Chatting with debut author Pamela Wechsler

As I promised yesterday, I'm talking with debut novelist Pamela Wechsler today. Pam is a former criminal prosecutor who has worked in both Boston and Washington D.C. When she took a break from the real courtroom, she started working on fictional courtrooms--Hollywood-style courtrooms. She's been a legal consultant and writer for shows such as the Law & Order franchise, Canterbury's Law and Conviction. Next week launches her debut novel, Mission Hill, about a Boston ADA named Abby Endicott. I'll have my review of this exciting new legal thriller later this week, but today's let's chat with the author herself. Please help me welcome Pamela Wechsler.

Q. What inspired you to pursue a legal career?
PW: Even though I went to law school, I never really planned to practice law. In college, I majored in political science because I knew that I wanted to serve my community in some capacity. After graduation, I taught in the public schools and worked for a neighborhood development agency. A few years later, I decided to go to back to school and I thought that law school would open up the most options. During my third year of law school, I visited a friend who worked in the district attorney’s office and I knew immediately that was what I wanted to do.

Q. You spent a lot of time in the legal profession, what sparked your interest in fiction writing--both for the screen and now in books?
PW: When I was working as a homicide prosecutor in Boston, I was contacted by a friend of a friend, who was writing for a television show about a homicide prosecutor. I ended up helping him with some of his scripts, and in the process, I learned a lot about television writing. A few years later, when I was working for the Justice Department in DC, I decided that it was time for a change. So, I studied the craft of television writing, wrote my own spec script, and got an agent. I worked in Hollywood for seven years, consulting and writing for a variety of legal dramas, including the Law and Order franchise. Circumstances brought me back to Boston, and I rejoined a district attorney’s office. A couple of years in, I got a call from producers from The Judge, a movie that was filming in the area. They hired me to be their legal consultant. One day, I was on the set, when the actor who played the role of the prosecutor, Billy Bob Thornton, suggested that I write a novel. So, I signed up for workshops at Grub Street, studied the craft, and wrote the novel that became MISSION HILL.

Q. What do you miss the most about your job as a prosecutor? 
Prosecutors are constantly interacting with other people: detectives, victims, witnesses, defense attorneys, judges, and juries. Writing a novel is a solitary pursuit. I can spend the entire workday alone in my apartment without talking to anyone. That was a big adjustment.

Q. Your bio indicates you're consulting for TV now, are you still doing any writing or are you writing strictly for the novels at this point?
PW: I still consult for television shows, but only as a legal advisor. Right now, I’m working on the second Abby Endicott novel.

Q. How do the two writing formats compare?
PW: They’re very different. Scriptwriting has rules about things like format and length, novels do not. Scripts are much leaner; a one hour drama is about 60 pages long, MISSION HILL is about 300 pages. Also, scripts are mostly dialogue, with little room for description.

Q. When you started writing Mission Hill, what was the biggest frustration for you transitioning to novel writing? And what was most exciting or rewarding about this format?
PW: I wouldn’t call it a frustration, but I did have to learn the craft. I signed up for workshops, and did a lot of research about writing fiction. What I like most about writing novels, as opposed to scripts, is that I can get inside my protagonist’s head and describe her private thoughts. The only way to do that in a television script is through voiceover.

Q. I once read that the CSI franchise was making trial work more challenging because juries had unrealistic expectations for forensic evidence. Does something like that influence the way you write? And how do you balance realism with the demand for thrilling, dramatic suspense, especially in television?
PW: Like real detectives, TV detectives used to solve cases with shoe leather. They were out on the street, chasing down witnesses and following leads. That still holds true, but they also rely on science and technology. One of the reasons the CSI shows work so well is that they combine all the elements of modern police work.

Q. Is there a big pet peeve you've experienced in other books/TV/movies that you would never put into your writing, even for the sake of the suspense?
PW: I hope that authenticity is one of the things that draw people to MISSION HILL. I try to keep it as realist as possible. Still, I recognize that books and television shows are entertainment, not documentaries, and a certain amount of dramatic license is allowed— as long as the story is plausible.

Q. Abby Endicott is your new protagonist. She's a prosecutor in Boston, as you once were. How much of Abby's character comes from your own personality, experiences, etc., and how much of Abby is purely from your imagination?
PW: Abby and I are not one and the same in terms of personality or character. But many of the plot lines are drawn from my own life experiences, both in and out of the courtroom.

Q. So your personal experiences in law have been the basis your story ideas; do you harvest them from other sources as well?
PW: I do both. I was a prosecutor for seventeen years, which gives me a deep well to draw from. I am also constantly trolling the news for story ideas, and when I have time, I walk over to the courthouse to see what’s going on.

Q. You were recently a technical advisor on a TV movie called Doubt that deals with a defense attorney, but your writing has focused on the prosecutorial side of the courtroom. Any desire to write about the defense side?
PW: Sure, I’d love to write a series about a defense attorney.

Q. Abby's boyfriend is a jazz musician. Is this your preferred genre of music? Do you listen to it while you write?
PW: I like a variety of music genres, including jazz. I don’t listen to music when I write, unless I’m in a coffee shop.

I made Abby’s boyfriend a jazz musician because I wanted his career and personality to be very different from hers. They are both successful, but she is hard-charging and adrenalin-addicted, he is levelheaded and cool.

Q. What would you say Abby's theme song would be?
PW: Dirty Water by the Standells.

Q. A few years back I did a blog feature series based on the book Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs from Writers Famous and Obscure. I asked authors what their six-word memoir would be, so I'll end with that question for you.
PW: Does this thing come with directions?

Many thanks to Pam for taking time to chat with me today and share a little insight into her road to publishing and her debut novel, Mission Hill. Pam is on Facebook and Twitter; you can also learn more about her and Mission Hill at her website. Mission Hill is available Tuesday (May 3rd) and if you'd like to take it for a test run first, Criminal Element has an excerpt posted.

Happy reading, friends!

An Interview with Lou Berney

Lou Berney is a novelist, short story writer and screenwriter when he isn't teaching at Oklahoma City University. I've been a rabid great fan of his writing since I discovered his debut, Gutshot Straight, featuring ex-con Shake Bouchon.

Berney's third novel, a standalone called The Long and Faraway Gone, comes out Tuesday and I'm covering it for Shelf Awareness, so you'll hear about the book a little later. In the meantime, Lou and I connected via Skype to chat about all of his writing and provide a little first-hand research for his next Shake Bouchon caper.

Both Gutshot Straight and Whiplash River had nuggets of inspiration from somewhat unusual origins. But The Long and Faraway Gone is a story that hits a little closer to home for Berney.

