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| Interview with Rochelle Krich, author of eight critically acclaimed novels, as well as several short stories. In addition to her stand alone novels, she has written three Jessie Drake mysteries, two of which were nominated for the Agatha Award. The fourth Dead Air is her latest release (Avon Twilight, March 2000). Her works have been published in Britain, Iceland, Japan, France, Germany, and Holland. Author's website - Email: rmkrich@aol.com For Rochelle Krich, the dream to become a published author became reality in 1990 when she wrote Where’s Mommy Now, which won the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original and was filmed as "Perfect Alibi," starring Teri Garr, Hector Elizondo and Kathleen Quinlan. Rochelle Krich is one busy lady. An Anthony Award winner and Agatha nominee, she has eight novels to her credit as well as several short stories. Her books have been translated into numerous languages, and one has even been made into a television movie. Her success as a writer evolved after nearly two decades as a high school English teacher, a job that earned her accolades including the Milken Families Foundation Distinguished Educator of the Year Award. Krich has served as an editor for the national Sisters in Crime newsletter and on the National Board of Directors for Mystery Writers of America. In addition, she’s a member of the American Crime Writers League. Her newest release is DEAD AIR a mystery featuring her series protagonist, Jessie Drake. Called one of the "top ten women who write superior mystery fiction" by the Los Angeles Times, Krich has added another feather to her cap with this latest thriller which Publisher’s Weekly says "delivers some real suspense." I had the opportunity to catch up with Rochelle recently and kicked off my questions by asking about DEAD AIR. Read our review of Dead Air Feature by Susan McBride SUSAN McBRIDE - The plot in your latest Jessie Drake mystery features a very interesting character, a talk-show psychologist called "Dr. Renee," who many think is modeled after Dr. Laura Schlessinger. This whole idea of dispensing advice and opinion over the airwaves to faceless strangers is controversial. What compelled you to explore this world in DEAD AIR? ROCHELLE KRICH - I became a talk radio junkie during the OJ trial. I didn't allow myself to watch the trial on TV. I knew I'd get hooked, and I had a book to write! So I began listening while in the car doing carpools, etc. When the trial was over, I needed a fix - so I started listening to talk radio shows like Dr. Laura, and John and Ken (local) and Larry Elder and Dennis Prager, and Dr. Laura over and over again. I was fascinated and appalled by what I heard - and I kept listening. I wanted to explore that duality and the triangular relationship among the talk show host, the caller, and the listener. I wanted to explore the motivations of each partner in this relationship, so I talked to psychologists and learned a great deal. And I wondered what would happen if a caller or listener, enraged by advice a talk show host gave on air, decided to take revenge. In DEAD AIR I also deal with the media and how it contributes to spectacle events by feeding off the voyeuristic public and whetting its appetite. How did you research the novel, as the accurately drawn backdrop of TV talk shows and radio shows vividly illustrates the media's trend of profiting from tragedy? I listened to a great deal of talk radio. My husband became quite annoyed, I can tell you! I was fortunate to be invited to visit the studio where Dennis Prager does his daily show. I was able to obtain the details I needed - the behind-the-scenes workings of a talk show; the ratings criteria, the screening process of incoming calls. Jessie Drake is a homicide detective on the LAPD, a job that seems oceans apart from that of an educator. How does a former award-winning high school English teacher get into the skin of a homicide detective? Where did Jessie come from? Is there a part of you in her? Jessie was born after FAIR GAME (originally titled Death Across the Board) received sixteen (16!) rejection letters, three of which said the same thing: great story, great writing, detective hero is bland. After I recovered from my defensiveness, I decided that if three editors took the time to write and expressed the same sentiment, I should pay attention. So I did. And at a friend's suggestion, I gave birth to Jessica Drake. The wonderful thing is that when I began writing about her, I immediately cared about her in a way that I'd never really cared about my male detective, and I intuitively knew things about her. The book was enriched in every way. For police procedure, I contact the professionals, and they've been forthcoming and generous with their advice and knowledge. I still make mistakes. Because I'm not a police detective, I have to struggle hard to get the nuances correct, the language, the attitude. Is there a part of me in Jessie? We're both passionate about justice and social issues. We both prefer tea to coffee. Jessie is more physically active than I am and she takes more risks. She drives faster than I do, probably because she knows she won't get cited. And now, with her exploration of her newly discovered Judaism, she is beginning to connect with a religion and life style that is very much a part of my daily life. Even now as a novelist and short story author, do you find you are educating your readers? Do you believe that part of being a good writer is teaching readers something they didn't know before? A great question. There are some writers and reviewers who quip, "If you want to send a message, call Western Union." I don't agree. When I feel passionately about a social issue, I want to explore it and share that exploration with my readers. I've dealt with date rape (SPEAK NO EVIL), child abuse (FAIR GAME), the expensive field of assisted reproduction (FERTILE GROUND), Holocaust denial (ANGEL OF DEATH), and the Swiss bank accounts (BLOOD MONEY). In TILL DEATH DO US PART my heroine, an Orthodox Jewish woman, is stuck in a terrible limbo when her vindictive husband won't give her a "get," the Jewish divorce