This is the tenth episode of "Talking with Authors" by HEC Media and HEC Books. We're a program dedicated to speaking with some of the best selling authors around, covering many different genres.
Our author this time is 100 plus million book selling and Edgar award winning crime writer Patricia Cornwell. We spoke with her as she was touring the United States talking about her 22nd crime novel in her Kay Scarpetta series, “Flesh and Blood” by Harper Collins Books. This one-on-one was done in November of 2014.
Patricia Cornwell started out working with words professionally as a reporter in North Carolina in the late 70s. She began doing feature work, but eventually moved to the the crime beat where she eventually won an award for a series on prostitution. By the time she started writing novels in 1984, her news background lead her to want to make her imagined subjects as real as possible…so she began to take an almost participatory journalistic approach to her novels.
And from the position of authority that she writes from having actually learned the skills of many of her characters has helped her revolutionize the crime genre, not just in literature, but on television as well…where she’s often credited for greatly influencing the rise of forensic science being popular in crime dramas on the air. We’ll hear about the hugely popular “Kate Scarpetta” series of books and life beyond the printed word for our guest, Edgar Award winning, best selling writer Patricia Cornwell on this episode of “Talking with Authors” from HEC Media and HEC Books.
Our host and interviewer this time is Cordell Whitlock.
HEC Media is a production company out of St. Louis, Missouri. With the help of independent bookstore Left Bank Books and St. Louis County Library, we are able to sit down with these amazing writers and thought leaders to discuss their work, their inspiration, and what makes them special. You can watch video versions of most of our interviews at hecmedia.org.
Host of this episode - Cordell Whitlock
Photography - Tom Newcomb, Peter Foggy, and Jayne Ballew
Editor and Graphics - Taunia Allen Mason
Supervising Producer - Julie Winkle
Production Support - Jayne Ballew
HEC Media Executive Director - Dennis Riggs
Talking with Authors Podcast Executive Producer - Christina Chastain
Podcast Producer - Rod Milam
Podcast Editors - Ben Smith
Podcast Host - Rod Milam
Special thanks to Maryville University and St. Louis Public Radio
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