There are two parallel plot lines in the novel. The first features Wyatt Rivers, a Las Vegas detective. His job takes him back to Oklahoma City, the hometown he left years ago trying to escape the trauma of his youth. The second is based around Julianna Rosales. She never left and is unable to move on after her ordeal from childhood. Julianna's unhealthy obsession is threatening her job and livelihood, but she's determined to find answers, regardless of the price.

Berney says both are "stories I always knew I was going to write." He's had their inspirations mulling around in his creative mind since his own childhood. "A murder happened in Oklahoma City when I was thirteen. The employees of a restaurant were walked into the freezer in the restaurant's kitchen and the armed men killed them. At the time I was working in a burger joint not far away. I would work late nights and we had a walk-in freezer as well. That event really created a tremendous sense of fear for me."

The other event that served as a seed for The Long and Faraway Gone happened when Berney was working in a movie theater. "Two girls went missing at a county fair. I worked with their mother and she still came to work after they disappeared. I wondered how she could work after everything that happened."

Even though both events happened in Berney's teenage years, it wasn't until recently that he decided they would work well together. And that was the beginning of The Long and Faraway Gone.

Throwing the various pieces into a blender and punching puree, Berney produced more fiction than fact for this story, but there's still much rooted in his personal experiences.

The murder takes place in a movie theater. Having worked in one myself as a teenager, I identified the details only a veteran employee would be able to illustrate so authentically. For Berney, he says, "It's the best job ever and the worst job ever. You could let your friends in and be very popular, have free popcorn and soda and watch movies. But the smell and the grease of having to clean out the popcorn machine each night. It was like a coffin and you practically had to get in it to clean it out." Readers may just end up with an unexplained craving for popcorn.

Those familiar with the Shake Bouchon novels know Berney loves to use exotic locales. He says, "it's a challenge to go to countries and then bring it all back to write the books, but it's also good to separate because what you do remember is what's vital." And Berney has a knack for this setting development. The world of Shake Bouchon always fills the story with color while still allowing the caper to be the main focus. He says this is absolutely on purpose, "Shake is experiencing a heightened life after being in prison, he's appreciating the freedom and all that's around him."

But Berney chose to keep his setting for The Long and Faraway Gone in his hometown and the location of the inspiring events, Oklahoma City. The reason for this? "Setting is vital to noir. I wanted something fresh, something not L.A., Chicago or New York. A lot is changing and has changed in the last decade in Oklahoma City. Last night I went to a reading where a couple of years ago you would have been afraid to park your car. Now it's fancy restaurants and boutique shops."

In his reference to noir, it's worth mentioning that The Long and Faraway Gone is a foreboding tale about people dealing with the most emotionally and psychologically challenging parts of their lives. Creating the book was a bleak part of the author's life as well, "I become very emotionally tied to the characters, so writing The Long and Faraway Gone was a darker period for me." That said, humor might not be the first thing people anticipate from this novel, but Berney deftly works it into the plot. And he explains its role, "Humor is real life. I never try to be funny. That would be death, but things happen in life that are funny and to deny that is being untrue."

One of the characters Berney employs to sneak in that humor is Candace, a former Vegas dancer who's inherited an Oklahoma City nightclub. She's having issues with a mystery person who doesn't seem to want her to own the nightclub, so Wyatt's on assignment to investigate the strange occurrences haunting Candace. Berney speaks fondly of his spirited character, "Candace wasn't inspired by anyone, but she took on a life of her own almost right away so I said I'd just stay out of her way and see what she does. Turns out she brings out Wyatt's true side."

A multi-layered plot cast with dynamic characters and garnished with Berney's signature humor sounds much like the Shake Bouchon novels, but certainly one doesn't write a dark mystery like a crime caper. "The real difference was in my approaches. With the Shake books I'm always writing for what's going to happen next. In The Long and Faraway Gone it's about what's in the past, and there are three mysteries to solve. That's a very different writing experience."

As is another element of Berney's writing life, screenwriting. When I inquired as to how it all shakes out in the wash, he said, "I think out a story idea thoroughly before starting. I don't want to get 40 pages in and decide it isn't a novel. But The Long and Faraway Gone could never have been a screenplay; there was just too much going on."

What did become a screenplay, however, is a movie Berney takes the writing credit for that I watched recently. Angel's Sing is the first of his screenplays to be made. This particular film is a book adaptation. Fitting, yes? I inquired about the differences in writing a screenplay from scratch as opposed to an adaptation. "It differs based on the producer, " he explained. "Some will come in and say, 'let's see what you can do with it.' Others may say, 'we want this, this and this to stay consistent with the book, you have free reign with the rest.'" Even though he regularly reminded me that approximately 90% of what he wrote was changed at some state, there are Berney thumbprints on this adaptation. "I encouraged the musical element since it was going to be set in Austin, and the tone was less serious than the book."

Lou Berney has a number of great quips about working for Hollywood, one of which references how a person can make a living without ever actually having their work made. So is having the movie filmed any different from turning in a script that never sees the screen? "Oh yeah, nothing compares to hearing your words--words that you wrote--from an actor on screen." Hearing Kris Kristofferson sing "Folsom Prison Blues" in an impromptu jam session on set isn't too shabby either.

The Long and Faraway Gone comes out Tuesday from William Morrow. Angel's Sing (Lion's Gate), as well as both Shake Bouchon novel--Gutshot Straight and Whiplash River--(also William Morrow) are all available now. You can connect with Lou on Facebook, Twitter or his book tour if he's in your area. And I'll be anticipating the Skype scene in the forthcoming third Shake Bouchon caper!

Chit-chatting with Steve Hockensmith

O.k. this interview is mega overdue. Steve was so prompt about getting it back to me and I've just run into one delay after another. But I'm determined not to leave my computer tonight until it is all ready for you guys to enjoy.

Regular readers know that Steve Hockensmith is the author of the Holmes on the Range mystery series. I've reviewed many of Steve's books in this series as well as some of his short story collections. All of his work is smart, funny and enjoyable. Since the Amlingmeyer Brothers had their last hoorah with Minotaur books in The World's Greatest Sleuth, Steve's been up to some other fun writing. He wrote a couple of Jane Austen zombie stories (Dawn of the Dreadfuls and Dreadfully Ever After)--and landed on the New York Times bestseller list, wrote a handful of kids books (the Nick & Tesla series)--the fourth of which comes out October 7th, and now he's dipping into the tarot world with the Tarot Mystery series.

Awhile back I reviewed (and loved) Steve's first book in the Tarot Mystery series, The White Magic Five and Dime. The whole concept of the tarot cards was fascinating to me, and especially the view the book takes. So, I had to ask questions. I think it's in my DNA.

