She honed several crafts but did not
find any of them satisfying — until
she began to write. "I had a lot of
abortive attempts, but [writing]
seemed to stick," she says. She needed
to choose a genre, and Kellerman
picked mysteries.
"Mysteries go somewhere; they
have beginnings, middles and end-
ings," she says. "I am a woman of
action and I like it when things hap-
pen to characters."
In 1986, her first book, The Ritual
Bath, was published, and Kellerman
was thrilled when she received rave
reviews. Drawing from her own back-
ground, the author, a Modern Ortho-
dox Jew, decided to make her protago-
nists, Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus,
Orthodox Jews as well.
The series begins as Peter, an Irish-
looking, divorced LAPD detective,
becomes involved with Rina, an Ortho-
dox Jewish widow with two young sons.
Peter eventually learns he is adopted
and is in . fact, Jewish. He falls in love
with Rina, they marry and Peter offi-
cially converts to Orthodox Judaism.
Together, they raise their children
in an Orthodox home, keeping
kosher, saying prayers and keeping the
Sabbath. They also solve crimes.
"It's true that I have some similari-
ties to my characters, but I am more
modern," explains Kellerman. "We
observe Sabbath, keep a kosher home
and [I go to the] mikvah. But I don't
cover my hair, I wear pants and my
kids go to Jewish day school. I consid-
er myself very integrated with the sec-
ular world."
When asked if she identifies with
Rina, Kellerman says there is no phys-
ical resemblance, but they both "value
family."
"However, I am also like Peter," she
goes on to say. "We both think before
we speak, and I have passion the way
Peter does. We want everything to be
right."
Although Kellerman's novels
explore Orthodox traditions, often in
detail, her readership is wide-ranging.
"Fortunately, I get positive feedback
from the Jewish and non-Jewish com-
munity," she says. "Jews and non-Jews
write and tell me they learn a lot
about Judaism from me. And the
Orthodox tell me they like the accu-
rate portrayal.
"Let's face it: Modern Orthodox
Jews like to read a good book, too. If
they have specific characters they can
identify with, that's even better."
Indeed, Orthodox traditions have
always been a way of life for Keller-

man. "Growing up, my parents were
Conservadox," says the author, who
was born in St. Louis and raised in
Sherman Oaks, Calif.
"I went to an Orthodox shul, but
at the time we didn't have a
mechitzah. I went to Talmud Torah,
not day school. We kept kosher and
celebrated Shabbos, although we did
turn on lights and drive a car."
While most of Kellerman's mail is
from supportive fans, she admits that
a few anti-Semitic letters have made it
into her mailbox.
"But I throw them away," she says
emphatically. "I answer all of my let-
ters — except from people in prison
— but I refuse to acknowledge hate
mail."
Kellerman currently is busy work-
ing on her newest novel, Jupiter's
Bones, which will be out next summer.
While she took "a vacation" from
Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus in
Moon Music, fans of the pair will again
have the opportunity to follow their
adventures in Jupiter's Bones.
"It's a good book for the millenni-
um because it's about a scientist
turned spiritual cult leader who is
found murdered," says Kellerman.
Although the author limits her
speaking engagements, she is looking
forward to coming to speak for
NCJW. "I have a fond place in my
heart for Detroit," she says. "When I
wrote Ritual Bath, my publisher wasn't
'giving me much publicity and I came
to Detroit's Jewish Book Fair.on my
own to sell my book.
"Everyone was wonderful, and my
visit was a real turning point in my
career. I was an absolute nothing, and
I sold more books in that one day
than I ever could have imagined. The
reception gave me a whole new lease
on life, and it made my publisher look
at me and say, 'OK, I can send her to
these fairs and make her a name.'
"All I can say is that it will be a real
pleasure to be in Detroit again. I am
very grateful to the people there." ❑
For a review of Faye Kellermans
"Moon Music," see this week's "On The
Bookshelf')

"Repose"

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begins at 9 a.m., followed by a
gourmet breakfast at 9:30 a.m. and
the speaker. Tickets are $20 for
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10/16

1998

Detroit Jewish News

89