Spring, 2001
Volume 6, No. 1 The return of the sun at this time of year signals a stirring in the blood. What is it that's closest to your heart, that focuses your attention, that keeps you up at night, makes your thoughts wander as you drive the freeway? It's your passion, that which arouses your emotions, whether it's a single creature, your family, your collection of ichthyosaurus fossils, or the quilting that you do for yourself alone. Our characters may be fictional, but we've labored long to make them real, with all that entails, including their own passions about the lives they lead. The character's passion is very useful to the novelist, because the truest action anyone can take comes from what is most important to her. Here's the true story on our characters.
Jonnie Jacobs Kate Austen is devoted to her daughter Anna, her foster daughter Libby, and the man in her life, Michael Stone. She is also a good friend, someone who genuinely enjoys the company of others and reaches out to help those in need (a trait which gets her into big trouble in Murder Among Strangers.) She has a zest for life and a curiosity that renders each new day an adventure. In her spare time Kate enjoys working in the garden, but not as much as she enjoys sitting there with a glass of iced tea and her watercolors. Art is Kate's personal passion (much as mine is writing). Kali O'Brien, too, tries to do what's right. A passion for justice was what drew her to the law in the first place, though it's been tempered of late with disillusionment. Her world view is darker than Kate's. Kali is still dealing (or not dealing, as a therapist might say) with the childhood legacy of her mother's suicide and her father's emotional absence. Her own history of failed relationships and bad choices in men has left its mark as well. For all that, Kali remains an optimist at heart. She is driven by visions of the rainbow. Witness for the Defense, fourth in the Kali O'Brien series, will be out in April 2001. You can catch Kate Austen's latest adventure in Murder Among Strangers. You can reach Jonnie at jonnie@jonniejacobs.com.
Lee Harris Most people experience the usual passions, for husband or wife and for children, and Chris Bennett is no exception. But beyond that, what deep feelings are unique to her? I think that teaching ranks very high. She taught when she was a nun, and her first position when leaving St. Stephen's was teaching poetry at a local college. She is exhilarated by the spirited classroom discussions, the arguments and strong feelings of her students. As a part-time instructor, she doesn't get paid much, so she does it more for love than for money. Another passion is finding the truth. It troubles her when questions are unanswered or answered evasively. She tries hard to tell the truth herself, even when someone may be put in jeopardy if the truth comes out. This passion for truth is what makes her such a good investigator, what keeps her going until every fact is known. Finally, her third passion is reading. She is always reading: the Times every day, books all the time. She will teach a different course in an upcoming book, which gives her a chance to read both new books and a whole lot of books she hasn't read for a long time. In Lee Harris's newest book, The April Fools' Day Murder, a man may or may not have been murdered on April 1. E-mail her at MysMurder@aol.com.
Valerie Wolzien I was about to write that Susan's passion was shopping: she's shopped in each of the thirteen novels I've written about her and in the latest, Death at a Discount, the murder takes place at an outlet mall. I also considered saying that her passion was truth, that she's looking for truth every time she gets involved in a murder investigation. But, in fact, Susan's passion is her family. Susan is a wife and mother and no matter what else she does, her family comes first. In Murder at the PTA Luncheon, the first of the series, she worried about her children's summer activities at the Hancock Field Club. In the winter she did volunteer work in their schools. In later books, she shopped for them (there she is—back in the stores!), cooked for them, went on vacations with them, entertained Jed's business colleagues, and always cleaned her house extra well for a visit from Jed's mother. Her children were protected from her sleuthing when they were young. As they grew up, she has stayed involved in their lives despite their increasing need for independence. Susan has a strong marriage and I'm working on a new book in which the murder takes place on Susan and Jed's thirtieth wedding anniversary. I'm only on chapter seven—right now even I don't know the identity of the murderer! Valerie also writes a series about Josie Pigeon. A contractor and single mother, Josie next appears this fall in Murder in the Forecast, which takes place while Hurricane Agatha pounds the barrier island where Josie lives, works, and investigates murder. E-mail: valerie@wolzien.com.
Lora Roberts Liz would deny that she's a passionate person. She sees herself as cautious, reasoned, always watchful. The truth is, she's passionate about several things, foremost among them, her freedom. Because of mistakes she made in the past, she lost that freedom for a time. Now she guards it carefully, unwilling to let anyone make inroads in her self-sufficiency. Over the course of six books, Liz has learned to trust some of the people around her—her friends Bridget and Claudia, and especially her policeman neighbor, Paul Drake. However, Drake poses the biggest challenge to her freedom, because he wants Liz to put aside her independence and marry him, or at least move in with him. Although resisting at first, Liz has gradually been drawn to her neighbor. In Murder Follows Money, the most recent Liz adventure, Liz is doing temporary work to pick up some cash when she is forced into the company of a famous life-style maven, a woman so self-contained she doesn't know the meaning of the word "slack". Being around this woman makes Liz realize that her precious independence isn't threatened by opening up to other people. She may never be ready to marry again, but she finds out that she is certainly ready to make room among her passions for independence and freedom to include a passion for Paul Drake. Lora's next book featuring Bridget Montrose, Another Fine Mess, is due in 2002 from Perseverance Press. E-mail her at myslora@pacbell.net.
©2005-07 by Lee Harris, Jonnie Jacobs, Lora Roberts and Valerie Wolzien. |
