Moderator: Welcome to Viewpoint with our guest, Nevada Barr. Nevada, thank you for joining us today, and let's get started.

Falls Church, Va.: Congratulations on an excellent and successful series. Two questions--first, do you ever get tired of Anna, and does that tempt you to introduce one or more other major characters (per Tony Hillerman's Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police)? Second, do you have any personal views you'd like to share about the needs of the National Park system and NPS that the new Administration might address? Thank you.

Nevada Barr: Hello, hello! Whoever is out there in cyberspace, thank you for joining me today. I will try to answer your questions thoroughly if not honestly. After all, fiction is my forte . . .

I haven't gotten tired of Anna yet. I do have fantasies of one day soon writing one Anna then one "off." Probably another mystery because I do love them so but maybe historical.

My views of the NPS are positive. Despite the usual nonsense every bureaucracy has to endure the NPS is a grand agency. The fight now, I think, will be to keep the numbers of people in the parks down to where we don't love them to death and to protect the buffer lands surrounding the park areas. That's a killer.

Bethesda, Md.: Do you have the entire plots of your novels in your head when you begin to write or do the story lines "take on lives of their own" as you go? Thanks for answering.

Nevada Barr: I have very little in my head at any given time. It is my contention that the stories do not live in my grey matter but in the ink. I have a VERY sketchy idea of the plot (I know where it happened, who died and why) before I begin. I have tried extensive pre-plotting and it was like writing the English assignment from hell. No spontanaity.

Arlington, Va.: How do you conduct your research for the books, to get such detail about the parks? Do you spend extended periods of time at the parks?

Nevada Barr: For the first books, Track, Superior and Ill Wind. I had had the luxury of working at the parks and so could do my research while being funded with your tax dollars. Since I have left the NPS I now spend two to three weeks at the chosen park, do the deeds Anna must and establish contacts to help and check me as I write.

Washington, D.C.: To what extent do the situations Anna finds herself in reflect your experiences as a park ranger?

Nevada Barr: Most of the situations Anna's been in sports-wise (climbing, caving, hiking, camping, shooting, fire-fighting -- ooh, now there's a new one for the X channels -- diving etc.) I have done in a safer and saner way. The criminal situations are drawn from other sources.

Centreville, Va.: Hi Nevada!! Your series sounds very interesting and I'd love to start reading. Can you suggest which book is best to start out with? Do you have a personal favorite?

Nevada Barr: Start at the first one: Track of the Cat. The first book has a simplicity and freshness that is impossible to reproduce and you get to know the character from the beginning. Besides, it's in paperback so if you hate it you haven't invested much money. My favorites tend to be the more action-oriented books: Firestorm and Blind Descent. My favorite plot is in Superior Death, my favorite ending of all time is in Track of the Cat.

Vienna, Va.: Hello -- I admire your books very much and am looking forward to reading "Blood Lure."
One of the things that I appreciate in your series is that you don't make a big point of "each book is set in a different national park." The character is the unifying factor in the series, not the variation in setting.
That was a comment, here's a question: Any thoughts of using Harpers Ferry, W.Va., for one of your novels?

Nevada Barr: I haven't thought of Harper's Ferry though I've been there and found it fascinating. I do want to play around at some point in some of the historical parks on the east and southern coasts. Those great brick forts built before cannons were rifled fascinate me. The ideal place for an historical ghost story if I can't think of an Anna Pigeon that would be natural in that setting.

McLean, Va.: What is the "process" you use to write?

Nevada Barr: Hmmmm. Process is tricky. The WAY I write is longhand in spiral notebooks. The flow of the ink the feel of the paper is indigenous to my creative process. I have no discipline so I must write when the pressure of deadlines come upon me. I do try to stick to at least three pages a day -- hey, one hour, write as big as I want, crossed out stuff counts, how hard can it be?

Mancos, Colo.: One of the most enjoyable aspects of your series is the believability of your characters. Heros without weaknesses are no fun. Do you base your characters' psyches on real people you know, or are they truly a figment of your imagination?

Nevada Barr: Hello my dear Mancos. Always wanted a summer house there. My characters tend to grow like hermit crabs' homes. I steal a little from a lot of places and meld it together. Every now and then I stick in a real person if they delight me in some way. From Mesa Verde I stole large chunks of John Sheek and I stole Ev's dog's name and gave it to the dispatcher's lab. Mostly I need to invent and compile to get my characters right for the plot.

