by Richard Peck, so my favorite book about Chicago would have to be any one of the titles by this Illinois native. I ate up his hilarious tales of Grandma Dowdel in A Long Way From Chicago and A Year Down Yonder. But I'd say my favorite of favorites would be his Fair Weather, which focuses on Chicago in 1893 when it hosted the whole world with the Columbian Exposition. There was such a sense of wonder in this story. Skyscrapers! Electricity! Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show! And best of all, a new contraption called a Ferris Wheel!
Find out even more about Kate Hannigan and The Detective's Assistant.
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