Janet Tamaro - song titles, the boys, and Maura's bedroom - Creator's Corner

Question from Kristen Cohn:
I've noticed several of the episodes names share their names with song titles. I'm thinking it's on purpose, but I'm not sure.
Janet's response:
Yep, it's on purpose. I decided after the pilot and the first episode to start naming episodes after song titles...because I could...;-)
----
Question from Nathalia Conti:
Relevant question: are we going to see Maura's walk-in closet and shoe collection this season?
Janet's response:
It's a VERY relevant question. Don't tell anyone, but I'm hoping we'll be able to build Maura's bedroom in Season 4. If you look behind the curtain here at Oz, you'll see that there currently IS no bedroom...so don't look until we have something to show you...ssshhh...it's our little secret.
----
Question from Alyssa Benalfew:
Will we see more Jane and Frost or Frost and Frankie interaction? Jane and Frost have nice moments and Frost and Frankie look like they could be great friends.
Janet's response:
I completely agree, and yes, we will see more of this adorable threesome. Frost and Frankie also do some very funny stuff together in upcoming shows. I personally love the ongoing brother-sister, towel, sibling-rivalry, "I love you but you annoy the heck out of me" relationship between Jane and Frankie.
----
Question from Victoria Baljo:
When you developed Rizzoli's character, did you use one person in your life to model her after or more than a few??
Janet's response:
Tess Gerritsen created Det. Jane Rizzoli for her books. I identified with the fictional Jane in Tess's books, but when I created the TV "Jane Rizzoli," I think without intending to, I imbued her with many of my own traits – and with many traits I see in Angie. Tess, who is a wonderful writer and a master of suspense and mystery, will tell you her books aren't funny. I can't live without humor and did not want to spend all the hours I spend working on this show without the relief of humor. I try to balance the show with enough of it to satisfy myself, my audience, and my great cast while still constructing a good mystery and serving all these wonderful characters.
Obviously, Jane isn't real, and Jane isn't me or Angie, but I've had to drop certain expressions I gave to Jane in dialogue because now I sound like I'm copying a fictional character...who says what I write for her to say ... I've got some Maura ticks, too. I'm constantly referencing studies, facts, figures and any research I can remember plus how did we live without GOOGLE? My children and husband are very nice about it, but I believe there's some secret eye-rolling that goes on ...

Source: Creator's Corner

Tess Gerritsen Talks About Writing and Rizzoli & Isles

Photo by Henry + Mac

I had the privilege of meeting Tess Gerritsen at The Big Thrill hosted by the Boston Public Library last night. Although the conversations were brief, they were also insightful. Here are some of the highlights.

Rizzoli & Isles Novels vs. Television:

When asked about the differences in television Jane & Maura compared to the books, she said of course they were very different characters. She knew they would be different when she learned Angie Harmon had been cast. An ex model is not the way Jane of the novels is described. But Tess has embraced it and seemed genuinely fine with the fact that her characters have been changed. She did say that at first fans of the novels didn't approve of the characterizations on the television show. However, that was not a problem in the reverse. More and more fans of the television series have become fans of the books, hence her readership has gone up. Luckily there are a lot of people who can easily separate the two, loving them both no matter the differences.

I'm not sure how this came up, but in talking about the show Tess said that neither Jane nor Maura would get married in the television series. She seemed to know this for certain and stated that "the show is about their friendship." If you add a spouse into the mix you change the dynamic of the show.

On Writing:

Tess gave an example of her writing style. She had read a story in the paper about a "dead" woman waking up in the morgue and thought that would make a great plot point, so she wrote it. Then she thought about what would happen next. Well, the medical examiner would have her rushed to the hospital. Then what would happen? Step by step Tess answered that question, not knowing where it would lead. That story was the beginning of The Sinner. When she started it Tess had no idea who the woman was nor how she wound up in the morgue. She found out as she continued writing. She did say that when you write organically like that (no outline, nor complete plot before hand) she has to go back once the first draft is complete. There can be holes in the story, or in the connective tissue that leads from point a to b to c. So she must fix any issues there were with "connecting the dots."

When asked about how much research she does, Tess said she looks for more then just facts and figures. She's looking for the most disturbing information about whatever subject it may be. An example is when she was doing research at NASA. Sure she needed to know how a shuttle operated, but more so what stuck for her was that there is a 1 in 50 chance that something will go horribly wrong in a shuttle launch, and that there is a person who's sole job is to blow the shuttle out of the sky should the launch go so wrong that it's coming back down to Earth. These disturbing details are what make us think and feel, not what button you push to fly the shuttle.

Oh and last but definitely not least, a random question was what was her favorite animal. Tess' favorite animal is a donkey. She used to own four of them.

The event as a whole was okay. There were four authors and they were all very generous with their time both before and after the panel discussion. My only complaint was that said panel discussion was supposed to be the "main event" yet it was very short, not even 45 minutes. With all the questions that were collected I would think they could have gone the full hour or longer. 

Having said that, Tess was very out going and generous with her time. I was glad I got a chance to meet and talk with her.

Rizzoli & Isles - Books vs Television

From the Liverpool Daily Post:

Do the names Rizzoli and Isles mean anything to you? If you're a fan of Tess Gerritsen's crime books, they should do. The international best-seller author created the detective (Rizzoli) and coroner (Isles) series a decade ago and they are, arguably, the best crime books out there.

Which, as a fan of the books, makes watching Rizzoli and Isles (Alibi, Fridays, 9pm) a dangerous pastime. If films can ruin a good book, what damage can a TV series do? Answer: Not much if it essentially disregards everything about the books other than the scenario.

In the books, Rizolli and Isles are both quite prickly characters. In the TV series, Rizolli is still a spiky Boston detective but also has a strong comedy element, helped in no small part by the regular presence of her mum. Isles is a cold character in the books, in the TV series she is something of a friendly know-it-all.

It's more Cagney and Lacey than Rosemary and Thyme in terms of famous female crime-fighting duos, and has more in common with Scott and Bailey than Silent Witness. But the plots are good and cleverly worked through.

Whereas CSI normally involves a piece of forensic evidence coming to light around 10 minutes from the end, Rizzoli and Isles relies on one of the duo pulling random bits of evidence together.

That's how they convicted the district attorney for shooting a key witness in a trial she was leading against a gang boss.

Isles pieced it together when the tyre track at the scene had a distinct nail outline in it – very similar to the nail she'd found in the DA's tyre when she'd changed it for her at the scene of the crime.

Now, you wouldn't get the old men in New Tricks changing tyres.

Its crime? Only fun. It’s nothing like the book. And all the better for it.

I started reading the books after watching season one of the television series. I would have to agree on the fact that making the characters different in the series makes it easy to love both. They're different entities entirely. Janet Tamaro borrowed the concept from Tess Gerritsen then made the characters her own. Although I will admit, having watched the series first, no matter how Jane and Maura are described in the books, I see Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander. Sorry, Tess! :)

What are your thoughts? Comment below. :)