Madison, Wis.: Hi Nevada,
I am a librarian at Steenbock Library at University of Wisconsin, Madison. Our library serves the School of Forestry and Wildlife Ecology. We have a large research collection which might assist you in future novels.
All of the librarians are great fans of your novels about Anna Pigeon and her National Park adventures.
If Madison is on your future itinerary, we extend a warm invitation to visit us. Perhaps, we can be of help to you in your background research.

Nevada Barr: I have been to Madison several times on tour and loved it. I don't think I get to stop there this trip. I would love to have your library on my research list. Could you send me your address, etc.? Nevada R Barr@aol.com

Fayetteville, N.C.: My hometown is Raymond, Mississippi, not far from Rocky Springs National Park. My question ... I have every one of your books in hardcover except the first book, "The Track of the Cat." Do you know where I can find a copy? Congratulations on your success and keep up the good work.

Nevada Barr: I just finished jury duty in Raymond. Track of the Cat is tough to come by in hard-cover. You might try the Internet or put in a standing order with your local bookstore. Unless it's a first edition don't pay too much for it. Major scams abound.

Columbia, S.C.: What a wonderful and unusual name you have! Is it your given name or a psuedonym? Either way is there a story behind it?

Nevada Barr: Nevada is my given name. It was chosen before I was born. Had I been male it would have been Nevada Bruce Barr. As it turned out it is Nevada Rae Barr. My parents lived in California not far from the Nevada border. My mother wanted a female obstetrician (not easy to come by 49 years ago) and found one in Yerington, Nevada where I was born. Hence the name.

Coudersport, Pa.: I enjoy your books so much - especially on tape. Have you heard Barbara Rosenblat's narration of your books?

Nevada Barr: I've never heard Barbara read my stuff though I've met her and love her voice. I do love books on tape. When I am old and my mind has slid ever farther into the ether I intend to listen to my old books on tape. It will be like remembering a life I only lived in my mind. Very surreal.

Arlington, Va.: Do you have a Web site?

Nevada Barr: Nope. I have only just rushed headlong into the 19th century.

Moderator: Each of your Anna Pigeon books is set in a different national park. When you begin to write, do you start out with the setting and then think of a suitable mystery or do you start with the idea for the mystery and think of a suitable park to set it in?

Nevada Barr: They are sort of chicken and egg. I have to have both before I can begin. I try and start out with a park I want to go play in with something of interest there to cogitate upon but before I book any airline tickets the death must be established in my mind. Not the peripheral things of the death but the major underlying reason that the victim had to be offed. There are wonderful places I would like to set stories in but have yet to think of a good reason to knock somebody there off.

Mechanicsburg, Ohio: Hello. I, too, admire your books. I have all of them. I hope you are planning to continue with Anna. I enjoy her in the park settings; glad to hear you are considering some of the parks here in the east.

Nevada Barr: Thank you kindly. I figure I'll get to most parks eventually. There are 360-odd in the NPS system but the women in my family are long-lived. Mom grew up and went to college in Oberlin, Ohio so the state has a special place in the family history.

Whitehall, Pa.: LOVE your books. Picked up "Deep South," got hooked and then went back to the beginning of the series. I find Anna an interesting and complex individual who, like all of us, struggles with a number of internal demons. Two "silly" questions: How did Anna become a ranger and, though a vegetarian since her husband's death(?), one story had her eating a bologna sandwich! A moment of weakness?
Who cares - keep the stories coming. Thanks so much.

Nevada Barr: You know, I'm not precisely sure how Anna became a ranger. Much of her past has yet to be revealed to me. The bologna is because Anna is first and foremost a sensible creature. When all there is to eat is your fellow creatures then you must eat them. A girl's got to keep her strength up.

Lawrenceburg, Tenn.: Hi, I'm a new reader of your books--after months of a friend trying to get me to try one. They're great! Will you be doing a book tour for the new book and will Nashville, TN be on it?

Nevada Barr: Welcome aboard. I do hope they continue to entertain. I wish I were going to Nashville this year but no such luck.

Indianapolis, Ind.: Hello Nevada. I recently picked up a copy of your very first book, Bittersweet, which was a noticeable departure from your Anna Pigeon series. I enjoyed it tremendously and am wondering if you have any other plans to write outside the mystery genre.

Nevada Barr: Bittersweet remains a dear old friend. It was my first published book. My boss at the time referred to it as a Neo-Gothic-Lesbian-Western. A fairly small genre. I do have thoughts off and on about writing out of the mystery genre but I'm not sure if I ever will. I LOVE mysteries. I read them like I eat Doritos, one after the other.