Q. Why tarot? What initiated the idea to integrate it into your new series?

Steve: White Magic Five & Dime has travelled a long and very winding road. Seven or eight years ago, my friend Lisa Falco – who’s a very talented amateur tarot reader – told me about an idea she had for a book. It would be about a professional tarot reader and her relationships with her clients and how the cards affect their lives. I immediately said, “Make it a mystery and you’ve got yourself a cozy series!” A few years later, Jason Rekulak, the publisher of Quirk Books, asked me if I had any ideas I wanted to pitch him. I always have lots of ideas, so I pulled together a list for him. I think I had nine originally, and being a guy who likes nice round numbers I thought 10 would be even better. So I went to Lisa and said, “Do you ever think you’d do anything with that tarot idea? Because if not, maybe we could do it together.” Lisa said sure, I threw the idea on the list and of course that was the one Jason liked best. Once Jason and I started kicking the premise around, it gained a lot of new flavor – that’s how the back story about con artists got pulled in – and the book took on a slightly grittier, less-cozy vibe. Quirk is really strong on design and packaging, so it was clear that the cards themselves would be integrated into the look of the book somehow. Everyone was super-excited about the concept. Then…well, “creative differences,” as they say. Jason and I reached an impasse. After a lot of back and forth, we accepted that we couldn’t get around it, and Quirk cancelled the contract. Which left me and Lisa with a high-concept, design-heavy, cozy-ish but not really cozy, occult-ish but not really occult mystery. Tough sell. I kind of drifted around with the project for a while, and at one point I was even thinking of self-publishing it. But then Terri Bischoff at Midnight Ink rode to the rescue, and this summer the book was finally published looking and feeling exactly like what I’d envisioned.

(My aside: what Steve comments on here--"high-concept, design-heavy, cozy-ish but not really cozy, occult-ish but not really occult mystery"--is part of what made it so appealing to me. It may not be easily packaged and labeled, but it's different. It's not the same old-same old. And for me, as a read, that's fun!)

Q. Have you had a tarot reading done yourself?
Steve: Back in the day (meaning “when I was young” – sigh), I would go to tarot readers from time to time as a gag. It was a fun thing to do in New Orleans, which I used to visit a lot. The readers were usually flamboyant people who said ridiculous things with the utmost sincerity, which can be a pretty entertaining combination. I only did one reading in Chicago, where I lived at the time, but it was an eye-opening experience. Some friends and I went into this dinky, dark little fortune-telling place on Belmont Avenue, and the vibe was totally different than what I’d experienced in New Orleans. The woman who ran the place was just obviously, unabashedly evil. One by one, she took us to the back room and gave us each the same reading. Your girlfriend’s not to be trusted. You’re going to have money problems. You need to come back and let me guide you through the dark times ahead. Oh – and don’t tell your friends what I said. This is just between you and me. So for a long time, it’s safe to say, I didn’t have the highest opinion of tarot reading. But Lisa changed that. She’s the furthest thing you could get from a flighty or manipulative person. She’s very down to earth, very genuine, very intelligent. I’d known her for years before I had any idea she did tarot readings. Because she is who she is, when she first offered to read for me I said yes with an open mind. And thanks to that – and Lisa – I’ve developed a new respect for the tarot. Or its potential in the right hands, anyway. I’m a skeptical, scientifically minded person by nature, but ...well, there’s something there.

Q. Each chapter opens with an excerpt from the fictional Infinite Roads to Knowing. There’s a combination of humor and wisdom in those sections. Do they reflect your own beliefs about tarot?
Steve: Absolutely. In those parts of the book you see the collision that’s happening not just in the story but in my mind: spiritualism and cynicism smashing into each other.

Here's an example of the opening of a chapter. The Magician card opens the second chapter:

It reads:

"'He's called the Magician,' you say, 'but what the heck is he doing? Where's the rabbit coming out of the hat? Where's the MAGIC?' Hey, just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there. Are powers surrounding you right now, influencing and perhaps even controlling you, that YOU can't see? Well, duh."

Q. What’s the most fascinating thing you learned about tarot in the process of writing the book?
Steve: The most fascinating and surprising thing I learned is that tarot cards actually aren’t that old. They’ve only been used for fortune telling for something like 300 years. Certain folks seem to assume (or like to pretend) that the cards are tied into some kind of ancient mystical tradition, but that’s not the case. The cards have been used to play pinochle longer than they’ve been used for divination.

Q.  You are also writing a female protagonist in this series. Have you had to make adjustments for that or do you feel it’s no different from writing male characters?
Steve: This was a big part of my disagreement with Jason, actually. He thought that the first-person narration in the book didn’t feel female enough. It was too sardonic and jokey. To him, it just sounded like a variation on me. Which was fair, because it is a variation on me. A female variation. I know that there are world-weary, wise-cracking women out there, because I’ve met a bunch and they’ve been some of my favorite people in the world. When I was trying to find another publisher for the book, I was told more than once that the narrator wasn’t likable enough. But to be honest, whenever someone said “likable,” in my head I heard “bland.” Alanis is an edgy broad. Hurrah for edgy broads!

(Again, my aside: of course I'm not a professional acquiring editor, but I completely disagreed with the notion that Alanis wasn't likable enough. I adored Alanis, felt she was a fresh face in mystery. I also thought she was very authentic. Had she been different, she would have been a harder sell for me. Maybe not impossible, but as I learned her back story, I couldn't imagine her being anything else.)

Q. You have a co-writer for this series—Lisa Falco—and you’re also co-writing a middle grade series with Bob Pflugfelder. How do the two experiences compare?
Steve: On the surface, the collaborations seem similar. In both cases, my partner provides the expertise – on tarot reading in Lisa’s case and on building homemade gadgets in Science Bob’s case – while I’ve done all the writing. But the process for the two series is actually quite different because the projects Science Bob comes up with determine the flow of the plot while the tarot readings Lisa supplies don’t. There’s a ton of back and forth with Science Bob (and our editor, Rick Chillot) while I’m trying to map out a new Nick and Tesla book. It can be an immensely frustrating process because it’s so hard to identify strong gadget ideas that can be woven gracefully (or even not-so-gracefully) into a storyline. With The White Magic Five & Dime, I just outlined a mystery (which is challenging enough already), then told Lisa about the readings in the book and what I needed them to reflect. Easy! There’s been an interesting shift, however, in that Lisa’s taken over more of the writing on the second tarot novel and she’s going to do even more on the third. I’ll have to watch out, because if I let that trend continue I’m going to make myself redundant!

