Rough Trade

changes from Bitsy to Betsy from book to book.
     
    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 HARTZMARK attended 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 [email protected]