In DIE FOR YOU, I did something I’ve never done before.  A few months before I started writing it, a librarian in Pittsburgh contacted me, asking if I would be willing to auction off a character name in my next novel.  The proceeds would benefit The Friends of the Library, one of my favorite organizations.  It seemed like a strange thing to do.  But I knew my good friend Tess Gerritsen had done this before. And when librarians ask me to do something, I find I can’t say no.  So I agreed.  Just before I started writing, the librarian got in touch to let me know that a woman named Linda Book won the auction.  I sort of filed the name away in my subconscious and didn’t really think about it again.

Oddly, the name wove itself into the manuscript and turned up as the married name of Isabel’s sister.  And, to be honest, I forgot while I was writing DIE FOR YOU that I hadn’t made the name up myself.  By the time the book was finished, I had forgotten about the auction altogether!   Sometime in the revision process I remembered, and then frantically started searching though old emails for the contact information for this poor woman whose name I’d stolen for my book.  I was also a little freaked out because I realized that Linda has some pretty racy scenes in the book and that her marriage was in terrible crisis. I wondered if Linda would be offended when she got to reading.

But then, finally, the library who had arranged the auction got in touch, and Linda and I connected.  She was lovely and just thrilled to be a part of the book.  She was so thrilled, in fact, that she drove from Pittsburgh to New York City to attend my event at The Mysterious Bookshop. It was great fun to meet her in person.

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette thought this was an interesting enough concept that they ran a feature about Linda, who also happens to be a councilwoman.

What I’m reading:
The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black

Ocean’s favorite book:
Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (author) and Scott Magoon (illustrator)

Most recently viewed film:
Che: Part One
Starring Benecio Del Toro
Directed by Steven Soderberg