JODI COMPTON ANSWERS QUESTIONS FROM READERS

Q: Pribek is a law enforcement person yet she helps her friend to cover up a homicide, destroy evidence and even become an accessory in the "crime" even though the perpetrator is evil and deserves a fate worse than death. Pribek and friend are judge and jury..and dispense the punishment. How can you justify Pribek's actions with her job responsibilities in a law enforcement role?

JC: When I'm writing, I don't think about, "is this action consistent with the role of a law enforcement officer?" I think, "is this consistent with the character?" I hope you enojyed the book in general and don't let the moral ambiguity scare you off; I think it actually makes for richer storytelling.

Q: I look forward to her next book. My question would be: how did she come up with the idea for the book, and how long did it take to write it --- from conception to completion?

JC:The stories have their root in the characters, who are more important to me than plotline. I would never create generic people to carry out a locked-room conundrum. As for how long it took to complete the book .. about two years, maybe a little longer. Even after I'd finished what was the essential novel, there was new material written at the request of my agent and then my editor, fleshing out aspects of the book they felt were incomplete or underexplained. What you read is actually a fourth draft of the story. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Q:If I had the opportunity to speak with Jodi, I would ask her about the research for the book. Did she research the feelings of families of missing persons? Does she have experience in a missing persons case? How does she map out her stories?

JC:I research very broadly, reading a lot of news stories on crime, biographies of investigators, and other nonfiction, so that when I sit down to write, I'm drawing on a broad fund of knowledge. That lets the story come first. When a writer picks a subject to research, like ecoterrorism, and then bones up on it to write the novel, it seems to lead to dry and pedantic passages. You can almost hear the writer thinking, 'I learned this stuff; I've got to stick it somewhere.

About mapping out stories, I do a loose prose outline, just enough to break the story down into manageable chunks, so I know where I'm going. If there are multiple storylines, I outline them separately and then blend them into one long synopsis later.

Q: When is your next book coming out? Are your books going to be available as ebooks (Palm Format)?

JC:About eBook format, I honestly don't know. But the second book is coming out in 2005, and picks up about six months from where The 37th Hour left off; obviously it deals in part with the warning that Kilander gives Sarah at the fountain, but that's only one of three storylines in the book.

Publisher note: As of right now, there is no e-book planned.

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