Crystal City, Va.: Just finished "Deep South" and enjoyed it tremendously. Looking forward to "Blood Lure." My question is how much of yourself do you see in Anna?

Nevada Barr: Anna and I were quite close in the beginning though she was always taller, smarter, braver and more interesting than I am. As the books have evolved Anna and I have evolved. We have grown, as it happens, in very different directions. Now we share emotional truths but the outward littles of our lives are radically different.

Delta, Utah: I am the librarian at a small but wonderful library in rural Utah. The readership of your books is growing all the time. You can't write books fast enough for some of our patrons.
There is a wonderful national park - Great Basin National Park located on the Utah/Nevada border that has a wonderful cave and beautiful terrain. Keep us in mind. We'd love you have you.

Nevada Barr: I LOVE Great Basin. I grew up in Susanville (north of Reno, Nevada). In my many trips from the East home I drove through Delta before launching off toward Eli. I've driven past Great Basin many times and never once gone in. Always I was too tired of the road and wanted to get home. It would be a wonderful place for an Anna Pigeon with and Old West flavor. I have never quite gotten over the death of John Wayne. Have they gotten the cows out of the park yet?

Washington, D.C.: Ms. Barr,
How about the D.C. area for the book tour? Thank you.

Nevada Barr: February 15th, 7 p.m., Walden Books in Fairfax. So far that's the extent of my D.C. plans this tour, but then they are subject to change without notice even to me.

Lander, Wyo.: What ever happened to Anna'a friend from the early books?

Nevada Barr: Ah, Christine. I was fond of Christine and her daughter. I dragged the poor things from Texas to Michigan just to be with them. I couldn't find a realistic way to continue to torment them with move after move but one of these days I will find a story that will bring them back into Anna's life. Hopefully without having to kill anyone too close to them . . .

Merced, Calif.: The description of the fire in Firestorm was amazing. I held my breath while Anna hid under her protective tent. How did you research that passage? Did you draw from a survivor's account?

Nevada Barr: I'd been trained in wildland fire fighting and had seen videos of crown fires and burn overs that contained survivors' accounts. Then Storm King Mountain blew up and I studied those. Amazing stuff. Reality is more phenomenal than fiction. Not only in what goes on outside of us but how the human mind works when all hell is breaking loose.

Alexandria, Va.: What can you say to budding writers? (Not necessarily young writers, just budding ones!) When did you begin writing? Any advice for those of us hoping to follow your lead?

Nevada Barr: I have written all my life. Seriously since 1979 and profitably since 1993. I got the best first novel awards for my fifth book. I still have four books in my garage that have never been published. I have two quotes for budding writers, the first from Churchill: "Never, never, never quit." The second from my father: "Sometimes you just have to wear the bastards down." That's advice from the professional side. From the personal writer side: it's got to be fun and you've got to like it. There'll probably never be fame or money. If you're not having a good time why bother?

Washington, D.C.: It's not a question exactly, but a suggestion. For the person who wanted a hard-cover edition of Track the Cat, try Amazon.com

Nevada Barr: Thank you kindly, good suggestion.

Mancos, Colo. (again): Underlying the mystery in each of your books is the ongoing storylines of your major characters' lives. (I especially have liked the Anna, Molly, Frederick Stanton love triangle). Do you have this storyline fully developed in your mind already so that you simply plug in the next segment into your next mystery, or do you develop it as you develop the mystery in each book?

Nevada Barr: Nothing is developed in my mind which sometimes gets me painted into a corner. I have no idea of the Big Picture. I live Anna's life much as I live mine: one day at a time seeing only what is revealed to me at the moment. I am in awe of writers who can hold several books in their minds at one time.

Arlington, Va.: The business of writing--- how did you get started? How did you sell your first book?

Nevada Barr: I started writing seriously because I was an actress and thought the women's roles were too tedious for words. I wanted to write a book with a strong woman lead. The fantasy of course was that when they made the movie I would star in it. That book never sold but it did get me an agent. I sent it to an agency in New York and they took me on. The next, Bittersweet, sold after 13 rejections. Ten more years and four more books went by before I was published again.

Reston, Va.: Hi Nevada, I'm an ardent fan of yours who's wondering if a movie adaptation of a Pigeon novel is in the works. Who would you envision playing Anna?

