Let's Do Lunch! Interview with Robin Burcell

I am so, so lucky to have the very gracious and witty Robin Burcell, author of the SFPD Homicide Inspector Kate Gillespie series (as well as a new forthcoming series that we'll learn about today), as my guest in the Lunch Room:

JB: (I'm quoting from your website here.) Your first book was a romance about a police officer. That book, WHEN MIDNIGHT COMES (HarperPaperbacks, 1995), was a finalist in both the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart for Historical and the prestigious Rita for Best First Book. What prompted you to switch from Romance to Mystery?

RB: (Chuckling at the memories--I can laugh now...) Essentially what happened was that I made that first elusive and extraordinary sale, and I turned to my husband and said--and this is a quote--"I have my foot in the publishing world door. We can have that second child now." Except I had twins. And, well, romance was not exactly high on my priority list. I didn't--couldn't--write for a couple of years, though I tried. And what I found out was that murder and mayhem seemed to be much easier to write at this point in my life, so I scrapped the romance and penned my first mystery. Which is still in the darkest recesses of an antiquated Apple LC with a whopping 8 MB of memory. (Which tells you that this occurred way back in the mid-nineties.) When the twins were about two, I started in earnest on the first book in the Kate Gillespie series, and realized that this was the genre I wanted to write. (My other clue was all the dead bodies that kept finding their way into my romances...)

JB: COLD CASE, the fourth Kate Gillespie book, came out in 2004. Are we to see more of Kate in the future (I hope, I hope)?

RB: Kate actually makes an appearance in my next book, THE FACE OF A KILLER, which comes out in two houses late 2007 (Poisoned Pen is doing the hardcover in August, and Avon/HarperCollins is publishing the paperback in October.) This book starts a new series about an FBI agent/forensic artist, Sydney Fitzpatrick. And that's not to say that I've given up on Kate. I fully intend to revisit her series in the future, once I get a couple of Sydney's adventures on the record.

JB: During your years in the field, you must have encountered lots of tense and/or dangerous situations. Are any of the scenarios we see Kate in taken from real life?

RB: Absolutely. Many of the things Kate sees and feels, I've seen and felt. That was one of my goals--to bring a realistic but entertaining portrayal of police work to the page. But by the same token, I've never shot anyone, nor have I ever worked in San Francisco. I don't deal with a mob boss on a daily basis (at least not to my knowledge.) I've been married to the same guy over two decades now, never been divorced, have three children. Yet I tend to make my protagonists divorced, childless, and/or never been married and childless. As far as crimes, etc., no book is realistic. If any cop shot as many people as our favorite fictional cops do, they'd be ripped from the streets and put behind a desk, if not retired altogether. But I'm not sure that's exactly the question you asked... When I experience horrific things, the feelings that course through me, such as when I'm holding a knife-wielding man at gunpoint, my finger going in/out on the trigger, knowing that his life is in my hands... Or when someone gets shot and dies, and I'm standing there helpless... Or dealing with victims of senseless crimes, wondering what would have happened if I'd gotten there sooner, made a different decision... That's what I bring to the books. The other stuff is just made up.

JB: Can you share a story from your law enforcement days that was particularly significant or memorable for you?

RB: The most memorable? It depends on what day it is, what street I'm on. My husband and I were driving to the movies one day on a route I don't normally take. I looked around me at the houses and realized that I could point out each house I'd been in, or some street corner, and often what crime took place there, especially if it was a significant crime. Funny thing is that before I became a cop, I'd look at houses differently. Oh, this house always grows the most beautiful tulips come spring time. That house has such a lovely front porch. Now it's: I was in that house on a domestic violence case. That house is where we took our knifing victim. There is where I stood holding a man's leg that was connected by a single tendon after a motorcycle accident. Frankly, I'd like to go back to looking at the tulips and the front porches. Might happen if I move out of this city--someday.

