Author T. M. Dunn chatted about her domestic thriller novel “Her Father’s Daughter.”
She also opened up about being an author in the digital age, at a time when social media, technology, and streaming are so prevalent.
Background on the author
T. M. Dunn has served as Senior Director of the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, where she holds an MFA degree in creative writing. She coaches aspiring and established writers and teaches creative writing workshops.
She is the co-host of the Westport Library’s podcast, “Go Ahead, Write Something.” An Italian-American, Bronx-raised author, Dunn has traveled the world.
Dunn lives in Stamford, Connecticut, where she is currently working on her next novel, with her rescue puppy, Blanqui, snuggled at her side.
In ‘Her Father’s Daughter: A Novel’ you explore the theme of twisted secrets within a family. What motivated you to delve into these aspects of human nature in your writing?
My other two novels were about family and family secrets. They weren’t thrillers. I can’t write about family and relationships without there being secrets.
In life, we all know how secrets create tension and often lead to drama in our lives and this is the same in fiction. However, in fiction, we push and push until the stakes are raised as high.
Of course, not every secret in life or in stories have to be huge and loaded as, “My dear family, it’s time you know I have bodies buried in the backyard.” But the stakes are raised high, and I know as a reader this would get me to keep turning the pages.
No spoiler alert here. No bodies are buried in backyards. They are disposed of in other ways.
What aspect of the story or theme resonated with you the most personally, and why did it have such significance to you as an author? At the heart of this story is a father and daughter relationship. Father-Daughter relationships can be complicated; beautiful on the one hand and a mess on the other.
I never liked the expression “Daddy’s Little Girl,” but there was a lot of truth in it for me. My father was the one who talked to me and shared “secrets” in a sense. In June, when the weather was warm, sometimes when it wasn’t, he would meet us after school and take us to the beach. He was always doing fun stuff. Yes, in my eyes my father could do no wrong.
Every argument or issue my mother and father had with each other, I always blamed my mother. It wasn’t until my early thirties that I discovered that in many ways my mother had held the family together. I started to understand my mother’s side. I also saw my father from the lens of a grown woman.
My father was no longer “the perfect parent.” I can say that my father was a wonderful man, who for better or worse lived for his family.
What do you hope readers will take away from ‘Her Father’s Daughter: A Novel’? Are there any specific emotions, thoughts, or discussions you hope the book will inspire among your readers?
There are many sides to a story. People are paradoxes. We are not all one thing and not the other.
Ideally, and I know this is asking for a lot, I want my readers to feel empathy for the father and to see that someone who commits horrific, deplorable, even unfathomable acts can also be a loving father. Even the best of parents mess-up. Perfection doesn’t mean ideal.
Bottom line, I would want my reader to see the humanity in this character. Of course, a serial killer father is pushing this to the extreme. I feel if people can find some good in a serial killer, they may be able to see the good in everyone. Yes, this is the idealist in me talking.
Writing a novel is not for the faint of heart, and involves a lot of time and effort. What was the most rewarding moment for you during the process of writing ‘Her Father’s Daughter: A Novel’? Was there a particular scene, character development, or plot twist that brought you a sense of accomplishment or satisfaction?
When I started the novel, I had no idea where it was going. I didn’t set out to write a thriller. I just gave over to this voice that I was hearing. I trusted it, so I took the advice that was given to me and what I often give to my students, “Know your characters and let them lead.”
Unlike my other novels or most of anything I had written before, I didn’t question or second guess what was showing up on the page, not in the first draft anyway.
I let my character lead and reveal his story. With the book that I’m currently working on I have thought about the plot a lot more than I did at the beginning of ‘Her Father’s Daughter.’
What is it like to be an author in the digital age? (Now with technology, streaming and social media being so prevalent)
I was at a writer’s conference more years ago than I want to admit, and one of the breakout sessions was speaking to this new thing – digital books. At the time many, if not most, publishers refused to see digital books as a viable medium.
There was this feeling that if you ignore it, it will go away. I remember publishers didn’t care about digital publishing rights at first and when they started to do digital books as a “supplement” to print, they gave authors a very high percentage of the profits.
I believe it was Sander, founder of Soft Skull Press, who said that his job as a publisher or any publisher is to get books/stories to readers. Digital is just another medium to do that.
I love the physical book for sure. I also read books on my electronic devices all the time, especially when I need to make the font size bigger.
When you finish a book, what is your favorite way to celebrate?
Find a pool, or some body of water, where I can lay on a floatation device and sip umbrella drinks. I haven’t been able to do this yet, but one day. Maybe with the next thriller.
“Her Father’s Daughter” is available on Amazon by clicking here.
To learn more about author T.M. Dunn, check out her official website.
