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Jodi Picoult wields a poignant pen

By Desiree Marie Belmarez, Special to the Rocky

Published March 28, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Best-selling author Jodi Picoult says, "It's usually the things that make us most uncomfortable that are the most rewarding to address."

Photo by Gasper Tringale

Best-selling author Jodi Picoult says, "It's usually the things that make us most uncomfortable that are the most rewarding to address."

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Jodi Picoult has gained a reputation for writing thought-provoking novels that are literary as well as commercial - a juggling act few writers manage. Her books consistently hit best-seller lists, and in the process, examine some of today's most controversial issues, including euthanasia (Mercy), school shootings (Nineteen Minutes) and genetic engineering (My Sister's Keeper).

Her latest, Change of Heart, is no different. In a novel that is enjoying an initial print-run of 1 million, Picoult tackles difficult issues surrounding the death penalty and religion.

She recently spoke to the Rocky from her home in Hanover, N.H.

Of all the issues presented in your new novel, I was most intrigued by that of a death-row inmate being able to donate his heart after his death. How did you come up with this idea?

Most of my books come from questions I can't answer. This one grew out of something I've been watching - how we can break our country apart on the fault line of religion. I don't understand how organized religion has become so divisive. Why do we believe the things we do and does that make us right? I wanted to tie that in, too, to the death penalty. Something legally we have on our books (that) we haven't examined in full.

What interesting things did you learn along the way?

For me, the real eye-openers had to do with religion and the death penalty in America. What really surprised me the most was how so many people who call themselves religious people or good Christians - how much they don't know about the history of their own religion. They go to church, say their prayer and that's their daily shot of religion.

I flew out to Arizona and met with the warden at the time in the men's prison in Florence. Most of the details I got there were stunning. There is a 400- or 500-page document that tells how to go about killing someone. It explains all the details, such as the "dry run," how the victim and convict's families don't cross paths, and how the medical doctor never shows up on the death certificate. It's interesting to see how everyone working in that prison didn't support capital punishment. One of the people I spoke with at the prison said, "For something that's supposed to be fair, this justice system isn't fair."

You've written so many different scenarios so well. How do you tap into such a myriad of feelings so effectively?

I don't know, I'm just glad I can. It's being brave enough to tell a story that (other) people are afraid to. It's usually the things that make us most uncomfortable that are the most rewarding to address. . . . That bravery, that willingness to talk about things people would prefer not to happen in the world is what drives me to write.

A quick Facebook search pulled up 31 Jodi Picoult groups. How do you attract such a diverse audience?

I think it comes from the way I choose to write my books. Most of them are (based on people I know, which is why they) can sweep into the heads of so many people. A lot of my books have young people as the focal point, too.

This week alone I had a letter from an 11-year- old girl and a 98-year-old woman. Forty-eight percent of my readers are male. If you read my book, whether you're a soccer mom or whatever, you will take something differently from my book. I love hearing from my teenage fans. They are all doing their papers on me. It's wonderful to know that you've gotten kids reading - it is one of the highest compliments an author can receive.

What is your writing routine?

I usually get up at about 5 a.m. and I go for a 3-mile walk with a friend of mine. We gossip the whole way. I come home and get the kids ready for school. Then I go to my office and go through fan mail, and I respond to all e-mails personally. Then I start writing and editing. It takes me 9 months to write a novel. If it took more than that I wouldn't be able to put out a novel a year, since I spend about 3 months on book tours.

How has life changed for you since your books have become so popular?

Well, not that much.The truth is you meet a lot of authors who get really big in their own heads. When I am in my hometown, I am mom to my kids. They find it humorous when people treat me like a rock star.

There are perks. Once my son was having a surgery on his ears. All of a sudden we are upgraded to this VIP suite, which I thought was because we had been in there so much, kind of like a buy-10-get-one-free deal. Anyway, when we got to the room, which had like three TVs, I learned that all of the nurses had just finished reading My Sister's Keeper. It was really funny. Little things like that are just really fun.

But it's not like I go around when I go out to eat or something saying, "Do you know who I am?" We don't live in a mansion. We live in this beautiful area that we loved from the beginning, when we were still scraping pennies. I think the one thing that has changed is that I can sleep better at night knowing I don't have to worry about getting my kids through college. That's it.

Is there anything I haven't asked that you'd like to add ?

When I was in Colorado last year for Nineteen Minutes , I had one of the most moving experiences of my life. I had people in the audience who were friends or family of people who survived Columbine. It meant so much to me to hear about that demographic, particularly from those who had personal experience with it. I want to thank them because it was an amazing moment for me as a writer.

Desiree Marie Belmarez is a freelance writer living in Fort Collins.

Jodi Picoult

* What: Appears at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Tattered Cover in Highlands Ranch, 9315 Dorchester St.

* Cost: Tickets are free with the purchase of Change of Heart at any Tattered Cover. Seating on a first-come, first-served basis to ticketed customers only.

* Information: 303-470-7050

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