LiveWorld Transcripts

Boxtop presents

Author Julie Smith
"82 Desire"

September 3, 1998

Julie Smith's book "82 Desire" is a gripping mystery full of greed, lust, and power. The author was nice enough to stop by and answer some questions about her process, her motivation, and her haunted house.

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JaxCCC: Tonight please welcome our special guest, author Julie Smith. Julie Smith is here today to debut her new book "82 Desire," an investigative thriller combining elements of greed, lust and power. Please welcome to TalkCity - Julie Smith Hello TalkCity!

Morrison: How long did it take to write your first novel and how long did it take to get your first one published?

Julie Smith: That depends on what you mean by first novel. The first one took about three months but it did not get published. I had written six books at the time my first one was published. Overall it was a 7 year endeavor. The first one published was called "Death Turns a Trick" and that was 1982.

Lidarose: What comes first or easiest for you - the storyline, or main character(s)?

Julie Smith: I think it depends on the book Quite often I get the germ of an idea and I get excited. I find it is difficult to translate that into a plot. Along the way I get ideas for characters and get excited about those. I am thinking about secondary characters because the main character, the detective is already set. The character that was easiest for me was the lawyer Rebecca Schwartz who was the protagonist in 5 of my books. Rebecca came to be when I went to Key West, Florida to write another book. I was all alone for the first time and very poor. I got the image in my mind of everything about her - clothes, her family and apartment and past history and I could not write it down fast enough. So it really depends, getting a plot down is very difficult. Ideas come first and characters, I would say. I hope that answers your question!

Madeline: When physically writing, what format do you

Use: long hand, word processor, computer, and if you do use a computer, what type do you use?

Julie Smith: I use a computer laptop. Once laptops were invented I packed up my desktop. I use a laptop with a word processor called 'Easy' It is like a typing program that is very easy for me. I do not use Windows! I had to find a nerd that could configure my machine to use DOS -I think Windows is unnecessary for writers.

Ogy: Do you have a special place that you write?. -or do you write anywhere?

Julie Smith: I have an office in my house And in my office I have a writers shrine. On my mantle is my Edgar award. It is a ceramic bust of Edgar Allen Poe. It is very imposing. As you know Ed was a morose kind of guy. So I dress him up with a tiara and Mardi Gras beads. And sometimes a seasonal ribbon. And above Edgar on my mantle I have photos and drawings of Tennessee Williams and Eudora Wealty and also a drawing of Faulkner. I have several Tennessee Williams momentos. In my office I look out the window looking into a tree. Since I mostly work at night the view is often wasted.

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