Q&A on Someone To Watch Over Me
September 27, 2003 As posted on the Simon & Schuster Bulletin Board

NOTE: SPOILER IN LAST PARAGRAPH

quote:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just a couple questions. I might of missed it but how did she know the Farrell's --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the sake of new readers who hadn't a clue who Matt and Meredith Farrell were--and who wouldn't have wanted to be distracted with unnecessary info in STWOM, I didn't go into any detail about that. HOWEVER, in the next to last version of the manuscript, I had inserted a line from Joe to Courtney explaining that Meredith and Leigh got to know each other when Bancroft's did an elaborate charity fashion show, and Leigh was on the charity ball committee. I do not know How or When that line got dropped, but it did. And I undoubtedly did it.

quote:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- and also the time frame at the cabin bothered me. If Jane was in the show how did she beat Leigh there and how was Sheila going to squeeze in there also?? Thanks Jackie --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Believe me, the time frame works. I know this because my editor, my copy editor, and I all discussed it and triple checked it. If you re-read the book, you'll find a specific reference to the fact that Leigh had to stay way late after the Sunday matinee to work out some kinks in one of the acts. That's what made her so late getting to the mountains. Jane did not have to stay late.

Sheila wasn't in the mountains when Jane murdered Logan

QUESTION: are you going to rerelease all of your books in hardcover?

ANSWER: That had been my plan and Pocket's, but in the jumble of eye surgeries and unfinished new manuscripts, I just...Forgot About It.

I'll have to think about it soon, though.

SPOILER HERE..

My question: In another post, you said that Leigh was the hardest herione you ever wrote about. You said you would say why after the book was released. So, why is that? Mandy

ANSWER: Dreadnaughts never forget anything I say, do they?

Okay, the answer is that, like Leigh I was widowed suddenly and horribly in my thirties. I did not recover my balance for years, partly because there was no such thing as grief counseling, etc.

Of course, I didn't have a Michael Valente to distract me and help me rejoin the world of the living. HOWEVER, to add to the problem, Michael Valente was named after my husband, Michael McNaught, which made it even harder for me to disassociate myself from Leigh while I worked with her.

You see, I didn't want Leigh to be like me, I wanted her to be as she was and needed to be...but for the first time ever, I had a Constant struggle with that.

Q: If you had it do all over again would you chose a pseudonym?

A: Yep, I would. For some reason I grew up without any need or desire to be "famous" in my home town or anywhere else. I don't think being "famous" makes me a special person, I think that being a decent, caring person is what makes people special or not.

You've all seen the way movie stars bemoan their lack of privacy. To a much, much lesser degree I too am a victim of my own success.

People don't recognize my face, but they certainly recognize my name. On the surface, that seems a good thing, I know, but here's a typical example of when it isn't:

Six years ago, I was on the phone with someone in Microsoft Support because I'd gotten a defective CD rom of theirs and my word processing program was crashing my entire computer.

I'd been disconnected, transferred, disconnected and transferred, and after more than an hour, I was no longer feeling friendly toward Microsoft "Support." When the new technician answered and asked me the SAME questions I'd answered six times--beginning with my first and last name--I lost my temper and told her how I felt about their support.

When I ended my angry tirade, she said in this odd voice, "I'm sorry...did you say your name was Judith McNaught?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed impatiently.

"I can't believe it," she said. "You are my favorite author. My entire family and all my friends read your books and wonder how you write them and what you're like..."

From that day onward, I make my assistant complain whenever complaints are necessary.

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!!!)

quote:

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

Did Logan ever love Leigh?

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

Yes--but with the kind of love that doesn't include honesty, integrity or fidelity.

quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They got married against his mother's wishes, when both were struggling for money, stayed married for 13 years ... why stay married if he was just going to cheat on Leigh? Was it a social appearance thing?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For a man with Logan's ego, being married to a lovely, "legend" would have been very, very important.

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why have affairs with her friends? Is he just simply a jerk? I don't put much stock in Sheila's explanations considering she was blackmailing her patients ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Actually, Sheila's explanations aren't Sheila's--they're the result of close consultation with a leading psychologist I turn to whenever I'm in doubt about the authenticity of a character's behavior. Jason Fielding caused me to consult with him long ago, for example, to verify that Jason could ever have recovered from the brutality of his youth enough to love anyone.

quote:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -
How was Sheila blackmailing her patients? Why the need to have Logan as a partner? Did she love him? Were they really having an affair? Couldn't the patients file malpractice suits?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your questions are making me smile, btw Someone like Sheila would never do the dirty work herself. She'd use someone like Logan.

If she'd been caught, she would have had more problems than a malpractice suit, she'd have gone to jail for blackmail and extortion.

[This message has been edited by Judith McNaught (edited 02-28-2003).]

TO THE GROUP WHO MET ME IN AUSTIN AND CAME TO MY HOUSE IN HOUSTON LATER... Richard just arrived to take me out to dinner to celebrate STWOM's becoming a New York Times bestseller. He said to tell you hello.

We've been friends for so long, and he's so used to my work habits, that he didn't blink an eye when he saw me sitting at my computer in jeans and a sweatshirt instead of being dressed to go out for dinner.

~~ Judith McNaught on Simon & Schuster's SimonSays Discussion Board