Nevada Barr: Track of the Cat has been optioned which means they give me a little money and try to sell the rights for a year. I'm not sure how I'd feel about a movie. It would change how I and others look at Anna if it was any kind of success. I do enjoy "casting" my books. I can see Dana Delany as Anna, she has the maturity, compassion and COMPETENCE to carry it. Linda Hamilton would be interesting. Meryl Streep can do anything and I'll believe it.

Annapolis, Md.: Hi there Nevada. I'm sure Anna Pigeon has hundreds of adventures left in her, but do you ever think about creating additional mystery series beyond the Anna Pigeon books? Maybe a spin- off or some wholly new setting for a "Barr-esque" sleuth?

Nevada Barr: I do have dreams of starting a second series. I think I would like to do it the way Dick Francis did: sort of the same feel but a different slueth each time. Historicals. That way I could travel in time and play in strange places.

Little Rock, Ark.: Miss Barr:
Do you keep in touch with your former park ranger buddies? I ask because I'm guessing they've gotten a kick out of your success. How do they feel about the Pigeon series? Keep writing!

Nevada Barr: I do and they invite me places and show me things. Libery Falling was because of a girlfriend, Becky, who had been transferred there with a promotion and told me it was my duty to come and see the place. I stayed with her and found inspiration. Rangers do seem to get a kick out of my books. That means a great deal to me. They are the people who know when I'm lying and when I've really nailed it.

Dubuque, Iowa: Do you get to choose the narrators of the audiobook versions of your books?

Nevada Barr: Nope. I'd love to read them myself but so far no takers. That can be a disaster. I've gotten several books on tape read by the author and, well, the WRITING was good.

Winston-Salem, N.C.: Loved Liberty Falling. Is there any chance you could make an appearance on the east coast with Recorded Books narrator Barbara Rosenblat? The two of you together in a room would be phenomenal!

Nevada Barr: We have appeared together once at the very beginning of Anna. When I got the Agatha for Track of the Cat at Malice Domestic (a convention in Bethesda, Maryland) Barbara was the one who read the first lines of the book to reveal the winner.

Philadelphia, Miss.: I am employed at a public library in Philadelphia, Mississippi. If you are ever in the area, we would love for you to come by.

Nevada Barr: When next I'm there, I shall. I love libraries. Especially little ones. I always feel safe and at home.

Upper Marlboro, Md.: I always wanted to be either a park ranger or in the forest service when I was younger, so I've really enjoyed your books. What parks haven't you been to yet, which one would you want to see next and why?

Nevada Barr: Whooo, boy that's a tough question. I haven't been to so many and want to go to most of them. I've never been to Alaska and want to do that. Big Bend is high on my list as is Great Basin. Dry Tortugas sounds weird and wonderful. It is so hard to choose among so many fabulous treats. Ain't America grand? FYI I didn't become a ranger 'till I was 36. Why not do it now?

Roanoke, Va.: Nevada - Love your books. I'd be curious to know who some of your favorite authors are.

Nevada Barr: I've got bunches. In the mystery genre: Dick Francis, Arthur Upfield, Anne Perry, Richard Barre, Dorothy L Sayers, PD James, Charles Todd. (and this is only a partial list) In other areas I like old dead people's stuff: Dickens, Austin, Clavell and Trollop. Robin Hobbs gets my fantasy award for her Ship of Magic trilogy. Philip Pullman wins his own unique kudo for the Amber Spyglas trilogy. I could go on for a very tediously long time.

Great Falls, Va.: Not a question, just a comment. Actor, park ranger, novelist. What an eclectic life you've had.

Nevada Barr: I have had a checkered career. I tend to get bored about every seven years and just throw over the traces and start an new life. I'm a tad jumpy as the time for such upheaval is upon me and I am doing so well at the moment ...

Divide, Colo.: Do you belong to any writers associations/organizations? If so, how do they help you? Commiseration among peers, publicity, help with publishing, etc?

Nevada Barr: I do. I belong to Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Both are excellent organizations and welcomed me with friendship and good advice. Not being a person who works and plays well with others, I haven't used the groups as well as another might do.

Arlington, Va.: Hi Nevada....any thought to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park? I've been there and it's a great park!

Nevada Barr: Oh my yes, thought and thought and plotted. You see, then I could write the trip off my income tax. I've been there twice. Much wonder and mystery to be had.

Nevada Barr: Time to go and ... well ... do SOMETHING constructive if not work. Thank you guys for being here and talking with me. Being an avid devourer of books, it is one of my greatest joys to know readers, if not personally, then electronically.

Moderator: Our thanks to Nevada Barr, RecordedBooks.com and all who participated.

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