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Laura: Not as good of a title, in my opinion! I have also read two other books that I saw on your site...Lizzie Off the Bench and SisterWife.
Kate: Ah -- terrific books! By terrific writers, I might add.
Laura: Yes, I enjoyed them both very much. Lizzie was the neatest character! And, what a character!
Kate: Wasn't she? I love her!
Laura: SisterWife reminded me of another book I love, Mine, by Robert McCammon. SisterWife almost read like a true crime, but even better. I really enjoyed that one, it was my kind of book.
Kate: Didn't I hear that you had actually met McCammon?
Laura: I sure did, in Montgomery Alabama, it was thrilling! His latest is one I highly recommend, Speaks the Nightbird.
Kate: I'm sure it was! Did you meet him at a book signing?
Laura: Yes, I sure did, it was a day I'll never forget!
Kate: Nice guy?
Laura: Wonderful, Southern gentleman! Very gracious.
Kate: That's very nice to hear! I think, sometimes, that writers don't realize just how much it means to readers to meet their favorite authors.
Laura: I agree, Kate...I have seen it in the chat rooms with
authors. Even meeting them online. I was thrilled to meet you! That's another day I won't forget!!
Kate: Thank you! You know a little secret that most readers don't realize... it's just as big a thrill for us to meet you!
Laura: Wow...I would imagine it is nice to hear what they think
of your work, all the different opinions.
Kate: Exactly! I'm also thrilled to hear from readers, and I make certain to respond to every letter I get.
Laura: Oh, I think that is important, Kate.
Kate: So, Laura, who are your favorite true crime authors?
Laura: Well, I really enjoyed The Last Victim, by Jason Moss and The Stranger Beside Me, by Ann Rule.
Kate: I LOVE Ann Rule!
Laura: Oh, me too, she's great!
Kate: You know she actually WORKED with Ted Bundy!
Laura: Oh yes...how creepy! My favorite true crime book is House of Secrets, by Lowell Cauffiel. Rule's If You Really Loved Me is a great one too.
Kate: What is it about true crime that you enjoy the most?
Laura: Kate, I think it's like putting a puzzle together. You go through all the crime scenes, the court scenes, and it wraps up at the end. The good guys get justice, in most cases.
Kate: I understand completely. I really enjoy reading books by John Douglas. Ever read him?
Laura: No, I have not read him. Is there a title you'd recommend?
Kate: Journey into Darkness. He's the father of profiling for the FBI and he discusses the bizarre cases he worked on.
Laura: That really sounds right up my alley!
Kate: Just read it with the lights on, honey.
Laura: Those are the best ones!
Kate: I use his books to research the minds of serial killers.
Laura: I find John Wayne Gacy fascinating. I have read all I can find on him, what an insane mind he had -- and that scary clown stuff too!
Kate: I know. I believe Douglas writes about that case in Journey into Darkness.
Laura: Thanks Kate, I have got to get that book.
Kate: So, Laura, what got you into reading thrillers and true crime books?
Laura: Kate, I loved horror films as a child, and found true crime cases fascinating as an adult, it just happened.
Kate: Ah, we're kindred souls!
Laura: Carrie was probably the first of that genre that I ever read, and was hooked!
Kate: Incredible book by King. Salem's Lot was one of the scariest books I've ever read.
Laura: Oh gosh yes! Talk about leaving the lights on and not reading at night! Just seeing you type that title gave me chills, Kate!
Kate: I know what you mean. I understand you host an internet chat room on books...
Laura: Yes, I sure do.
Kate: Nice to have a place to go to share your love of books with others.
Laura: It's wonderful, Kate. I have met some of the neatest folks on earth in that room! And, all of them book lovers.
Kate: That should certainly keep you busy! There is never enough to say about books with people who share your same tastes.
Laura: That's true, Kate, and I have met some really great authors from the suggestions in there.
Kate: So tell me, you talk to a lot of readers. What is most important to the reader...characterization? Plot?
Laura: Well, I think that depends a lot on the reader, but I'd say that characters are brought up the most.
Kate: They enjoy well-rounded characters?
Laura: You know, the characters you still think about when the book is finished? Yes, they sure seem to.
Kate: Tell me, do readers respect characters who are "human" or more stereotypical?
Laura: I think they respect the ones that are the most human. Stereotypical is just not fun!
Kate: Who are some of your favorite, more memorable characters?
Laura: Well, Hannibal Lector comes to mind first.
Kate: Whoa! Yep, he's a tough one to forget!
Laura: Indeed! There's a great Elvis impersonator in Gone South,(McCammon), he is hysterical! Pelvis Eisley is his name.
Kate: Now that sounds like one I've GOT to read!
Laura: Kate, it's a great one. I just found McCammon last year, and have loved all of his books. One of my favorite books, Garden Of Lies, by Eileen Goudge, has two sisters, Rachel and Rose...they are very unforgettable! There's also a character in Lehane's Mystic River that I enjoyed, but can't think of the name.
Kate: Sounds like you really read a lot! How many books do you generally read a month?
Laura: Probably 8 to 12 a month
Kate: Wow! That's incredible! What are you reading now?
Laura: Well, right now I'm reading Growing Up In the South: An
Anthology of Modern Southern Literature, and I need to start The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, for a chat that I am hosting. I'll have to read a thriller next! I have two Kings here in the stack.
Kate: Well, I hope you realize just how we, the authors, appreciate someone with your enthusiasm for reading.
Laura: Oh, Kate, WE appreciate all of you so much! Gosh, what would we DO?
Kate: I hear you! Tell you what, Laura, to show my appreciation to you, I'd love to send you an advance copy of my next thriller, Bad Moon Rising.
Laura: Oh Kate, I am thrilled! Thank you so much!
Kate: Honey, it is MY pleasure. You're a very special lady.
Laura: Thank you, Kate. You are so nice, and very talented!
Kate: Thanks. And thank you so very much for joining me in this chat. Is there anything you would like to say to the many authors who will be reading this?
Laura: Just KEEP IT UP! I hear rumors that the book market is not doing well, but there are so many folks out there that can't live without books! And, thank you to all of them!
Kate: I think I speak for us all. Without you, we wouldn't be here, fulfilling our own dreams.
Laura: I'm happy to be here for that, Kate.
Kate: Great! I hope to chat with you again real soon, Laura. Take care and big hugs!
Laura: Back at ya, Kate, thanks for the coffee and great
conversation!
Kate: Bye, sweetie!
Laura: Bye!
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