Kathy Reichs is a professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina, forensic anthropologist and writer of crime fiction.

Her work varies from teaching FBI agents how to detect and recover human remains, to separating and identifying commingled body parts in her Montreal lab.  A consultant for the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Québec, member of the team who helped to identify remains found at ground zero of the World Trade Center following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Kathy is a respected member of her field, being one of only eighty-two forensic anthropologists ever certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology.  It is from this varied work she gets hints of inspiration for her books.

Kathy’s first novel Déjà Dead catapulted her to fame when it became a New York Times bestseller and won the 1997 Ellis Award for Best First Novel.  Since then there have been another fifteen books in the Temperance Brennan series, three in the Virals series co-authored by her son Brendan and two novellas.  To add to this long list Kathy is also a producer of the hit Fox TV series, Bones, which is based on her work and her novels.

How did you come to write your first fiction novel?

I was working as a visiting professor in Montreal when police authorities called me in to consult on a series of grisly murders. By examining the victims’ bones, I was able to determine that the suspect was very skilled in dismembering his victims, and likely had some sort of professional training in that area. The police were able to use this information to profile and track down the killer, who turned out to be a butcher. That experience became the basis for my first novel, Deja Dead. The rest is history.

Having read Deja Dead in 1997 I was fascinated by the details, and realised the amount of research you must need to do for your books.  ‘How do you divide your time between your work as a forensic anthropologist and researching and writing your novels?

I’m under contract for one Temperance Brennan book a year, and also co-author a series of young adult novels, the Virals series, which I write with my son, Brendan. In between those projects, I try to stay sharp by consulting on forensic work or testifying in criminal cases. My schedule keeps me very busy!

As you have mentioned you not only write your Temperance Brennan series, but you also collaborate on the Virals series of books aimed at teenage readers, with your son Brendan.  How did this come about?

The Virals series was actually Brendan’s idea. I’d thought about writing a YA book for years, but never seemed to have enough hours in the day. At the same time, Brendan was growing tired of being a lawyer and was looking for a new career. When a friend of his in New York mentioned that a publisher might be interested in something we could write together, he jumped at the chance. A few weeks later we had a concept, a book deal, and a partnership.

If you could go back to the time before you chose your speciality in college, is there anything you would have done differently. A different career you would have chosen?

Nothing. I’m one of the lucky few that can honestly say I’m doing exactly what I want to do.

As a budding writer, I choose to write in a totally different genre to the one I read for relaxation.What is your chosen genre for relaxed reading, and which authors feature predominantly on your book shelves?

I am a big fan of non-fiction, and enjoy modern history. I do read quite a few thrillers, and have great admiration for writers like Sandra Brown, Elmore Leonard, and Stephen King. One should always read the masters in your chosen field!

When working on a novel, do you write everything out long hand first, dictate into a machine for someone else to type up or work directly onto a computer?

I write directly into my iMac. I couldn’t write four sentences longhand before my hand seized up. Well out of practice.

How long on average would you say you spend writing one of the Temperance Brennan novels, from that initial idea jotted down to the last word or comma in the final edit?

It’s a year. Call it one month to plan, six months to write, two months to edit, then three months to promote. Rinse, repeat!

Your novels have been used as the basis for the television series ‘Bones’.  How much influence did you have in the choice of actors chosen to portray the characters?

I’m a producer of the TV show, so I was present for all casting decisions, and have had no qualms about any of them. We have a phenomenal group of actors on Bones. I also review every script for technical accuracy, or at least scientific plausibility. We try to stay as to true to real-life forensic science as possible.

I follow you on Facebook and Twitter.  Have you found social networks to be a good or bad influence on your work, or that they can be intrusive in any way?

I enjoy Facebook and Twitter, though they can also be a burden at times and I do take an occasional hiatus. That said, social media is probably the greatest way to connect to fans on a personal level. So for that I am grateful.

Finally do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Write. Write, write, write. Writing is a skill, not an art. It takes practice to make perfect (or get reasonably close).

 

Kathy, thank you once again for doing this interview.

Visit her website: http://kathyreichs.com/ .

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/kathyreichsbooks

Follow on Twitter: @KathyReichs