Q. And building on that question, how does writing with someone else compare to writing solo?
Steve: It’s funny. I’m suddenly doing all these tag-team series – there’s yet another that’s being pitched at the moment that might or might not see the light of day – but in the past I always swore I wouldn’t do a collaboration. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it. And to be completely honest, it doesn’t always make things easier. But it has made some really fun projects possible, so I’m happy to stick with it for now. A part of me is really itching to do something solo again, though….

Q. Shifting gears a bit here to your middle grade books, Nick and Tesla, how has the experience been writing for kids?
Steve: Great! Once we get beyond planning the books and I can simply write them, they’re a blast. I’m really lucky, because the series simply fell into my lap one day. A few months after Quirk cancelled the contract for The White Magic Five & Dime, Jason Rekulak came back to me and said, “We’ve got an idea for a series of kids’ books, and I think you’d be the perfect writer for it.” Which was one of the nicest, most gracious things anyone’s ever done for me in this crazy biz. I’d taken a few stabs at writing middle-grade novels before that, but the results hadn’t been very satisfying. Once I started writing Nick and Tesla, though, it was just easy breezy cream-cheesy all the way.

Q. And whereto from here? More Alanis, correct?
Steve: Indeedy! The sequel to The White Magic Five & Dime, Fool Me Once, should be out next summer. Then there’ll be a third book a year after that. I’m also wrapping up a fifth Nick and Tesla book, and there might be more. Plus there’s that other project in development – it’s another series for kids – and I’m also anxious to write a sixth Holmes on the Range novel (which I’ll probably self publish) and I want to play around with some short stories, too. I’ve never been so busy. I keep trying to squeeze in a nervous breakdown, but I just don’t have the time anymore.

Many thanks to Steve for taking time to answer my questions and quell my curiosity. I know he's super busy these days, so his time is at a premium. I hope you've enjoyed today's chat and if you haven't read Steve's work yet, make haste. You have plenty to choose from and they're all superb.

Oh and a quick reminder, this is Banned Books Week. Show your support and speak out against banning and challenging books.

Happy reading, my friends!

**Steve's author photo taken by Cecily Hunt

Murder & Mayhem in Muskego: The Interview!

O.k. so you all know that this past weekend I had the incredible opportunity to interview Robert Crais. I videotaped the first part of the interview (sorry, but my camera batteries bit the dust mid-way through). I loaded it on to my computer and then the video seemed to have vanished. I was seriously questioning whether I actually DID interview him or it had just been a vivid dream.

Turns out I did indeed interview my hero--the man responsible for my love of crime fiction. I would like to say that it turned out completely gloriously, but I can't exactly say that. I was very nervous at first so I didn't deliver the Ezra Pound stuff near as elegantly as I'd hoped, but once we got going, I felt far fewer butterflies and RC never had to whack me on the back of the head to undo any tied tongues.

You'll notice my utter lack of gracefulness in that chair I'm sitting...sort of sitting...in. RC had the good sense to swap his chair for one of the green ones with a back, which I should have done. I'm just thankful I didn't try to tackle that chair in a dress! And all the times it appears as though I'm sliding out of the chair...I am! That chair was not made for people with plentiful back ends. Anyhow...

Since the interview did cut off before the end, there is one part I really wanted you to know about that missed the video, and that is RC's response to my question:

You’ve written for television, with SUSPECT you’ll have published 19 novels, had a novel adapted for the big screen, hit #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list, won numerous awards for your books, what goals do you have for your career at this point?

His response was (paraphrased): "hey, all those things are great and I'm not going to say I don't like them, but my goal has always been and continues to be--write better." I think that says a tremendous amount about him.

This was a spectacular experience--I'm still a little drunk on the thrill of it--and I'm so grateful to have had this opportunity. I'll have more to share with you on the rest of Murder and Mayhem in Muskego, but for now, here is THE interview:

From Bouchercon

The first official day of Bouchercon I made an appointment to meet up with Sophie Littlefield and Juliet Blackwell. They kindly agreed to meet me first thing in the morning and we had a nice little chat. These two ladies are both talented and fun, so I hope you enjoy our discussion!

Chatting with Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter is coming off her book tour for the latest Will Trent novel, CRIMINAL. She was kind enough to make some time to chat with me a bit and I'm excited to be able to share that with you today.

Most of you know that Karin is the author of the Grant County Series and the Will Trent series. She's a tremendous advocate for libraries, a cat owner, and an extremely witty woman. She visited a couple weeks back to share her Five on Friday, which you can check out if you didn't have a chance to see it before.

In the meantime, let me share with you our conversation:

Q: CRIMINAL exposes the history that connects Will and Amanda. Was this something you had planned from the beginning of the series or did it evolve more organically as the series evolved?

Karin Slaughter: When I wrote the first Will Trent book, Triptych, I knew most everything about him—why he was left to state care, where his scars came from. I knew that Amanda had some connection to him, but I didn’t really formulate how strong that connection would be until I wrote subsequent stories. By Fallen, where I talk a great deal about Amanda’s “Good ol’ gal” network, I knew all the salient details. In many ways, this made it so much easier to write Criminal, where the research into the time period was so intense. Knowing those concrete emotional connections were in place gave me room to explore other things.

Q: An element of Amanda’s character that becomes abundantly clear in CRIMINAL is the effect her job had on her as person, the changes it made in her. From wanting to be a Kelly Girl to becoming a cop is quite a difference and the time period threw in its own challenges. Is there a real person or persons that inspired her character?

Karin Slaughter: During my research, I spoke with several female law enforcement officers who came up in the seventies, and I worked to incorporate their stories into the book. Marla Lawson, who works with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and has been called the best forensic artist in the country, was the one who wanted to be a Kelly Girl. She started out years ago doodling caricatures in Underground Atlanta, and now she’s about to retire from what has been an enviable career helping victims of crime. If anything, Marla is closer to Evelyn Mitchell, who might be a bit cynical, but for the most part still loves doing her job and enjoys life in general. That was one of the things I wanted to show in Criminal: Amanda and Evelyn had similar experiences, but their personalities made them grow into very different women. The things that made Amanda angry made Evelyn stronger.

Q: There are several heavy social issues that come into play in CRIMINAL, in fact your books are no strangers to social issues. What role do those issues play in the evolution of the book? Do you have a plot idea and then the issue fits into that or you have an issue you want to use in a book and the plot develops from there or another process altogether?

Karin Slaughter: I never try to shoehorn in issues. It gets a bit boring if you’re being preached to, which is why I try to bring balance through different characters’ perspectives. The bad guy in Criminal, for instance, commits dark deeds he feels have a religious foundation. Evelyn, who is religious herself, sees these justifications as abhorrent and contrary to what Christianity is all about. As far as weaving the gender and racial politics into the story, using the seventies as a setting and writing language that was used back then instantly made it more political, but that’s only because we’re looking at sexism and racism from a 2012 perspective. I think if this story had been published in 1975, then no one would’ve really said anything beyond, “what a couple of feisty gals!” (so long as I published it under a male pseudonym; I’m fairly certain no publisher would’ve published Criminal in 1975)

Q: Since you just finished with book tour, what’s a standout memory from doing book tours? It doesn’t have to be this specific one, just an incident (good or bad) that you’re fairly certain you won’t ever forget.

