Transcripts For BBCNEWS Meet The Author 20170723

Will have a word withjohn humphrys etc. Wie will take some of the extremely high profile men who present art strands, and let some less high profile women doing it, just suggesting it, i am available the last one, ladies dancing, lords are leaping, the back of the telegraph front page, women cricketers, a very significant victory. Are you a cricket fan . |j cricketers, a very significant victory. Are you a cricket fan . I am a big one. I missed the match, as i was travelling in. That had it all, a full house at lords, which im not sure everyone was necessarily expecting at the start of the tournament. I was listening on radio five live, it was very exciting. Tournament. I was listening on radio five live, it was very excitinglj was walking past lords, and it was the wimbledon grown. Did someone just dropped a thing. It sounded like everyone was having an absolute wail at the time from the outside. For once, a story about women doing extremely well and everyone is truly happy. Hole it sounds like the day that womens cricket arrived as a major Sporting Event in this country. Able never be the same again. That is it for the papers this hour. Thank You Natalie And Rob , youll both be back at half i for another look at the stories making the news tomorrow. Coming up next meet the author. My guest today is one of the worlds most popular crime writers, the rather aptly named Karin Slaughter. After finding fame with her first novel, blindsighted, shes gone on to sell more than 35 million copies of her books, including the Will Trent And Grant County series. Her latest book is called the Good Daughter. It focuses on two sisters whose family is torn apart after a Terrifying Attack on their home, which leaves their mother dead, and both of them damaged in very different ways. Years later, the horrors of the past return. Karin slaughter, the Good Daughter links to deadly events, this Terrifying Attack on the family, and then 28 years later, a shooting in a school, as seen through the eyes of two sisters, sam and charlie. Why was this the story you wanted to tell . About two years ago, i was writing notes about different characters, because that is what i do. It always starts with characterfor me. The character of gamma came to me. I had this great line, or i thought it was a great line about her, that i used in the book. It said she was as pale as an envelope and just as likely to cause tiny cuts in inconvenient places. So that note was in my shower actually, ive got a waterproof notebook because im such a nerd i clean my shower, but its there in my shower. I thought about it for a couple of years every time i was in the shower, and the story started to gel in my head. I had this choice between writing a new will trent book or writing this, and i thought that will trent story isnt where i wanted to be in my head right now. But these characters just really kind of came to me and begged to be talked about. We should explain that gamma is the mother of the two sisters, and they dont always see eye to eye, do they . Their relationship is quite fractious. I know you were the youngest of three sisters, i wonder how much your relationship informed the relationship we read about in the book. You know, i think with writers, it is probably the same with News Presenters and interviewers, you know, everything in your life informs how you approach the work. Of course, being the youngest of three girls, i knew about sister relationships, and the thing i love is, when im around my sisters, its like im 12 years old again. Im thinking of things i can tattle on that theyve done, and even if my sister comes to my house, shell make lunch for me and cut the crust off my sandwich we just fall back into those patterns. We reallyjust still see each other as those kids. Sometimes im almost afraid shes going to hit me with a Clothes Hanger or something. I like writing about those relationships, because i think who we are as children really informs who we are as adults. The opening chapter of the book in particular, is very, very violent, and i wonder, do you set out to shock your readers . A long time ago a reader said to me why do you spend so much time on Character Development if youre just going to kill them . And i said, you wouldnt care, right, you wouldnt care if they died if you didnt care about the characters. Every Single Person in this book has to have some sort of resonance for the reader, and i work very carefully. I think thats sometimes why people think im more violent than i actually am, because they very much care about who this victim is, and what it does to the family, the community, and everyone involved in the investigation. And thats really important to me because i dont want to write about violence just for the sake of violence. I dont want to just be someone who wants to shock. I want to have it happen for a reason, and the reason is always to explore, what does crime do to communities . How does it tear people apart . How does it put them back together . Its interesting that you mentioned community because one of the things that struck me about the novel is the sense of place. Its set in this small, rural conservative community, pikeville, where Everybody Knows each others business. Is that similar to the sort of place you grew up in . It is. When i first started writing my grant county series a million years ago, i chose to write about a small town because everybody said, write what you know. And i know small towns. I know that insularity, and the thing is though, you dont really know the people. You think you know them but then something shocking happens and you really learn about who they are. Thats the fun of writing a book like this. I know you said growing up you didnt think you fitted in. I wondered why that was . You know, ijust didnt. I remember very specifically, because i found the actual lunchbox that i carried to school years ago, and i had taped a picture of Marilyn Monroe after the autopsy on to the side of my lunchbox, and i remember this had an immediate effect in school and my parents were called to the school. My dad was sitting there and the principal was saying, this is very unusual that shes done this and we are a little bit worried. My