Barbara Fister

Barbara Fister is the author of two mysteries, On Edge, and the newly released In the Wind.

She's been the subject of a number of recent interviews. Here's an exchange from a Q & A with Sandra Ruttan:

Your new book is called IN THE WIND. Where did the idea for the title come from?

Well, it’s a Dylan reference tied to the fact the story is about a Vietnam War-era crime, and a reference to the setting (the Windy City), and slang for being a fugitive, which is the status of the character in the book who my narrator is helping, a woman who is being hunted now for the murder of an FBI agent 35 years ago. Also, I seem to have a prepositional phrase thing going on with my titles . . .

Read the full Q & A.

And here's an exchange from Fister's "Snapshot" at January Magazine:

What inspires you?

I get my dander up about a lot of things, and writing is a good outlet. In the Wind was a therapeutic way to deal with my negative feelings about George Bush. It was strange, as I did research for the story, to read about counterintelligence practices exposed after Watergate; they’re identical to what’s going on today. When Chris Dodd read from the 1976 Church Committee hearings this past December on the floor of the Senate as he filibustered a bill sanctioning warrantless wiretapping, it sent chills up my spine. We’re in a weird time warp; the only thing missing is the outrage and the tear gas. That said, though my book has political themes, I try to play fair with the issues. Anything less would belittle the very real issues at stake, and straw men don’t make for very compelling characters in fiction.

Read the rest of the "Snapshot."

Writers Read: Barbara Fister.

The Page 99 Test: In the Wind.

--Marshal Zeringue