And our Sue's Clues Mystery Author is:

While learning about our mystery author, I couldn't help but get certain impressions about Pam Rosenthal. She strikes me a very open minded person, not afraid of change or taking a chance, and definitely her own person.

Born in 1945 to a mathmetician father and a mother who loved to read romance novels, Pam grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Her childhood sounds just like you would expect for a girl growing up in the fifties. Life was peaceful and everything she needed was close to hand - her grandparents lived upstairs, the library was around the corner and the movie theater was down the street.

After high school, Pam went to college where she met her husband, Michael, to whom she has been married for 34 years. By the early 70's, the couple had migrated from the east coast to the west. They found themselves in San Francisco's Mission District with jobs at the Modern Times Bookstore. Michael has since become part owner and chief buyer for the store.

Not only did they start a new life there, but they also started their family in San Francisco. Their son, Jesse, was born in 1976. He has followed his parents' footsteps - right back to Brooklyn where he is a grad student in English at Columbia University.

Pam's love for the written word led her to start writing her own. She began by writing reviews for the books she read. Eventually, Pam decided to try her hand at being the author. While Pam has published non-romance erotic fiction novels under the name Molly Weatherfield, her first historical romance, ALMOST A GENTLEMAN, was published in 2003 which, by the way, has received excellent reviews.

1. I came across a review for a book, "Aiding and Abetting" by Muriel Spark, in the San Francisco Chronicle by Pam Rosenthal. I'm assuming that you and she (Pam Rosenthal) are one and the same. Do you write book reviews on a regular basis? If so, what is it like being on the other side of things as an author?

Yes, I am that Pam Rosenthal. I don’t write book reviews on a regular basis, though, because I no longer have the time for it: all my time’s spent writing romances on deadline and working at a demanding day job.

But I love reviewing; I love finding out what I think about a book and trying to make a case for it. And I love taking the opportunity to read some of the author’s earlier works for background (though my left shoulder has never been the same since I schlepped 11 of Francine Prose’s books home from the SF library).

The experience has absolutely helped me appreciate the positive reviews I’ve received -- as well as the thoughtful critiques some reviewers have made, mostly about my craft or lack of it, when it comes to beginnings and ends of books. I take such comments very seriously

2. I love the anecdote at your website concerning your birth. For those of you who have not been to the site (link below), Pam's mom was reading a popular romance novel even as she was wheeled into the delivery room! How cool is that? Lol It also mentions that you have both shared a love of books and reading ever since. Has your mom ever read any of your writing? What does she think about it?

Of course my Mom reads my reviews and romances -- she’s a huge fan and promoter (though she gently said that there’s more sex in them than her generation quite expects).

3. I'm interested in the Modern Times Bookstore, which your husband happens to be part-owner and chief buyer for. I have a couple of questions about it....

-You and your husband started working there in the 70's when you moved to San Francisco. Have you ever been stereo-typed as ex-hippies... kind of like Abby and Larry from the tv sitcom, Dharma and Greg? *Are* you both ex-hippies? *G*

Oh sure, we joke about ourselves as burnt-out old ex-hippies. But our lovely, liberal, hip San Francisco is a very expensive place to live. So we’ve had to develop some distinctly un-hip work habits -- I’ve worked at the Federal Reserve Bank for the last 16 years, for example.

-Modern Times is a progressive bookstore - offering 'wide-ranging literature on globalization, politics and media, as well as an array of graphic novels, fiction, and criticism. We maintain informed sexuality and gender sections, and feature one of the Bay Area's most extensive collections of writings on Latina/o history and culture, complimented by a full selection of Spanish language books.' I think it's great that people have access to a bookstore like this. Where I live we have a town, which might be considered a very miniature San Francisco, that has one or two bookstores such as Modern Times.

Thanks so much for your interest. I’m also curious about your local independent bookstores; please let me know more about them -- we have friends and family in Philadelphia, and we’ll visit the stores next time we’re in town.

But what I am really wondering is, having been part of a business that has survived for 30+ years, what changes have you seen? I'm sure there have been many, but what are the most positive and negative changes you have noticed?

I could chatter all day about this, because I’m so proud of Michael fighting the good fight for independent bookselling. The short answer to your question is that it’s gotten a lot harder: chain bookselling has put a lot of pressure on independents: there are only 3000 independent bookstores in business and you can’t get a bank loan to open one.

Those that have survived are the ones with supportive communities (the SF Bay Area is the best -- Manhattan, in contrast, is a veritable Barnes and Noble mall). And survivor stores have usually had strong identities -- stores that looked like branches of Crown Books didn’t do well when a Crown moved in down the street. Also, Amazon has taught independent booksellers the virtues of good technology. Most people might not know is that your local small independent can special-order just about anything and get it for you FAST -- give it a try.

