Fellow ITW author CJ Lyons interviews New York Times Bestseller Alex Kava about her critically acclaimed Maggie O'Dell series and her new release, Black Friday, coming in October from Mira Books.You took a leap of faith, quitting your day job, when you decided to become published. Tell us about that experience.
Leap of faith makes it sound noble and inspiring. In fact, I was simply burned out. I'd been working in PR, advertising and marketing for about fifteen years. Six of those running my own graphic design firm. I desperately needed a change. So I quit my job as director of public relations for a local college. I decided I'd write a book while I figured out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I gave myself a time limit. In the meantime my savings ran out while my credit card balances went up. I taught part-time and had a newspaper delivery route. It's definitely not an example I recommend.
Your books are noted for their detail and forensic research. Have you had any adventures in research? What's your most memorable fact that you never knew before that you discovered while researching your books?
The research has been a pleasant and an unexpected surprise for me. I've made friends and have met some incredible people. My biggest adventure? Getting to spend the day at Quantico. Most memorable fact? When parts of a body are found in different areas, the county that has the heart holds jurisdiction over the case.
You write both a series (featuring Maggie O'Dell) and standalone books. How is the process different? What draws you to an idea and how do you decide if it's a "Maggie" book or a standalone?
I've written two standalones and both my publisher and readers were patient and very supportive, but at the same time quite vocal about wanting more Maggie. For me, standalones are sort of a liberating, clean slate. New characters, new possibilities. Whitewash allowed me to move away from forensics and delve into the political world.
To keep the Maggie series fresh I've started throwing her into situations outside the realm of the stereotypical FBI profiler versus the stereotypical serial killer. In A Necessary Evil it's a cyber game targeting abusive priests. In Exposed Maggie finds herself "exposed" to the killer's biological weapon. And in Black Friday she's thrown in the middle of an explosive terrorist conspiracy.
Tell us about the origins of Maggie O'Dell. What makes her such a compelling character? What traits does she share with you?
I didn't create Maggie with the intention of her being a series character so I'm not sure what makes her compelling. She's stubborn, independent to a fault, slow to trust . . . hmmm, I believe those might be the annoying traits she gets from me. However, readers tell me they like that Maggie's real. That she's driven to do the right thing even at the risk of going it alone, getting into trouble or physically hurting herself. At the same time, they like that she's not a superwoman. Yes, she's good at her job but she has problems and conflicts in her personal life that all of us can relate to.
Tell us about your new release, Black Friday.
Retailers call the day after Thanksgiving Black Friday, the most profitable day of the year that usually moves their bottom lines from red to black. In my novel, three young college students blow up Mall of America on Black Friday. Maggie is sent to investigate and discovers there is a bigger conspiracy at play and that there are other attacks scheduled before the holiday weekend is over.
What's up next for you?
Damaged is scheduled for Summer 2010. Maggie is sent into the path of a hurricane to try and stop a killer. This is a book I've been chomping at the bit to write ever since I moved to Florida and experienced Hurricanes Ivan and Dennis back to back.
You can learn more about Alex Kava and her writing at www.alexkava.com. Look for Black Friday in stores now.
As a pediatric ER doctor, CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge suspense novels. Her debut, LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), became a National Bestseller and Publishers Weekly proclaimed it a "breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller." The second in the series, WARNING SIGNS, was released January, 2009 and the third, URGENT CARE, is due out October, 2009.
