Some of my first memories revolve around crime.

*****

I’m three-years-old and sitting in the backseat of my mother’s green Chevy—my sister in the front seat and my brother at my side. As my mom returned to the car from her trip into McDonald’s, a teen flashes in front of her, grabs her purse, and battles for what little she had in there—a few bucks and credit cards with $200 limits. Only because the strap broke was he able to turn and run, my mother giving chase—and almost catching him—in a pair of heels.

*****
Again, I’m three-years-old and I walk into our South Side Chicago home to find the television gone, clothes tossed about, and a white handkerchief on the living room floor. My brother looks at me. My mother cries. The basketball trophy I held in my hand, my first trophy, falls to the ground and breaks from its base. My father robbed his own house. Three kids and ex-wife be damned.

*****

In February 2008, my first book arrived, On the Job: Behind the Stars of the Chicago Police Department, a non-fiction account of the lives and culture within one of the world’s most legendary law enforcement units. Surprising to some, this book is not about crime. It’s far more heart and soul than blood and guts. I didn’t need to revisit crime; my early years provided enough and that end of police work is well documented.

I suppose readers enjoy crime, there’s certainly an abundance of literature out there on the topic—both real and imagined. Truthfully though, I think there’s something else readers—even devout crime readers—enjoy even more. Call it sincerity or humanity or reflection, but it’s not the story of the crime that captivates us (though such descriptions can surely compel or intrigue us), but it’s the story behind the crime. The personalities, the motivations, the aftermath that truly take hold of our consciousness. I set about writing On the Job for the same reason so many of you pick up a book, open the cover, and share your time with the voice arriving from those pages—curiosity.

The Chicago Police Department is a world I knew well. Four of my six uncles were cops, my estranged father was, and my brother is. In our Irish-Catholic Chicago world, the Chicago Police Department remains the family business. Despite that inherent knowledge, however, I accepted the challenge of interpreting the stories and adding something to the rich dialogue that already exists about one of the world’s most famous, most infamous cities. Above all else, however, I set out to share human stories, hopefully allowing readers to understand people, emotions, realities, and the soul—ideally, leading readers to a better understanding of themselves and their fellow travelers on this human train. The Chicago Police Department serves a backdrop to this discussion, not the primary focus.

I suppose I could’ve written solely about crime: Jim’s shooting of the armed robber; Brian’s rookie year shootout with gang bangers in West Humboldt Park; or John’s discovery of murdered young girl named Miracle Moon. I suppose those tales alone might have been compelling enough and worth the $17.95 cover price. But for me, those tales alone failed. I wanted to know how the subsequent decades treated Jim; how—and why—Brian returned to work the next day; how John changed as a father. I was—what’s the right word here—curious. That’s it—curious. And I thought readers might be as well.

I’ve long envisioned my task as a writer and journalist (I don’t dabble in fictional waters) to ask the questions you, the readers, want answered and to then craft an engaging, sincere, and honest story that could captivate an audience. I’m sure other writers see their work differently, but I want to be familiar and personal and crime alone is anything but.

*****

In the years since that 1984 robbery, I tried to understand my father. I wanted to love. I wanted to forgive. I invited him to Little League games and basketball games and sent him my report card in the mail. He’d pat me on the back and tell me he was proud. Still, I haven’t spoken with him in a dozen years. It’s complicated—like so many father-son relationships can be—but a piece of the silence rests in that night I returned home as a three-year-old to the scene of the crime. But if I just told you about that night, would it be enough? Wouldn’t you want to know what happened to him? What happened to me, the boy, and how that event would forever define the father-son relationship?

The crime alone just doesn’t let us in far enough. The human experience is deeper than any event. I live each day with that recognition. I live each day knowing that the crime stands but a sliver of a greater story and I hope readers of On the Job enjoy, relish, and appreciate my attempt to go beyond the crime and into the soul, where darkness and light simultaneously exist.

Who is Daniel P. Smith?

I’m a Chicago-based journalist and author of the recently released, On the Job: Behind the Stars of the Chicago Police Department.

How did your writing career begin?
Truth be told, I didn’t even know writing was a career option until my sophomore year in college. When you grow up in blue-collar Chicago, you’re surrounded by cops, fireman, tradesmen, and city workers, anything but writers and artists. The only people I knew who worked for the Chicago Tribune or the Chicago Sun-Times delivered or sold the newspapers; they certainly were not the writers.

In college, I pursued a practical profession, one that would pay the bills, and studied education. Still, I had a fascination with sportswriting and began writing for the student newspaper at the University of Illinois at Chicago during my freshman year. My sophomore year, I became sports editor and throughout my final three years of college I moved to writing an editorial column twice a week. That’s where I truly hit my stride as a writer and discovered my passion for the craft. I had the freedom to take a stance on any topic and then endure the challenge of developing an engaging, thought-provoking piece. From then on, I was hooked; writing had my soul. There was still that pesky matter of a practical profession, however. After graduating, I spent one year teaching English at a suburban public high school and realized how deep my passion for the craft ran. I left the stability of the academic world behind and tossed myself into these artistic waters.

