The Rome Affair | Q&A

INTERVIEWED BY JOCELYN KELLEY

YOU STARTED OFF RESEARCHING THE IDEA OF FORCED CONFESSIONS FOR A PLOT LINE IN The Rome Affair AND ENDED UP WORKING ON AN ACTUAL CASE INVOLVING A FORCED CONFESSION. CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW THIS CAME ABOUT AND HOW IT AFFECTED YOUR WRITING, AS WELL AS YOUR LIFE?

Originally I set out to write a story about blackmail among girlfriends. I was thinking that girlfriends are the real keepers of secrets in your life--secret thoughts and secret actions--and we trust their ability to keep their mouths closed. But what if that didn't happen? What if a friend let something slip? What if they actually used it against you?

The blackmail in my book led to a death, which appears to Chicago detectives to be a homicide. In my research, I first interviewed a friend of mine, Catharine O'Daniel, about her criminal defense work and asked her what it would be like to be arrested for murder in Chicago. I was surprised to hear about what many suspects endured. Next, I interviewed a homicide detective about common interrogation techniques—how detectives not only are allowed to lie to you, but often do so at every turn. To them, ferreting out the truth is all that matters, even if they have to lie in the process.

When it came to actually writing the book, I wondered if I wasn't stretching the truth by having the detectives play spouses against each other. I double-checked with Cathy to make sure I was getting it right, which was when she told me about the Jovan Mosley case. Jovan was a nineteen-year-old who was picked up for questioning in the beating death of a fifty-year-old man. Jovan explained to the police that while he'd been present during the fight, he hadn't been involved. During his interrogation, he was handcuffed to a wall in an 8x8 room for 29 hours with no food, no water, no bathroom, no phone calls and no Miranda rights. Finally, after three shifts of detectives had come and gone, and after at least five denials from Jovan, the detectives convinced him to say he threw two punches and told him that wouldn't be considered a crime. The detectives were aware that what they were doing was getting him to admit to murder. Jovan signed the statement and was put away in maximum security for almost six years without a trial date. The system had essentially lost him. My friend, Cathy, had met Jovan accidentally while visiting another client in jail.

I can still remember sitting outside of a café and hearing about his story for the first time. I couldn't get it out of my head. Cathy had taken on the case pro bono, because she was so moved by his plight. After thinking about it for weeks, I said, "Let me help you with it." I hadn't tried a case in years, and I'd never tried even the slightest of criminal matters. I intended to help out with some writing and research. And that was how it started. We worked on it, we got a trial date, and at some point, Cathy said, "You should try this case with me." I knew instantly that I would do it. I had just written in The Rome Affair about the terror of being the suspect of a crime you didn't commit and having no one believe you. I had only imagined this in my mind, yet now it was playing out in front of me.

There were doubts about the decision to become one of the defense lawyers. I kept thinking, "What am I doing? I know nothing about criminal law." Then I met Jovan in jail. I believed him. And that made it a hell of a lot easier.

The trial was one of the most intense experiences I've ever had in my life. During the course of the trial, I couldn't wait for it to be over because I was so worried about Jovan—about the fact that if we lost the case he'd end up serving about 40 years in jail.

When the verdict was read, Jovan was shaking so badly Cathy and I had to hold his hands and almost physically keep him still. He started crying once he heard "Not Guilty." It's inappropriate for attorneys to cry in the courtroom, but I looked at Cathy and saw tears streaming down her face. I started crying myself. They led the jurors from the room and once they were out, the three of us fell onto each other.

The aftermath of the trial has been amazing. Cathy and I are no longer distant friends. Strangely, she is now one of those close girlfriends with whom I share my deepest secrets. And Jovan has become a great friend as well. He will email and thank me, which is wonderful. But I like it best when he calls and says, "I was calling to check on you and see that you're all right." Just like a true friend.

DID PRACTICING LAW HELP PREPARE YOU FOR THE WRITING LIFE?

I do think the discipline that practicing law requires was a huge help to me. When I was practicing, I had to bill hours. Most people hate billing, but I am truly grateful for it, because it forces you to account for everything you accomplished that day. I took that discipline into writing, and I think it's why I've been able to finish my novels. I try to write in the mornings-one scene a day-before returning any emails or phone calls. But it's like being in AA, I'm told. You have to constantly "work the program." It rarely comes easily.

