|
BIO
Karin Slaughter is The New York Times and internationally bestselling author of TRIPTYCH, FAITHLESS, A FAINT COLD FEAR, which was named an International Book-of-the-Month Club selection, INDELIBLE, KISSCUT, and BLINDSIGHTED; she contributed to and edited LIKE A CHARM. She is a native of Georgia, where she currently lives and is working on her next novel, SLEEPING DOGS.
Back to top.
INTERVIEW
 August 26, 2005
Bookreporter.com's Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight Team (Carol Fitzgerald, Joe Hartlaub and Wiley Saichek) interviewed Karin Slaughter, author of FAITHLESS. Slaughter discusses why she decided to incorporate a number of controversial topics into this fifth installment of her Grant County series, and the importance of maintaining a balance between reality and the sensationalism of violence in her writing. She also reveals her affinity for secondary characters, talks about the significance of a book's title, and explains the international appeal of her novels.
Bookreporter.com: FAITHLESS is noteworthy for many reasons, not the least of which is the ongoing rehabilitation of the relationship between Sara Linton and Jeffrey Tolliver. When you were first developing your series, had you planned on them eventually taking some tentative steps toward reconciliation?
Karin Slaughter: I always knew they would reconcile, so it's a bit shocking when folks ask if it will ever happen. To me, the interesting part is seeing how they're going to work now as a couple. In the opening of the next Grant County book, they're living together. This is when the really hard stuff starts happening.
BRC: FAITHLESS, the fifth and latest of your Grant County series, deals with a number of controversial topics, including fundamentalist religion, abortion, and domestic abuse. We were extremely impressed with the evenhandedness with which you approached these topics and the manner in which your primary characters approached these issues. What was the impetus behind constructing the plot of FAITHLESS around these topics?
KS: Crime fiction has always been at the forefront of social issues, whether it's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD or THE LOVELY BONES. The challenge for me was to not paint these issues in black and white. It would be very easy to say "Religion is good!" or "Religion is bad!" but that's never how it is in real life. You have nuts and extremists everywhere, and then you have the average folks in between. Those are the people I'm interested in --- the average folks and what compels them. I want to know about the gray.
BRC: One of the more subtle but very interesting elements of FAITHLESS are the budgetary problems that Jeffery Tolliver deals with while attempting to enforce the law in Grant County. While the CSI labs and their county counterparts on television seem to have a blank check to purchase equipment, Tolliver's problems appear to be more consistent with the real world, wherein he has to rely more upon dogged, solid police work than technological wonders. What made you choose to highlight this in FAITHLESS?
KS: Money has always been an issue in law enforcement because as a society, we seem much more invested in punishment than in prevention. That being said, I find it more interesting as a reader when an actual person solves a crime as opposed to a computer. I like to know what the characters are thinking so when they puzzle it out, it makes sense.
BRC: Lena is another Grant County character we enjoy reading about. One gets the sense that personally and professionally she needs a lot of work, yet she has the potential for improvement. Do you have any plans or intent to feature her more prominently in a future work?
KS: Lena always gets more "page time" than I think she will. She's a very volatile character, very polarizing at times, and she always keeps me guessing. In SKIN PRIVILEGE, the next Grant County book, she goes back to Reese with her uncle Hank and we get to see her in a very different way. She has evolved so much since BLINDSIGHTED, and I like the fact that she's not perfect. Sometimes you root for her and sometimes you want to slap her upside the head. That's fun for me.
BRC: We love the subplots --- and the continuation of plots from previous books --- involving the characters in FAITHLESS, such as Jeffrey's health scare and Lena's personal life. When you begin a new novel do you already have an idea of what you will continue from previous books, or do these stories unfold as you write?
KS: Generally, I plan the character relationships out three books at a time. It's important for me to know where they're going, especially Lena. There have been some clues in the earlier books that will reward people who've been reading from the beginning. I'm very careful with each book to make sure it stands alone as well, because I want folks to be able to pick up any of the books and get a complete story without having to know what came before. I actually think FAITHLESS is a good one to start with.
BRC: You have said that you believe secondary characters "add to the fabric of the story." We agree! To date, which of your secondary characters is your personal favorite, and why?
KS: I have a soft spot for Bill Brock, who runs the funeral home. He's very goofy and he lives with his mama and he has a crush on Sara, yet he seems to still have a very happy outlook on life. Also, old man Burgess at the cleaners is named after a friend of mine and I have great fun giving him new age-related ailments with each story.
BRC: You have mentioned in interviews and on your website the importance of being realistic without moving into sensationalism when there is violence in your novels. How difficult is it to achieve this balance?
