Words matter. These are the best Alafair Burke Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
Teaching does allow me to keep one foot in the youthful waters I tend to occupy in my novels, so I’m thankful for that. My students also remind me on a daily basis that the stories I collected during my district attorney days are actually interesting to people who haven’t had that experience.
I’ve learned to accept the fact that my students are far too busy preparing for their own legal careers to care one bit about the off-campus antics of Professor Burke. I get the impression that my students are vaguely aware of my novels, but are at best mildly curious.
The best crime novels are all based on people keeping secrets. All lying – you may think a lie is harmless, but you put them all together and there’s a calamity.
I find myself more and more behind these days. You have to be really diligent. I don’t have kids, which helps. I’m always working on something, whether a book, or a law review article that no one will ever read, or teaching. It pretty much means I work a lot, but it’s all stuff I love.
In our system, we leave questions of fact to a jury. But to render a verdict, a jury must know the law. For this, we rely upon jury instructions. Instructions are supposed to translate the law into lay terms that the jury can apply to the facts as they determine them.
There are writers out there who say they’re writing a second series, and then you pick it up and it feels exactly the same, only the lead character is blonde instead of brunette.
Hmmm… cooking with wine? I usually drink wine while cooking… I do a good braised short ribs with cabernet, though. We’re big red wine drinkers here. All that research showing that it’s good for you takes the guilt away.
According to FBI statistics for 2008, only 22 percent of murder victims were killed by strangers. More than 30 percent were slain by family members, boyfriends, and girlfriends. Nearly half of all murders were committed by friends, neighbors, and casual acquaintances.
Moving to New York made all the difference in my creating this new series with Ellie Hatcher. I love Portland, and it’s always going to be one of my favorite cities, but it was getting to the point where, after I’d moved to New York, I couldn’t write as specifically about Portland any more.
Jesse James’s next tattoo should be a warning label: Danger. Loving this man could break you.
