Karin Slaughter
The “Cop Town” Interview
with Kam Williams

 

Karin Slaughter is the New York Times and #1 internationally best-selling author of 14 thrillers, including “Unseen,” “Criminal,” “Fallen,” “Broken,” “Undone,” “Fractured,” “Beyond Reach,” “Triptych,” “Faithless,” and the e-original short stories “Snatched” and “Busted.” Here, the Georgia native discusses her latest opus, “Cop Town,” a riveting murder mystery set in Atlanta in 1974. 

 

Kam Williams: Hi Karin, thanks for the interview. As a long-term reader of classic murder mysteries, from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to Agatha Christie to Dorothy Sayers to Dick Francis to Donald Westlake to Edgar Box (aka Gore Vidal), I must say that I really loved Cop Town and would rate it right up there with the very best of the genre.

Karin Slaughter: That is high praise indeed.  Thanks so much!

 

KW: What inspired you to write the book?

KS: I wrote a novel called Criminal a few years ago that was partly set in the 1970s, and I had the great pleasure of talking to all these incredible female police officers who came up during that time.  There were so many more stories that I wanted to tell about them.  What they went through was just amazing, and I think it’s important for people to remember exactly how bad it used to be.

 

KW: How would you describe your creative process? Do you do map out the plotline or focus on character development first?  

KS: It really depends on the story, but all of my books are about characters.  The plot is very important because writers have to play fair with their readers, but no one would care about the plot if the character work wasn’t there.  So, basically every book I work on starts with me thinking not just about the bad thing that’s going to happen (spoiler alert!) but how that bad thing is going to ripple through the community, the family of the victim, and the lives of the investigators.  I am keenly aware when I’m working that the crimes I am writing about have happened to real people. I take that very seriously.

 

KW: How much research did this project entail? I know that the story is set in your hometown of Atlanta, but the events take place at a time when you were just a toddler. And when I Googled some of the names, I discovered that you interweaved some real-life characters and events with the fictional ones. 

KS: I love weaving in fact with fiction, and I know that many of my readers were alive and paying attention in the 70s, so it’s my job to reward them for paying attention with little touchstones from that decade.  I have Sears catalogues for clothing, Southern Living for architecture and entertaining, and of course all the tremendously helpful people who talked to me about what it was really like to live in Atlanta at that time.  That being said, I write fiction, so there were some instances where I had to bend the story a little bit to suit my needs.

 

KW: Is there someone you bounce your early drafts of chapters off of in order to know whether it’ll work with your readers? 

KS: I only work with my editors because pointing out a problem, a slow passage or a character who needs more to do, etcetera, is very easy, but knowing how to have a discussion about fixing it is alchemy.  Many times, it’s something earlier in the book, or later, that needs to be tweaked and then it all makes sense.  A good editor is one of the sharpest tools a writer can have in her toolbox.

 

KW: Do you write with a demographic in mind? 

KS: I write with me in mind, because as much as I love my readers, these are my stories.  I am a voracious reader myself.  I don’t stick to one genre.  My only criteria is that it’s a good story.  I try to bring that to my work because I think people can read your excitement about a story.

 

KW: How long does it take you to write a book, and how do you know when it’s finished?

KS: It depends on the book.  For a story like Cop Town, it takes years to do the research and come up with the plot and really immerse myself in that time period.  Since Kate and Maggie were new characters, I had to do a lot of sitting around and thinking about them.  What’s important to them?  How has money informed their lives?  I also have to bend my thinking, because I write books about strong women who are in control of their lives, and Maggie and Kate aren’t really in control, but they are getting there.  I didn’t want to have this revisionist moment where they stand up and say, “We’re not going to take it anymore!”  That sort of thinking wasn’t in the average woman’s vocabulary.  Change is always incremental, so they might say, “We’re not going to type your reports for you until the weekend!” As for when it’s finished, I think about this quote I heard a long time ago no idea where it’s from: An artist is a painter who knows when to stop painting.

