Interview with Karin Slaughter 
[author of the just-released "Blindsighted"]
Karin's Web Site
by Jon Jordan

Jon: Since your book isn't out yet, maybe a little background. Is it a series? Is it Hard boiled? What are we in for when we pick up Blindsighted?

Karin: I guess it's hard-boiled. I haven't really thought about assigning Blindsighted to a certain genre. If anything, what I was going for was a thriller -- a book with a roller coaster kind of arc. I've read so many mysteries and thrillers that I know what fans come to expect when a character gets into a certain kind of situation. What I wanted to do was turn those situations around so that the reader says, "Oh, I know what comes next," then is shocked when it doesn't.

Jon: Is there any of you in your protagonist? Like maybe your sense of humor?

Karin: I suppose there's some bit of me in all of my characters. Sara Linton, one of my lead characters, is kind of clumsy, which is something I've been known to be. Lena Adams has a sharp tongue that's always getting her into trouble. I think writing her, then reading her, has made me more careful about what I say. Jeffrey Tolliver is the chief of police for Grant County, and he's always expected to be on top of things but when you get inside his head, you see that most of the time he's just operating on gut instinct, and a lot of the time he's wrong.

I think for me the most important thing in the series is that these characters are human and they make mistakes, just like ordinary people. You're not going to see them performing extraordinary acts and there are real consequences to the actions they take.

Jon: Have you always wanted to write? If not what other things did you consider?

Karin: For as long as I can remember I've been writing, but I never thought it would be a career for me. I think writing is such a personal, solitary act that you don't realize you're actually doing anything until someone reads one of your pieces and says, "Hey, this is pretty good." The person who did this for me was my ninth grade English teacher. I think after being in her class I started to realize that writing was a craft that could be developed, not just something you had to do so you could sleep at night. Before that I'd wanted to be a lawyer.

Jon: As a new author, what is your take on the book business so far?

Karin: I've always heard horror stories about conniving agents and vicious editors and bad publishers and on and on. I can honestly say that the people I've dealt with have been supportive and kind and that they've all wanted what's best for my career. I feel very fortunate that I've hooked up with the people I'm now working with. I'm also very happy that I've been able to meet other authors. It helps knowing someone who has been through this before. I've got a lot of mentors to thank out there.

Jon: Is Ted Turner really the secret ruler of Atlanta?

Karin: Do you really think it's that easy to find out?

Jon: How important is location to your book?

Karin: Location is central to all my books. I grew up in a rural Southern town and that's where my characters live. Grant County is a little more rural than Jonesboro, the town where I grew up, but they are both very similar.

Jon: What authors do you like to read?

Karin: Val McDermid is my favorite mystery author at the moment. I think The Mermaids Singing and Wire in the Blood are two of the best books out there. Denise Mina is doing some fabulous things as well. I really love books that concentrate on character, and these two women are great at that. I also enjoy Peter Robinson and Peter Moore Smith for the same reason.

On the non-mystery side, I think Kathryn Harrison is absolutely brilliant. Poison is one of the best books I've ever read. I adore Barbara Gowdy. She reminds me of Flannery O'Connor in ways that would make Flannery O'Connor blush.

Jon: Did you have to do a lot of research for your book?

Karin: Sara is a pediatrician, and I'm very careful to make sure she's walking the walk. I've talked to a lot of doctors and nurses to make the things Sara does seem authentic. Of course, for dramatic purposes I can take a lot of shortcuts that real doctors can't. Sara's forensic forays are much more interesting to me. As a mystery lover, I am fascinated with the technical side of investigation and autopsy. I've read a lot of textbooks on autopsies, autopsy reports and seen some instructional videos.

I'm often asked if I've ever wanted to witness an autopsy, and part of me really does. Another part of me wonders if that would be right, because an autopsy is, I think, a tremendous personal invasion.

I have seen a teaching video that shows every step of an autopsy, but I know it must be different being in an actual morgue. Should I be allowed to attend one because I want to put it in a book? I don't know.

Jon: Do you write when you feel inspired to do so, or do you set apart certain times to do it?

Karin: Both, and if I'm lucky the two coincide.

Jon: What is something about you that people find surprising when they meet you?

Karin: That I'm very shy.

Jon:  Was it a lot of fooling around to get someone else interested in your book?

Karin: I've written about seven complete novels in the last twelve years. The first few were exercise in writing, just to see if I could do it. I had limited myself to short stories up until that point, but one day a short story kept getting longer and longer, and I just went with it.

Jon: Do you still live in the country or are you now firmly a city girl?

Karin: I live in Atlanta, but I've got about fifty hardwood trees in my back yard with lots of critters in them: squirrels, raccoons, opossums, chipmunks, and tons of birds. So, technically, I live in the city, but it's a very wooded area of the city.

Jon: Being shy, do you see this maybe causing some problems down the line?

Karin: I'm trying to overcome it, because being shy is not something you can really do when you're on an author tour, trying to persuade people to read your book.

Jon: In my opinion, you have a pretty quick wit and good sense of humor. Did this ever cause you problems?

Karin: Not as much as it used to. When I was a teenager, I had to hop to get around because my foot was in my mouth all of the time. I think I'm a little better about that now.

Jon: How much control do you get on your books? As far as cover art, amount of editing, that sort of thing.

Karin: I think I must have a dream editor, because she's always included me in the process. Everything Morrow has sent me has been wonderful: the cover art, the catalogue copy, their choice for my author photo. The thing is, I'm a writer, not a publisher. They know what they're doing and I think it's in my best interest to listen to them. We all want the same thing, and that is for Blindsighted to do well.

Jon: Are your books going to be a series?

Karin: Yes. There are recurring characters, but the three "leads" are Sara Linton, Jeffrey Tolliver and Lena Adams. The narrative is always going to come through them.

Just to let you know, the three books so far are: Blindsighted, Kisscut, and A Faint Cold Fear.

Jon: Would you consider selling options for film? I know some authors don't want to, and others figure, grab the money.

Karin: I have always loved movies and would love to see what can be done with Blindsighted on screen. I see movies adapted from books as more of an homage to the original text than an extension of the story. I would no sooner say that a film is my work than the screenwriter would take credit for writing my novel.

Jon: What do you do to relax?

Karin: I like to go to the gym. I love sitting on my sun-porch with the windows open and reading a good book.

Jon: Any advice to people trying to write a book?

Karin: Publishing is a business. If you look at it that way, then you'll never get discouraged.

Jon: What's the one thing always in your 'fridge?

Karin: Hershey's chocolate syrup.