Q&A with Leslie Wolfe

1. What is Girl With A Rose about?

After fifteen-year-old Kaylee disappears without a trace, FBI Special Agent Tess Winnett is assigned to the case that falls outside of the normal purview of the FBI. With every lead she uncovers, more questions are posed with only one possible, terrifying answer: there are others like her who have vanished, never to be seen or heard from again.

2. What would readers remember after they finish reading the book?

A bit of avant-garde cyber forensics science, some cutting edge investigative procedures and methodologies, an interesting dive into the psychology of a serial killer, and all that sprinkled with the latest technology in the field.

3. Your writing style is fast, filled with dialogue, almost at the expense of descriptives and narratives. Why is that?

This is how human beings interact, especially when under pressure or stress. We stop paying attention to our surroundings, and focus on the task at hand. People interact with one another, talk to one another, and have feelings for one another and for everything we do. That’s what I’m focused on, rather than specifying each article of clothing someone wears, or the color of the flower vase in an office somewhere. This technique isn’t necessarily good or bad; just somewhat different from mainstream.

4. What’s the biggest compliment you received from a fan?

It’s when readers tell me they stay up all night to finish the book, because they couldn’t put it down. That’s music to my ears J Like any other artist and entertainer, I thrive knowing that I deliver that escape into the fictional world in a grasping, gritty, and memorable way.

5. You mentioned science, technology, psychology. How do you keep it real?

I do extensive amounts of research for my work, and I’m fascinated by what I have the opportunity to learn. Additionally, sections of my books go through a process of validation at the hands of several fantastic partners who are law enforcement officers, attorneys, scientists, doctors in medicine. In Dawn Girl, for example, there are sections that speak about using certain plant extracts and animal venoms to achieve certain goals. Despite the extensive research, my hands were shaking a little as I wrote them, metaphorically speaking, and I was relieved when my research “passed scientific review.”

6. Do you do any book signings, interviews, speaking and personal appearances? If so, when and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?

Apart from social media and email interactions, I’m a veritable recluse. Email is the best and quickest way to reach me, and I was fortunate to build true friendships with readers over email. The majority of my readers ask me when’s the next book coming out, not when I’m getting out of the house, so I get the hint and keep on writing.

7. Is the Tess Winnett Series going to be continued?

This book is the sixth in the Tess Winnett Series, and yes, a seventh could happen very soon. So far, this series has been very well received by the readers, and my fans have been adamant: they want more. Therefore yes, there’s more, and there will be even more, coming soon. It all starts with Dawn Girl.