 

KW: Was the protagonist of Cop Town, Kate, based on anyone you know?

KS: I think Kate is an amalgamation of some women I’ve known in my life.  That’s really where all characters come from, though. The thing I wanted to show with Kate was how different the world is if you’re raised with money.  That sort of cushion frames your thinking.  Interpose that with Maggie, who has been raised to think that at any moment she might be living with her family on the street, and you begin to understand why they look at crime—and criminals—differently.

 

KW: I know you’ve already sold the film rights. Who’d you like to play Kate in the movie?

KS: Rosamund Pike is amazing.  I also love an actress named Dominique McElligott.  As for Maggie, how fantastic is Grace Gummer?

 

KW: Where did you learn how to ratchet up the tension so skillfully?

KS: Can I say Gilligan’s Island and not lose all my readers?  I was a latchkey kid, and instead of doing my homework, I watched reruns on TBS until a car pulled into the driveway.  I think that cliffhanger/dramatic arc got programmed into me, along with a predilection toward infomercials.

 

KW: Is there a message you want people to take away from the book?

KS: First and foremost, I want them to have a good read, because I want everything I write to entertain people.  There are always different layers to the story, though, so if you want to think about social justice, or sexism or racism or homophobia, or really drill down into why the world is a better place when the police force looks like the people they are policing, then that’s there, too.

 

KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?

KS: Why are you so young and thin?

 

KW: Have you ever become embroiled in a real-life murder mystery?

KS: No, thank God.  I am a bit of a Dudley Do-Gooder, though, because if I see a car accident or something bad happen, I am one of those idiots who runs toward the problem instead of away from it.  Not that I would recommend this behavior.  I once stopped my car on the street because I saw a man hitting a woman and I jumped out and started yelling at him.  I was fine, but it later occurred to me that that is a good way to get your butt kicked.

 

KW: Have you ever accidentally uncovered a deep secret?

KS: No!  And I spied on my sisters All… the… time...  I think it’s just because they’re really, really boring.  I could’ve so been the Erin Brockovich of my family.

 

KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?

KS: My friend Alafair Burke wrote a book with Mary Higgins Clark, and I was really blown away by how fantastic it was.  Michael Connelly’s new one is fantastic.  I loved the latest Jack Reacher.  Lisa Gardner, Kate White, Mo Hayder, Jane Smiley, Phillip Roth…we are all spoiled for choice.

 

KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

KS: Flaws, just like every other woman my age.  You know, it really sucks getting older.  Sometimes I’ll be walking along and I’ll just glance over my shoulder to make sure nothing has fallen off.

 

KW: If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?

KS: I know I should say world peace, but right now I’d just really like for my neighbor’s dogs to stop barking.  Oh, and good health, for me and my family, not the dogs.

 

KW: The Jamie Foxx question: If you only had 24 hours to live, how would you spend the time? 

KS: I’d want to be with my cats and my family at home.  Wow, Jamie Foxx, that’s really depressing.

 

KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?

KS: I went to a Christian School, and when I reached a certain age, I wasn’t allowed to wear pants to school anymore.  There was a big conference about it with my parents about how unladylike it was for me to wear pants (this was a school where the principal and once of the coaches stood at the front door with a wooden ruler to make sure girls’ skirts were an inch below their knee).  So, from that day forward, I had to wear skirts, which meant that I couldn’t play on the playground like I used to.  I really feel like I could’ve been the next Serena Williams if not for that.  Or the pre-Serena Williams.  I mean, let’s be honest, she would totally be thanking me every time she won a match if not for that.

 

KW: The Melissa Harris-Perry question:How did your first big heartbreak impact who you are as a person?

KS: It was a seminal moment in my life, because I was with a real jerk, and once I did the prerequisite eating an entire cake and singing “All By Myself” in the shower, I realized that people treat you badly when you let them, and that I had to respect myself and not let anyone else treat me that way again.  If someone really loves you, they are your biggest champion, not your biggest detractor.