Tell us about your latest work.
On the Job: Behind the Stars of the Chicago Police Department is my first book. Against the backdrop of the Chicago Police Department, its history, and culture, I share the stories of 19 individual officers and explore the work-life juxtaposition these men and women face. Ultimately, the book shares human stories on universal topics; it’s far more heart and soul than blood and guts.

What compelled you to write it?
The answer here is two-fold: first, I wanted to spark a degree of empathy for officers, an understanding of what these men and women face. Coming from a large Chicago Police family (4 of my 6 uncles were cops, my father was, and my brother is), I struggled to balance the public perception of Chicago officers, one that often held them up as unthinking, cynical souls, with what I knew of officers from my personal life. I knew officers that had their faults, yet still went about their lives with integrity and spirit. I wanted to share such stories.

Second, I wanted to break the Hollywood image of cops as tough guys or the profession as one with unending adrenaline and drama. I sought reflection and to provide readers a peek into the daily lives of these officers and the intimate issues that touch their work and life, including areas such as parenthood, faith, race, and finding a place in society.

How different is life when you grow up in a cop family?
My father was a Chicago cop, but my folks divorced when I was three. He left the department soon after that and has played little role in my life since. I wouldn’t say growing up in a cop family is different, but there’s certainly an awareness to crime that I think many of my contemporaries ignore. For example, I’m double checking that my car and house doors are locked. I have to sit in restaurants facing the door. I look in my rearview mirrors at stoplights. Such daily routines are entirely a product of my upbringing and the knowledge that crime can strike, particularly if one is careless. Other than that, growing up in a cop family led to some interesting dinner conversations; I got to know plenty about Chicago’s underbelly, civic landscape, and character.

Was the decision to not be a police officer difficult for you to make?How did your family take it?
Being a police officer has been the vocation of many in my family, but that’s simply not where my heart rests. I feel called to do other things in life. My mother may have breathed a sigh of relief, happy that both of her sons weren’t in such a dangerous profession. I fear my brother, however, may have been quietly disappointed. I think he wanted me at his side wearing the Chicago Police star.

There are many stereotypes out there about cops and their lives. Do cops generally fit the stereotype?
I’ve always believed that all stereotypes have some basis in reality. For instance, divorce and alcoholism appear far too often in the ranks of the Chicago Police Department. To characterize all cops as womanizing drunks, however, is as narrow-minded as turning a blind eye to that clear reality. So are there stereotypes out there about cops that have validity? You bet. But I’d warn of putting every officer you meet in that basket. In fact, one of the refreshing things I learned myself in conducting these private interviews was how many officers broke some of the most common stereotypes. I found men and women with reflective minds, advanced degrees, spiritual grounding, and without a trace of the tough-guy attitude.

I’ll add this, though. I believe that many of the negative stereotypes we hold of cops (prejudiced and cynical, for instance) are based in all human psyches. Yet, being police officers, seeing what they do on a daily basis, accelerates and heightens those traits. The intense environment in which so many officers work brings some of those human flaws to the surface at a rapid pace for so many, but being a cop does not alone activate those flaws. I think that’s an important distinction we all need to realize. These cops are just like us. They sat next to us in grade school, stand behind us in grocery lines, and pray next to us in church pews. They are among us, not distinct from us.

Is there a way, do you think, for cops to balance their work lives with family lives successfully?
Of course. I think reflection is a key component. I think a sound family life can help. I think a realistic perception of their individual lives is important. My two great uncles who were Chicago cops did a marvelous job of balancing work and life. They were tremendous fathers, decorated officers, and sincere men. I believe both of them did that by keeping those worlds separate as best they could, yet recognizing just how difficult a challenge that task would be. Ultimately, they challenged themselves to put their best effort forward each day and acknowledging that they would make their mistakes as both parents and officers. They put each role in its proper context and, more than anything, noted the carry over from one world to the other. For example, these are two men who realized that compassion was just as important as a father as it was an officer.

My biggest concern, however, is how so few officers take advantage of counseling or learn coping mechanisms to deal with the inherent stressors of the job. The cop culture has a general resistance to such help and that scares me because there are so many who need to discover positive outlets for the troubles of each day. The “macho” culture prevalent in so many departments restricts too many officers from resisting help.

Who is your greatest champion?
Without question, it’s my mother. She raised three of us after my father’s departure. I suppose our family would be considered a broken home, but we never wanted for anything. Two overwhelming issues arrive from my mother: first, her desire that each of us (my brother, sister, and I) find a life that provides us happiness; and second, her consistent reminder that we cannot nor will not please everyone, advice that any writer needs.

Who inspires you?
I could go on for quite a while listing a number of authors, thinkers, and notable individuals I’ve known personally who’ve moved me in some way to push along this path. Rather than bore you with that, however, I’ll settle with these two:

1.) I’ve long been inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author of The Little Prince, who showed how complex and philosophical and real even a simple story and its characters could be. In all of my work, I seek to find the extraordinary in the ordinary much like Saint-Exupery.

