John Grisham's Sycamore Row

John Grisham's latest novel, Sycamore Row, has now been released. In it, Grisham reprises the character of Jake Brigance, the young lawyer featured in his first book, A Time to Kill. The inspiration for the original story came when Grisham, as a young lawyer, overheard the testimony of a twelve-year-old rape victim. Grisham readily admits that Jake Brigance is his most autobiographical character.

A Time to Kill was rejected by various publishers before finally being published in 1988 with only 5000 copies being printed. The novel was subsequently reprinted once Grisham became a bestselling novelist with the publication of The Firm. It is now one of his most popular novels.

Although Grisham has obviously refined his style and story-telling techniques since his debut novel, his themes have remained consistent throughout his work as his often idealistic young lawyers encounter the realities of the legal system and attempt to find justice for those they defend.

Grisham is said to have enjoyed writing the book so much that he was reluctant to finish it and give the manuscript to his publishers. If you're interested in reading more about the background to Grisham's latest novel, please visit NPR Books.

Photo Shoot for Ottawa At Home Magazine

The upcoming Winter Edition of Ottawa At Home magazine will be featuring Ottawa-area individuals who are reaching out for national and international success, and I'm pleased to be included in the feature by editor-in-chief Mary Taggart. As a result, I was at the Ottawa Convention Centre yesterday morning for the photo shoot for the issue.

It was a great deal of fun, and photographer Mark Holleron did an outstanding job setting a relaxed and informal tone so that my butterflies quickly went away as he and Mary put me through my paces.

I stuck around afterward to watch the next session, pictured above, with Ottawa entrepreneurs Stephen Bleeker and Janice McDonald. It was fascinating to watch editor and photographer work together to get just the right look for what Mary had in mind.

Photo by Mary Taggart

After the shoot I was pleased to sign a copy of The Fregoli Delusion for Mark, who told me he planned to take it to the beach on his upcoming vacation along with the latest John Grisham. Great company to keep!

So how did my shots turn out? Mark gave me a peek in the LCD screen, so I have an idea what they'll look like. However, you'll have to pick up the Winter issue of Ottawa At Home to find out for yourself!

Thanks very much to Mary Taggart for including me in this feature. You can find Ottawa At Home online at http://www.ottawaathome.ca/. Follow Mary on Twitter at @Ottawaathomemag.You can also find photographer Mark Holleron online at http://holleronphotography.com/.

A Writer"s Methods: Reference Photos

In a recent interview featured on The Character Connection I mentioned that while designing the character Karen Stainer for Blood Passage, the first in the Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel series, I used a reference photo to help visualize the person I was creating. The photo helped to bring together all the various elements of the character into a round, three-dimensional fictional entity. As I said in the interview, when I saw the photo I understood who Karen Stainer was going to be.

Many other writers use this technique when developing characters, and celebrity actors often serve as models. It’s well known, for example, that John Grisham wrote The Pelican Brief with Julia Roberts in mind and that he visualized Paul Newman and Brad Pitt as his central characters while writing The Chamber. In his case he was obviously thinking ahead to the movie versions of his novels, but for some of us it’s merely a matter of having a useful visual reference point.

Reference photos are also very helpful for setting. Thriller writer John Mefford, author of  COMMITTED, recently posted a series of photos on his website that are intended to “provide a pictorial representation” of the locales featured in his novel. They include a curtain stirring in the window of a brick building, a fire escape behind a drab motel, and an old shed with a rusted tin roof. His photos help set the mood for his story and pique the interest of readers.

I’ve used Google Earth to explore neighborhoods and landscapes while visualizing the settings of my stories, particularly for places in Maryland and Virginia I haven’t yet been fortunate enough to visit. I use reference photos for other creative prompts as well. For example, when I’m writing a scene involving characters sitting in a particular type of car I’ll look for a photo of the interior to make sure I have the details correct. It would be embarrassing for Hank Donaghue to put his cup of coffee into a cup holder in Karen’s 1979 Firebird, for example, if it didn’t actually have cup holders.

I’ve also looked at photos of restaurant kitchens, hotel lobbies, elevator interiors, and other places before I write a scene if the image in my head needs a little tweaking while I’m mentally walking through it. This approach is similar to that of a graphic designer or illustrator who consults reference photos while researching a new illustration.

Do I do this with every scene I write? No, thank goodness. Most of the time I can imagine exactly where I am when I’m writing and I don’t need any assistance.

Do I want my readers to “see” these things, people and places the same way I see them? Absolutely not. I tend to minimize description whenever I can, in large part because I want readers to do much of the heavy lifting themselves. When they can visualize my story themselves in their own mind’s eye, I know I’ve successfully engaged them in the fiction-making process!