The Secrets of...Linda Fairstein!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: How much do we all love Linda Fairstein? Such an icon, such a treasure, she’s an incredible example of how to be  successful and fabulous and generous and talented and loving—all at the same time.  We're so happy she's here today! 

Most readers know Linda from her Alexandra Cooper mysteries (book twenty in the series will be published on March 26, 2019!) and her pioneering work in the district attorney's office in Manhattan for more than two decades.

She began her lifelong love affair with libraries and books as a kid. Like me, like so many of us? She was devoted to Nancy Drew.  So her her middle-grade Devlin Quick mystery series pays homage to Nancy—as well as her passion for instilling a love for books and reading in young people.  (On November 6, the third book in the kid lit series, SECRETS FROM THE DEEP, hit the bookshelves everywhere. Yay!)

And mysteries are all about secrets, right So what are Linda’s? Let’s find out!  And a copy of her new SECRETS FROM THE DEEP to one lucky commenter!   

Guilty pleasure?When I’m in my most intense writing lockdown — trying to meet my deadline — I look forward to typing THE END, and then booking a 90-minute massage. That massage restores all the twisted muscles I’ve used at the computer for weeks and releases the murder suspects who’ve been lurking in my brain. Then I pour a glass of chilled white wine and settle in with a great crime novel by one of my friends. No interruptions, please!

First car?My first car was magical. I got it for my senior year at college, and it was a magnet for good times and great, long drives. It was a 1968 Mustang convertible, and the color (always my favorite) was Tahoe Turquoise, with a white rag top. If I could find the VIN number and track it down today, it’s the one thing I’d like to buy myself as a present. That car holds some precious memories.

Favorite class in school?As far back as I can remember, my favorite class in school was English — literature, in particular. I have loved being around books for my entire life — from the time my mother read me to sleep at night to this very day. Every English teacher I had passed along his or her love of language and fine storytelling and introduced me to the novels and poems that helped form my taste and gave me the incomparable gift of the joy of reading. I chose to go to Vassar, which was at that time a women’s college with a splendid English department, and I am grateful every day of my life that I was given that opportunity.

Favorite thing a reader has said/done?One of the most remarkable things that happens to a writer — if you’re extremely fortunate — is that your characters come alive to the readers who follow you. One of my most loyal and wonderful readers — Elaine L, who lives in California, not only drove huge distances to come to my signings (always with a bottle of Dewar’s to smooth my book tour hotel stays), but she then created a series of notebooks with clippings and reviews and illustrations that documented the “birth” and creation and growth of my protagonist, Alexandra Cooper. Volumes of thick notebooks kept on coming— and they are extraordinary. Elaine found reviews in small-town newspapers and online sites that I had never seen. 

Then, in the most stunning labor of love, she documented the life of my late husband in the very same way — she even found a photograph of Justin in his fencing gear at a tournament when he was a student at Columbia University. He was overwhelmed. And so am I, constantly, by the devotion of good readers.

If you could have a superpower, what would it be?It’s really hard to know which superpower I would choose, if given the chance. Some — which would include saving lives of others — seem too much even for the imagination. I think, though, because I saw so much pain and trauma in my long prosecutorial career — caused to people by others — I would ask for the power to prevent men (and women!) from harming others. Forever.

Nickname as a kid?My grandmother, whom I simply adored, called me Linny — and she was the only one in the family who did. Then along came my best friend through my adolescence and teens — and she called me Linny, too. And now, I have a precious granddaughter who is 2 — and she has settled on Linny as her chosen name for me, which takes me back to my youth, and a delightfully happy connection to my own grandmother.

First author hero?There was no competition for my first author hero — it was Carolyn Keene (or, as you may know, all the women who used the pen name Carolyn Keene). The Nancy Drew books were my favorites as a kid and really inspired me to want to be a storyteller — and in particular, a mystery writer. I’ve actually dedicated this new novel — Deadfall— to the women who were Carolyn Keene, and I’ve started a second series of mysteries for young readers — the Devlin Quick mysteries — in homage to Nancy Drew.

By the time I was a teenager, my author hero was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. To this day, I don’t believe anyone practiced the literary craft of solving crimes as well as Conan Doyle.