2.) On a wider scale, I’m inspired by anyone who wants to share their story in a sincere, honest way. I love people who accept the vulnerability that comes with sharing a piece of their life so that I may take up the challenge of crafting a story around their words and experiences. It’s such people who guide On the Job and will continue to blanket my work.

What are you reading?
I wish I could tell you I’m an avid reader, but I’ve never been. I’m an avid mover, thinker, and reflective being, but a reader I am not. I’ll simply say that I enjoy nonfiction and the fascination of true stories over any fictional world and appreciate a sound, engaging journalistic piece nearly every day. Of course, I do tend to favor Chicago-flavored pieces and the last book I closed was American Pharaoh, a lengthy tale of late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and his civic empire.

What’s next for you?
I’m often asked if I write fiction and my answer’s always the same: No. Two reasons: 1.) real life is just too damn fascinating; and 2.) there are too many true stories waiting to be told. God willing, I’ll be able to continue sharing such true stories that urge reflection, sincerity, and soulfulness.

One particular project is a collaboration with photographer and fellow Chicagoan, Brain Palm. For the last seven years, Brian’s taken photos of Chicago buildings before the wrecking ball hits. We’d like to share a story with each of these photos, so that we can preserve their memory and the city’s authentic character, something that is evaporating much too fast.

In time, I’d also like to turn my attention to taking On the Job to the stage as well, another task that would require collaboration.

Where can we find you on the Web?
I have a blog—www.onthejob-smith.blogspot.com—that functions as a bulletin board of sorts for my upcoming appearances and media attention. Someday that blog will roll into my commenting on specific issues related to the book, but for now it’s a revolving door of events, notices, and miscellaneous information.

Get a sneak peak into Smith’s new book about the lives of Chicago’s finest.

Excerpted from: “The Chicago Way: Police Work in the Urban Landscape” chapter from Daniel P. Smith’s On the Job: Behind the Stars of the Chicago Police Department (Lake Claremont Press, 2008).

Chicago, ever since prohibition, has had this remarkable history of no line between what is legal and illegal.
—Studs Terkel in Battleground Chicago

For heaven’s sake, catch me before I kill more, I cannot control myself.
—Scribbled in lipstick by murderer William
Heirens on the wall of a victim’s home

The policeman isn’t there to create disorder; the policeman is there to preserve disorder. ——Late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley


For better or worse, we are Capone’s city as much as Daley’s or Jordan’s. A history of criminal figures and events engraved in its existence, Chicago is identified for its murders over its mayors, its schemes over its superstars. Latin Kings. Disciples. El Rukn. Heroin. Gacy. Speck. The Outfit. St. Valentine’s Day.

The city’s criminal history has reached fabled proportions, a product of Hollywood as much as Chicago’s own acceptance—and sometimes celebration—of its dim underbelly. Outsiders, having been asked about their knowledge of Chicago, have been known to form a gun with their fingers and say “bang.”

“That’s Chicago,” as Billy Flynn would say.

“It’s easy to add to the myth because Chicago is a town defined by its history of being tough. It’s not San Francisco or Los Angeles—it’s a real ‘American’ city. New York, even, is more cosmopolitan and international,” says author Frank Kusch, an observer of Chicago from his vantage point over the Canadian border.

Adds Chicago author Richard Lindberg: “There is a Chicago way—even among the most articulate—an alertness to the whole issue of violence and brutality that dots our city. This is still a meat-and-potatoes town and Chicago’s a product of its industrial background—the old memories and impressions are genetic in the culture.”

Criminal Chicago

Chicago’s criminal history roots itself in the city’s frontier spirit from the mid-1800s. While the city has never been mistaken for Wyatt Earp’s wild west, it has nevertheless entertained a coarse image throughout its history. In the mid-nineteenth century, the city’s newspapers were filled with reports of thefts, rapes, murders, and arson, each tale underlining the fact that Chicago’s criminal streak flourished. In 1840, the city held its first public hanging, with 2500 in attendance—over half of the city’s reported 4400 citizens—confirming Chicago’s recognition of crime as well as its firm stomach for handling the darker side of life. Vice, meanwhile, was not contained to backrooms; rather, gambling, prostitution, and other assorted criminal ventures prospered in plain view.1

As the decades of the nineteenth century moved ahead, lawlessness further entrenched itself in the city’s lore. The Haymarket affair in 1886, a movement attempting to secure workers an eight-hour day, pit Chicago’s undermanned police force against a horde of unionists, reformers, and socialists. When the two sides clashed, a bomb hurled at police touched off a succession of chaos. Sixty officers were injured, eight killed, joining an undetermined number of protestors killed or wounded.2 In the 1890s, the Levee District between 18th and 22nd Streets earned repute as Chicago’s most brazen display of vice, bringing worldwide visitors and attention to the city’s criminal activity. Chicagoans and the city hierarchy professed an acceptance of vice, so long as it remained in pockets of the city.

