Q: How does Kate change over the course of your books?
A: Kate changes like a real person, as a result of experience and the passage of time, but more slowly. Time in Kate’s world passes only half as fast as it does in real life in order to give me a chance to write about this period in her life.
Still, she’s changed quite a bit over the course of five books. Not only has she grown more confident in her professional life, but as she puts more years between herself and her husband Russell’s death, she is beginning to face up to the issues of her personal life.
Q: Do other characters grow along with Kate?
A: I’m not sure that they grow, but they do seem to progress. Her secretary, Cheryl, will be finishing law school and moving on to her own practice, which will not only add a different dimension to their relationship but also make way for a new character close to Kate. Claudia, Kate’s roommate, is also moving ahead with her medical training and bringing changes.
I think there’s no question that in Fatal Reaction the pressures on Azor Pharmaceuticals have made Kate’s boyfriend, Stephen, much more critical and demanding, which I think is only to be expected.
This interview originally appeared in a slightly different form in Murder on the Internet.
If you liked Rough Trade,
don’t miss the other
Kate Millholland novels
by Gini Hartzmark
PRINCIPAL DEFENSE
FINAL OPTION
BITTER BUSINESS
FATAL REACTION
Published by Ivy Books.
Available at your local bookstore.
GINI HARTZMARKattended the law and business schools of the University of Chicago and was a business and economics writer. She has written articles on a variety of topics for the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, and a number of national magazines. She is also the author of the Kate Millholland novels: Principal Defense, Final Option, Bitter Business, and Fatal Reaction.
Ms. Hartzmark and her husband live in Arizona with their three children.
Gini welcomes hearing from readers at ghartzmark@home.com
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28