JUSTICE and JJ
“When did you first see the light in JUSTICE?” we asked author Jay Lillie standing in front of the Supreme Court Building on Capitol Hill.
“About page 326,” he said.
He knew that’s not what we meant. We laughed. “That’s pretty near the end of the book?”
He nodded and smiled. “The light was always there. The fuss about President Obama’s birth certificate came along much later.”
“So what’s the core message of JUSTICE?”
“It’s pure fiction, a novel, a darn good murder mystery, and it takes place in and around the White House. There’s no core message, unless it’s to point out that Americans know less than they think about their own nation’s Constitution.”
“You have fun with the Senators on the Judiciary Committee.”
“Thank you. They make it easy.”
“From where did “JJ” come? I thought Detective Julia Gold’s giving the young boy Barry Bond’s broken bat was a master stroke. I didn’t see how you were going to get out of the corner you’d written yourself into. Then “JJ” comes along. How do you come up with these ideas?”
“I like young kids. They keep things interesting.”
“Who’s your favorite character?”
“Oh, no,” he said. “I like and hate them all equally.”
“Okay . . . but how did you conjure up that dynamite finish?”
“If you referring to the last couple of pages, I think the French really did that.”
“It has that kind of ring to it, but it sure was a surprise.”
