Jennifer Kincheloe is the author of the novels The Secret Life of Anna Blanc and its sequel The Woman in the Camphor Trunk. The third novel in the series, The Body in Griffith Park, is out this month.From Kincheloe's Q&A with Deborah Kalb:
Q: How did you come up with the idea for your character Anna Blanc?Visit Jennifer Kincheloe's website.
A: She just popped out. She was supposed to be an homage to Alice Stebbins Wells, a middle-aged minister who became the first cop in LA in 1910. But Anna turned out nothing like Alice.
In some ways, I took my own characteristics at 19 and stretched them. For example, I was relatively privileged. Anna was filthy rich. I was brave. Anna's downright heroic. I was a little self-absorbed. Anna begins the series incredibly self-absorbed.
Q: Did you always know you'd be writing more than one book about Anna, and do you think she's changed at all from one book to the next?
A: The Secret Life of Anna Blanc was supposed to be my practice novel. It was my first, and I didn't think anyone would ever read it. But when my writer's group reacted favorably to the book, and it subsequently sold, I decided I'd like to write more in the series.
And yes, Anna is growing up, changing within each book in some...[read on]
The Page 69 Test: The Woman in the Camphor Trunk.
Coffee with a Canine: Jennifer Kincheloe & Monkey.
--Marshal Zeringue