QUESTIONS FROM READERS

Emily Benedek answers readers' questions about the research and travel involved in her debut novel, RED SEA, her belief in happy endings and what she has in store for her characters in an upcoming sequel.

Dan from Las Vegas, NV: Much of the book takes place in Baghdad, and I was curious if you've ever visited the region yourself as a journalist.
 
Emily Benedek: I never went to Baghdad. As an author, one always prefers to visit or live in a place before writing about it, to get the feel of it, a sense of its smells and sounds. But I am the mother of two small children and I felt that going --- when levels of violence were so high and so many journalists had been killed, wounded or kidnapped --- wasn't a sound choice for me at the time. (I also made other decisions to stop doing dangerous sports after the kids were born.) So, I read as many accounts as I could find of journalists and business people, missionaries and travelers. In the end, writing is an act of imagination. In this unusual case, I had to use other peoples' eyes and ears. 
 
Israel from New York, NY: Are you Jewish? How is it that you have maintained such a clear picture of the Mid-East situation, unbiased by liberal propaganda?
 
Emily Benedek: Yes, I am Jewish. And I could say I have all the requisite liberal bonafides. But I have less and less patience with the pat, old, useless (and dangerous) liberal lines about terrorism and the Middle East. I could go on and on about this, but I won't.
 
Margery from Waterbury, VT: Will you continue any of these characters in future books? Will Marie stay in Israel?  
 
Emily Benedek: I am writing the next book right now, in which Julian, Marie and Morgan get together again --- this time to interfere with Iran’s development of the bomb. Marie does NOT stay in Israel. She goes back to the States to continue her fencing training and to start a new job at the Wall Street Journal. She also gets pulled pretty quickly into a new investigation --- the kidnapping of a nuclear scientist in, of all places, India. She has another interest in going to the sub-continent: her fencing coach thinks that some intensive yoga might help her get out of a certain problem she's having on the fencing strip, a hesitation just at the moment of the attack --- a little remnant of her encounter with Obaidi.  
 
Mary from Pinson, AL: Why did you choose a sequel over a clear finish?
 
Emily Benedek: Actually, I never thought of it as a choice between a sequel and a clear finish. I didn't need Obaidi for Julian, Marie and Morgan to get together again. I just thought it would be unreal --- too Hollywood --- to kill Obaidi. I mean, we haven't found bin Laden, have we? Besides, I don't believe in (completely) happy endings.
 
Teresa from Toledo, OH: I was wondering how long it took you to write this and how much research was involved.
 
Emily Benedek: I did as much research for this book as for my nonfiction books. I wrote this book faster than any of my others. The first draft blew out of me like a tornado, about one year. But then it took another year or so to rewrite and prepare it for publication. But much more fun!

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