 

KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?

KS: I saw this thing on TV that makes breakfast sandwiches and I ordered it immediately and now I can pretty much make you any breakfast sandwich you want.

 

KW: The Sanaa Lathan question: What excites you?

KS: People who are interested in life.  I don’t understand people who say they’re bored.  Look out your window.

 

KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?

KS: I’m afraid of the general things that everyone is afraid of: a bump in the night that could be a cat or Death dragging his sickle across the room; losing my health; becoming homeless, never meeting George Clooney.

 

KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?

KS: You know, it’s crazy, but I laugh all of the time. It is painfully easy to amuse me.  An author friend of mine and I trade jokes pretty regularly.  And they’re these really witty, intelligent jokes that you’d expect from the literary descendants of Dorothy Parker and the Round Table, like: Q: what’s invisible and smells like carrots?  A: A rabbit fart.  You’re welcome, Edna Ferber.

 

KW: What is your guiltiest pleasure?

KS: The thing is that I never feel guilty about my pleasures.  I love watching television.  I love reading all kinds of books.  I love cupcakes.  Okay, maybe I feel a little guilty about the cupcakes.  They’re kind of a problem.

 

KW: The Mike Pittman question: What was your best career decision?

KS: Choosing to be ethical and fair with people.  My agents are the same way.  We just don’t screw people over because it’s not right.  This is very important to me, because I am a big believer in the Golden Rule.  Though, a lot of times when people are crappy, they get away with it, so I just have to remind myself that life makes you pay for your personality.  They might win on point, but they tend to be miserable human beings.

 

KW: The Anthony Anderson question: If you could have a superpower, which one would you choose?

KS: Flying.  Unless there’s a gluttony superpower I don’t know about, because in case it’s not clear, I really love cake.

 

KW: If you could have a chance to speak with a deceased loved one for a minute who would it be and what would you say?

KS: I would tell my grandmother that she has hemochromatosis and that she should go to the doctor because it’s treatable.

 

KW: The Judyth Piazza question: What key quality do you believe all successful people share? 

KS: Determination.  I think a little bit of arrogance, too, but determination is a big part of it.  Every successful author I know faced crushing rejection early on, and they got back up and kept going.  I love watching those family tree shows because all of these famous people generally come from a long line of over-achievers.  I don’t think this necessarily answers the question about nature vs. nurture, though, because people who have opportunities pass those opportunities along to their children.  This is actually a theme I tried to explore in Cop Town with Kate.

 

KW: The Gabby Douglas question: If you had to choose another profession, what would that be?

KS: I would love to be a watchmaker.  I love putting together puzzles, and the thought of delving into all those tiny gears really puts me in a happy place.

 

KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps?

KS: Don’t try to follow in my footsteps.  Make your own footsteps!  No one else can tell the stories that are inside of you except for you.

 

KW: The Tavis Smiley question: How do you want to be remembered?

KS: I want to be remembered as kind.

 

KW: What’s in your wallet?

KS: Two credit cards, my license and my Delta Airlines Diamond membership card, because l earned that with my blood.

 

KW: Thanks again for the time, Karin, and best of luck with Cop Town.

KS: Thank you for your thoughtful questions!

Tavis Smiley
The “Death of a King” Interview
with Kam Williams

 

Tavis Smiley is the host and managing editor of Tavis Smiley on PBS, and The Tavis Smiley Show from Public Radio International. He is also the author of 16 best-selling books. Here, he talks about his latest opus, “Death of a King.”

 

Kam Williams: Hi Tavis, thanks for the time, brother.

Tavis Smiley: Always nice to speak with you, Kam.

 

KW: I have lots of questions for you from readers. Attorney Bernadette Beekman says: I know that your book deals with the last year of King's life when the tide was turning against him, such as the Black Panthers, Ralph Bunche, and others in the movement.  Now Dr. King is viewed as a martyr.  Was it difficult for those still living to now speak negatively about King?

