P.A. Woodburn - Cries in the Dark

P.A. Woodburn is with us today to talk about her book Cries in the Dark.

What is your name?
My writer name is P.A. Woodburn, but I go by Ann. 

How old are you?
If I get much older I’ll be dead. 

Where do you currently live?
I live on Bainbridge Island in the Pacific Northwest. 

Tell us a little bit about your life.
I was born in Northern Ireland. I have lived in England, Scotland, Libya and Egypt. I now live in the US where I have lived in Hawaii, Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. I have had numerous jobs some of which were: gathering potatoes, working in a bake shop, waitress, nurse, laboratory technician, teacher, fundraiser for various organizations, real estate sales person, civil service, financial worker for State of Washington and care giver.

When did you first start writing?
It was a ghost story in Hawaii. It was terrible.

Have you written anything that you were too afraid to let anyone read?
Embarrassed maybe, not afraid.

Who are several of your greatest literary inspirations?
There are so many, and I read new writers all of the time.

What kind of education have you received, and how has that affected your writing?
I have a bachelors in microbiology and completed half my training as a nurse. I research things carefully.

How much research time customarily goes into your projects?
That depends on the project and how much prior knowledge I have. I sometimes continue with research even after the book has been written.

Who is your favorite literary character?
Again there are so many. I read so much that it would be impossible to select one character.

Tell us about your featured book.
Cries in the Dark is a novel about a premed student who discovers that she can communicate telepathically with animals. Alex, the heroine gets a job in a chimpanzee laboratory. On her first day at work her friend is killed by a chimpanzee. This starts several ‘accidental’ deaths all involving people with laboratory connections. Also several chimpanzees disappear from the lab. Alex’s boyfriend disappears and she is left to help the chimpanzees and solve the crimes or be killed herself.

Why did you write that?
I like to write mystery/thrillers that educate and intrigue as well as entertain.

Is there anything special you would like your potential readers to know?
If I use violence in my books. It is not just gratuitous violence. It is violence that can or would happen under those circumstances.

What activity or hobby, besides writing, do you find most enjoyable?
Reading, swimming, traveling, art but I also spend a lot of time looking at homes and how to decorate them.

What is your most valued personal possession in life? Who gave it to you?
I don’t attach much value to personal possessions. They are all temporary. However, I can’t bear to be without a computer.

If you lost the ability to see every color but one, which one would it be?
That would be a nightmare. I am very attracted to colors. I don’t have a favorite color, but tend to chose bright colors.


We'd like to thank P.A. Woodburn. Her work can be found below.