KS: The balance is getting easier as I write more books. I really do think this ability is like a muscle that you can train and make stronger. I have the luxury of Sara guiding the moral compass, because she's an incredibly compassionate and honest person. I want to honor that, and I want to be responsible to myself and what I set out to do in the series, which is to use the violence as a springboard to talk about issues that are important to women: child abuse, domestic violence, poverty, etc.
BRC: You have had a great deal of international success with your Grant County series (congratulations on being #1 in London and Ireland!), even though it is set in a rural southern area as opposed to a more panoramic, cosmopolitan backdrop. What elements of your Grant County novels do you feel have the most appeal to the world audience?
KS: Something I've found as I've toured throughout Europe is that small-town life is universal. You'll find the same cast of characters (the busybody, the town slut, the bad seeds) everywhere, whether it's in Holland, Germany, France or good old Grant County, Georgia. I'd also like to add that the world has been fascinated with the American south for a long time. There is a reason that UNCLE TOM'S CABIN and GONE WITH THE WIND are two of the most translated books in the world.
BRC: You have stated that you need to know the title of your work-in-progress before you can begin actually writing the book. How long does it take for you to think of a title? Have you ever had a title change after the book was acquired, either by your choice or the publisher's choice?
KS: I've never had a title change, which is good, because the title does define the story for me and I feel very close to it from a creative standpoint. I tend to think of one-word titles that help convey the purpose of the book. KISSCUT is a good example, because it really plays out in the story. Usually, I'll think of a scene to open the book and then the title will come. Then a week later, I'm at the computer working on it. I consider the title a fulcrum that helps pry the story from my brain.
BRC: You began writing stories as a child. Do you recall what types of stories you wrote and read at that age? Did you see writing as a hobby, or did you know this was the work you wanted to do at that age? What advice do you have for our readers who may have children/younger family members who are aspiring writers?
KS: I never thought I'd be able to make a living from writing, so this has truly been a gift to me. The best advice I can give anyone who wants to write is that they need to read as much and as often as they can --- and not just the genre in which they wish to write. When I was a kid, I read everything, from Encyclopedia Brown to V.C. Andrews to John Jakes to...well, anything they'd let me check out of the library.
BRC: Your next planned novel, TRIPTYCH, is a stand-alone work, but we understand that you then plan to return to Grant County. Do you have several future Grant County novels already outlined, or do you wait until you are actually ready to begin a new work before you plot it out?
KS: I mentioned SKIN PRIVILEGE earlier --- that's what I'll start in January of next year. After that will come GENESIS, then a novel I've tentatively titled BROKEN. There might be one in between those --- it just depends on which story interests me the most. The fun thing about TRIPTYCH is you'll see someone from Grant County in that story, and you'll also see someone from TRIPTYCH join Sara and the gang.
BRC: Are you willing to share a little bit about TRIPTYCH (a June 2006 release)?
KS: I can't say much because it's a very twisty-turny sort of story and I would hate to give away too much. I can talk about the setting, which is very Urban and gritty-Atlanta, my hometown. The characters are a bit rougher in some ways, but I think that makes them interesting. I wanted to make sure I didn't rip off anyone from Grant County (I hate when you read a stand-alone and it's really the series characters with new names and better haircuts), so you'll find that the people you meet in Triptych are very different from anyone you've seen me write about before.
 Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.
Click here to get the audiobook from Audible.com.
Back to top.
PAST INTERVIEW
 September 19, 2003
Karin Slaughter has written two thrillers based on the adventures of pediatrician and part-time medical examiner Sara Linton. A FAINT COLD FEAR is the third and latest installment in the series, which is set in Grant County, Georgia. In this interview conducted by Bookreporter.com reviewer Bethanne Kelly Patrick, Slaughter talks about the characters in her novels and the relationships among them, her writing routine, and news about a exciting new work of crime fiction due out in May 2004.
BRC: Your fictional terrain, Grant County, is based on your real-life turf in Georgia. What are the challenges you've faced in respecting your friends and neighbors while creating this novel?
KS: I think that when you're talking about a small town, be it in the American South or Southern Czechoslovakia, you're going to have roughly the same cast of background characters. There's always going to be the town slut, the gossip, the bad families and the good. So, I felt pretty comfortable putting these people into my stories. What you read in my books is stuff I noticed when I was a kid. On the weekends, my dad would take me with him to the hardware store and I'd sit around and listen to the old guys talk. Those old guys are at every hardware store in America. What I hope to bring to these folks is an appreciation for their lives. I also want to honor the South; that's probably the most important thing for me. I don't know when it became unfashionable to be from the South, but I'm extremely proud to be from the same state that gave the world Margaret Mitchell and Flannery O'Connor.