TS: Good question, Bernadette. Now that he is a dead martyr, rarely do people speak negatively of him. My point is that it’s easy to celebrate and applaud dead martyrs. The problem is that when King was here and in our faces, and talking about inconvenient truths, like what he called the triple threat facing our democracy--racism, poverty and militarism—everybody turned on him. Yet, 50 years after his assassination, what do we see when we look at Ferguson, Missouri? Racism, poverty and militarism! We have deified King in death, so it’s easy for people to say nice things about him now. But in life, we demonized him.

 

KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles says: An historical biography of the last year of Dr. King’s life, no matter how beautiful a tribute, is it really what we need to read now to get it right?

TS: Absolutely! The answer’s “Yes,” because we come to know who we really are in life during the dark and difficult and desolate days of our journey. If you think you respect and revere Dr. King, wait ‘til you read this book. You’re going to feel that way even more so afterwards, because you’ll get to see how he navigated the most difficult period of his life, the last year of his life when everybody turned against him. That’s what fascinates me about him. After reading this book, you’ll have a different appreciation of Dr. King. It’s important to see him in his full complexity, and be honest about the fact that we help to kill King because we abandoned him. And once we abandoned him, we isolated him, which made it easy for someone to assassinate him. It was a three-step process.

 

KW: Editor/Legist Patricia Turnier asks: Do you have any interest in entering politics?

TS: Let me put it like this, “N, O, NO!” And put that in caps.

 

KW: Patricia also says: I think this is one of your best books. I just finished reading it. I found your discussion of Coretta Scott King’s influence on her husband very interesting, as well as her contributions as an activist, and her criticism of the Civil Rights Movement’s lack of focus, and the roles played by women in combat. About your research process: Did you make trips to Atlanta, Montgomery, the Lorraine Motel and other places in Memphis?

TS: Yes, all of the above. The short answer is I traveled extensively, I interviewed extensively, and I researched extensively. Still, I couldn’t have done this book had it none been for the work of Dr. King’s three principal biographers: Taylor Branch, David Garrow and Clayborne Carson. Those guys did the heavy lifting which made it easier for me to do a book just focusing on his final year. As for Coretta, she’s really an unsung heroine. I’m glad that Patricia took away the critical role that Coretta played not only in Dr. King’s life, but in the Movement. I’m glad that we were able to weave that into the narrative effectively.

 

KW: Patricia says: You quote Dr. King asserting that “Our nation is sick with racism, sick with militarism, sick with a system that perpetuates poverty.” If Dr. King were still alive, what do you think his assessment of present-day America would be?

TS: Excellent question! He’d pick up right where he left off, talking about that triple threat of racism, poverty and militarism. Even in the era of the first black president, racism is still the most intractable issue in this country. Regarding poverty, half of all Americans are either in or near poverty. Poverty is certainly worse for African-Americans now than it was during King’s lifetime. And there’s a highway into poverty, but barely a sidewalk out. This is not a skill problem, it’s a will problem, and King would be challenging us about the lack of our will to eradicate poverty. On militarism, the growth of the Military-Industrial Complex has been exponential since his assassination. If he were here now, he’d have a strong critique of the American empire’s militaristic approach to the world. And frankly, he’d have a strong critique of the Obama administration on its use of drones.

 

KW: Patricia says: You wrote that this book meant more to you than any of your others. I consider it an homage to a legend. What do you think is the most important part of Dr. King’s legacy?

TS: I think Dr. King is the greatest democratic, public intellectual that America has ever produced. What’s interesting is that in the U.S., we regard him as an icon, while elsewhere around the world he’s regarded as a revolutionary. They saw him as the radical revolutionary that he really was. Loving your enemy is a radical concept. Here at home, we’ve sanitized and sterilized him, and failed to appreciate him as the revolutionary and prophet that he really was.

 

KW: Chandra McQueen says: This year marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Do you think Obama is as deserving of his?

