Dana Cameron

1 - What's your latest?


Dana Cameron: My latest is a short story, "Femme Sole," which came out in BOSTON NOIR (ed. Dennis Lehane) in October.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Dana Cameron: It's "colonial noir," set in 1740s Boston. It makes me crazy when people romanticize and idealize the past, so I wanted to show the grittier side of 18th-century Massachusetts.

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Dana Cameron: One thing that has surprised me is the response to Anna Hoyt, the main character. The story's been very well received, and Anna's clearly struck a nerve. I never thought of her as angry, just as someone doing her best to survive in an untenable situation.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Dana Cameron: There are a couple, and I can't tell you, because they'd give too much away! But there is one scene at the end, where Anna has to make one final decision to survive or die on her own terms, and I was pleased with that moment.

5 - What's next?

Dana Cameron: Another historical short story--totally different! "Swing Shift" is set in 1940s Boston, and features my "Fangborn" characters (introduced in"The Night Things Changed," in Harris and Kelner's WOLFSBANE ANDMISTLETOE). I had fun adding werewolves and vampires to the mix of espionage, the Boston jazz scene, and nascent computer technology. That will appear in the MWA anthology CRIMES BY MOONLIGHT this April.