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?Read the full Q & A.
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 . . .
And here's an exchange from Fister's "Snapshot" at January Magazine:
What inspires you?Read the rest of the "Snapshot."
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.
Writers Read: Barbara Fister.
The Page 99 Test: In the Wind.
--Marshal Zeringue