Today, I have James Ziskin stopping by to talk about Heart of Stone (plus a giveaway!)

 

Q&A with James W. Ziskin

Author of “Heart of Stone: An Ellie Stone Mystery”

Music plays an important role in the Ellie Stone books. Can you discuss how you use music in your plots? 

JWZ: Ellie has very strong opinions about music. She doesn’t much enjoy the top 40 hits of her era, 1960. In fact, she spends a great deal of time punching the buttons on her car’s radio, changing stations that never seem to play anything she likes. But she loves listening to classical music. Starting at a young age, she discovered that she had a remarkable talent for remembering melodies, orchestrations and phrasings in music. She recognizes the “voice” of the composer, much in the same way the rest of us recognize people’s voices. As a result, she can identify virtually any piece of classical music at the drop of a needle. This skill doesn’t help in solving crimes, but it is a byproduct of her intelligence. And that, of course, comes in handy when solving crimes.  Continue reading →