Karin Slaughter: I always try to do as many library events as I can when I’m on tour. What I love is when I see local booksellers working together with their library system, because it’s a mutually beneficial relationship. There are people who will religiously go to the library but never think to attend an event at their local bookstore. We know that every five holds at a library translates into one sale of that book. To have that sale go to an independent or chain bookseller who supports the library is a wonderful thing.

Q: When I’ve spoken to some writers about their own personal reading habits, they’ve shifted from reading a lot within the crime genre. Some have lost their passion for reading it since they are immersed in it while writing. Others stay away from it to avoid someone else’ voice from creeping into their own writing. Do you find that to be the case for you reading or do you still love to read crime novels?

Karin Slaughter: I love reading crime novels and I hope I never lose my taste for them. I can’t read anything when I’m working on my own stuff, but to think of never again reading the next Mo Hayder or Denise Mina or Lisa Gardner or Tess Gerritsen or Lee Child or… Unimaginable.

Q: What’s the best book you’ve read recently? One you can recommend to a wide range of readers?

Karin Slaughter: There’s a book by an American ex-pat in London called Tiger in Red Weather that I enjoyed so much that I reached out to her editor to offer a blurb. I enjoyed the Chaperone. Mo Hayder’s newest one, Gone, was a terrific read.

Q: What’s next for Karin Slaughter?

Karin Slaughter: Unseen, the next novel featuring Will Trent. He’s undercover in hostile territory, so I’ve been talking to lots of agents who’ve had to basically give up large chunks of their lives to catch bad guys. The book also features Lena Adams, and you can imagine what kind of trouble she’s gotten herself into since we last saw her.

Many thanks to Karin for her time and great answers. You can catch up with Karin on her Facebook page, and I've mentioned before she has a great newsletter you'll want to subscribe to if you haven't done so already. And she has a collection of very cool materials from her research on Criminal that you can see here.

And if you haven't had a chance to meet Karin in real life, she'll be at Bouchercon in a couple of months. Do you have your registration in?

Thanks for stopping by and happy reading!

Chatting With Hilary Davidson

Yesterday marked the release of Hilary Davidson's award-winning THE DAMAGE DONE in paperback. Back when she was touring for the hardcover release (yes, I'm sorry, I'm embarrassing late on this), I interviewed Hilary. She shares some insight into THE DAMAGE DONE, her writing life and other fun topics. Unfortunately I didn't pick the greatest locale for the interview, so there are some noisy trains that pass through a couple times, but hopefully you're still able to hear o.k.

This is Part 1 of my chat with Hilary:




And if you're a GoodReads user, you can enter to win a copy of THE DAMAGE DONE. But however you get a copy, be sure to read this amazing debut (see my review here) and you'll be up to date next month when Hilary's second novel, THE NEXT ONE TO FALL hits bookshelves.

Stay tuned for more of my interview with Hilary still to come! Happy Reading!

Are You Ready for HIDDEN CITY?

Tomorrow HIDDEN CITY debuts on the Travel Channel. This show probably would have escaped my notice, since I don't watch television, but it's being hosted by one of my favorite writers, Marcus Sakey. I'll be trekkin' over to the parents' house to watch; I'm very excited.




I was able to pin Marcus down for a few minutes and get him to talk about his experiences working on the show. I've also collected some of the videos that have been made to preview the show. So, I hope it entices you to check it out as well.

Now over to Marcus.

Q. You have a rather solitary career now. Was it refreshing to be with people all day or did it take some getting use to?

Marcus: It’s been great. The people I’m working with are all spectacular: smart, funny, and dedicated. Every one of them is trying to elevate the show, and that’s a cool feeling.

Though I admit that I miss working in goofy morning hair and slippers. That’s frowned on in the television world.

At least, if you’re in front of the camera. The crew mostly does look that way.

Q. So, you were offered this opportunity; you said, "hot damn! Let's do it." Then what surprised you most about television production - the actual back stage process, filming, any part of it good or bad?

Marcus: The most surprising thing about television is just how much work and time goes into every aspect. It’s sort of like the old line about watching the sausage get made; once you’ve seen the process, you never look at the result the same way.

Every shot is captured multiple times, multiple ways. The setup for an interview takes three guys an hour to light and rig. At any moment we have no fewer than three cameras running, and often as many as seven if you count some of the ones we use for effects. And that’s not even mentioning the planning, the editing, the writing. It’s a pretty complex process.

Q. What was the experience that you'd do again in a heartbeat?

Marcus: There have been so many. I’ve gotten to interview the most incredible people: mayors, armored car thieves, Harvey Milk’s campaign manager, FBI task force leaders, convicted murderers.

But my favorite parts of the show are the ones where I get to do something. This season alone I’ve been pepper sprayed, trained with SWAT, landed a plane, driven an airboat, fired a sniper rifle, gone diving for treasure, tried to outrun State Troopers, been attacked by a dog...

Q. What experience would you refuse to do again regardless of the money you might be offered?

Marcus: There hasn’t been one. There are a few I’m leery of—all of my cop buddies urge me not to get Tased, for example—but I like getting my hands dirty, and I don’t mind taking lumps.

Q. Your favorite place you visited?

Marcus: The only one I hadn’t been before was Anchorage, and I loved it. The city itself is nice enough, but it’s really Alaska that swept me away. It’s just as breathtakingly majestic as you imagine. Watching the sun rise over a glacier, or hiking against 80 mph winds on a frozen river, these things turn me right on.

Q. Place you won't be rushing back to anytime soon?

Marcus: Oddly enough, the Florida Keys. There’s some stunningly beautiful stuff there, but after a week of sixteen hours days, sweating in places I didn’t know I had places, I was ready to go.

Q. Through this experience did you discover anything that crime fiction is portraying all wrong? Or something that crime fiction nails and gives the "everyman" an accurate portrayal of?

Marcus: One thing that is never really portrayed right is how matter of fact this all is; how much paperwork is involved, how many hoops need jumping, how many T’s and I’s need crossing and dotting. The truth is that for a homicide detective or an a FBI task force member or a ballistics expert, this is a job just like yours. They love it and they live it, but they have a lot of the same hassles and frustrations you do.