--I see that fiction is available - does that include Historical Romance? *G* It seems a far cry from what you would expect from this type of bookstore?

Thus far, the store doesn’t stock a lot of romance. But I think this might change: interestingly, I’ve been sought out by some erotic writers who publish with alternative small presses (the sort that Modern Times does carry) but who would love to publish with Brava. I think there’s going to be more crossover, in the erotic (and perhaps the chicklit) areas, and I think some of that will affect Modern Times.

4. At your website, it is mentioned that Alzheimer's Disease struck in your family. Of course, this is something we have all heard of but, perhaps, really don't understand. How has this disease affected your life? Do you have any advice on this subject?


My mother-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s two years ago. It was a shock, of course, and a pressing worry, because she lived independently in Manhattan. She now has 24-hour care and is still in her apartment -- which has worked out extremely well thus far.

For us, finding a wonderful geriatric care manager was the most important thing: on 9/11, one of the first phone calls we got from NY was from the care manager, to say the subways were running and the home-care aides were on schedule. You can imagine what a huge relief that was. My mother-in-law still knows us, so we visit quite often -- and talk on the phone almost every day. Since her care is so excellent and reliable, things are pretty peaceful right now.

But that’s just our situation -- every situation is different. My best advice is to educate yourself on the subject: don’t depend on your family doctor to know much -- my mother-in-law’s didn’t. I’d recommend these two books, which I reviewed for Salon.com http://archive.salon.com/books/feature/2001/08/29/alzheimers/index.html. The Castleman book is more immediately helpful, but I found the Shenk book a great source of intellectual and moral support.

5. Your book, ALMOST A GENTLEMAN, has received excellent reviews. How does it feel to hear such nice things about your first novel?

*Huge Grin* It feels fantastic. And sort of a surprise, because I got a lot of rejections before I sold to Brava.

But actually ALMOST A GENTLEMAN isn’t my first romance novel: I wrote THE BOOKSELLER'S DAUGHTER first. And before that I published two small-print-run non-romance erotic novels as Molly Weatherfield.

When Kensington announced ALMOST A GENTLEMAN as a “debut novel,” though, it made sense to me. ALMOST A GENTLEMAN is my debut as Pam Rosenthal, Romance Writer -- a genre it took me three years to get the hang of.

6. Tell us about your new book, THE BOOKSELLER'S DAUGHTER - due out in January of 2004

There’s a lot of me in it ;-}

I got the idea from a book called THE FORBIDDEN BEST-SELLERS OF PRE-REVOLUTIONARY FRANCE, by Robert Darnton. You see, a lot of the books that we now associate with the French Enlightenment (political and erotic stuff both) had to be smuggled into the country to booksellers bold and canny enough to sell it clandestinely. My husband and I were both fascinated by this, him as a bookseller and me as an erotic writer.

Darnton bases his history on the surviving business correspondence of real historical booksellers, notably a Monsieur Rigaud, who was very successful and very cutthroat -- he put a lot of his competitors out of business. And we were reading this history at about the time the chain booksellers were putting our colleagues out of business. So I became deeply angry at Rigaud -- angry enough to imagine a poor but honest competitor and the competitor’s fetching, bookish daughter, Marie-Laure. And once I’d imagined my booksellers, I needed a smuggler: I made Joseph an erotic writer, as well as the second son of the meanest duke in Provence. At which time it became clear to me that I was dreaming up a historical romance. So I joined RWA to learn how to do it right.

7. So far, you have written historical romances. Do you see yourself trying your hand at contemporary romance?


I love costumes. Somehow they’re part of the romance for me. So I don’t see myself doing contemporaries -- but someday I would like to write a very sexy romantic book about people who are at least 50. And maybe THAT one could be a contemporary.

8. When you aren't writing, what do you do? Do you have any hobbies?


Try to find time to work out at the gym (I’m pretty successful there) and to meditate (considerably less successful). No real hobbies -- if I had more time I’d tutor literacy, help out at the bookstore and do more reviewing and essay-writing. And read more. (I guess your answer is I could easily fill all my time with readerly-writerly activity, no matter how much time I had.)

9. How about reading - what kind of books do you read? Do you have any favorite authors?


I mostly read fiction, literary criticism, and literary biography -- and of course a lot of historical stuff for whatever period I’m writing about. I read a mix of romance and other literature. Romance authors I’m currently enjoying are Nita Abrams and Shannon McKenna. Non-romance favorites (current and longtime) are Philip Roth, David Foster Wallace, Martin Amis, Alice Munro, Grace Paley, Richard Powers, Nabokov, and Proust (somehow, the biggies sound more natural without first names -- not sure why that is).

Learn more about Pam and her writing at her website:
http://pamrosenthal.com/index.htm

or read an interview with her at Roundtable Reviews:
http://www.roundtablereviews.com/pamrosenthal.htm