7 Deadly Questions with author Hilary LiDestri

1. I've read your debut thriller CONSUMED and was blown away. It's both smart and sexy. Can you share a bit of the inspiration for it?

The inspiration for "Consumed," is a culmination of life experiences for me ranging from the time I was fifteen when I was first stalked. If you can imagine, that was long before stalking laws, so nothing was treated with the weight it required. When that same person made their "last" threat on my life, I was twenty and the laws were in place. The campus police didn't take kindly to it, my parents had all but had it with the lack of attention the police had given the case for five years and finally, the police got involved.

The "stalking law" was in its infancy in 1990, and the "protection" I was offered was minimal because I hadn't been physically harmed. My parents weren't willing to wait until I was physically harmed because they feared harm and death would come together. He'd clearly stated his intentions, but the police were not impressed with what they thought were empty threats by a boy with a "crush." Let me tell you what you don't want to do. Threaten "The Big H"'s daughter. She took matters into her own hands and had a less than dignified discussion with said "boy"'s parents. It was twenty years before I heard from him again. We can confront all of that in book six. Stay tuned.

2. You write with a partner, Alisa Griffin. Talk to me about what that process is like?

Alisa and I have always been perfect complements to one another in all aspects. Our personalities are shockingly similar and yet vastly different. We not only provide strength to one another within the confines of a supportive friendship- but we actually allowed our strengths to lead our writing paths, only to have those paths create the perfect assemblage for a writing team. My degree is in creative writing, so my responsibility is to conceive stories, birth them, raise them until they are stable enough to be toughened up and disciplined. As a journalist by degree, Alisa takes the story and shapes it, asks me to broaden or deepen ideas, tighten up aspects of the story lines and together we create what I hope are well-written, entertaining and thrilling reads. For entertainment we go back to the first draft of "Consumed," where she jabs me endlessly for my overuse of the word "that," my lack of ability to use a comma properly (according to CMS or AP- or Alisa). I remind her I have a degree in "Creative" writing and that gives me authorization to be creative with punctuation. She chides me for my affection for the dash- and it is great affection indeed. We chuckle at my redundancy- get a huge kick out of how many times I covered the SAME information from one character to the other instead of saying, "Roz caught Joel up over a cup of coffee." This alone could have been why the first draft was a lengthy and meandering 685 pages.

3. CONSUMED deals with the issue of stalking. You're a beautiful woman and would-be-famous author, do you worry about your # fan taking things a bit too far someday? Case in point, the Stephen King classic MISERY?

I am more worried about the lingering "stalkers" I've dealt with in the past than I am any new ones. I'm not the naïve and trusting, frightened young girl or woman I was when I began to have problems. There are laws in place now to protect people, laws that didn't exist when I was young. It's been quite a challenge proving the psychological damage that can be done in a stalking situation- it needn't be physical to effect someone physiologically or physically. I have no fear of fans- mainly because I don't have any. I'll keep you posted.

4. Talk to me about the feeling of holding CONSUMED in your hands when it was finally published?

To be honest, our publishing experience was a little nerve wracking. We knew going in we were working with a new publishing house and there would be hiccups in the process, but there were more than we expected. Some were nearly seizures, or actual cardiac episodes, so when it finally arrived, I put it (unopened) in my computer bag and carried it around all day. I was hoping Alisa would get her copy and we could open them together. That didn't happen, so I opened it with her on the phone and shared every single emotion with her- raw, honest. We laughed, she cried (she does that- I try not to), we examined it like stone unearthed and likely to be a diamond and then I toasted her with a glass of Roederer Brut. I went out that night to one of the restaurant featured in Mercy and read the owners the passage where they are both addressed by name (the only "real" people in the book) and drank several more glasses of Roederer while I marveled at our creation. It was similar to admiring a baby in a crib- fearful someone was going to touch it, or spill something on it or fail to inquire about it. I employed all the absurd gestures to get attention- it was shameless. Thank goodness I was drunk.

5. Which novel's antagonist do you wish you held the rights to and why?

I wish I could own Angelo, from Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure." I find him one of the most fascinating characters ever written. I love tension, real- palpable, sexual tension and this play defines it for me. I revel in the hypocrisy of untested mettle. People love to speak about their moral standing- I love when they realize they can lie down with those roiling in turpitude. I will write Angelo someday- I just have not figured out how I want to modernize the story line. There are shades of his moral demise in everything I write. Does that count even though it isn't a novel?

6. Rumor has it you've just finished the final draft of your next novel. Care to reveal any secrets?

I just finished my initial part of book two. Alisa now has it in her hands and will begin the work of making me sound like a good writer. She smoothes my rough edges and makes sure ever character is distinct and plays their part well. I can't wait to do my next read through- she is a genius. Book two is a light medical thriller. By light, I mean there is a very real medical component, but it isn't so bogged down by technical medical jargon that it overtakes the story line. The medical stuff is a backdrop, though critical to the book. I fear writers will be disappointed by the lack of sex in this book because "Consumed" is so racy, but there was no place for it- so it's not there. I feel, we feel, we don't want anything gratuitous about our books- if sex was necessary in book two- it would be there and it would be vivid- but it just didn't come up. Just like violence- never will it be there to satisfy some component to "qualify" as a thriller. To me, thriller means- thrilling. It's that easy.

7. Where can readers learn more about you?

I am slowly sharing information on www.lidestrigriffin.com, it's something new to me so be patient. The best place to crawl inside my head is at www.soveryclever.com.

About Hilary LiDestri

Hilary Reddy LiDestri and Alisa Rodgers Griffin are childhood friends reared and schooled in a small town in Michigan called Linden.  Restless and terminally impetuous, both girls approached college as both an escape and a vast workshop in which to sharpen their minds, ideas and goals, a vehicle that eventually would propel them into careers as writers. Hilary has a degree in creative writing from Michigan State University. Alisa has a degree in journalism from Eastern Michigan University.