“The disreputable women, the pickpockets and petty thieves are better ‘bunched’ in one section of the city than scattered all over it,” said the Chicago Chronicle in 1899. “The police know where to find them. Respectable people know how to avoid them."[1]
As such, misdeeds thrived in some districts under the open eyes of the city and its visitors. With its containment approach and rather blasé attitude, Chicago’s criminality only further engrained itself into the city’s psyche and history, as well as dictating police response.
“A man born in the city slums [with] only a grade school education probably did not share the same moralistic views about wagering as a clergyman or Gold Coast reformer,” writes Richard Lindberg in To Serve and Collect. “The perception of the seriousness of the crime was frequently a determinant in the police response."[2]

As early as the 1880s, a burgeoning gang scene developed in such historic neighborhoods as Bridgeport and Back of the Yards on the South Side, where ruffians raided street peddlers and robbed men leaving work at the stockyards. By the 1920s, an estimated 1300 gangs existed in Chicago, the vast majority considered social clubs such as the Hamburg Club and the Old Rose Athletic Club.[3] The Ragen’s Colts, a group spurring from the Morgan Athletic Club and at the center of the city’s 1919 race riot, claimed many members that would later become skilled politicians and labor representatives, wiggling their way into Chicago’s political landscape, creating a patronage army, and demonstrating the city hierarchy’s ever-increasing dealings with illicit factions. Such gangs served the foundation for Chicago’s most infamous criminal unit, The Outfit, and transferred Chicago’s reputation as a place of lawlessness into a city of underworld authority.

Indeed, it is Alphonse Capone who stands among the city’s most dominant figures—criminal or otherwise. The Brooklyn-born Capone arrived in Chicago in 1919, settling with his Irish wife and infant son at 7244 South Prairie Avenue. Capone’s decade-long reign in Chicago was characterized by dominance in city matters as well as criminal inventiveness and ruthlessness. From 1925 to 30, Capone took charge of the fleeing John Torrio’s outfit empire, which included speakeasies, gambling dens, brothels, and breweries, accumulating an estimated annual income of nearly $100 million. Yet, Capone also earned public trust for his Depression-era soup kitchens and widespread generosity, lending credence to Chicago scribe Nelson Algren’s words: “For always [Chicago’s] villains have hearts of gold and all our heroes are slightly tainted."[4]

On Valentine’s Day 1929, Capone’s men entered rival gang leader “Bugs” Moran’s garage, and committed an act forever etched in city lore. Disguised as Chicago Police officers, the four Capone underlings ordered the seven inhabitants to face the wall, and fired over 150 bullets into their victims. The murder, sensationalized by such newspaper headlines as “MASSACRE,” solidified the city’s penchant for violence as well as Capone’s image as a vicious gangland leader, even prompting Chicago Tribune reporter Ridgely Hunt to claim that Capone “raised murder to the level of a national spectator sport."[5] The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, which led to the police department’s creation of a crime lab expressly to solve the crime, also highlighted the Chicago Outfit’s unique and lasting commitment to crime on display. Where the New York mob has often preferred to hide victims’ bodies, the Chicago Outfit has appeared forever proud of their work, allowing such carnage to remain untouched and the message to arrive without debate.

With Capone, Chicago inherited a criminal legacy that survives to this day, one defined by gunshots and gore. The mythical stature of Chicago’s criminal landscape sheds light on the city’s nostalgic yearning to be seen as tough, rugged, and hardnosed. A firm handshake town. A don’t-back-down town. A city where fistfights and tenacity define one’s passage. As much as many Chicagoans may seek a more cosmopolitan image, the city has long refused to abandon its gritty character—a fact evident in mayors ruling like dictators, baton-wielding police, and territorial defense of neighborhood codes.

That’s Chicago.

“Once you’ve come to be a part of this particular parch,” Algren sang of Chicago, “you’ll never love another. Like loving a woman with a broken nose, you may well find lovelier lovelies. But never a lovely so real."8

Subsequent decades have done little to shed the city’s jagged, tumbling, robust aura. There are the oft-reported cases of Richard Speck, who in the summer of 1966 methodically murdered eight Chicago nursing students, as well as John Wayne Gacy, the mass-murdering businessman who buried the remains of his 30 victims under the crawlspace of his Northwest Side home. Such incidents have only advanced Chicago’s criminal identification, labeling it as the city that works outside the law.

“When [former Chicago Mayor] Big Bill Thompson put in the fix for Capone he tied the town to the rackets for keeps,” said Algren of the wonderfully corrupt Thompson. “The best any mayor can do with the city since is just to keep it in repair…. And since it’s a ninth-inning town, the ball game never being over till the last man is out, it remains Jane Addams’ town as well as Big Bill’s. The ball game isn’t over yet. But it’s a rigged ball game."[6]

Copyrighted material reprinted with permission from Lake Claremont Press (www.lakeclaremont.com).

Smith found himself not drawn to working the streets, but writing about it – and going on the occasional ride along with his relatives.
In a noir-like voice, the Chicago native and former English teacher writes about life in law enforcement in his first book, On the Job: Behind the Stars of the Chicago Police Department, released from Lake Claremont Press.

