By Jayne Ann KrentzInterview
by Elise Cooper
When All The Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz
leaves readers spell bound. This story has two plotlines
that come together at the end. A private investigator,
Max, is hired to find out why a woman was possibly murdered
and in the course of his investigation links up with
Charlotte Sawyer whose sister has disappeared. Together
they search for answers and connect the death and disappearance
to an on-line based investment club and Jocelyn’s
past of being a rape victim. They find that power, privilege,
an escalating serial rapist, and a friend-enemy are
all fighting to silence Charlotte and Max.
Elise Cooper: Rumor has it you will
turn this into a series. True?
Jayne Ann Krentz: Good guess. In fact, I am
writing the other brother’s story as we speak.
The third novel will resolve the evil cult mystery left
over from this book. Each is a stand-alone with a mystery
on to itself. There will be cameos from the characters
of this first book.
Elise:
Will you be writing a Private investigator series?
Jayne Ann: I really love that set-up
of a private investigator series. Any mystery with a
PI can handle more personal stories involving confidentiality,
keeping secrets, and probing the personal corners of
other people’s lives. This series is now a trilogy,
but if it works it can be the core for a PI series.
Elise:
Would you include the female characters as well?
Jayne Ann: My stories will always
have an equal partnership between the hero and heroine.
Both bring something to the table in solving the mystery.
It makes for a unique partnership because the relationship
is put under stress with the danger, need for trust,
and to find out if you can put your life in another
person’s hands. I might write an older romantic
relationship for one of the characters I am fond of,
the father figure, Anson Salinas.
Elise:
It seems the theme has an introspective by the characters
of their lives?
Jayne Ann: In looking back on their
life most people say ‘where did it all go?’
I think at this time of the year people question where
are they going, where have they been, and what do they
want to do in the future? One of the tricks to enjoying
life is finding out what you will do in the future.
I think living in the moment is easier said then done.
Human beings are geared to live in the future, but something
I noticed about the very elderly is that they live in
the past. But a good retirement home forces the elderly
to be a part of a social network instead of being isolated
in their own home.
Elise: Do you think Jocelyn and Charlotte
grew as characters through the course of the book?
Jayne
Ann: Yes. Jocelyn learned something about herself,
which is she does need Charlotte as a sister of the
heart. On the other hand, Charlotte learned that her
inner strength was greater than she gave herself credit
for. Most of us do not understand our own strength until
something stresses us and then we have to deal with
it.
Elise:
What about Charlotte and Max?
Jayne Ann: Something I have in my books
is how the relationship develops when the hero sees
the strengths and the heroic qualities in the heroine
and she sees those same qualities in him. Their story
compliments each other. They share the common core values:
courage, honor, determination, and the healing power
of love.
Elise: You call those in the Investment
Club “women avengers,” but I see them more
as vigilantes. Please explain.
Jayne Ann: They did cross the line
to find justice and then became vigilantes, which is
not healthy. This is why I could not make the heroine
one of them. Her own core values would not allow that
kind of justice that involves less than legal means.
I wanted to show women are perfectly capable of thinking
about revenge and will have their own way of doing it.
I always believe that whoever plans revenge has a dark
side. Vengeance is a dangerous thing and usually comes
back to haunt you. Vigilantism is like the western story
of meeting a guy in front of the saloon and shooting
it out.
Elise: Why the setting in Seattle?
Jayne
Ann: Seattle is a very much self made and entrepreneurial
vibe. These are the professions of my characters. They
never inherit trust funds. I like to write about them
because they are people in real life that I admire.
It is different from the East Coast where there is old
money versus new money.
Elise:
Can you give a shout out about your next books?
Jayne
Ann: My next book will be an Amanda Quick novel
entitled, The Girl Who Knew Too Much. It will
take place in the 1930s in California. The plot will
have Hollywood glamor, prohibition’s repeal, Hollywood
studios, and dead bodies at the bottom of a spa pool.
Next November, the second book in this trilogy will
come out, I Promise Not To Tell. It will have a cameo
appearance by Max, but the main character will be his
brother, Cabot Sutter. They have different last names
because they are only foster brothers. The mystery will
involve the real possibility of the cult re-emerging
on-line.
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