How Much of the SHADOW OF DEATH Is AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL?  YOUR BIO SAYS THAT YOU WERE IN THAT PLACE AT THAT TIME.  IN OTHER WORDS, ARE YOU ‘LAURA NELSON’?

   That is the first question that everyone asks.  And the answer is ‘no’.  Although much of what Laura experienced in Shadow of Death, I experienced because ‘yes’, I was there at that disruptive time.  I was a med student with 2 sons, the ages of Mikey and Kevin.  And I did have 2 pregnancies, ending up with 4 children, all under the age of 7.  Not 5, like Laura.  And no rape.  No murder.  And no Dr. Monroe.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO WRITE THIS BOOK?

   I never planned to write a book.  I was busy enough juggling seven almost-grown kids and a vice-president job for worldwide research at a big pharmaceutical company, I didn’t have a spare moment.  Not until I found myself flying back and forth to China and Japan.  Once I’d emptied my briefcase, eaten a meal, had a glass of wine, watched a movie, taken a nap, I pulled out an empty pad of paper and started writing.  About two years and many trips later I had a huge stack of notepads, all crammed with barely decipherable scribble.  

   I guess I’d been thinking about my medical school days more than I consciously knew: the terror of the times; unending demands of small kids; horrendous work loads and dangerous lack of sleep.  All these paved the way to ask the question: “What if…”  And that’s what started the story, followed by a long line of ‘what if’s…’ leading to twists and turns and ultimately the ending, which was light years beyond what I could have imagined in the beginning.

YOU’RE A PHYSICIAN, A WIFE, A MOTHER, AND YOU’VE HAD A LONG CAREER IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY.  DO YOU DRAW UPON YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES WITH FAMILY AND COLLEAGUES? 

   To a certain extent, of course.  Life experience is an essential author tool.  First novels are notorious for a heavy dose of personal experience and Shadow of Death is no exception. 

   At times I’m sure I was overwhelmed.  But I have such a Pollyanna attitude that all I can remember is how wonderful it is to have little kids.  I adore babies, and having kids three through eleven is pure heaven.  After that there’s a lull in the fun as the anxiety level dials up.  Then like a miracle, the pure heaven comes back followed by the magic of grandchildren.  As for my other three kids, one was born when I was a intern in Tampa, and my two step-children joined the family when I lived in Philadelphia. 

WHAT WAS THE HARDEST PART OF WRITING THIS BOOK?

   Taking that stack of notepads and deciding to word-process them.  The lowest moment: faulty knowledge of ‘save’ and ‘delete’.  Lesson learned: go straight to the computer.

   Actually writing the story.  I could do that twenty-four seven.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO WRITE THE SHADOW OF DEATH?

   From start to now, ten years.  The transition from scientific writing, restricted to meticulously documented facts, to wildly creative fiction with the sky the limit, took me though many drafts.  I number my drafts alphabetically.  I’m on “L”.  Remember, I had lots of kids, then grandchildren, lots of travel -- not all as leisurely as Asia, and lots of professional responsibility.

WHAT DID YOU DO AFTER MEDICAL SCHOOL?  HOW DID YOU END UP IN A PHARMACEUTICAL CORPORATION?

   I chose Pediatrics.  No surprise there.  But when I started private practice at the Mease Clinic in Dunedin, Florida, I decided on Family Medicine so I could treat the whole family.  Then I got an offer that I couldn’t refuse in Clinical Research for a major pharmaceutical company and I moved to Philadelphia.  Several positions later, I became worldwide vice president for research for over the counter medications.  I’m still Board Certified in Family Medicine and practice primary care medicine as a volunteer at a senior citizen clinic in Sarasota, Florida.

WHERE DID YOU GET THE IDEA OF WEAVING THE WHITE AND BLACK FAMILY TOGETHER AND SUPERIMPOSING THEM ON THE PRIVELEGED CLASS?  WAS THIS MEANT TO BE A SOCIAL STATEMENT?

   How can anyone exposed to the big cites of America not contemplate the horror of poverty without hope?  Maybe the tragedy in New Orleans will bring new focus to America’s urban shame.

IN SHADOW OF DEATH, THE CITY OF DETROIT TAKES ON THE PROMINENCE OF A CHARACTER.  DID YOU HAVE TO DO MUCH RESEARCH?

   Yes, even though I lived there during the events of the late 1960’s.  The Detroit Public Library has an excellent collection of riot-related materials in the Burton Historical Collection.  David Poremba, the Liberian-manager has written many books about Detroit including an excellent chronology, Detroit in Its World Setting at the time of Detroit’s 300^th birthday in 2001.  Please see the ‘Behind the Scenes’ section of my website for more ‘place and time’ insight into Detroit’s darkest hours.    

YOU WEAVE RELIGION INTO THE FABRIC OF THE STORY AND YET YOUR PROTAGONIST FLIES IN THE FACE OF ACCEPTED MORAL VALUES.  HOW DO YOU RECONCILE THIS DICHOTOMY? 

   Isn’t that human nature? How about those scenes in the Godfather?  Seriously, I don’t mean to be sacrilegious.  But to paraphrase our Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts: authors are like umpires.  They are there to call the balls and strikes, not to pitch or bat.

DO YOU HAVE OTHER BOOKS IN THE WORKS?

   Yes.  Laura Nelson will return eight years later in a mystery suspense novel as yet untitled.  And the wealthy, dysfunctional Parnell Family will be introduced in a thriller, tentatively called ‘The Test’.  

   I read constantly, but I keep works of these authors on my bedside table for inspiration: Michael Palmer, Wilber Smith, Michael Connelly, Harlan Coban, William Coughlin, Barbara Bradford Taylor, Frederick Forsyth, Brad Metzler, Johathon Kellerman, Susan Howatch, James Bradley, Mary Higgins Clark, John Grisham, and Ward Larsen.  I have many more, but no more space on my table.

ANY ADVICE TO ASPIRING WRITERS

   If I can do it, you can.  In the words of Winston Churchill, “Don’t give up!”

WHAT’S THIS ABOUT A VINEYARD?  IN NEW ZEALAND?

   Bob and I fell in love with New Zealand and just had to have an excuse to keep going back.  Our vineyard is located in the Marlbourgh Region of the South Island in the Awetare Valley about a hundred yards from the South Pacific.   We grow Sauvignon blanc and Pinot noir grapes and sell them exclusively to Thornbury Wines, a subsidiary of Villa Maria Estate.