But significant and memorable? I can answer that in a heartbeat. I was standing in line at a bakery several years ago. A woman came up to me, certain I didn't remember her. (I did.) She simply wanted to thank me for arresting her husband who had been abusive to her, and had molested her daughter who was developmentally delayed. The reason why I remembered her? Because at the time I made the arrest, she accused me of ruining her family, ripping it apart, falsifying the charges against him. At the time, I'd like to say it didn't bother me, but it did. Despite this, I knew this to be a common problem in these types of cases, so I didn't take it personally. But to have her come up, years later, thank me out of the blue, tell me how wonderful her daughter was doing now that she was out of that situation--something she couldn't recognize at the time--I was able to look her in the eye and say that her simple thank you was what made my job worth it. And truly, I'll remember that for the rest of my life. The thanks come few and far between, and I remember each and everyone I received. Some weren't necessarily for such grave reasons, but when they're heartfelt, you can guarantee it means something to me--made my job worth it.

JB: Tell us a little bit about COPS (Concerns of Police Survivors). Have you seen the benefits of this organization in your personal experience?

RB: When my first mystery was bought, it was just a few weeks after one of our officers, Rick Cromwell, had been killed in a motorcycle accident by a man he'd ticketed for being an unsafe driver, did an emergency revoke of the man's license, and had sent to the Dept. of Motor Vehicles for an emergency evaluation to see if he should even be driving. The DMV did the evaluation over the phone, gave him his license back. Just a short time later, that same man made an illegal turn out of a driveway and killed this very same officer. (How the DMV won that lawsuit on appeal, I'll never know.) But the long and short of it was that I realized that so many officers go out on a daily basis, putting their lives on the line, and I thought, here I am, writing about this stuff, surely I can give back? I decided that COPS was a good organization, helping the families and children of officers killed in the line of duty, with counseling and scholarships. I can't say enough about the organization, except that I hope I sell a gazillion more books to help out their scholarship and camp funds.

JB: Folks, please take a minute to check out COPS - it's a great cause if you're so inclined.

Time for the fun/silly questions. Coffee or tea? Chocolate milk or orange juice? Beer, whiskey or wine (or non-alcoholic beverages, as the case may be)?

RB: Coffee or tea? Did you not even read the books? (Just kidding!) I like mochas. But I didn't want anyone to think Kate was me, so I made her like lattes. But then I had people coming to my signings, bringing me lattes, saying: We knew you'd like them, because Kate liked them! Which is why I had to switch Kate's habit in a later book. [I remember that!] If people are going to spend their hard-earned money on drinks for me, I should at least point them in the right direction! As for alcoholic drinks, I like microbrewery beers, such as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. I don't like domestic beer at all. My drink of choice is probably a gin and tonic--a bit on the weak side. And if anyone wants to buy me free stuff, I like diamonds.

JB: You're looking a little different these days (saw some pix from ThrillerFest). What prompted the change?

RB: Can you say: three kids, too much stress at work equals gray hair? [um, yes, as a matter of fact ...] I found that blonde covers up the gray much easier and longer than when I had darker hair.

JB: If you had one, what was your favorite stuffed animal when you were a kid?

RB: I had this snake... It was one of those long stuffed, plush things, with leopard spots... (Maybe if my parents had bought me that Easy Bake Oven and that "life-like" baby doll I always wanted, I might have ended up in a different occupation.)

JB: Last question. What is the one question you wish someone would ask you in an interview, and what would your answer be?

RB: Interviewer: Just so happens I'm friends with (fill in the blank with famous person's name.) Is it okay if we make a movie about your series, and pay you a gazillion dollars?
Me: Yes.

JB: Dang, I never would have thought of that. Brilliant. ; ) Thanks so much, Robin, for stopping by the Lunch Room!

Robin Burcell is a multiple Anthony award nominee and winner of the 2002 and 2003 Anthonys for Best Paperback Original Novel as well as the Barry Award for Best Paperback Original in 2000. With 20 years experience in law enforcement, Robin has worked as a police officer, a detective and a criminal investigator, as well as an FBI-trained forensic artist and a hostage negotiator. Author of the SFPD Homicide Inspector Kate Gillespie mystery series, she now writes full-time.