Hispanic Hero?

Something that has been coming up recently is how much some people enjoy the activism in STANDING STILL -- shining the spotlight on the problems of illegal immigrants and the workers in Mexican slums. Some Hispanic readers view the kidnapper as I do -- as a rebel hero. Unfortunately, I don't think the book is available in Spanish!

I'm in the curriculum!

Friday night I visited Rosemont College, where STANDING STILL is part of the syllabus for a class on Crime Fiction. Very cool to be taught with the likes of Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez! A very interesting class, taught by a great prof, Bob Finnegan, with lots of bright kids in it. They spoke so eloquently about the characters' motivations and struggles, and understood the book on every level. It was really a joy to have such a deep discussion. The book is also being taught by Gregory Frost at Swarthmore College -- in a fiction class about writing a strong first chapter. Very cool!