I do use real people and events in my books, but...

Salad Bowl Saturdays return for 2014 with author Kathy Bennett, a former LAPD officer. She answers a question most fiction writers also get, but given her job experience, her take provides interesting insight. Without further ado (but channeling Ed McMahon) ... here's Kathy.

~ Jim

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I get the question all the time. “Do you use real people and real events in your books?” The query isn’t unusual when you consider that I was a police officer in the City of Los Angeles for twenty-one years. Additionally, I brand or label myself as delivering ‘authentic crime in arresting stories.’

I do use real people and events in my books, but not in the way that most people might think. Like building a patchwork quilt, I use bits and pieces of people, experiences and conversations to compose my stories. In fact, when I’m speaking at an event I tell people that no one is safe and what you say to me today could wind up in my next book. But it goes beyond that. If I like the outfit you’re wearing, one of my characters might make a similar fashion choice. After all, I was trained to be an observer…and eavesdropping is something I developed on the job as well.

I also gather ideas from the internet and the news. No one person or crime is ever represented. No one person would readily recognize themselves or their situation – and if they do, it's in their mind only. I take what I see and hear in real life and give it a twist.

But what about the crime and the crooks who caper? Do they come from my imagination or are they real cases and real suspects? Again, I’m like Doctor Frankenstein pulling actual suspect personality traits, speech patterns, or actions and mix and match them with criminal activity. But no one individual or crime is ever represented.

One of the elements of my first book, A Dozen Deadly Roses, was actually based on a stalking incident in my own life, although the situation of the stalking was totally different.

In my second book, A Deadly Blessing, I toyed with politics both inside and outside the police department. In that book, two very public incidents led to the plotline of the story, and yet, I think you might be hard-pressed to name those inciting events.

My most recent release, A Deadly Justice, is the most intricate patchwork I've created to date. The story involves multiple crimes with multiple suspects and multiple motivations for the characters to be doing what they do. While the book was a challenge to write, (and keep everyone and their crimes straight), I really liked how the story turned out.

One of the things I do struggle with as a writer is the well-known saying: The truth is stranger than fiction. That saying is so true. I've tried to incorporate into my writing some especially memorable encounters I had while working the streets of Los Angeles. They just don't translate well because the experience sounds too far-fetched to the average citizen. But my police officer readers would believe the stories because they've lived them.

What I try to bring to my readers is knowledge of what it's like to be a police officer. Not just the arrests, car chases and shootings, but the struggles officers face, both on the job and off duty. And I try to bring that recognition using authentic crime and sharing those struggles in arresting stories.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kathy Bennett is no stranger to murder and mayhem. She served twenty-nine years with the Los Angeles Police Department—eight as a civilian employee and twenty-one years as a sworn police officer. While most of her career was spent in a patrol car, she’s also been a Firearms Instructor at the LAPD Academy, a crime analyst in the “War Room,” a Field Training Officer, a Senior Lead Officer, and worked undercover in various assignments. Kathy was honored to be named Officer of the Year in 1997.

Kathy's debut novel, A Dozen Deadly Roses, and her second book, A Deadly Blessing became bestselling ebooks at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. A Deadly Blessing is the first book in a series featuring LAPD Detective Maddie Divine and was named a Best Book for 2012 by Barnes and Noble. Law enforcement personnel laud Kathy's authentic stories of crime and suspense for “getting it right.”

Kathy's third book, A Deadly Justice, was released November 2013. It's available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo & iTunes. She's currently working on the next book in the Maddie Divine series.

You can connect with her at her website www.KathyBennett.com, on Facebook or @KathywritesLAPD on Twitter.