Not every part of an interview makes it into the final story. It just can't. There is never enough space to include every topic, every quote, every bon mot that comes out during the course of an interview.I often ask a lot of questions and try to include as much in an author profile to give the reader a good sense of who that person is. But still, so much is left on the cutting floor.
During my interview with Kathy Reichs, which is the cover story of the Fall 2010 issue of Mystery Scene, she and I talked a lot of about science.
Reichs writes the novels about Temperance Brennan, a fortysomething forensics anthropologist who returns in the newly released Spider Bones. That mirrors Reichs other occupation. Dr. Reichs, who received her PhD. at Northwestern University, is one of only 82 forensic anthropologists ever certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. For years she consulted to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina, and continues to do so for the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Québec, both of which she weaves in her novels.
So making sure the science aspects of her novels is correct is very important to Reichs. I wondered how her colleagues view her work.
"I get a lot of positive feedback from my scientific colleagues," she said. "It very gratifying to hear from medical school professors or my other colleagues that they like the books. The best thing I can hear is about my books is 'you got it right.' That is so rewarding for me."
