Elisabeth Hyde coming to Edwards

Colorado author, Elisabeth Hyde is no stranger to critical acclaim. Her last novel, “The Abortionist's Daughter,” received rave reviews from The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and more. Now, with a write-up in the New York Times Book Review for her latest novel, “In the Heart of the Canyon,” Hyde is poised to take over the book world with her action-packed, character-driven fifth novel.

The book takes place during a 13-day rafting trip through the Grand Canyon where the lives of everyone on board converge and roil like the raging waters of the Colorado River.

Vail Daily: What made you decide to use the Grand Canyon as the setting for your new novel, “In the Heart of the Canyon”?

Elisabeth Hyde: I couldn't help it. The whole novel was inspired by my first trip down the river in 2002. In just two weeks I completely fell in love with the canyon; it was just so frighteningly beautiful and extreme in a way I hadn't expected. Plus, I got thrown out in one of the larger rapids, which was at once both terrifying and exhilarating. Anyway, it was never a question of where I should set the novel; the setting itself became the novel.

VD: Would you go on another rafting trip?

EH: After that first trip, I wanted to go again so badly that I nagged the guides until they finally found me a spot as a guide's assistant — a swamper — in 2005. Did that cure my obsession? No. I hope I can go again. It's a privilege.

VD: Did it require much research to create the quintessential rafting crew?

EH: Yes, but what a research trip! I called it “River Guiding 101,” and made every effort to hang out with the guides on that second trip as much as possible, to the point where I think they wished I'd just go read a book. But I learned so much ... Together they let me in on what preoccupies their minds during a river trip — everything from the next rapid to the dreaded “tolio” (a foot fungus).

VD: Being from Colorado, do you find it especially fulfilling to write about the west?

EH: It's fulfilling to write about any place where I have a deep connection or a passion — whether it's New England, the Pacific Northwest, or the southwest. My first two novels, “Her Native Colors” and “Monoosook Valley,” were pretty much odes to Vermont and New Hampshire. “Crazy As Chocolate” rose out of leaving Seattle for Colorado, and my homesickness for greenery. (The Abortionist's Daughter takes place in a Boulder-like town, but its western location isn't really a huge element in the book.)

It was only after I fell in love with the Grand Canyon that I found myself suddenly writing about the west — but it's only one small part of the west, and a unique part as well. I don't feel like I write about the west in the sense that writers like Charles Wilkinson or Ron Carlson write about the west. They have the west in their blood. Maybe I do too. I don't know yet.

VD: Your last novel, “The Abortionist's Daughter,” was a thriller with a bit of a psychological bent. “In the Heart of the Canyon” seems to be a bit more action focused. Was that something you set out to do?

EH: Murder mystery, adventure — I'm not a genre writer, but I like exploring different plot structures. I didn't set out to write an action-based novel; my main focus from the start was to put a bunch of very different people together on three boats and send them down the river for two weeks. I expected problems, and these problems presented themselves almost on cue, as each person's baggage began to direct the course of the story.

VD: How did you develop your characters?

EH: I start with a name. Names are huge! A name suddenly gives me all sorts of trinkets to work with. Evelyn, for instance: just from her name I knew she was a gearhead who read catalogues for fun. Abo: a clown. JT: a loner who only wants to reveal his initials. After that, it's a matter of plugging them into the story, and watching them interact with each other.

VD: You belong to a very accomplished writing group on the Front Range. How have your fellow authors helped your writing process?

EH: Lisa Jones (”Broken: A Love Story”), Marilyn Krysl (”Dinner with Osama”), Gail Story (”The Lord's Motel”), and Julene Bair (”One Degree West”) — they're all extremely gifted writers, and we don't mollycoddle each other. We meet once a week and read our drafts, and if something doesn't work, boy, you know it. On the other hand, we all have such underlying admiration for each other's writing, which often provides a collective instinct for what someone's trying to accomplish, so we help each other get there.

Besse Lynch works at The Bookworm of Edwards.