What would you be if not an author?My other goal as a young kid was to grow up to be a dancer with American Ballet Theater — or a backup dancer, once I saw Tina Turner perform. It’s a talent I outgrew.

What TV show must you see, no matter what?The two TV shows that are no-miss for me are Luther and Longmire. I would love to cast Idris Elba as a character in a series I’d write for TV — I think he’s such a powerful actor and really draws me into Luther. And Longmire — well, the man’s a serious sheriff and I recognize that, but he needs a love life, and here I am, right down the road from his hometown while I’m in Big Timber. I take these two shows very seriously.

TV show you’ve recently binge-watched? I ignored the advice of so many of my close friends over the last four years when they repeatedly insisted I watch The Americans. A few months ago, I decided to give the show a try, starting with season one, episode one. Some serious binge-watching ensued, as we raced through five seasons. It has “over the top” moments, but I think it’s just a spectacular job of creating a unique TV series.

What movie made you cry the most?The movie that has made me cry the most — the first time I saw it (on its first major theatrical re-release, when I was a teenager) and every single time since — is Gone With the Wind. I love the epic nature of the story-telling, and I do recognize of course the political incorrectness and racism of what it presents as history — but oh, that Scarlett O’Hara! Every time someone died (and lots of people died — beyond the soldiers fighting the war), or Scarlett came up with some mean-spirited plan to hurt someone else, or you’d see the adorable young Bonnie and know her fate — and then, the Rhett and Scarlett romance — well, I start to cry as soon as I hear that familiar music swell for the opening scene. I’ve used several cartons of tissues over the years for GWTW.

HANK: Such fun, Reds and readers! Pick any question—and answer it!  And Linda will pick a winner of her book. Yay!  (Binge-watched? Ozark. Must-see TV? Madam Secretary. Movie that made me cry? I try not to watch sad movies. They are too sad. To Kill A Mockingbird  though. I can cry just thinking about it.) ) And Happy Saturday—a few of us are at CrimeBake—but we’ll check in all day, Thank you, dear Linda!

Linda Fairstein – lawyer, former prosecutor, and author of twenty-three books – is one of America’s foremost legal experts on crimes of violence against women and children.

For three decades, from 1972 until 2002, Fairstein served in the office of the New York County District Attorney, where she was chief of the country’s pioneering Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit for twenty-six years. In that position, she supervised the investigation and trial of cases involving sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, and homicides arising out of those crimes.

Fairstein is an honors graduate of Vassar College (1969) and the University of Virginia School of Law (1972).  In 1998, several of Fairstein’s law school classmates established a scholarship fund in her honor, supporting law students pursuing careers in the public sector.

She has received dozens of awards for her legal work and advocacy, and in many instances was the first woman to be so honored.  These include the Federal Bar Council’s Emory Buckner Award for Public Service and the UJA Federation’s Proskauer Award. For her groundbreaking work on behalf of victims of violence, Fairstein received Columbia University’s School of Medicine Award for Excellence; the Anti-Violence Project’s “Courage” Award; GlamourMagazine’s Woman of the Year Award; the American Heart Association Women of Courage Award, and many similar honors. In 2010, Fairstein was awarded the New York Women’s Agenda Lifetime Achievement Award for her leadership in the field of domestic violence.

In 1993, Linda Fairstein published her first book – a non-fiction work entitled SEXUAL VIOLENCE:  Our War Against Rape – which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

Fairstein is the author of nineteen crime novels, published by Dutton, featuring Manhattan prosecutor Alexandra Cooper. The most recent of these – DEADFALL – was published in August, 2017, and like the fifteen which preceded it became an “instant”

New York Timesbestseller.  Many of the books have been translated into more than a dozen languages.  The 20^thbook in the series – BLOOD OATH – will be published in March, 2018.

In November, 2016, Fairstein debuted a second series for middle-grade readers featuring a twelve-year old sleuth named Devlin Quick.  That novel, INTO THE LION’S DEN, was inspired by the author’s childhood devotion to the famed Nancy Drew series.  The second Devlin Quick mystery, DIGGING FOR TROUBLE, was published in November, 2017, and the third, SECRETS FROM THE DEEP, will be published in November, 2018.

www.lindafairstein.com

www.devlinquick.com

ü  Linda's Facebook page link is: https://www.facebook.com/LindaFairstein

ü  Linda on Twitter @lindafairstein

ü  Linda on Instagram @lindafairstein

Fairstein was awarded the Nero Wolfe Award for Excellence in Crime Writing in 2008, and in 2010 received the Silver Bullet Award of the International Thriller Writers.

