Things you could learn from this BUTTERCUP episode:

• The role of mentorship in her career as a writer.
• What a diary with a lock did for her during childhood.
• How her Mom and her Dad, Tony Hillerman, inspired her reading and writing life. 
• What it means to Anne to be seduced by research.
• Her connections to the American western landscapes, Navajo nation, and mystery genre.
• Role of mentorship in her stories with strong and powerful female character Bernadette Manuelito (Navajo Nation police office), retired lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, and office Jim Chee.
• The way Anne sets up her daily routine to write. 
• How a mentor changed her life when she was an intern at a news service job for 90 days for a news service as a copy editor then later a reporter to work at the New Mexican.

More from Anne Hillerman here: Website: https://annehillerman.com/ Facebook: @authotannehillerman

Anne Hillerman is the author of best-selling mystery novels and executive producer of the Dark Winds television series on AMC. Her 10th mystery, tentatively titled Solstice of the Shadows, will be released in 2025. All of her novels have been New York Times Best Sellers.

Anne moved to the Southwest with her parents as a toddler, and has happily lived in Santa Fe and Tucson ever since. The eldest of author Tony Hillerman’s six children, she began her career as a journalist. Her non-fiction book Tony Hillerman’s Landscape, on the Road with Chee and Leaphorn led to the exciting world of mystery fiction.

After her father’s death, Anne decided to continue the Jim Chee/Joe Leaphorn mystery series with her debut novel, Spider Woman’s Daughter. The book elevated a minor character, Officer Bernadette Manuelito, to the role of major crime solver. It received the Spur Award from Western Writers of America as the best first mystery. Anne has been honored with many other awards including several New Mexico/Arizona book awards for best mystery, New Mexico Book of the Year, the Frank Waters Awards, The Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award, The Rounders Award, the Will Rogers Medallion, the Wrangler Award (for Dark Winds), and many others.

AMC’s Dark Winds series grew from stories and characters by Tony and Anne Hillerman. The production stars Zahn McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon, Jessica Matten and Deanna Allison among others. The show has been honored with two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, a Western Heritage Awards for the best fictional television drama of 2023 and 2024, and several Vision Awards from the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications. In 2024 it was nominated for an Edgar award for best screen play from Mystery Writers of American. Dark Winds is one of the most watched shows on AMC and AMC + 

When Anne’s not working, she loves to walk with her dogs, read, cook, travel and enjoy the night sky. She lives in Santa Fe and Tucson.