Ask the Author: L.F. Robertson
Answered Questions (5)
L.F. Robertson
Thank you for writing. I'm so glad you're enjoying Two Lost Boys. I wrote all three books really from the heart, from my work in death penalty cases; Madman Walking, in particular, was loosely based on a case I worked on. I thought I'd be continuing with the series, but I took a hiatus to concentrate on a real-life capital appeal, and of course the pandemic happened and changed so much; and now nothing is as clear as it seemed. Recently I've been mulling a mystery that goes in a somewhat different direction, with Janet in a different phase of her life. If it gets written and finds a publisher, I hope you'll like it, too.
L.F. Robertson
Two Lost Boys arose out of my experiences working on death penalty cases, specifically habeas corpus proceedings, where you investigate cases looking for evidence that didn't get presented at your client's trial and that might have made a difference in how the jury viewed your client. It's a slow and not at all linear process; and many capital defendants have horrible childhood experiences and family backgrounds. Investigation opens windows into those experiences, and you meet people who were there with your client, as perpetrators, witnesses, or fellow victims, and see the damage that life has done to them. I wanted to capture that reality, that sadness, and how it feels to work a case in real life.
L.F. Robertson
I just turned in the manuscript for my second Janet Moodie book, whose working title is Madman Walking. I've been intermittently writing some short stories set in San Francisco in the 1930s, where the central character is a girl Friday to a criminal defense attorney.
L.F. Robertson
I still feel like an aspiring writer, so I don't know what advice I could give, except to say, keep aspiring and writing.
L.F. Robertson
I'm an appellate lawyer by trade, and that's a profession where writer's block isn't really an option. I've developed a few tools for getting over the top when I'm having trouble writing. One is to start with an easy part, because by writing something, I can start to develop a rhythm and momentum that will, with luck, carry me along into the more difficult sections. Another is to sit down and just start writing, reminding myself as I go that nothing I put down is final, and anything I don't like on rereading it is easily changed.
When I'm having trouble with story ideas or how to get a plot from A to B, I think about it a lot in spare moments: in the shower, as I'm falling asleep, or if I wake up during the night. It's surprising how often solutions come when I'm thinking about the story half asleep.
When I'm having trouble with story ideas or how to get a plot from A to B, I think about it a lot in spare moments: in the shower, as I'm falling asleep, or if I wake up during the night. It's surprising how often solutions come when I'm thinking about the story half asleep.
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