Smith’s credits include the upcoming release of The Chicago Mercantile Exchange: Past, Present, and Futures (Write Stuff, 2008), as well as a comprehensive history of the Crown family, one of Chicago’s leading business and philanthropic families. In August 2007, he appeared on the History Channel’s “Our Generation” series discussing the 1968 Democratic National Convention and Chicago Police response. Smith is presently working with photographer and fellow Chicagoan Brian Palm on a project sharing the stories and images of Chicago’s disappearing buildings.
A 2003 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he was an accomplished track and field athlete, Smith lives in the city’s western suburbs with his wife Tina and dog Dublin. He resides in cyberspace at onthejob-smith.blogspot.com.

This week, Smith talks about the stresses and strains of living in a family dedicated as much to each other as they are to the Chicago Police Department.  This week, you’ll get a sneak peak into his book, learn about life as a cop’s kid and hear from Smith in his own words.

When my first book, Two Wrongs, was published, I thought my work was finished and I could relax.  Very soon I learned otherwise. What good is a book if no one knows about it?

So, the promotion began and is still going on, even after the publication of my second novel, Girl of My Dreams.  I’ve done all sorts of things to get myself and my books known.  I maintain a website at http://www.morganmandel.com, I’ve created a book promotion network at http://bookplace.ning.com, put up videos on YouTube.com, joined tons of listservs, done interviews, sent in for reviews.  I’ve lined up book signings, conference and library panels, done a display case at the local library.  I’ve ridden in the 4th of July parade, passed out bookmarks at the doctor’s and dentist’s office, also in the jury duty waiting room.  I belong to Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, EPIC, and Sisters in Crime.

Still, that’s not enough. I’m always looking for new ways to market myself and my books. That’s how I became aware of the Street People and what I could learn from them.

If you work or live in a metropolitan area like Chicago, Street People become part of the landscape, so much so that in Two Wrongs, I even included them in the plot. 

On almost every work day, as a walk from the Ogilvie Transportation Centre in the Chicago Loop, and head to my day job as an administrative assistant at a law firm, I often hear the cheerful words, “Happy Monday,” coming from one of the Street People.  I’ve heard the same man say that greeting many times. I don’t need to look to know who it is.

Further along, I hear someone say, “Hello, young lady in the stylish hat.” Since I’m the only woman in the vicinity, the man has to be speaking to me.  I resist a smile. For one thing, I’m definitely not young.  For another, the striped knit hat pulled low over my forehead and my ears to block the Chicago wind is more utilitarian than stylish.  Still, what he says makes me feel good, at least for a moment.  Maybe I still look young.

I see another Street Person sitting on the cold sidewalk with a cardboard sign in front of him which reads, “I’m not really a bad person. I’ve just made some bad mistakes.” Seeing that sign makes me think. Anyone, no matter how clever and careful, can make a mistake with disastrous consequences.

Almost at the office, in the last block, as a pass Wendy’s, I notice another Street Person holding open the door for a patron.

How can I incorporate what I’ve noticed from the Street People in my own marketing?

• Well, the first person who always says the same greeting except for changing the day of the week, reminds me to give people what they expect.  On my business card, after my contact information, are the words: For fast-paced, poignant mysteries or sweet romantic comedies, and that’s what I intend to provide.

• The one who complimented me about my hat and made me feel young, reminds me to be more aware of other authors and praise them for their efforts. Cooperation and networking are important in my profession, as in most businesses. 

• The man with the sign saying he’d made some bad mistakes reminds me that I’m not perfect. If I make a mistake, it’s better to own up to it. Also, if I don’t know how to do something, there’s nothing wrong with asking someone for help.  I’ve learned that most authors are willing and happy to offer advice.

• The person holding the door open at Wendy’s reminds me that providing services for others and sharing my knowledge is a much better way to promote than by blatantly pushing my books on them. 

So that’s what I’ve learned from the Street People.  If you look around, I’m sure you, too, can find marketing tips in unlikely places. I invite you to share your observations.

Today critic Angela Wilson chats it up with this week’s featured author, Morgan Mandel.

Who is Morgan Mandel?

I’m a Chicago area author with a light and dark side. I’m just as apt to write a romantic comedy, as I am to write a mystery or thriller. My new release is the romantic comedy, Girl of My Dreams. Prior to that, my mystery, Two Wrongs, was released. The themes and moods are worlds apart. I’m also a dog lover and hope to one day get a book published about Rascal, my part Amstaff, part Dalmatian, who is very mischievous and totally cute. At one time I freelanced, writing human interest stories for the Daily Herald newspaper.

When did you start writing?

I began writing about 13 years ago, after attending a Chicago-North RWA program at the local library. That’s when I figured out that authors were real people. If I worked hard enough, maybe I could be an author too. I joined their group, but had lots to learn before I got published. It took 10 years to get a contract.

What is your muse?

My muse is a fickle pest that attacks me at the most inconvenient times, like when I’m in church and an idea pops into my head. That’s when I try to concentrate on the service without losing my story inspiration. Also, the muse strikes when I’m trying to fall asleep. Another time is when I’m walking to my day job in Downtown Chicago and I overhear a conversation.  Still, the most favorite time for my muse to strike is when I’m concentrating on a work-in-progress. It does its best to try and lure me away, but I fight it.  Tons of ideas flash through my mind, but the trick is to follow through first with the one at hand. That’s the hard part. 