TS: I want to be as charitable as I can be, here. It’s been very difficult, sometimes heartbreaking to watch this war President with a Nobel Peace Prize, navigate his presidency.

 

KW: Have you considered having some of Smiley Books translated into other languages?

TS: We’ve translated some, but we could do more.

 

KW: Sangeetha Subramanian asks: What was the most surprising fact you uncovered when researching this book?

TS: That for all the surveillance and wiretapping Dr. King was kept under, not one time was he ever heard contesting the humanity of another human being.

 

KW: Vassar professor Mia Mask asks: What's up with your campaign against Obama? Isn't it somewhat self-serving? What, if anything, have you and Cornel West accomplished with your public criticism of the President?

TS: I am not engineering a campaign against Obama. My work and witness is about holding our leaders accountable.

 

KW: What do you think is the state of black politics in terms of loyalty to the Democratic Party?

TS: It’s the same old story. Democrats, too often, take blacks for granted, and Republicans, too often, simply ignore black voters.

 

KW: David Roth says: I would love to have a chance to chat with you. I am intrigued by the evolution of the post-civil disobedience African-American identity. Please comment on what Dr. Cornel West refers to as the dousing of the "Black prophetic fire" and the subsequent co-opting of the “we-consciousness” of 19th and 20th Century black leaders by the “me-consciousness” of the capitalistic society all Americans operate within. Now that the majority of Black Americans has been assimilated, there is no longer a singular, collective Black voice articulating the call for true equality of opportunity and equal justice under the law, which has led to the marginalizing of the people who raise their voices today.  

TS: Dr. West is absolutely correct about the black prophetic tradition of speaking truth to power being on life support.

 

KW: Kyle Moore asks: What has to be done to change to the political stalemate we see in Washington?

TS: We need to elect leaders who understand that leadership is about loving and serving people, not about self-advancement.

 

KW: L.A. “Realtor to the Stars” Jimmy Bayan says: You've been in Los Angeles for 30 years. What is it that you still find so alluring about our City of Angels?

TS: Great question, Jimmy. The City of Angels is a microcosm of the world, and so living in L.A. makes me feel like a citizen of the world.

 

KW: Cousin Leon Marquis asks: What was the toughest question you ever had to ask someone?

TS: That’s a question that every one of my guests would have a different answer for, because they all think I ask tough questions. We’ll leave it at that.

 

KW: AALBC Publisher Troy Johnson asks: What happened with the R. Kelly book project?

TS: We published the book, but for any number of reasons, it didn’t sell enough to make the best-seller list. He was afforded an opportunity to tell his story, and the marketplace decided.

 

KW: Troy also says: I really enjoyed, and now miss, the Smiley and West radio program. Why was it cancelled? Any plans for a similar program in the future?

TS: It wasn’t canceled. Dr. West and I decided to step away from it, primarily because we both just have so many things going on. We’re both very busy people.

 

KW: Troy would like to know: What are the future plans of Smiley Books?  

TS: We’re going to continue to publish books we think need to be read.

 

KW: Film critic Armond White simply asks: Why?

TS: Great question, Armond. I ask that myself everyday.

 

KW: Thanks for another great interview, Tavis.

TS: Thank you, Kam. I look forward to reading it.

 

Birdman
Film Review by Kam Williams

A couple of decades ago, actor Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) was sitting atop the showbiz food chain. However, the former box-office star’s stock has been in sharp decline since he stopped playing Birdman after a trio of outings as the popular, blockbuster superhero. And today, he’s so closely associated with the iconic character that nobody’s eager to hire him.

With his career fading fast and no roles on the horizon, Riggan decides to take it upon himself to orchestrate his own comeback. The plan is to mount a Broadway production, with what’s left of his dwindling savings, of the Raymond Carver short story, “What We Talk about When We Talk about Love”.

