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12.
AOTW: What type of mail / responses do you receive from your readers?
Susan Kelly: In response to the Boston Strangler book, I received some very nice letters, but a lot of the mail was seriously weird. One guy demanded "a lot of money" before he'd tell me some story about an alleged CIA/FBI conspiracy to frame Albert DeSalvo for the murders. I told him to get in touch with one of the supermarket tabloids. He seemed surprised and disappointed I wasn't willing or able to fork over a lot of cash. I also got some fan letters from the Hillside Strangler. He told me to keep up the good work. What good work --- rehabbing serial killers?
Gretchen Brinck: I received letters from people in the community where The Boy Next Door takes place (Belmont, California). Mostly they wanted to tell me they knew the victims and/or the killer and that they were happy at last to know the whole story. A few crime survivors wanted me to write a book about them.
Michael Fleeman: Usually, it's very encouraging. People are predisposed to the genre before they buy the book, so they're not hostile. Usually, they just have more questions about the case --- making me wish I had done a more thorough job in the book.
Brian J. Karem: You mean besides death threats? Well, the pedophile from Innocent Victims still writes me on occasion. Ain't it a glamorous life?
Burl Barer: Very interesting mail from people who knew the killers before they killed, or fan mail from folks wanting free copies of my next book. Sometimes I hear from people saying, "I know a man who is certainly a psychopath and I bet he has killed people for no reason. He is my future husband. Do you want to meet him? I can arrange it."
Don Lasseter: I get quite a bit of mail from people who knew the killers. But most of my mail has been from employees of the United States Postal Service after I wrote Going Postal, in which I chronicled the many cases involving postal workers going off the deep end and killing fellow employees and bosses. The mail generally is complimentary about my revealing oppressive management procedures, and usually says that conditions are still bad. I don't know if they are just disgruntled employees who want to complain, or what. But I try to reply to all mail, complimentary or critical.
Irene Pence: If a reader goes to the trouble to write/email, it is usually positive and they want to know when my next book is coming out. I did have one bad review on Amazon.com by someone who had read the first 30 pages and thought I was a lousy writer with an even lousier editor. I hope he finished the book because it has gone into its fifth printing. I have given several programs on my books and the audiences are always interested to know why a "normal" person would ever get into writing true crime and interviewing murderers. At my talks, I relate my motel experience and discuss what it's like to tour a prison. Somehow the talks are humorous. Being able to laugh at my episodes convinces me that I enjoy what I am doing.
Sue Russell: Sometimes people want contact info for a criminal. Some say a loved one has been wrongfully imprisoned, they have proof, and can I help? I tell them to write down the facts and spell out the evidence. Giving them this homework is a little test I put them through. Guess what? They never follow through. I once heard from a prisoner on death row and we corresponded for a couple of years.
Robert Scott: Some of my best responses have been from people connected with the law enforcement community. When I was out in Connecticut to do a magazine article there on a crime, one of the friend's of the victim was also a criminal justice college student. Out of the blue she told me, "I read about Daveggio and Michaud and all the stuff they did. So when I took a trip to California, I drove through the Gold Country to see where they'd been." Now that was a surprise. A true crime reader who had actually gone to the scene of the crimes just to see where the incidents had taken place.
Carlton Smith: Again, it varies. Occasionally people get my telephone number from directory assistance and want to ask a question; some call simply to say they enjoyed a book. Sometimes people write to acquaint me with a case that they are familiar with, and want me to look into it. Still others are critical --- some want more details, or the "inside story" on conversations of which there is no actual record, while others think there is too much detail. Still others don’t like the point of view of the book, particularly when it tries to explain behavior that they would rather just condemn. What most people don’t realize is that the quality of a mass market paperback book is related to the amount of time one has to prepare it. And while one might wish for two or three years to really develop a story, the economics of the business are such that it simply isn’t feasible --- the books just don’t sell enough copies to pay for such an investment of time. Still, I believe it is fair to say that all of my books present a comprehensive view of the events, far more so than is available in any other medium.
Dina Temple-Raston: So far the response has been positive. People in East Texas say I did capture what was going on in that part of the country with regard to race. I thought that was a pretty big compliment given that I'm a northerner and a stranger to the region. So far, so good.
Carlton Stowers: The mail/response I get is nothing out of the ordinary. Most who take time to write, call or e-mail either (a) liked the book a great deal or (b) want to take issue with something you've written. Fortunately, I've had only a smattering of the latter over the years. My all-time favorite response: A defense attorney in a book I wrote some years ago was asked if he had read it. Yes, he replied, I read it last night, looking for something to sue the SOB over. Did you find anything, the friend asked. No, it was all true, the lawyer responded. I'll take that as a compliment.
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