dad said, look, shes weird, shes always been weird. You say you were weird, you were always writing as a child, werent you . Am i right that you wrote a story if cats had thumbs, about a man who had lost his thumbs in a Boating Accident . How old were you when you wrote that story . You know, i think i was i. Right. And i had this great teacher, an english teacher, who introduced me to Flannery Oconnor. As this little girl growing up in a small southern town. There were a lot of messages we got like, always sit with your legs crossed, and dont be too loud, let the boys talk, and dont let them know how smart you are. Dont be interested in things that are not ladylike. Then i read Flannery Oconnor and i thought, wow, this is the pattern i want to follow, someone who speaks their mind, and more importantly, as a writer, who writes the way people talk. The colloquial language in there was very much like my family and everybody around me. Itjust gave me this understanding that women can talk about these things, and you should really tell the story you want to tell. I really took that message home with me, and this was my homage to oconnor when i wrote that. Of course, she probably didnt imagine a man without thumbs, but it was my way of doing it. You have been writing since you were a child, as i said, you wanted to be a writer, but you got diverted into doing otherjobs. Why was that . You know, when i graduated high school, and was going to college, my dad said to me, actually on my graduation day, he said, you know, im so proud of you. You can do anything you want but you cant live at home. Financial independence was his main goal, which i think is a laudable thing for a parent to want their kid to be successful. So i was an exterminator, i painted houses. Hold on, an exterminator, of what . Of insects. So you did these otherjobs, and then you decide to take the plunge and become a writer full time . How did that happen . It didnt really happen that way. I never thought i could call myself an author until i was published. All along, even through these jobs i was writing, working on stories, sending stuff to agents, trying to get something in a magazine or Something Like that. And it took probably eight years. I had the goal that i wanted to be published by the time i was 30, and it came at 29, so i was right under that. It was really a struggle and trying to find my voice actually is what it took, just writing really bad stories before i could write the good ones. What made you decide it was thrillers and crime thrillers in particular that you wanted to write . I think really if you are a writer it kind of chooses you, what kind of stories youre going to tell. My first book i got with my agent was actually historical fiction. I grew up in georgia, i was a woman, i thought i had to write the next gone with the wind. Even that, it had a lot of crime in it for a Southern Historical fiction novel. No one wanted to publish it. I asked my agent, what should i do now, and she said i think you should write whatever you want to write. I stopped thinking i had to write a certain way and i really embraced what i loved reading which was thrillers. 50 final question, is Karin Slaughter your real name . It is. I got beaten up in school a lot for it so i think i have earned it. Karin slaughter, great to talk to you, many thanks. Thank you. Hello, another one of those days where you may have seen some sunshine that they have also been against heavy, even torrential downpours in places, another view of a big threatening cloud in the distance from one of our weather watchers. Still some heavy showers affecting parts of england and wales, the worst of those will fade as we go into the night but we keep outbreaks of rain affecting parts of northern england. The clearer skies overnight will be across Western Areas with the Odd Fog Patch and while most of stay in double figures, some and the west under the clearer skies will head down into single figures. East west split for monday. Eastern areas keep plenty of cloud. Further to the west, brighter skies, some sunny spells to begin with across much of South West England and wales. Cloud and outbreaks of rain through parts of the midlands, lincolnshire were worst of the other side of the pennines, Anotherfine Worst of the other side of the pennines, another fine day on the way from Northern Ireland on monday. And for much of scotland, for some of us can especially in the west, will turn out to be a very day. If you brighter skies, some sunny spells, we have the crowd and rain. The real warmth will be across Western Parts of the uk. Some spots into the mid 20s. Monday evening shaping up, still some patchy rain gradually clearing overnight. There will be the odd shower around during tuesday though most places will avoid those and stay dry. After a rather cloudy start, some pleasant sunny spells developing. The gap between weather systems doesnt last too long, though, because as you can see The Big Picture for wednesday shows another area of low pressure coming in from the atlantic. That will spread rain right across the uk on wednesday. There will be a Freshening Wind with that. Once that has moved out of the way, fresh air by the time ago to thursday in the sunshine and showers. So by the time ago to thursday in the sunshine and showers. 50 another week of changeable weather, briefly warmer, especially earlier in the week, but turning wet again on wednesday, when the year by then, too. Windier by then. This is bbc news. Im nicholas owen. The headlines at 11 00 the bbcs director general, lord hall, says hell go further and faster to tackle the pay gap, as more than a0 female presenters sign a letter demanding the corporation tackle the issue. Theres been legislation about all this since 1970. Its got to stop and weve got to do something about it really, really quickly. A 20 year old man has died after being confronted by a Police Officer in a london shop. Regrets about a final phone call 20 years after the death of diana, william and harry open up about the relationship with their mother, in a documentary marking the anniversary of her death. Also in the next hour well take a look at tomorrows front pages. Natalie haynes and rob merrick will be reviewing the papers