Stalking Susan tells of a serial killer targeting women named Susan. Do you have a vendetta against any particular Susan?

Absolutely not. My apologies to Susans everywhere. My inspiration for the premise came from two cold cases I covered a decade ago. They involved two women, both named Susan, killed exactly two years apart. The murders had similarities, but I was never able to prove a connection. The story aired in hopes of bringing fresh tips. Nothing came in. But the cases always stayed with me (the unresolved ones often do) and when I sat down to write a novel, the Susans came to mind. I added a couple extra victims, changed the city of the murders, the dates, the ages and occupations of the women, their last names, and I considered changing their first names, too. But I really wanted to keep something of them in the story. So Susan stayed. Now I hear the St. Paul Police Cold Case Unit is looking at those homicides. So there's still a chance for justice.

The main character in Stalking Susan is a TV investigative reporter.  Part of your career was spent as an award-wining investigative producer in local television.  How is her job different in fiction than in real-life?

I believe I've portrayed the pressures and desires of an TV investigative reporter fairly realistically. However in real life, she'd probably have a good producer working with her, and might not have as much freedom to chase stories.  But unlike fiction, journalists seldom find killers and solve murders. That's frustrating for us. So in a way, writing Stalking Susan was living my fantasy.

Are there times when I might have exaggerated the flaws of the journalism profession? Perhaps. But you might ask John Grisham the same thing about the legal world. Or Dan Brown if he embellished the flaws of the Catholic Church. An author setting a plot in a workplace has to keep it real enough to be convincing, but loose enough to be interesting. That means leaving out the boring parts of the job. My heroine spends a lot less time transcribing interviews than I ever did.

Are there lines (professional, ethical, moral) she crossed in Stalking Susan that a real reporter wouldn't?

My protagonist has a problem with the blurring of boundaries between reporter and source. And that complicates her life both on the air and off.

Is Stalking Susan the start of a series?

Yes.  One of the things most gratifying from my advance reviews is that they all mention wanting to see more of my protagonist. The sequel will be out next summer. In it, a want ad, "Wedding Dress For Sale: Never Worn" draws my TV heroine into a dangerous missing person case during sweeps month.


Publisher's Weekly gave Julie Kramer's Stalking Susan a starred review, calling it an "impressive debut." Stalking Susan will be released July 15 by Doubleday.

As a pediatric ER doc, contributing editor CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about. Publisher's Weekly proclaimed LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), "a spot-on debut....a breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller" and Romantic Times made it a Top Pick.  Contact her at http://www.cjlyons.net