Writing about Scarpetta

‘I usually go back a little bit and then move forward. The objective is that I want the reader to be transported. Writing is like a ride - you're getting into a spaceship and you're going somewhere where you're going to have an adventure. It takes you away from the moment that you're in and your real life...

It's a strange thing when I start a book. I'm writing about Scarpetta, but I don't feel like she's there. It's like she's saying to me, "When you're ready for me, I'll show up, but you're not ready for me yet." Then, all of a sudden, she populates the character on my screen, and the characters start becoming alive. I don't get tired of her, even though I've been living with her for several decades now...

We all have grief. We wish we didn't, but everyone has it. When I write about Scarpetta, I want to help you experience these things that are very real in our lives, but to do it in a way that's not only manageable, but maybe reassuring, if not a little bit entertaining because we certainly want that when we read a book! Scarpetta is a vehicle for us dealing with things that we fear, such as loss and suffering. I have experienced it up close and personal for a very long time, not just because of my research but even some things in my own childhood. That's how I deal with it...

When I started writing, serial murderers were a really big thing, and it was a perfect environment for what I ended up doing. What Scarpetta did, is make forensic science and medicine accessible. You could understand it, and so therefore Hollywood could understand it.'

Patricia Cornwell is one of the most successful crime writers in the world - she has sold over 9 million copies in the UK, and 120 million copies worldwide, including in 36 languages to over 120 countries. The latest Scarpetta title, Identity Unknown, the 28th in the series, was published on 8 October.

https://www.patriciacornwell.com/