Tell us about your latest, Girl of My Dreams.

In Girl of My Dreams, the heroine is a temporary assistant for a producer at a dying TV studio.  Food poisoning strikes the set of her boss’s creation, a new reality show called Girl of My Dreams, leaving the set one contestant short. To save the producer and the studio, instead of following her assignment to round up another contestant, she underhandedly steps in herself.  After the Makeup, Hair and Wardrobe Departments are through with her, she’s transformed from staid assistant to vamp. The prize is a handsome millionaire. Instead of getting eliminated in the first round as she’d expected, she advances further. It looks like she may even win the millionaire, but the catch is she doesn’t want him. She loves the producer who’s not happy she’s turned into a hot dish like his screen star mother whom he despises.  Will money change her mind, or will she change the producer’s mind?

Do you ever find it difficult to balance the writing life with the real world?
It’s almost impossible to balance my writing world and the real world, but I do my best. I don’t have enough time to do everything and always feel like I’m playing catch-up. One reason is the more I know, the more I learn. On the one hand, I’m promoting my published books. On the other, I’m trying to finish my works-in-progress.  I work four days a week as an administrative assistant, but wish I could afford to work as an author every day. I spend my commuting time on the train reading and replying to e-mail, marketing or working on my new books. When I get home, I’m usually at the computer again, glancing at the TV occasionally. My husband’s used to it by now. He does his own thing and watches wrestling, football, baseball, depending on the season. He’s great at promoting my books, bringing them up in conversations and reminding me to hand out bookmarks at places I wouldn’t think of. If I didn’t absolutely love writing, I wouldn’t do it.

How much of yourself is in your characters?
In Two Wrongs, the main character attended my alma mater, DePaul University. I also make reference to a childhood memory of one of the characters who ate an ice cream-coconut creation called a snowman at Marshall Field’s Walnut Room. I remember doing the same thing. In Girl of My Dreams, I also include personal details about myself.  My heroine can’t see without her glasses and wears size AA shoes. I’m guilty of both.

What is your FAV writing conference?
Hands down, Love is Murder is my favorite conference. I’ve been to every one of them. Each year’s conference gets better. One of the many things that’s great is everyone is treated equally, whether you’re published or not, with a small press or large. At Love is Murder 2008, I sat next to Tess Gerritsen at a book signing, had lunch at the same table as Lee Child, appeared on a panel with Barry Eisler and J. A. Konrath, and also pitched to editors and agents.  I couldn’t ask for more.

Who are you reading?
I just finished Ordinary Me by June Sproat, a refreshing novel about how a young woman’s life changes from ordinary to extraordinary. The author’s voice is so strong and charming I had no trouble bonding with the character, though she’s much younger. In my To Be Read pile are: A Hotel in Paris by Margot Justes, State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy, Body Double by Tess Gerritsen, Saving Destiny by Pat White, and way too many more to mention. I don’t have as much time to read as I’d like.

Who is your greatest champion?
I don’t have any particular champion. I admire everyday people who do their best to get by in life, follow their dreams and not hurt anyone in the process.

What is the No. 1 question you get from readers?
People always ask me how long it takes to write my books. The answer is deceptive. I wrote Two Wrongs 10 years before it was published. That’s because I put the book aside and worked on others in the meantime, then went back and polished it up. What I’d learned in the interim made the difference between being unpublished and published. There was only a two year interval between the publication of Two Wrongs and Girl of My Dreams.  It took me only a little over a year to write Girl of My Dreams, but it took a while before I got the okay for publication.

What inspires you?
Anything and everything inspires me.  Newspaper articles, my own frustrations, people’s attitudes, conversations, places, television. I never know when an idea will pop into my head.

Where can we find you on the Web?
Everywhere!!
Seriously, my main website is www.morganmandel.com
I’m also at:
http://www.myspace.com/morganmandel
http://bookplace.ning.com
http://acmeauthorslink.blogspot.com
http://mysteryturtles.blogspot.com
www.juniorscave.com/morganmandel.html
www.hardshell.com
www.amazon.com
http://chicagonorthrwa.org

Not to mention, Bebo, Facebook, LinkedIn, almost anywhere else you can think of, along with many popular Yahoo romance and mystery listservs, as well as Ning networks.

Synopsis

When the cast of a new reality show targeted to save a foundering studio succumbs to food poisoning, Jillian, the temporary assistant, sets out to round up a contestant, but ends up filling the gap
herself.

Her boss, the producer, discovers what she’s done, but it’s too late to stop her.  The curtain’s up and the show must go on. Believing his loyal assistant has turned into a selfish conniver like his movie-star mother, he’s furious. The further Jillian advances in the rounds, the more convinced he is of her deceit.

Jillian faces all sorts of embarrassing situations and adventures along the way to the main prize of the millionaire. He’s obviously attracted to her and she should be happy.

The problem is, Jillian loves the producer.