BRC: Lena is a complex and complicated character; you've said that you already know what happens to her. Without revealing too much about her or about the future of Grant County (your next book is set in the past), can you tell us if what happens to her is a result of her own past, her actions, a combination thereof, or something completely different? Can you talk a little about the ways in which Lena has defied you, as you mentioned in the interview with Laura Lippman posted on your website?
KS: Lena is a wily character. As a writer, I like to think in my head that I have control of my stories and where they're going, but she's always going to mess things up. With KISSCUT, I learned to listen to her and let her speak. I know that sounds schizophrenic, but I think we all hear different sorts of things in our head, and for me, listening to the Lena voice has become an important part of writing. I knew her general story before I finished BLINDSIGHTED, and I knew how she would struggle to overcome losing her sister and recovering from the other things that happened in BLINDSIGHTED, but with KISSCUT, I was still surprised by how much of the narrative she got. I think she adds a layer to that story, which is about abuse, and shows the reader what happens to these kids when they grow up.
I wish I could say that Lena is an exception to women who have been abused, but she is more the rule. This is not to say that all women who experience an attack are going to turn into Lena, but the statistic Sara talks about in A FAINT COLD FEAR is true: over eighty percent of all women who are assaulted experience some other form of assault in their lives, be it sexual, verbal or physical abuse. Lena is angry, and she is internalizing that. In A FAINT COLD FEAR, she starts to push some of that anger to the surface, and what she ends up doing is hurting herself. She is not always the character you like or root for --- some people get really angry with her for the choices she makes --- but I never want anyone to give up on her. She's a survivor, but you don't recover from something like that overnight.
I'd also like to add that she does appear in INDELIBLE, the next novel in the series. Most of the story does take place in the past, but she gets the present-day narration. I think people are going to be surprised what she's been up to since we last saw her.
BRC: In this same interview you described writing a book as a short but passionate love affair. At what stage is the affair with the book you're currently writing? Do you work on more than one book at the same time?
KS: Oh, yeah. I'm in the throes of passion right now. I just finished the main part of the story and I'm going back and touching up in places before I send it to my editor. I really am pleased with INDELIBLE. It tells us a lot about Sara and Jeffrey, and why Sara has had such a hard time getting over his betrayal.
As for the second part of your question, I am not a multi-tasker. Chewing gum and walking is a challenge. I like to do one thing at a time, do it as well as I can, then move on. If I leave something half-finished, then I'm incapable of functioning in the real world. I'll miss exits when I'm driving, order too many doughnuts...my life just goes to hell.
BRC: Again and again the capsule reviews refer to how graphic your books are --- "not for the faint of heart," "for readers who like their crime fiction on the dark side," etc. Is this a deliberate choice on your part? Or does it flow from the action as you write?
KS: I don't know that my novels are any more graphic than what is out there. Only one person is murdered in each of the first two books, yet people have this notion of carnage. Jeffrey Deaver's THE BONE COLLECTOR (which I loved) had a woman whose skin was burned off by a steam pipe and I don't remember anyone saying that was particularly violent. I think I get that rap in part because I am a woman, but I will admit that I work hard to keep the details of crimes in there. For me and my work, I feel it is important not to flinch when you write about violence. If those parts are hard to read, then I have done my job. It shouldn't be easy to read about. Especially with KISSCUT, where I was writing about violence against children, I wanted to make sure that no one could read that book and get off on it. I am not here to titillate. I'm here to show the facts, then move on to what happens next. It's never been what people do that interests me so much as WHY.
BRC: In your new book, A FAINT COLD FEAR, sibling relationships, particularly those between Sara and Tessa and between Lena and Sibyl, are very important. What kind of relationships did you/do you have with your own sisters? What intrigues you about siblings, and how do you try to use what intrigues you in your work?
KS: My sister Jatha works in an auto parts department at a Mercury dealership. On the surface, people who meet us think we are absolutely nothing alike. I have a very fair complexion while our grandmother's half-Cherokee roots are extremely evident in her dark hair and olive skin. She is pretty outspoken and I am more quiet. The thing we share is a common upbringing and common values. We have the same work ethic, and most of our conversations center on how startled we both are by the things people do.
I think we show part of ourselves to our families that we would never show another human being. You can't hide your true nature from the people who were there from the beginning. With Sara and Tessa, you see a lighter side of Sara's personality. She is a well-respected doctor, but her family knows she's fairly goofy at times. I would caution people, though, to take with a grain of salt what Lena says about her relationship with Sibyl. You have no way of knowing whether or not she's telling the truth...