First, he adapts the short story to the stage, with the idea of not only starring but directing. Then, he enlists the assistance of his skeptical attorney/agent Jake (Zach Galifianakis) and his drug-addicted daughter Sam (Emma Stone), while rounding out the cast with his girlfriend, Laura (Andrea Riseborough), fellow film industry refugee, Lesley (Naomi Watts), and her matinee idol beau, Mike (Edward Norton).

Will the washed-up thespian manage to make himself over with the help of this motley crew? Unfortunately, Riggan is a troubled soul with more on his plate than the already intimidating challenge of putting on the play.

For, he happens to be haunted by a discouraging voice in his head telling him he’s going to fail, too. That would be his alter ego, Birdman, a nasty, one-note, nattering nabob of negativism.

Written and directed by Oscar-nominee Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (for Babel), Birdman is a bittersweet portrait of a Hollywood has-been desperate for a second go-round in the limelight. The sublimely scripted dramedy simultaneously paints a perfectly plausible picture of life on the Great White Way courtesy of pithy background banter.

The movie features a plethora of praiseworthy performances, starting with Michael Keaton (Batman) who will likely earn an Oscar nomination in a thinly-veiled case of art imitating life. Also impressive are Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts and an unusually-sedate Zach Galifianakis, if only for his acting against type.

The theater world’s eloquent answer to Black Swan equally-surrealistic exploration of ballet.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for sexuality, brief violence and pervasive profanity

Running time: 119 minutes

Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures

To see a trailer for Birdman, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIxMMv_LD5Q

Little Hope Was Arson
Film Review by Kam Williams

In little over a month, starting in January of 2010, ten churches located within a 40-mile radius of a rural section of East Texas were all burned to the ground. Was this the work of devil worshipping atheists, arsonists in search of a spectacle, or someone else?

The crimes confounded the criminal investigators who mounted the largest manhunt in the history of the region. Eventually, the authorities did crack the case, arresting a couple of troubled young men, Jason Bourque, 19, and Daniel Mcallister, 21.

Daniel soon started to sing, confessing after waiving his right to remain silent. He also implicated his pal Jason in return for word from his interrogator that he’d receive half the sentence of his co-conspirator. But that handshake wasn’t worth the paper it was written on, and both defendants landed life sentences when they got their day in court.

After all, this was not only the heart of the Bible Belt, but Texas, a state notorious for its lack of patience for felonious behavior. And when you factor in the ire of unforgiving church members who’d lost their place of worship, all bets were off in terms of any promised plea deal.

Little Hope Was Arson marks the noteworthy directorial debut of Theo Love. The picture is less sensational than understated as it relates an engaging tale in matter-of-fact style. Along the way, we learn about the family dysfunction in each of the boy’s childhood which ostensibly contributed to their lives spiraling out of control.

Personally, I only felt empathy towards the two upon learning how long they’ll have to spend behind bars, since nobody died during their month-long reign of terror. But maybe I was surprised to see a couple of white kids have the Good Book thrown at them.

Nevertheless, I’m sure that they were taught right from wrong as little boys, and somewhere along the way they simply opted for the dark side. So, now they must pay their debt to society.

The moral? Like the ghetto gangstas say: If you can’t do the time, don’t commit the crime. I can only pray that Daniel and Jason’s momentary thrill of setting those buildings ablaze was worth flushing their futures down the drain.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 73 minutes

Distributor: The Orchard / Submarine Deluxe

To see a trailer for Little Hope Was Arson, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwrOdbanxyg

Brooke Shields
The “There Was a Little Girl” Interview
with Kam Williams

 

A Look at Brooke!

Brooke Shields is an award-winning actress and a Princeton graduate with honors in French Literature. She started in iconic films such as “Pretty Baby,” “The Blue Lagoon” and “Endless Love.”

Brooke is also a renowned model, and starred in the long-running TV show “Suddenly Susan” as well as the critically-acclaimed “Lipstick Jungle.” She has appeared on Broadway on numerous occasions, too, and wrote and performed in her own one-woman show, “In My Life.”

