Anna Katherine Green wrote about a female inquiry agent, and there were a scattering of female investigators in the 1970s, authored by men, who just didn't ring true. So I thought, 'Well, there's an opening here for something.'
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
One of the more interesting challenges I face when doing research for my novels is to trace the lives of women who are vital to the narrative and try my best to give them back their voices.
There are a lot more female writers wanting to direct their own material and hopefully will be given the opportunity.
It's so rare that you actually get to find a really well-written female lead.
There are some great women's roles in television... so much more interesting than what I was reading in film scripts.
I think it was Elisabeth Shue who said that if you start a movie with a woman seen through a man's eyes, that woman is objectified by him throughout.
The Seventies seemed like this really open time. There were a lot of strong women characters deciding what kind of artists they wanted to be.
I am interested in people living in the margins of society, and I do have a mission to tell the stories of women of colour in particular. I feel we've been present throughout history, but our voices have been neglected.
What's so great about playing a female lead, especially in law enforcement, is that these women do exist, and they're really quite interesting. They're fascinating.
Women in mystery fiction were largely confined to little old lady snoops - amateur sleuths - who are nurses, teachers, whatever.
The 1970s were so wonderful for women writers. There were all these women, and they were seen as doing the most interesting, innovative and exciting stuff in science fiction. I was inspired by that.