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| Interview with Cara Black By Phillip Tomasso III. Cara Black is the author of Murder in the Marais and Murder in Belleville. Read our review of Murder in Belleville. PHILLIP TOMASSO III -Welcome, Cara. Thank you for taking the time to co  nduct this interview. Tell us a little more about Murder in Belleville.CARA BLACK - Belleville, an area to the northeast of Paris and the old neighborhood of the French singer Edith Piaf, is not a common tourist destination. I happened to visit it when a friend, a single mom with a daughter my son's age who lives there, invited me to stay when I was in Paris to research my book. I came to know this vibrant, multi-ethnic area well. At one time, during a peak in the Kosovo crisis, Paris was on high alert for terrorism. The whole atmosphere was very suggestive. I had also gotten to know a man in the Ministry of the Interior who shared experiences about the plight of North African immigrants who had come to stay in France with no legal papers. For me, the story is about the gritty and beautiful sides of living in Paris, and the people in conflict who inhabit it. What inspired you to set your mysteries in France? Actually, I would have to say that it chose me. In 1984, I was in Paris and a Jewish friend took me to the Ma  rais. She showed me the 15th century hotel particuliers, decrepit and run down, and told me how her mother's family had lived in one during the German occupation. My friend's mother had been at school when the French police, on Gestapo orders, rounded up her family. She waited, went to school and lived in the apartment. But her family never returned. That story haunted me.Ten years later, after a house exchange in Provence with my family, we stayed in the Marais. I remembered the story, sat down at the keyboard and Murder in the Marais was born. My next mystery, Murder in Belleville, seemed a continuation of the same theme. How much time and energy was spent researching the turmoil France went through during 1994? In France, I interviewed two women from North Africa. One lived in Paris, gave me mint tea and talked about the place of women in Islam. The other woman lived in the countryside, took me to the Arab market and shared her experiences of prejudice in France. In San Francisco where I live, I did a lot of library research, read books and some on-line research. I had also been keeping a file full of newspaper clippings related to events on the Algerian elections and the turmoil in France. Yet probably the most important research of all was done while sipping pots of mint tea on Boulevard Belleville, watching the street life and listening to the owner of the hamman who knows everyone. Of all the mysteries out there, what do you think makes your book stand out from all the rest? That's for readers to say. I just know that a good story needs substance. If I do my job right, I can take you to Paris, and you can experience the smells, the food, and the weather at a fraction of the cost. What or who has had the most influence over you writing? Baroness PD James, my writing mentor Jim Frey and the realization that life is too short not to do what you really want to do. When did you first know you were going to be a writer? It's an evolving process. But after much trial and error, I'm not much good at anything else. What do you find most difficult about writing? Staying put in that chair in front of my computer. What do you like the most about being a writer? Being able to go to Paris - as long as I'm back by 3pm to pick up my son from school. Is there a third Aimee Leduc mystery in the works? I’m working on the draft of novel number three right now. I figure I've written about two of the twenty arrondissements, so I only have 18 more to go. Do you have any closing comments or thoughts you'd like to add? I enjoy talking to library or reading groups who've read my books. It's fun and rewarding to hear comments about my characters. For example, how does René get all that computer hacking knowledge is a question I am often asked. Or when a reader will share an experience while in Paris. One woman related that her mother escaped danger in Paris during the 1960 Algerian crisis when a man pulled her out of a courtyard, and five minutes later it was bombed. I’m looking forward to reading your next novel. How can readers contact you? Thank you, Phillip. Readers can contact me via email or by visiting my website. http://www.carablack.com - chamaret@aol.com |
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