On the flip side, one thing crime fiction does really well is portray the intensity of it: the moments in life when everything changes, the pounding heart and sweaty armpits, the fear and tension and passion. Whether you’re talking the moments before a thief goes into the bank with a gun, the frustration that leads to an assassination, or the culture clash that ends up with a bloody body count, it’s all real, and ironically, fiction nails that.

Q. Do you feel this experience has changed you as a writer at all? If so, how?

Marcus: I don’t see how it can’t. I’ve met too many people and gotten too thorough a look into this world for it not to play in. Not only that, but writing for television is a lot like writing for advertising—you need to keep stripping down and down and down until you get to the essence of the thing, the one line that will slap someone awake, that will make their chest swell or their heart hurt.

I have to expect that will play into my novel writing as well. At least, I hope so.

Q. So where does Marcus Sakey go from here? Back to a full-time writer, "thanks for the fun, once was enough for me"? Is Spielberg going to be knocking down your door? Would you do this again?

Marcus: I had a blast, and if you’ll forgive me saying, I think the end result is great. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, we’re talking about Season Two now…

That said, I love being a novelist. Books were my first love, and I’ve been faithful to them. I wouldn’t want to stop writing novels.

So tomorrow night, I won't be reading, I'll be checking out the first episode, featuring Chicago. It airs at 10pm on the Travel Channel. I'll look forward to hearing what you all think. Have a great week!

The Last....I Promise...Bouchercon Post

I apologize for taking so ridiculously long to get this final Bouchercon post finished. But here we go, my final recap for this wonderfully amazing convention.

Saturday in St. Louis was the big day for me, and I started it off by attending my good friend Erin Mitchell's panel. She was moderating a Bouchercon panel for the first time this year, and actually she moderated two panels. This panel included one of my heroes, Gregg Hurwitz, the exceptionally talented Lisa Unger and a relatively new-to-me author, Linwood Barclay.

Erin was well prepared and did a wonderful job leading the panel. All of the panelists were humorous and generous. And one of the links among the panelists is their tendency to create ordinary characters and put them in extraordinary circumstances.

Gregg emphasized the importance of relationships in the stories. One of his goals as a writer is to encourage his readers to invest in not only the characters but the relationships they have throughout the books. And he's moved away from writing villains. As he's matured as a writer, he's turned more to antagonists than villains. (I just love that statement. I think it's often what makes the difference between a good book and a great book.) In terms of his protagonists, he's also shifted. His early books dealt with characters whose jobs it was to investigate the crimes involved. But as Gregg's shifted more to common people as protagonists, the motives for what draws them into their circumstances becomes wide open.

Linwood believes that his background as a humor columnist paved the way for his career writing fiction - he always had a rather careless regard for facts, he says. Linwood likes to write about people who are ill-equipped to deal with bad people...as opposed to folks who are well-trained (i.e., P.I.s, cops, military, etc.). Part of his reason for this is that he doesn't know what it's like to be "well-equipped" to deal with bad people and he's extremely lazy; he doesn't want to have to research for months to find out what it IS like to be these people. Instead he wants to know what people like him would do if faced with those bad people; for Linwood, it heightens the suspense. He also pointed out that there's more room for transition in the character because they have to overcome a lot more in order to triumph.

For Lisa, it's always a character that she hears speaking to her or one that she's seen that pulls her into writing a novel. But while writing FRAGILE, The Hollows, her setting, started to evolve as a character and have its own personality and a "beating heart." Above all else, Lisa feels it's imperative to have an equal level of compassion for all her characters. That compassion lends itself to authenticity in the creation much more than researching "people."  Lisa also believes that writers are first and foremost observers. They are acutely conscientious to who and what goes on around them.

The panel was a most wonderful way to start the day. My only regret is that more people weren't able to experience it. One other perk of this panel was snagging Will Lavender who was in the audience and getting this picture.

If you haven't already read my raving about his book, DOMINANCE, I encourage you to do so. After having met Will in person now, I know that he's not only talented, but an extremely wonderful person as well.

Another author I caught up with on Saturday was Bill Cameron. He was signing at the Crimespree table and I stopped by so he could sign my copy of COUNTY LINE. I cherish all my pictures with the authors I meet, but I have to say, I really like this picture a lot:

O.k., so I already yapped and yapped quite a bit for this final post, and this isn't even a fraction of what happened on Saturday. Before I give you the grand finale, I have to congratulate one of the most wonderful people in crime fiction...Hilary Davidson, as you know, won the 2011 Anthony Award for Best First Novel. And I have to memorialize that here at the blog. If you've ever been so happy for someone's success that it completely eradicated your own disappointment for yourself, then you know how monumentally excited I was for Hilary to win this distinction. Congratulations, my friend! No one deserved this more:

And one more thing. I promise, this is it. I GOT TO MEET AYO!! This is Ayo Onatade who is part of the Shots Blog crew, and she is just wonderful. She's funny and smart and kind and I have to figure out how she can live closer to me because I started missing her the minute I said good bye. She lurks around here at the blog from time to time, but there's nothing like spending time with her in person. Thank goodness for Bouchercons!

As promised, here is the finale...Please try to overlook my bumbling in the beginning and I apologize profusely for the person who kicked the camera toward the end of the interview and wasn't kind enough to move it back. You can still see both of us, but we're quite off-center... my interview with the spectacular, funny, intelligent, talented, and genuine, Val McDermid - 2011 Bouchercon International Guest of Honor.

Michael Koryta on THE RIDGE

Last week I reviewed Michael Koryta's latest novel, THE RIDGE. Me, being the busy body that I am, had some questions I wanted to ask Michael about his experience of writing this novel. Once again, Michael tolerated my "inquisitive" nature and humored me.

By the way, if you'd like to see other times Michael has been generous to share his time with me, you can check out this written interview and this video interview.

Q. Since you're working in a realm outside of our normal reality, how do you go about establishing the "rules" of that realm?

MJK: I struggle with this element of the supernatural books, which is the fun part. I'm a natural skeptic, so there is great challenge in trying to create this realm and then convince the reader to float along in it. I think that challenge is what appeals to me, and it certainly has forced me to write books that feel -- to me, this is a personal answer, I'm not trying to speak for the reader -- bigger in thematic and symbolic ways. Early on, I have nothing but visions of "Twilight Zone" kind of moments on unreality. I'll think, "Oh, nice, that's creepy." But then I write on and remember that I have to explain them, and then you'll find me face down on the floor, announcing plans to retire. (Really, ask my fiancee, this happened multiple times during The Ridge. She and the cat are very understanding of it; the dog is more concerned...) So it's a great test of "practice what you preach" to me. I always say that I believe the subconscious understands the book you are trying to write, and if you can get out of your own way, you'll see it. The intellectual challenge is in finding what is already there and in releasing a little bit of control. That's not easy for me, I want to guide it all along, and so I fight myself through the whole process. With The Ridge, it took me draft after draft after draft. Around 2,500 pages to end up with, what, 320? It was the hardest book for me, as far as rewriting is concerned. Maybe the hardest, period. I blew it up and started over many times. Cut POV characters from it after spending months on them. Threw out favorite scenes and favorite plot threads. That sort of thing.