BRC: To continue in the same vein, the relationship between Sara and Jeffrey is also very important, perhaps paramount, at least in this new book. And in your next book, INDELIBLE, you'll be describing a time in the past when they were still together. Talk about what they represent, and what kind of people they are (be figurative and literal, as it were).
KS: Jeffrey was a clear response to what I felt was a perplexing trend in crime fiction. I love novels with strong female characters, but I can't stand when the woman's love interest has the spine of a jellyfish. I consider myself fairly strong, and I know that at the end of the day I want someone who challenges me and keeps me interested, not someone who agrees with everything I say. Jeffrey does not always do the right thing with Sara. He does not always anticipate her needs and give her exactly what she wants. That's true of any relationship, and I wanted to show that dichotomy as realistically as possible.
In INDELIBLE, we see the beginning of their relationship and how Sara sometimes puts her own feelings and needs on the back burner for Jeffrey. They are both younger and less experienced, and what we see from them is how their initial attraction blossomed into something larger. I always use them as a counterpoint in my novels, where no matter what horrible thing is happening in the plot you know that they will be there for each other. In INDELIBLE, we get to see how that started and why it means so much to them.
BRC: What is the hardest part of your books for you to write? Violent scenes? Procedural moments? Dialogue? Has this changed over the years?
KS: I don't find one part more difficult than the other. I love writing dialogue, but I also enjoy the research that goes into what you're calling my violent scenes. I guess the challenge is always, "What is the cliché here and how do I avoid it?" When you get right down to it, none of us is telling a new story. There are no new plots. What authors bring to the table is their own perspective. For instance, we could both write a book about a monkey who likes to wear hats, but because we are different people, we would tell a different story. I, for one, would wonder where his cigar is.
BRC: You've said you read a great deal, two or three books a week when you're writing, more when you're not. What do you read for style? For plotting? Etc.
KS: I try very carefully not to pick up anyone's style, which is why when I'm writing I cannot read crime fiction. I know this sounds arrogant, but I have never finished a book and thought, "Wow, I wish I had written that." I know what goes into writing a novel and I would never take that away from anyone.
BRC: When BLINDSIGHTED was first published, it was touted as the first of a three-book series about Grant County. Obviously, that's been extended. . .will you continue to write about Grant County indefinitely, or do you have an endpoint in mind?
KS: You know, I don't know why it was touted as a three-book series. That was never my intention, and when Morrow, my publisher, signed me on they were very keen to make sure I had more. I have plans for another Grant County book called FAITHLESS after this one, and then I will probably write what people call a stand-alone. I want more than anything to honor the characters that I have created, and I never want to get to a point where I'm writing stories because I have to instead of because I want to.
BRC: You're out on tour at the moment, and you've discussed before, there is a pull between your life as a solitary writer and your life as an author who loves to hear from your fans. How's it going? What are the differences between, say, your first tour and this one, now that you're more established?
KS: I think with my first tour I was just terrified that people would throw eggs at me or something. Now, being honest, the travel is so grueling that by the time I get to an event, I just want to talk to the folks who make it all worthwhile. I have met some of the most interesting and energetic people on the road, and we all have this great common bond: we love reading.
BRC: Titles are very important to you, and each of yours has an interesting story behind it. Can you tell us about INDELIBLE, or would that be premature?
KS: It's a little premature right now. I don't want to give too much of the plot away. I can tell you it's about how things in our past never really go away.
BRC: What comes first for you? Setting? A particular murder? Does your title give you your story, or vice versa?
KS: I have to have the title before I can write anything. For me, the title says what the book is about and what the focus of the story will be. Until I get that title, the story makes absolutely no sense to me.
BRC: Can you share anything about LIKE A CHARM: Voices from the New Noir, the crime fiction collection that you are heading the collaboration on? We hear it is due out in May.
KS: Well, first off, I want to say that it's a novel, not a short story collection. I know that sounds hinky, but it really does read like a novel. Basically, I borrowed the idea from one of my favorite books, THE RED PONY. Each story is about the same charm bracelet, and the trick is that by the end of the story, the author has to leave the bracelet somewhere for the next author to find. For instance, Peter Robinson leaves it in a bomb crater in Leeds, and Fidelis Morgan has to have her character find it there and then by the end of the story leave it for the next person. I have been going over some of these stories and I have to say they just blow me away. Laura Lippman, Mark Billingham, John Connolly, Lee Child, Lynda LaPlante --- these are people who know how a story works and they are masters of short fiction.
© Copyright 1996-2008, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
Back to top.
|
