American author Fowler explores crime in the blog era

By Kristina Cooke

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American writer Karen Joy Fowler found the interplay between fans, fictional characters and the Internet so fascinating that she made it a central part of her new crime novel, "Wit's End."

Fowler's biggest success so far has been "The Jane Austen Book Club" which was made into a movie starring Kathy Baker and Jimmy Smits.

She told Reuters the fan Web sites for the television drama/mystery series "Veronica Mars" made her think about how passionate fans can appropriate the plotlines of their favorite TV shows and books.

Q: Were you surprised by the reception "The Jane Austen Book Club" got?

A: "Surprise is too weak a word. I was expecting to attract the Austen aficionados, but what ended up being even more commercial were the words book club. Book clubs are an astonishingly burgeoning movement -- it's quite wonderful."

Q: Did you like the movie version?

A: "I was quite happy with the movie. I had a lot of trepidation going in because usually when I love a book, and I go see the movie version, it is a very rare occurrence that I walk out happy. And certainly I think the movie is quite different from the book, but I think the movie is a lot of fun."

Q: What inspired "Wit's End?"