GIRL OF MY DREAMS
By Morgan Mandell

CHAPTER ONE

“NOT THAT.”

Groaning, Hollywood producer Blake Caldwell brushed a strand of black hair from his eyes. The latest news from his assistant, Jillian Baker, was grim. Scores of contestants from his premier television show had rushed from rehearsal and were crammed into the ladies room upchucking.

“I’ve called an ambulance. Do you want me to go with them?” she asked.

Her voice was muffled. He could hear toilets flushing in the background, along with other unmentionable sounds he didn’t care to identify.

“Can you give me a head count? How many are left?”

“Wait a minute. I’ll check.”

Blake’s heart pounded. His shirt stuck to his back as he awaited the verdict. A few days ago, before the power outages, he’d had time to spare, but now he was up against the wall. It was two hours before the audience shoot. The stage and script were set for twenty-five contestants. Could he deliver them?

“Twenty-six are gone between the originals and alternates,” was the answer.

Fresh perspiration sprang to Blake’s forehead. “We’re one short. We’ve got to do something.”

The ratings were down. Mecca was dying. It could not survive another season without a hit. Neither could he. He’d sunk time, money and effort into this project. The boys upstairs had given it a go, only if he’d produce and direct it. This was his chance to prove he could make it without the connections of his actress-mother Barbara Branton. A foul-up would turn him into a has-been at the age of thirty.

“Blake, should I go with them?” Jillian asked again.

Her voice was alert and in crisis mode.

“You’re not a doctor. I need you here. We have a show to run.”

Almost as soon as he’d hung up, he found Jillian standing before him. Through all the commotion, her hair was still pushed back from her face and her glasses perched firmly on her nose. He had to hand it to her for keeping her cool.

“I’ve called food management and alerted them of the situation. They’ve closed the cafeteria,” she said.

“Good. We don’t need anyone else sick. The coordinators were hit, too. What about the survivors?”

“They’re already in makeup.”

Blake rubbed his chin. “Fine. Now, all we need is number twenty-five.”

Thinking, he stared straight ahead. He had a feeling the answer was right in front of his nose, if he could only see it. His loyal assistant stood at attention, ready to spring into action. Hard-working, intuitive, creative, Jillian was a miracle worker. She always came through for him, but this time he couldn’t fault her if she failed.

A gleam flashed in her eyes. “I’ll do it. I’ve read the routine. It’s only one episode. He won’t pick me. Then I’ll be through.”

He stared at Jillian. She wasn’t as striking as his hand-picked contestants or their twin-like alternates, but certainly she was no dog. Sure, her suit was circa 1980 and her shoes looked like they could stick out of the bottom of a nun’s habit, if nuns wore habits any more. Okay, so Jillian wasn’t the world’s greatest dresser. Wardrobe could fix that. She had a certain charm, was over twenty-one and legal. Ditch the Coke-bottle glasses, pat on some makeup and she’d pass. But…

“It won’t work. For one thing, there’s the employment clause. Mecca employees can’t enter.” Blake stood up. “I don’t have time to round up another contestant. Can you handle it? Just grab a good-looking, legal-aged girl from the lot. Give her the quick sell. Play up the part about hooking a millionaire. We’ll dummy down the routine, stick her last in line and let her take her cue from the others. Can I count on you?”

“You’ll have your contestant,” she said.

Something a bit off kilter flickered behind her glasses, then disappeared. Blake didn’t have time to analyze it. He had a show to run.

Before the Web, it took some digging to find out when and where your favorite authors were on tour. Then, it wasn’t always easy to get to the venue.  If you were lucky enough to make it, then chances were you could not get any good face time with the author because of the line of people also waiting for an autograph and a handshake.

The Pop Syndicate Book Blog is proud to be a virtual book tour sponsor. Throughout the year, we will bring authors to you through interviews, columns and articles about their latest works. Be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed, or become a MySpace friend, so you don’t miss a tour.

Morgan Mandel just can’t stop writing. Even as she promotes her latest, Girl of My Dreams, she’s got three books in the works – and still planning more.

How does the busy wife and administrative assistant do it? She plans her romances and mysteries on the commuter train as she heads to and from work in Chicago’s Loop.  What better way to make the hum-drum trip more exciting than to create a new world full of suspense and romance?

The former freelance writer is the past president of the Chicago-North Chapter of Romance Writers of America and now serves as the Library Liaison for the Midwest Chapter of Mystery Writers of America.  She also belongs to Sisters in Crime and EPIC. When she’s not writing, Morgan spends time with her hubby, Paul, and their dog, Rascal, or listening to country music or playing the slot machines.

This week, we chat it up with Morgan about life, writing, and what she learned about marketing from street people. You can also learn more about Morgan on the Web:

www.morganmandel.com
http://bookplace.ning.com
http://acmeauthorslink.blogspot.com
http://mysteryturtles.blogspot.com. 
http://www.myspace.com/morganmandel

Be sure to catch her videos at YouTube.com, which you can access by typing morganmandel (one word) in the search box. 

