LiveWorld Transcripts

Time Warner Bookmark presents

Beth Saulnier
Author of "The Fourth Wall"

February 8, 2001

Author Beth Saulnier chats about her novel, "The Fourth Wall." Alex Bernier is back at odds with one strange troupe of suspects - a duplicitous former child star, a cadre of Martha Stewart-esque academic wives with nasty secrets, and a vicious mob boss.

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TWBookmark: Welcome to Time Warner Bookmark! Warner Books is proud to introduce our special guest, Beth Saulnier, author of "The Fourth Wall." Alex Bernier is back at odds with one strange troupe of suspects - a duplicitous former child star, a cadre of Martha Stewart-esque academic wives with nasty secrets, and a vicious mob boss. Welcome to Time Warner Bookmark, Beth!

Beth Saulnier: Hello! Glad to be here with you.

TWBookmark: What was little Beth Saulnier like? Hobbies, interests?

Beth Saulnier: I was addicted to all the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries, which probably made me end up doing what I am doing 20 years later. On my bookshelves, next to my iMac, where I work now, are all the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries that were available as I was younger. I still have them all. I am a board member of the SPCA, so one of my major interests is animals. I have two dogs, one of which is a character in my book "Shakespeare." I'm a film critic, so I go to about four movies a week. I like to ride my exercise bike while I watch "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." I'm a vegetarian cook, too! (smile)

Thurston: Whom do you like to read?

Beth Saulnier: I like to read Thomas Perry, who writes the Jane Whitefield mysteries. I'm a long-time fan of Robert B. Parker's Spenser mysteries, and also slightly older books such as Ngaio Narsh Inspector Alleyn mysteries. I love Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries. There are a lot, but those are my favorites.

Aries Rising: Have any of your books been considered being made into movies?

Beth Saulnier: Not yet. I've heard that some directors have been reading them and considering them, but nothing definite yet.

Elsie: All of your mysteries are based on a 25-year-old reporter named Alex Bernier. Being that you are also a newspaper reporter, would you say that the character is based loosely on yourself?

Beth Saulnier: I would say that the character is based pretty tightly on myself. Alex is, basically, me, except that she is much, much braver, and with a much better sex life.

Mora: How have people responded to your book?

Beth Saulnier: I've gotten dozens and dozens of emails from all over the country, and the local bookstore where I live sold out of 100 copies of my book in 20 minutes.

Lucky Luna: Alex Bernier is best known for being a worthy heroine. Is there a reason why you created Alex as a female character rather than male?

Beth Saulnier: It's a first person narration, and Alex is basically me. She's female, and I never considered having a male protagonist.

Jackson: What is your next project?

Beth Saulnier: Well, I have two hardcover book deals with Warner Books, and the first one of them is coming out from a year from now in February, 2001, called "Bad Seed." It's another Alex mystery, and it's about genetically-engineered food. I am starting to think about the one after that, and I think it's going to be about a series of murders at a Woodstock-style music festival.

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