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Questions
1. AOTW: Robert Bloch, the author of Psycho, among other horror novels, is credited with the statement, "I have the heart of a small boy. I keep it in a jar on my desk." Your work deals with individuals for whom that, unfortunately, is not an understatement. What is there about the dark side, the tormented side of the human psyche that exists in some individuals, which attracts you as a subject for research?
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2. AOTW: When Eva Braun's home movies of her life with Adolf Hitler were found, one director thought it was important to release these films, to show us the "human" side of Hitler. Do you feel a responsibility to portray the humanity of the villains you write about? And, if so, how do you react to the naysayers who see these criminals only as monsters?
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3. AOTW:Has your work affected your view of humanity? What, if any, lessons are there to be learned from studying criminals?
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4. AOTW: Do your subjects ever haunt you? Have you ever abandoned a project because you were simply too disturbed by the crime?
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5. AOTW: Several authors mix true crime into their fiction. For example, James Ellroy, in his book Black Dahlia, wrote about a real murder but fictionalized the characters involved in the investigation. How do you view the relationship between the true crime and mystery genres? Would you ever consider writing fiction?
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6. AOTW: Truly sensational stories get played out everyday in the media. How do you bring a fresh perspective to a story when (we think) we've heard it all before? How has the intense media scrutiny affected your job as a true crime writer? Does it affect your choice of subject matter? Do you look for less publicized crimes? If so, is this a harder sell to publishers?
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7. AOTW: Often, true crime books are marketed with provocative titles and feature brightly garish covers (particularly paperbacks). Once you've turned in the text, how much say do you have over the book's presentation or marketing?
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8. AOTW: How do you answer claims that true-crime books do nothing but sensationalize and bring what might be otherwise strictly local crimes into the national spotlight? Or that true crime writers are insensitive to the plight of the families of both the criminal(s) and the victim(s)?
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9. AOTW: How helpful (or hurtful) to your work have you found the law enforcement personnel who actually worked on the case? What about families of both the criminal and the victim?
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10. AOTW: When you're researching, are you viewed differently by the principals in the case as a book writer as opposed to a newspaper or broadcast journalist? Does a "book" suggest a more hefty and permanent retelling in their eyes?
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11. AOTW: Have you ever had a close call or strange adventure while researching one of your books?
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12. AOTW: What type of mail / responses do you receive from your readers?
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Why are we fascinated by the criminal mind? What makes them tick and what makes readers want to dive into their worlds? AuthorsOnTheWeb.com recently got the opportunity to ask these questions and more to a panel of experts.