Is Barack Obama actually a woman? Well, no. But gender tells us a lot about his success - and it might knock your socks off to know how.

Barack has actually become the feminized candidate of 08. We don’t mean his DNA. We mean his values. He is putting out the messages of unity, cooperation, soft power, change, and community that surveys show women embrace overwhelmingly. And more and more men do too.

Everybody assumed that gender would catapult Clinton into the White House. But this election has fooled everyone. It is Obama’s feminized values that will push him past Clinton and the hyper-masculinized super-tough McCain right into the White House.

Sound implausible? Polls prove it. Check out our new book, “The New Feminized Majority: How Democrats Can Change America with Women’s Values”. We tell the stories and quote the stats which tell it all.

Obama may be a man, but he is bringing a woman’s moral world-view into the White House. It’s a big surprise but surprise is the big story of 2008!

To order “The New Feminized Majority” visit Paradigm Publishing at http://www.paradigmpublishers.com/books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=180321

Meet the authors of the latest political tome, The New Feminized Majority, and find out why they feel Barack Obama will be the Democratic presidential nominee.

Who are Charles Derber and Katherine Adam?
Charlie is a professor of sociology at Boston College and the author of twelve acclaimed books on politics, morality and social justice. Katherine is a 2007 graduate of Boston College who now works on the GROW project at Drexel University in Philadelphia, a project evaluating social services to low income parents and families.

How did you decide to collaborate on The New Feminized Majority?
Charlie suggested to Katherine that her work on her undergraduate senior honors thesis had such an original and powerful argument that it should be made into a book. Katherine agreed this could be an exciting project and we agreed to work together in the summer of 2007 to make it happen.

Why was it important to write this book?
Because it clarifies the terrible distortions about moral values that pollute our politics, including the notion that the only “values voters” are Christian Evangelicals. The book shows that there is a much larger number of feminized values voters, made up of both men and women, who actually constitute the majority of the electorate. The New Feminized Majority also shows how these voters will determine the future of the nation, and how the Democrats can win and help transform America by promoting policies based on feminized values.

You say that Barak Obama is a better choice for change in the Democratic Party - and that he is a “feminized leader.” What does this mean?
Barack speaks up for a new unity based on ideals of justice, equality and non-violent, international partnerships. These are key feminized values, those which surveys show to be held predominantly by women. Obama also symbolizes these values in his personal identity, bridging divisions by across race and class. His message of change and hope speak to feminized values of moving America away from its traditional masculinized values of individualism, competition and use of force, all of which are now grotesquely embodied in John McCain and in the Bush Administration.

It seems like Hillary Clinton would be considered more of a feminized leader. How did you draw the conclusion that she isn’t?
We believe there are three Hillarys, and the Village Hillary (who wrote It Takes a Village) is deeply feminized. Village Hillary has worked for social programs to help working families and espouses feminized values of interdependency and community. The feminized Hillary also works closely with labor and supports more equality in wages and more social benefits for all workers.
But there is also a Corporate Clinton. She works closely with Wall Street and big corporate donors, and has supported subsidies to these companies while also accepting large corporate donors. Some of her most important advisers come from Wall Street
and big corporations. She has supported corporate globalization and corporate-friendly trade as well as corporate welfare. Her new campaign populist rhetoric is not backed up by her voting record.
A third Hillary is Hegemonic Hillary, often called the “Pentagon’s favorite Democrat.” She is the Clinton who voted to authorize the Iraq war, who has become increasingly hawkish on US foreign policy. She has voted on too many occasions to support the Bush Administration’s military policies, including the vote to approve designation of elite Iranian security units as “terrorist organizations.” This could lead to war with Iran – and Hegemonic Hillary is the most masculinized of the three Hillaries.
Ironically, the fact that Hillary is female makes it more difficult for her to support feminized values of non-violent approaches to foreign policy. She will be denounced by the masculinized elite minority as weak and too “womanly” to be Commander in Chief. But feminized values are not weak; they suggest a new model of strength based on collaboration and interdependency.

Do you think the book will have an impact on voters?
We hope so. This is the most important election in a long time – and we think it could shift the moral discourse toward the values of the feminized majority.

How do you think voters will embrace your tome during this hotly-contested election cycle?
The New Feminized Majority is easy to read and does not follow stereotypical gender or ideological distinctions. Many readers have already become fans, as you can see if you google the book and read some of the reviews.

What are you reading?
For Charlie, I’ve been reading a lot on the history of fascism, the moral rhetoric of Empire and the relation between environmental and social justice movements.

Who is your greatest champion?
For Charlie, it is the grass roots activists who are the real heroes, who dedicate their lives to making a difference and building powerful social movements for social justice, whether to preserve democracy, reduce the rich/poor divide or stop climate change. Among political leaders, Al Gore deserves a lot of credit for awakening people to the global warming crisis.

What’s next for you?
Too early to say. For Charlie, I’m doing a lot of work to get my two most recent books, including this one and another one called Morality Wars, out to the general public. I’m doing a lot of speaking and op-ed writing. I have some new book ideas percolating about where the world goes from here to save democracy and the planet itself.