that will set her free and without which she can never remarry. When I toured with that book and spoke to Jewish audiences around the country, I was approached by numerous women who told me they'd never realized the importance of obtaining a get. Several told me they would contact their rabbis to set about the process of obtaining one. I also heard from women like my heroine who told me they loved the book because it empowered them and made them feel less isolated. In ANGEL OF DEATH, I deal with Holocaust deniers. While I received rave reviews, Publishers Weekly felt that it contained too much message. Perhaps, but I'm not sorry I wrote it in that way. There is a segment of the population that knows nothing about the Holocaust and is easy prey for deniers who spread insidious lies and claim that the Holocaust never took place - like David Irving, who was recently judged a liar and anti-Semite by an English jurist. As a daughter of Holocaust survivors, this pains me deeply and frightens me. My goal was to reach people who might not pick up a work of nonfiction and tell them, "Yes, the Holocaust existed. Yes, six million Jews and several million other innocent victims were killed." I received a fan letter not long ago from a reader who was just becoming acquainted with my work. She wrote: "ANGEL OF DEATH...really made me take a good look at myself and see the hate that was building up in me. I got rid of it and am a decent person again." I keep that letter on my desk and am moved every time I read it. In DEAD AIR I deal with the media and with domestic violence. I was prompted to write about that subject when an Orthodox woman in my community - a woman whose children and mine attend the same schools - was murdered by her husband. A recurring theme in your writing is faith and characters discovering what that means to them and how it defines them. How has your own faith affected the choices you've made in your career? And how might it affect your writing, especially in your creation of characters and storylines? Orthodox Judaism defines my life and gives me a healthy perspective on my career. It's all too easy to become caught up in the drive for success. I want success as much as the next writer, and I'm ready to explore all promotional opportunities. But when sundown on Friday arrives, my computer and fax are shut down. I don't write. I take no phone calls. I have the opportunity to focus on family and faith, and remind myself that my career, as exciting as it is, is only one aspect of my life and doesn't define it. One of my goals in writing is to share with readers the beauty of Judaism and to dispel the stereotypes that exist. I want to present Jewish characters as I see them - very much a part of American society, engaged in a myriad of professions. Just today I received an email fan letter from a woman who told me that she used to live among Jewish neighbors in Los Angeles and never understood their ways. She told me that reading my books has illuminated Jewish culture and helped her appreciate what she hadn't understood before. Is there a great difference in writing a mystery series and in writing stand-alone books? Is the process any different for you? Do you prefer one to the other? The process isn't different, but there are advantages and disadvantages to each. With the series, I know who the main characters are, and there's that wonderful comfort of returning to the familiar. With the standalones, it's more like visiting strangers - it takes a while to warm up to them, to get to know them. I enjoy writing both. I like standalones because it allows me to create entirely new worlds with entirely new characters. I enjoy writing the series because I'm curious myself to find out what will happen with Jessie in regard to her family, her romantic relationships, her career, her religious journey. With a series, you don't feel compelled to tie up all the loose ends - in fact, you don't want to. The challenge with a series, of course, is to keep the characters fresh and to come up with believable and interesting challenges for them to evolve in each book. What do you do to get yourself in the mind to write? Do you have certain rituals? Does your family know to "keep out" when you're at the keyboard? I'm a great procrastinator, and email has been a terrible addiction. I've finally realized though that if I receive digests rather than individual posts from the members of the various lists I belong to, I don't find myself logging on as often as I did. I try to begin writing in the morning, although when I'm in promotion mode, I'm no good for anything but that. I don't have rituals, but I write better at my desk than on a laptop away from home. And no, my family doesn't know to "keep out" when I'm at the keyboard. That's one of the drawbacks of working at home - people don't always regard that as work. Since writing and book promotion can be both physically and mentally draining, what do you do to relax and take your mind off work? I play mah-jongg every Monday night with a group of women. We play, we gossip, we munch on popcorn and fruit. It's incredibly relaxing. I also play tennis, although I haven't been on a court in more months than I care to think about. I also like TV - Frazier, Friends, Law & Order, ER. And The Sopranos! I'm really hooked on that. I also derive great pleasure from playing with my grandchildren, and I'm in constant touch with my kids, married and non. They're my friends. What's up next for Rochelle Krich? I'm working on the next Jessie Drake mystery, tentatively titled WAYWARD SON. The book begins with the murder of a plastic surgeon and two of his staff, and deals with teen violence. If things work out, I'd like to bring Debra Laslow (SPEAK NO EVIL) into the book. She's a prosecutor. Jessie is a detective so it's a believable match, I think. And Jessie could use a good friend. I also have the idea for the next Jessie - but you'll have to wait for details about that. Anything else you'd like readers to know? Just that I appreciate the support and interest readers have shown, and look forward to hearing from them. You can email Rochelle at rmkrich@aol.com |
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