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Tell us a little bit about THE SURVIVORS CLUB. |
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THE SURVIVORS CLUB involves three women who come together to take on a serial rapist. When the man turns ups dead, did the women take their quest for justice too far? Or is the real terror about to begin? |
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Was it tough to write about rape? |
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In all honesty, I thought it was best to keep the rapes as backstory, so I don't go into much detail. It's funny, we don't mind reading about killing women in books, but heaven forbid you should sexually assault one. I understand that doesn't make much sense, but I have the same issue. It was hard enough to do the research. If I'd written a lot of rape scenes, that would've been too much for me. |
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So why write a book about rape survivors? |
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Good question. I think it's the surviving aspect that intrigues me. That women are strong and resilient, but even more to the point, that women form bonds, even unlikely bonds, to help themselves heal. For me, the core of this novel is the way the women try to help one another, and also the ways they can't help one another. Women, and their relationships, are very complex. |
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What kind of research did you do? |
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I had the good fortune to work very closely with the Rhode Island State Police on this book. I toured their headquarters, conducted multiple interviews and generally made a nuisance out of myself. May I just say that the RI State Police are very patient people. My husband is also a lifelong Rhode Islander, so he helped me with a lot of the local details. Basically, we dined at all the fantastic restaurants in downtown Providence and expensed it as research. Wait a minute, does the IRS read these things? |
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This book features a new cast of characters. What happened to Quincy and Rainie? |
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I love Quincy and Rainie and I'm sure we'll see them again in future novels. The plot of this novel, however, called for a new cast of characters. I think Griffin, in particular, is very compelling so I hope readers won't be disappointed. |
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This book has a very complicated plot. Past crimes, present crimes, crimes within crimes. Was that hard to write? |
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It wasn't easy to write. I probably did more prep work on this novel than any other I've written. As a matter of fact, I had to create "case files" on both the Candy Man and the College Hill Rapist to make sure I got everything straight. Again, the RI State Police are very patient people. |
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What do you like best about this novel? |
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The women, definitely the women. I think the Survivors Club themselves turned out really neat. I hope readers enjoy this trio. |
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