A gifted writer, Brooke penned the New York Times best-seller “Down Came the Rain” and a couple of well-received children’s books. She lives in New York City with her husband, Chris Henchy, and their daughters, Rowan and Grier.

Here, she talks about her life, her career, and about her new memoir, “There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me.”  

 

Kam Williams: Hi Brooke, I’m honored to have this opportunity to interview you.

Brooke Shields: Omigosh! Thank you, Kam, for wanting to. I’m losing my voice a little bit, but I’ll try to speak up. I hope it’ll sound clear.

 

KW: I live in Princeton, and once met you briefly, when you were a student here, in that tiny pastry shop on Palmer Square. We were both being waited on and I remember being quite stunned when I realized it was you in line ahead of me. But you were quite natural when I said “Hi” and struck up a little chit-chat about the offerings in the case. Was that a favorite place of yours to frequent?

BS: Yeah, they had those really big, like three-pound bran muffins. [Chuckles]

 

KW: Yep! My readers sent in a lot of questions for you. Let me start with Editor Lisa Loving. She says: Brooke, what an interesting person you are! We are around the same age and I have always followed you. What was the turning point in your life? To me, it seems that you have had more than one.

BS: That’s a very astute way of looking at it, Lisa. Most people assume there’s only supposed to be one turning point which dictates the rest of our lives. But I think we have to be open to additional turning points when they arrive. Things happen in our lives. Classmates graduate… careers change… babies are born… friends are lost… loved ones die… There are so many milestones that I believe are important to acknowledge as being significant to you. That’s a very refreshing perspective that Lisa shares, because there really isn’t just one critical turning point in a life, but rather a number that you’ll need to be willing kind of bend with.  

 

KW: Sangeetha Subramanian says: You are awesome Brooke! What was your favorite spot to hangout in Princeton?

BS: Ooh! Wow! In town, it was all about food. I became a bit addicted to Thomas Sweets [ice cream] which is one of the reasons why I gained about 20 pounds while I was in college. [Chuckles] Winberie’s [restaurant] was always an unbelievable, safe place where we could go as a group and have meals and have fun playing games. I don’t even know if it’s there anymore.

 

KW: It is.

BS: I’m glad. Well, those were my favorite spots in town. At school, I felt very free anywhere on campus. On warm, sunny days, I especially loved sitting outside the library, hanging out by the fountain or camping out in the fields behind the independent study. They were all amazing!  

 

KW: Princeton has eating clubs instead of fraternities. Had they begun admitting women when you arrived?

BS: Yes, although when I went there in ’83, Ivy Club was all-male when I arrived and it was still all-male when I graduated. I joined Cap & Gown.

 

KW: Dave Roth asks: Who is your intended audience for this book? Is there a particular demographic you believe will gain from it?  

BS: I think there’s a difference between who will be interested in reading it and those who might be able to gain perspective. I’ve been around for so long that those people who have actually grown up with me might read it just for the trivia. However, I’m hoping that younger audiences will sort of tap into the part that simply deals with getting to know your parents and asking them to try to understand who you are. That’s a dialogue that needs to happen.

 

KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles asks: What becomes a legend most? That’s the old Blackgama slogan. Do you remember those ads?

BS: I do! I do, Harriet!

 

KW: Harriet goes on to say that “What becomes a legend most?” is an interesting question to pose to you, given how you’ve been a legend since childhood.

BS: Well, there’s a certain sense of longevity that’s associated with legends, as well as a sense of endurance. I think what becomes a legend most is not only that which lasts the test of time but an ability to keep adapting. I’ve been around for decades, and I’ve tried to stay afloat by seizing upon opportunity when presented to me. And the opportunities presented to me now look very different from the ones in the Eighties. But instead of waiting for everything to happen in the way you think it should, it’s a matter of being able to see what the real lay of the land is, and figuring out how you can play a part in it.

 

KW: That makes me think of Isabella Rossellini, whom I interviewed a couple of weeks ago. She’s also an actress who has made herself over numerous times.

