Contributing editor, Keith Raffel, caught up with Alex Kava to discuss her latest novel, Exposed.
Publisher's Weekly said Exposed was your most terrifying book yet. Why?
The Ebola virus, in and of itself, is frightening. I think the prospect of a killer using it as a weapon is terrifying. It's invisible. It's deadly. It's extremely contagious. The vaccine is new, limited and hasn't been approved yet by the FDA. I remind readers that the Unabomber was successful in sending bombs through the mail and the Anthrax Killer sent weapons-grade anthrax. Is Ebola next?
Your last book Whitewash was a standalone. With Exposed you've returned to your bestselling Maggie O'Dell series. Which book was easier to write? Which was more fun to write?
I like doing both, and I think switching off rejuvenates my writing. Each presents a different set of challenges and rewards. With standalones I get to wipe the slate clean, so to speak, and create new characters, new scenarios that aren't limited to the boundaries of a series. However, returning to Maggie is like attending a reunion, only I get to choose who'll be there. The challenge with a series, though, is to constantly keep it fresh.
How has Maggie grown as a person since A Perfect Evil, the first in the series?
For one thing she's developed a sense-of-humor, though it's a bit dry and subtle. A good friend of mine who's a deputy prosecutor insisted on it. I don't think I understood the importance of a sense of humor until I became friends with some of the men and women who visit crime scenes on a regular basis.
Publisher's Weekly said Exposed was your most terrifying book yet. Why?The Ebola virus, in and of itself, is frightening. I think the prospect of a killer using it as a weapon is terrifying. It's invisible. It's deadly. It's extremely contagious. The vaccine is new, limited and hasn't been approved yet by the FDA. I remind readers that the Unabomber was successful in sending bombs through the mail and the Anthrax Killer sent weapons-grade anthrax. Is Ebola next?
Your last book Whitewash was a standalone. With Exposed you've returned to your bestselling Maggie O'Dell series. Which book was easier to write? Which was more fun to write?
I like doing both, and I think switching off rejuvenates my writing. Each presents a different set of challenges and rewards. With standalones I get to wipe the slate clean, so to speak, and create new characters, new scenarios that aren't limited to the boundaries of a series. However, returning to Maggie is like attending a reunion, only I get to choose who'll be there. The challenge with a series, though, is to constantly keep it fresh.
How has Maggie grown as a person since A Perfect Evil, the first in the series?
For one thing she's developed a sense-of-humor, though it's a bit dry and subtle. A good friend of mine who's a deputy prosecutor insisted on it. I don't think I understood the importance of a sense of humor until I became friends with some of the men and women who visit crime scenes on a regular basis.
What do you want a reader to take away from Exposed?I always want my readers, first and foremost, to be entertained. That's my main job. Second, I want them to get to the end of the book and say, "Whoa!" It's a bonus reward for me if they learn something new, find inspiration or are moved.
You say that you write "psychological suspense novels." How is that category different from mysteries or thrillers?
I like to describe psychological suspense as the Alfred Hitchcock approach to thrillers. I tell my readers that I'll take them to the edge and then leave them there, because I know their imaginations are much more twisted and frightening than anything I can put into words. Every reader brings his or her fears along for the read. I can't possibly tap into all their fears, but I can certainly trigger them.
Does using the name Alex Kava, which could belong to a man, help sell books?
No one likes to admit this, but yes it does help sell thrillers. I can't tell you how many male readers have confessed to me that they would never have picked up one of my books had they known I was a woman. Women read across the board. Men, however, are a bit choosier. Thank goodness some men don't look at the inside jacket flap. That's one of the reasons you won't see my photo taking up the back cover.
What research do you do to find out how the FBI works?
I'm very fortunate to have contacts in a variety of law enforcement fields including the director of a regional crime lab, several CSI techs, a deputy prosecutor, police detectives, a retired fire chief, a forensic psychologist, a microbiologist and FBI agents. The list of experts who continuously and generously offer their expertise on a regular basis is humbling. It also helps to have spent some time at Quantico, down in the Behavioral Science Unit talking to real special agents who do every day what I only write about.
I understand you live part of the year on the Missouri River in Omaha and the rest on the Gulf of Mexico in Pensacola. Where do you do your writing?
In Omaha you'll usually find me on the screened-in porch overlooking the backyard, an acre+ of walnut and fruit trees. At the Florida house I actually have an office, but I often find myself writing on the deck with a view of Blackwater Bay. I don't have any one special place, a particular desk, pen, ritual or time of day.
What kind of perspective does a Nebraska author get that writers from big cities like New York, Chicago, and LA don't?
You certainly understand that evil and criminal behavior exist everywhere.
Any sniffing around by Hollywood?
There has been a few sniffs. But up until recently I haven't been too keen on the notion of handing over Maggie to Hollywood until I'm finished with her.
What are you working on now? What's next?
I'm finishing the next Maggie, Black Friday. It's scheduled for publication October 2009.
Contributing editor Keith Raffel wrote
DOT DEAD, "without question the most impressive mystery debut of the
year" according to Bookreporter.com. 