Q. Besides that supernatural realm of your creation, you worked with the world of the felines. What were the greatest challenges for you and what was the most fun about creating those non-human characters that were so integral in the plot?

MJK: The big cats were by far the most fun and most difficult element of this book for me. I'd seen the real preserve (www.exoticfelinerescuecenter.org) so many times and I was very aware of how incredible it was and how beautiful and intimidating. To replicate that as a setting was fairly easy. To make it work as something integral to the core of the story, though, was different. I worried a lot about tipping over and delving too deeply into their world, but Michael Pietsch, my editor, kept saying, "more cats." He was like Christopher Walken in the "more cowbell" Saturday Night Live skit with Will Ferrell. "I've got a fever, and the only prescription is..." But because he's Michael Pietsch, and in my opinion the best editor working today, as evidenced by both his successes (Infinite Jest comes to mind) and his willingness to take on hopeless causes (Michael Koryta) I am generally willing to listen. He might disagree with this depiction of my cooperation, but he's not on the mike right now, so I can get away with it. What finally clicked for me was when I went back and made Audrey less trustworthy of the cats. Then they became part of her arc, her development, and began to feel more organic.

I went easy this time, but I love these responses. And if you go check out the website for the Exotic Feline Rescue Center, you'll see you can stay overnight there. I totally want to go...even after having read The Ridge!

As I mentioned in my review, The Ridge is truly my favorite book from Michael's bibliography to date. His passion about what he's doing comes through in his books, as it does in these responses. If you haven't checked out a Michael Koryta book, I hope you do...soon!

Happy Reading!

FALLEN Audiobook Giveaway

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had the opportunity for a short chat with Karin Slaughter, so I'm excited to share that with you now. Here's a glimpse into the women of FALLEN:

Q: In Fallen, you have a central story about Faith and her mother Evelyn, both of whom have served as detectives. It’s fairly common in fiction to see men who follow in their father’s footsteps and join the force or even daughters who follow dad’s, but a family of female cops is quite unique. When/why did you decide to make Faith’s mother a cop as well? Also, Amanda and even Evelyn’s neighbor came up through the ranks of the force at a time when women were really trailblazing if they joined the police force. Can you talk about those times and how they shaped their characters? (I know that Criminal will delve into Amanda’s backstory, feel free to talk a little about that here if you like.)

Karin:  Women tend to pass down the job just as often as men. The thing to remember is that women on the force—particularly in Atlanta—are a fairly new thing in the world of policing. Atlanta didn’t even allow women to train in the police academy until the early seventies, which is squarely in Amanda’s generation. It’s a catch-22, because senior police officers are generally the ones who’ve been on the job for a while. That pipeline was clogged with men for a very long time, and now we are finally seeing women being promoted to top jobs. Beverly Harvard, for instance, was (as far as I know) the first female African American police chief of a major American city.

I made Faith a cop because she didn’t have a lot of options when she was in her early twenties. She had a child. She was a single mom. The police force was a steady paycheck and her mom was able to smooth the way. In my next book, Criminal, I go back to 1975, when Amanda was a police officer on the Atlanta force. We’ll find out that Amanda’s father was a cop, and that’s why she chose her vocation. We’ll also find out that Evelyn became a cop because her neighbor, Roz Levy (whom we first meet in Fallen) told her to go sign up. I’ve had a lot of fun talking to folks about Atlanta in the 70s. It was so difficult back then for female officers. Sometimes, they would roll up onto a call and the victim would laugh and ask when the real cops were going to get there. What’s been shocking was finding out that, though a lot of things have changed, for many women, it’s still the same.

Be sure to check out the other stops on the blog tour to learn more about Karin Slaughter and FALLEN. You can also check out her website.
 

The other fun part of this blog tour I have to share with you is a giveaway. The AudioGo folks provided me with SIX unabridged copies of FALLEN on audiobook.  I'm very thrilled to have the chance to share this great audio with six of you. The contest is open to folks in the U.S. and I'll ship to Canada, but folks, I have no idea when they would get there with your postal strike going on. You can still feel free to enter, though.

I will take entries through the duration of the blog tour. The final post will be July 6th, which is a Wednesday, so I'll take entries until July 8th and pick the winners on the 9th. If you have any questions, drop me an email or leave them in the comments. Many, many thanks to the folks at AudioGo for providing this generous giveaway!

It's a GREGG HURWITZ Giveaway!

I hope everyone who celebrated had a nice Easter. I'm off to New York City to help with some Bouchercon stuff. Speaking of Bouchercon! Have you registered yet? If not, don't delay.

Since I'm in New York, the blog will probably be a bit quiet this week. I'll try to post some updates to Facebook and Twitter, but to keep you company here, I have a giveaway! Woo hoo. This giveaway is courtesy of Kaye Publicity and involves one of my favorite crime writers, Gregg Hurwitz. His fantastic novel, THEY'RE WATCHING, is out this week in paperback. So, Dana Kaye is generously providing a copy for me to give away to a lucky reader.

With Gregg at the 2010 L.A. Times Festival of Books

I raved about THEY'RE WATCHING here. And I also interviewed Gregg about this book about this time last year...at the L.A. Times Festival of Books. The video is not that great because of my choice of locations - amateur videographer! But the content is fabulous. Take a listen and then enter to win.

You can enter through Friday, April 29th and I'll pick the winner on Saturday. For this contest, entrants need to be U.S. residents. If you have questions, drop them in the comments section or send me an email. I might be a little slower in responding, but I promise I'll respond.

Without further ado, Here's Gregg!

Part 1:

Part 2:

The Pivot Questions (Don't miss this part!):

Marcus Sakey on THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES.

Marcus Sakey and his wife are in the midst of moving, but he generously agreed to chat with me about THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES. I think you'll find that when you read it, you'll want to talk to someone about it, too.  This book will make a fantastic book club selection.

I promised Marcus I would keep the questions to a minimum. You know how I can get with interviews. (You can see the more in depth interview I did with Marcus here: Part 1 and Part 2.) But I'm really excited to share this with you since I am just over the moon in love with this book. Hope you enjoy!

Q. THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES has some major changes for you. One of which is your setting. You've moved from the urban sprawl of Chicago out to Los Angeles. As readers will discover, the setting is rather vital to the plot so did the plot idea come first and you said, I have to put this in LA, it won't work in Chicago? Or did you think, "hey, I want to break away from Chicago for my setting" and then develop the plot from that point?