Fairstein is a trustee of Vassar College.  She is on the boards of several non-profits:  Safe Horizon, which is the country’s largest victim advocacy organization; God’s Love We Deliver, which feeds seriously ill New Yorkers; and she leads the national project to end the rape evidence kit backlog at the Joyful Heart Foundation, led by Mariska Hargitay.  She is the board chair emeritus of the Virginia Institute of Forensic Science and Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Fairstein consults regularly on sexual assault investigations.  Her work involves advising lawyers and investigators on Title IX complaints, working with the NBA on domestic violence/sexual assault allegations involving players, and engaging in case work as a result of the #MeToo movement.

Fairstein lives in Manhattan and is married to Michael Goldberg.

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For more information:

www.lindafairstein.com

www.devlinquick.com

Based on and excerpted from USA TODAY

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https://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/2017/07/25/linda-fairstein-interview-deadfall/

Spin-offs: Characters Who Leave Us Wanting More

Ingrid Thoft

In Tuesday’s post celebrating the publication of Deborah Crombie’s newest book, THE GARDEN OF LAMENTATIONS, I asked her if she had ever considered spinning off one of her supporting characters into a separate book.  It doesn’t sound like that’s on the horizon for Debs’ London cast of characters, but it got me thinking:  Are there characters who deserve their own spin-off?  In books and on the smaller screen?

I did a little digging to refresh my memory about successful spin-offs, both on TV and in literature.  Some were obvious including “Frasier” from “Cheers” and the many iterations of “Law and Order” that were spawned from the original series, which first aired in 1990.  But did you know that “Mork and Mindy” was a spin-off from “Happy Days”?  Or that “Torchwood” came from “Dr. Who?”

In literature, I found examples of authors being inspired by earlier works, as opposed to spin-offs created by the original writers.  WIDE SARGASSO SEA, a wonderful book by Jean Rhys, was inspired by Charlotte Brontë’s JANE EYRE.  It tells the tale of the first Mrs. Rochester, the one who went mad in the attic.  AHAB’S WIFE gets her due in the book of the same name by Sena Jeter Naslund.

   

These riffs on earlier works are compelling, but there are some supporting characters who deserve to star in their own stories.  The first who comes to mind is Winston Nkata, the detective sergeant who works alongside DI Thomas Lynley and DS Barbara Havers in Elizabeth George’s English detective series.  DS Nkata’s Caribbean roots are mentioned in some of the books, but never explored in depth.  Nor is much information given about the knife scar that traces a jagged line across his cheek.  There is always the sense that a deep chasm separates Winston’s youth from his current role as a police officer.  As a reader, I’d like to know more.

Aren’t all readers of Sue Grafton’s alphabet series just a little bit in love with octogenarian Henry Pitts?  A retired commercial baker, Henry provides Kinsey Millhone with advice and cinnamon rolls, but it’s his roster of elderly siblings that piques my curiosity.  Now fit and well into their nineties, what must it have been like in the Pitts’ household during Henry’s youth?  And what of Henry’s romantic history?  I’d love to peek into his life when he was a younger man, say 70-years-old.

George Fayne.  Bonus points if you know who this character is without the context of her two BFFs.  Nancy, George, and Bess solve crimes and find themselves knee-deep in trouble on a regular basis.  Of course, I love Nancy Drew, but I’d really like to know more about George.  How did she get that name?  Is it short for Georgina or Georgia?  Always described as a “tomboy,” what exactly warrants that description?  Does she skydive when not teaming up with the girls?  Does she join the guys for pick-up football games?  At a time when Nancy Drew was breaking the mold, I wonder how much George might have pushed the boundaries even further.
  

What are your favorite spin-offs, and which ones have been utter failures?  “The Love Boat: The Next Wave,” perhaps?  Any spin-offs you’re dying to see on the page or the screen?  Any die hard “The Love Boat: The New Wave” fans out there?

Two Mystery Icons: Nancy and LInda

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Quick, tell me a character in a book who changed your life as a kid.  Meg in Wrinkle in Time, you say? Anne of Green Gables? Laura in Little House?   Beth or Meg or Jo or Amy?