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE WRITING PLANS?

I'm working on a mystery series about a sassy, redheaded trial lawyer who turns to sleuthing after her fiancé disappears on the same day her main client is killed.

YOU STARTED OFF AS A CHICK LIT WRITER AND NOW YOU ARE WORKING ON SUSPENSE NOVELS. DO YOU PREFER WRITING ONE GENRE OVER THE OTHER?

I've always tried to utilize the element of mystery in my chick lit novels, but the fact of the matter is that mysteries are much more tightly bound. Every scene has to matter and be moving toward the end result. Chick lit is a little freer and has more everyday experiences and random happenings. With mystery, every little detail is moving toward the ultimate revelation.

IS THERE A PARTICULAR CHARACTER IN ONE OF YOUR NOVELS THAT IS MOST LIKE YOU?

No character is me exactly, although there are certainly parts of me in nearly every character I write. The closest was probably Casey in Burning the Map, which I wrote right out of law school. Now that I've been out of school for a while, I feel very different from her. In The Year of Living Famously, Kyra is very dissimilar from me in many respects. However, like Kyra, I have little patience for L.A. and the movie business, and I do love to have a glass of wine (or three or four).

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR ASPIRING WRITERS?

My advice for anyone who wants to write and publish—the advice I give myself all the time—is to be devoted and disciplined. So often the concept of writing sounds glamorous, but when you put pen to paper the reality can be more than a little tedious. The characters don't come as easily. It takes so much longer than you'd envisioned. The words don't flow like they seem to in your head. But that's okay. Push past the mental resistance. Make goals. Stick to them if possible. Enjoy it when you can. Enjoy life.

ARE YOU GOING TO CONTINUE YOUR LEGAL CAREER?

Trying Jovan's case made me realize how much I miss the law. I loved being in that courtroom. I actually loved the intensity and the stress of it. And as much as it made me question the legal system ("How can this kid have been sitting in jail for almost SIX years?"), the verdict actually restored my faith in the legal system. One attorney, who heard about the trial, said to me, "Laura, what you did in that trial is the whole reason why most people to go to law school—to help someone who truly needs it and who is innocent. But most lawyers will never get that trial." They're right. Cathy and I were incredibly lucky.

DO YOU EVER FIND MOMENTS WHEN YOUR LITERARY LIFE AND YOUR LEGAL PROFESSION COLLIDE?

I'd gotten back the edits of The Rome Affair from my editor and had been going through them, when Jovan's trial started. Then, I got a bit behind and I knew I had a deadline that required me to go through the manuscript, review the edits, and add any of my own. I decided to take part of the manuscript to court and work on it during lunch. I didn't realize that the part of the manuscript I'd brought dealt with Rachel's bond hearing. She had to appear in a courtroom at 26th and Cal, essentially the same courtroom I was sitting in. I didn't have to imagine what the carved wood bench looked like or what the color legal tomes behind the desk were. I was sitting there on a murder case. My character was sitting there on a murder case. It was great luck, but also surreal. As a writer, you craft many things out of your head. And to be sitting there, experiencing a very, very serious and life-changing thing like a murder trial while writing about it fictionally at the exact same time was bizarre.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO SET THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY IN ROME?

A few years ago, I stayed at Il Palazzetto—the hotel in the book—and was so moved by the place. I took brief notes while in Rome about what the city felt and looked like; for example, the light that graces the Spanish Steps. I figured I'd use it somewhere. The fact is, Rome speaks to me. My mother lived in Rome for six months during college, and I grew up hearing about it. I went on the same program she did when I was in law school (through Loyola University Chicago) and fell in love with it, too. When I'm there, I feel the history of the place, and I realize how small I am in the universe. I like that.

WHAT MAKES CHICAGO A GREAT SETTING FOR A NOVEL?

Chicago has both class and character. And that's what I loved about it for this book. I needed a city with real class, since I was writing about the society world within that city, but a murder case was going to evolve. I needed real texture. Chicago doesn't disappoint on either front. I hope it's always like that.