Interviews
A Double Dose of David Rosenfelt
Fans of courtroom drama will enjoy David Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter novels. Andy is a North Jersey lawyer with a flair for the dramatic and a deep dedication to justice. He's generous with his wealth, a devoted lover, a loyal friend, and crazy about dogs -- especially his golden retriever, Tara. After getting an innocent man off death row (in the Edgar Award–nominated first novel Open and Shut) Andy finds it tough to choose his next client. He overcomes that "lawyer's block" in First Degree, agreeing to defend a crook accused of the brutal murder of a dirty cop. Andy has reason to believe his unsavory client is innocent of this particular crime. Unfortunately, his efforts to prove it make Andy's lover, Laurie, the new prime suspect. Then, in Bury the Lead, a friend's plea pulls Andy into defending a journalist accused of being the serial killer he'd claimed had chosen to speak through his column. Deliver your own verdict, as David Rosenfelt gives Ransom Notes some fascinating evidence about how he created the captivating characters and events in the Andy Carpenter series.
David Rosenfelt: When I started writing, I naturally gravitated towards what I like to read -- mysteries. It's audience participation literature that allows the reader to enter a world in which logic and emotion coexist as equal partners.
Other than our shared hometown of Paterson, New Jersey, my lead character Andy Carpenter's biography is quite different from my own. He's a lawyer, and I spent most of my adult life marketing movies. The only real similarity is that Andy and I can both be relentlessly argumentative and sarcastic. In fact, that's why I made Andy a lawyer. It's the one profession where those qualities are admired. However, not being a lawyer myself, I bring a layman's point of view to Andy's client selection. A criminal trial is an incredibly long and arduous experience for a defense attorney. I could not see going through that if I knew my client didn't deserve his freedom. I made Andy extremely wealthy so that he can afford to pick and choose his cases.
Laurie's being the defendant in First Degree made it personal for Andy in a way that nothing else could; he literally could not imagine living his life while she was behind bars. Laurie is Andy's link to human sensitivity; she exposes him to the kind of things that he can't learn by clicking his TV remote. His love for her is the one thing he can't control -- a vulnerability that cannot be shielded by logic or wisecracks. Likewise, he only agreed to work for Daniel in Bury the Lead, despite his doubts about the man's innocence, because the case was crucially important to his friend Vince. Since Andy can count his good friends on very few fingers, when one of them needs him, he's there.
Ransom Notes: Why did you make Andy so interested in rescuing dogs from death row?
DR: Shortly after my dog (the real Tara) died in 1993, my wife and I started the Tara Foundation, dedicated to rescuing large dogs. To date we have rescued over 4,000 dogs. When the foundation has a dog that is too old or sick to be wanted by others, I bring it home. The point, if it isn't already obvious, is that I am a certified dog maniac, and I have decided to spread my lunacy through Andy.
RN: Do you like to hear from readers?
DR: Hearing from the terrific people who take the time to let me know their reactions to what they've read makes going to the computer each morning a pleasure for me. I can be reached at dr27712@aol.com, or through my web site at www.davidrosenfelt.com.