Please. 

For many of us, there’s one character who still resonates. Say her name in a room of readers, and there’s always a rumble of admiration and agreement.

I know you can guess. But you don’t need to. Because we share the iconic young woman with a woman who’s become an icon herself.  Look who's here!  The amazing Linda Fairstein.                       

 Nancy’s Legacy

By Linda Fairstein

I would imagine that every one of my friends among the Jungle Red Writers had some childhood fictional characters with whom they identified, who drew them into the wonderful world of storytelling that keeps each of us at the keyboard today.

My earliest memories of books were the ones my mother read to me every night before I went to sleep, and then a bit later, those I found on our weekly trip to the public library each Saturday to pick out three new adventures.

One of my strongest attachments was to a smart young teenager – how sophisticated and mature she seemed to me as a kid! – named Nancy Drew.  She had a keen sense of justice, devoted loyalty to her friends, and an ability to right all the wrongs in the town of River Heights.  The Nancy Drew Mysteries were a series of books, and represented the first time I became hooked on a continuing character, whose return I anticipated with great delight and enthusiasm.  I collected those novels religiously – they were sure-fire presents for my birthday, Christmas, and the difficult days when I was homebound with measles or mumps.

Each mystery filled me with the same desire.  I’d look at the jacket art, hold the book in my hands, dream about actually crawling into the story somehow and becoming one of Nancy’s posse of crime-solvers.  If she and Bess and George were going to learn what the secret in the old clock was, I wanted to be there with them.  If there was room beside Ned Nickerson in the blue roadster, then that was the ride that I wanted to take.

I was very close to my mother, who died at the age of 88, eight years ago.  Among her papers, we found that she had saved something I had written in the 5^th grade – my very first crime story, The Secret of Apple Gate Farm.  When I reread that paper, which had been dedicated to my favorite librarian, it re-ignited my desire to create something for kids of the same age.

 Nancy Drew was my inspiration for writing a series of crime novels for adults, featuring a strong protagonist in a non-traditional role for a woman.  When I started my Alexandra Cooper books in 1996, the prosecutorial leadership role was far more uncommon than it is today, which marks a really great advance in the practice of law.

But I couldn’t get the idea of writing for kids out of my head, and Nancy Drew is also the reason for this series and its first entry, INTO THE LION’S DEN.  I wanted to create stories for the young girls and boys in my life that might appeal to them just as my childhood heroine ‘spoke’ to me.  I have no desire to compete with the great women who wrote as ‘Carolyn Keene’, but I do want to bring some modern forensic advances into a series for middle-grade readers, along with old-fashioned storytelling.

I’d given a lot of thought to my 12 year old sleuth, Devlin Quick, before I set out to tell her first tale.  Like Nancy, I instilled in her a great desire to see justice done, and wanted her to have a terrific relationship with her closest friends – Booker, Liza and Katie.  She’s very much a New York City kid, with a good sense of humor, a great love of books, and just a bit of an edge.  Best of all, she is the daughter of a very strong single mother, who also happens to be the first woman police commissioner of New York City – a job I very much wanted to have in the late 1980’s.

I’ve had such a good time bringing Devlin Quick and her friends to life, and I look forward to engaging with readers of all ages who might want to run along with her, just as I wanted to do with my beloved friend, Nancy Drew.

HANK: Oh, Linda, I can completely imagine you as the first woman police commissioner! (And more I will not say.)

Will there be more Devlins? Are you coming to Boston? 

And, hurray! SO excited about this:

The amazing Linda is giving away TWO copies of Into The Lion’s Den to very lucky commenters today!

Just tell us…what did you want to be when you “grew up”?  Something traditional? Or non?

(I had a brief cowboy fling, and wore my cowboy hat EVERY day, to my mom’s chagrin. And for a while, at age 13 or so, I wanted to be a disc jockey. And then a geneticist. But before that? Yeah, Nancy Drew.)

How about you?

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LINDA FAIRSTEIN was chief of the Sex Crimes Unit of the district attorney's office in Manhattan for more than two decades and is America's foremost legal expert on sexual assault and domestic violence. Her Alexandra Cooper novels are international bestsellers and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. She lives in Manhattan and on Martha's Vineyard.