Marcus: The former. To be honest, I've written about Chicago mostly because I live here. It makes it easier to get details right, and of course if I want to do a ridealong or something, I can arrange it.

It was great fun to write about Los Angeles. She's such a tricky town, a chameleon city with a thousand faces, and I enjoyed dancing with her.

Also, I enjoyed spending a couple of weeks out there for research. Beats a Chicago winter.

Yeah, most of us here in the Midwest can understand that winter issue!

Q. Your books to date have all been stand alones, and I've heard you say that when you finish a book you've had enough of it and you are ready to bid your characters farewell. THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES, however, brings a character back from a previous book. Why the return in this book?

Marcus: You know, he's a slippery sucker. I've actually written him dead a couple of times, and he's come back both times.

To clarify, I should say that I'm annoyed by writers who talk about their characters as if they're possessed of free will. That's a cute conceit, but that's all it is.

It's more accurate to say that sometimes a character brings so much life and energy to the page that you find yourself wondering why you wouldn't reuse them. That was the case here.

Q. Your books are thrillers and are consistently very fast paced. But I find I end up with whiplash reading them because you are also meticulous about the detail. I'm reading along swiftly and then get to a passage like, "Sophie in fragments, slivers of a life framed and hung like butterflies on a board." And not only do I (often out loud) say, "damn, that was an amazing passage" but I have to stop, go back and read it again, maybe a couple times, because in that sentence, there is so much said with so little. So my question here is do you experience that same effect writing that I do reading? Are you moving along at a thriller pace typing and then you stop to ponder, "how am I going to describe this scene?" Or does detail and description like that flow the same way the rest of the writing does? And when you finish a line like that, do YOU think, "damn, that was good?"

Marcus: First off, thank you.

It's hard to explain, because while a lot of it is practiced and honed, some of it is instinctive, and the intersection between the two is murky.

Take details. For me, the least effective way to describe a place is to literally describe it: "There were tables scattered across the floor. The walls were covered with framed artwork. A long oak bar ran along one wall. There were stools in front. Behind it were rows of glass bottles lit by neon."

I mean, it's a bar. We get it. We've been there.

So what I try to do is pick the single detail that tells you more, and then to render it as intuitively as I can. So: "A lazy fan stirred weather patterns in the Parliament smoke."

I also like mixing words in ways that aren't grammar school perfect, but which make emotional sense. "He woke in a beam of sweaty sunlight."

None of which, I'm realizing, really answers your question, but there you go.

It's outstanding, though. You've summed up what bothers me when a scene goes into a bunch of mundane description. It isn't furthering the plot and I'm starting to get distracted.

Q. One of your conventions is inclusion of philosophical questions or situations as themes. THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES is no exception on that front. In fact, some rather weighty philosophical questions are themes here: identity and facades, the importance - or unimportance - of history, and even the idea of soul mates. How is weighty content like that to write? Do you detach personally from it? I would be surprised if you said, "yes" because so much passion comes through. I can't imagine that you could create that passion if you detached from the content. As a reader I feel like I've been changed by the time I get to the last page. How is it for you as the writer? At the end of a writing day or at the end of the book?

Marcus: To me, that's the juice. That's the reason to write the book and, hopefully, the reason to read it. Without that, what are thrillers? Run, run, chase, chase, shoot, shoot. Meh.

I don't detach from it, but I also don't claim to have the answers. The questions are the point. I like thinking about them, and I like forcing my characters into situations where they have to question their own convictions.

I think my favorite moments, though, are the ones when themes come to me unbidden. It's kind of like excavating a skeleton, or carving a statue from a block of marble; you have an idea of the shape, but not every detail of it, and the most enchanting ones are those that surprise you.

In THE AMATEURS, for example, it was the idea of game theory. I hadn't planned to integrate that. In fact, I was about 250 pages in before I realized that it belonged there, that it could tie the whole thing together.

Love those days.

And I sure am glad you have them. It amazes me.

Q. You write about a man who loses his memory. First, did you have any hesitation about the use of amnesia - some, especially television writers, have made a mockery of the plot concept. Next, what did you do to research this? I was so incredibly fascinated by what this character would remember, what he wouldn't remember, what he would think to himself...did he like this smell, would he have done such and such...his frustrations and discoveries. Not that I'm an amnesia expert, but it felt authentic to me. What did you do to ensure that?

Marcus: My hesitation was mostly about not wanting to feel too familiar. As you point out, it's been done numerous times, and I didn't want this to unconsciously echo anything. So I made a point of watching and reading amnesia stories so I would avoid that. I actually gave many of them shoutouts within the novel; there's a Memento poster, and someone reading a Ludlum book, etc.

As for researching, it's such a great era for that. I posted on my Facebook profile that I wanted to talk to medical professionals who might know about amnesia; the next morning I had two or three messages from people who knew someone. One call led to another, and all of a sudden I found myself talking to some of the foremost experts in the field.

They were all very gracious and helpful, and I used many of the things they told me verbatim. But one thing they also told me was that there really aren't defined parameters for this; it's a rare and poorly understood phenomenon.

Which, as a writer, is the dream answer. It meant I got to put myself in his position and try to imagine what he would feel, what would be automatic versus learned, hell, even whether he knew how he liked his burger. It was a blast.

Q. You've written all your novels from the third person point of view and you've said you're not opposed to writing in first person, but it hasn't been the right choice for any of the books to date. THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES is also third person limited. What made it the right choice for this novel? As the reader, I know why I feel it was the best choice, but I'm interested to know why the creator thought so as well.

Marcus: Close third rocks. It combines many of the strengths of first person without the limitations. Plus close third allows for multiple characters without confusing a reader, which is tricky with firsts or first-third.

I felt it was particularly appropriate in this novel because it's also the way that Daniel is seeing the world. He's living in close third person. So by mirroring that in the language, I hoped to make a reader feel what he was feeling.

And of course, all of the other characters in the novel are facing identity issues of their own, which was part of the fun. I wanted to write a book where everyone's "self" was a bit slippery. In some cases, that's just minor characters in a state of change; in others...well, I don't want to give anything away....

This book makes me excited every time I write about it, talk about, think about it. It really is something extraordinary. Many thanks to Marcus for taking time to indulge me. And I'm also excited to announce that Kaye Publicity is donating a copy of Marcus' book THE AMATEURS to a lucky blog reader. All you have to do is complete the form below by April 17th. The contest is open to U.S. residents. And don't forget to send your TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES preorder verifications in to be entered in the iPod drawing.