Hello, Danielle, and welcome to TMR! Tell us about yourself.

I come from a big family and we're all storytellers. We're each very different but we all love to talk, and each of us is always vying for attention. I'm sure that's where the writing stems from. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there were more writers from my family.

Are you coming to mystery writing from another job?

I'm a Financial Analyst by day. Strangely enough, I really like math. My mother always said I should go to business school rather than write mystery novels. I know, it may seem like a strange combination, but I think mystery writing is pretty analytical. You have to fit all the pieces together and make them add up to something. That's a lot like math.

What led you to write mysteries?

Hmm. I never intended to write a mystery novel although I read all the Agatha Christie novels growing up and Nancy Drew (and the Hardy Boys) before that. I just thought it would be interesting to write a novel. I guess I realized it would be a mystery novel when there was a dead body on page 2.

Tell us about your road to publication.

Wow. Publication is brutal these days. I wrote four books before I signed my first contract. I think I have something like one hundred and twenty rejection letters from agents and editors on those first three books. I've still got them, too. One day I'm going to have them bound as a coffee table book. Some of them are hilarious.

What kind of research was involved for your first book?

I do a lot of research for my books. SAVAGE ART involves an ex-FBI profiler. Casey McKinley is very smart, much smarter than I. So, I had to read a lot about profiling. I also talked to a San Francisco Homicide Inspector because another character in the book is an inspector. (They're still called Inspectors in San Francisco.) I used the Internet a lot. I've got some of the links I used on my website: www.daniellegirard.com

Who are your influences as a writer?

I love so many authors so I'll try to limit the ramblings: Michael Connelly, Patricia Cornwell (she had a big impact on me), Tami Hoag, Phillip Margolin, James Patterson, Tess Gerritsen, and I love to discover new authors, too. I just read Alice Blanchard's DARKNESS PEERING and thought it was wonderful!

What does your family think of having a mystery author in their midst?

Yikes. I already told you what my mother thought I should do. I'd say they were mostly shocked. I've got a big family and we're all very creative in our own ways, but my writing was certainly the most unusual outlet of creativity my family had seen. It took them a while to digest the fact that I was going to write about death. I'd say they're taking it pretty well now.

Tell us about plans for future books.

My second book from Penguin Putnam, FAMILIAR STRANGER, will be out late next spring or early summer (2001). I'm just finishing revisions on it now. An excerpt from the book will be up on my website (www.daniellegirard.com) soon. You can find an excerpt from SAVAGE ART there now.

How can readers get in touch with you?

You can email me through my website: www.daniellegirard.com
The email is: danielle@daniellegirard.com

Danielle, thanks for joining us,and best of luck! Reader, we have a review of Savage Art on our Thriller Page.

August 22, 2000