BS: But besides being talented, she’s also smart, artistic and beautiful. There’s a beauty in her that was considered amazing, not the norm. Yet, she managed to maintain a sense of self through all of her films, and she’s endured the test of time. I think that’s what “legend” is, in addition to being willing to fail, get up, and try again.

 

KW: Documentary filmmaker Kevin Williams asks: Can I ask a Blue Lagoon question? Then he says: I fell in love with you after watching that film when I was 12. But he forgot to ask his question.

BS: well, the fact that he was allowed to watch it when he was 12 was pretty forward-thinking of his mom.

 

KW: Sarah Jane Cion says: I love Brooke Shields! I just ordered the book. My pen name is Sally Shields, and the Shields part was picked for Brooke. When I was 16, you were on the cover of Seventeen Magazine, and I thought you were the most beautiful girl I had ever set eyes upon. I wish I had a question, but all I can think of is how much I admire and appreciate you. Wait, do you need a jazz pianist to play at any functions?

BS: Wow! I’m honored that I inspired you to pick Shields as part of your pen name. And what’s funny is that my first fake name was Diana Williams, which I made from Princess Diana and baby William. And what does she play, jazz?

 

KW: Yes.

BS: I’m so much more in awe of people who can play an instrument than of almost any other talent. I wish I could play an instrument.

 

KW: Peter Brav says: I look forward to reading the memoir. I once sat next to you and your mom at a dinner for the Israeli Film Festival in 1983 and found you both to be very charming. My question is: if you hadn't entered the entertainment industry, what do you think you’d be doing today?

BS: I’ve been in the entertainment industry for so long, before I even knew that I wanted to be in it. So, it would be hard to know what else I might be doing. I probably would have still made my way into it somehow because, to me, making people laugh, and entertaining, and watching people experience storytelling is one of the most rewarding things I can imagine. So, I think I would’ve found a way to entertain people in some capacity.

KW: Both Alice Yi and environmental activist Grace Sinden, a Princeton resident and former Princeton University researcher, ask: How important to you and your career has been the education you received at Princeton University? 

BS: It’s been the thing that’s helped me stay standing.

 

KW: Producer/director Larry Greenberg says: Brooke, thanks for being so nice to me when I met you briefly when you were a student at Princeton. When I see the tremendous wealth of work you have done in the industry, I can't help but wonder when you will try your hand as a director.

BS: Gosh, Larry, that’s just a beautiful sentiment. I directed Chicago at the Hollywood Bowl the summer before last, and I got a bit of the bug for it. So, I’m sure that within the next few years, there will be some sort of foray into it.

 

KW: Wesley Derbyshire asks: Did classmates ask you out on dates while you were at Princeton?

BS: After awhile. Not much my freshman year. But by my sophomore year, I had asked enough people out that they started to ask me back.

 

KW: Children’s book author Irene Smalls asks: If you could talk to your mother today, what would you say to her?

BS: I hope you knew how much I loved you.

KW: Marcia Evans says: I have every intention of reading your book from cover to cover. From the interviews that I've seen this week of you discussing the book had me feeling proud of your courage and honesty, discussing your private emotional and psychological child-rearing matters about growing up with your mother. I believe that your book will help many heal from the pain of being raised in an unhealthy or challenging environment.

BS: I think we can all look at our situations and find reasons to make them healthier and healthier. Nobody really has it all figured out. I believe there’s healthy and unhealthy in each of us. It’s when you operate with a sense of love in your heart that you maintain the integrity that enables you to keep going forward.

 

KW: Editor/Legist Patricia Turnier was wondering whether you might be interested in acting in a French language film, given that you majored in French Literature.

BS: I would absolutely say “yes” in a second, if given the opportunity. I would take on that challenge enthusiastically and work really hard.

 

KW: Thanks again for the time, Brooke, and best of luck with the book.

BS: Thank you so, so much, Kam.