Critical Mick

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Writing that Means Something

Journalist, blogger, editor, speechwriter, and Arizona resident Francine Biere has recently released her debut novel, Death in the Desert. In March 2006 Critical Mick interrupted her recent move from Heidelburg, Germany to email her a few questions....

Critical Mick: Is this your first novel?

Francine Biere: Death in the Desert is my first published novel. Like most authors, I’ve got several that should be sent to a galaxy far, far away. I do have another novel, A Stranger in Tombstone, that will be one of a series of books set here in Arizona.

CM: How long did the writing of Death in the Desert take?

FB: Because of my research, it took longer than I expected. I initially began writing the book in 1999 and completed the final draft in July 2004.

CM: What prompted you to write Death in the Desert--- please don't give the novel's conclusion away in your answer!

FB: Dead bodies in the canyons surrounding my home here in Sierra Vista. As the media reported more and more deaths, I couldn’t ignore what seemed to be an endless number of men, women, and children willing to risk their lives for a better life. In all honesty, I tried to work on the previously mentioned novel that’s set in Tombstone, Arizona, but the appalling statistics and heartbreaking stories kept pulling me back to this subject. I won’t even tell you how many stacks of newspapers I collected and, much to my husband’s relief, began clipping. I still keep up on researching the issue and have started a whole new collection of newspaper clippings.

CM: What research did you perform? How accurate are the figures mentioned in the novel... eight to twelve million illegal immigrants living in the US, five thousand dead in the desert?

FB: As a journalist, research has always intrigued me. Obviously, I used the Internet but I did a lot of reading (more than twenty-five books and national, state, and local media coverage). While I did a lot of background research that never made it into the book, I also saw that there didn’t seem to be too many novels that addressed this specific issue.

FB: The more accounts I read, the more I dug into the facts surrounding the huge numbers of people just wanting to come to the United States in hopes of staving off starvation for themselves and their families. I chased a lot of rabbits on the Internet. It seemed like each article or piece of information led to five more. What really caught my attention, after the number of deaths, was that many of these people were crossing the border to make their way to jobs. For many, it wasn’t just the idea of coming to the United States. They were coming to work at jobs promised them. And that leads to industries whose workforce depends on illegal entrants. Particularly agriculture and meat processing … along with all the dirty little jobs many Americans won’t accept. The housekeepers, groundskeepers, day laborers … those kinds of jobs. The numbers are staggering and probably have increased since I wrote the book. And all of us here in the U.S. benefit from illegals willing to take low-paying jobs, whether it’s in the price we pay for our custom-built homes, keeping our houses clean, child care for our children, or the fresh fruits and vegetables we purchase at our grocery stores.

FB: The actual number of immigrants dead in the desert I used in the book was 3,000. In fact, your question threw me into a panic attack – not really, but it sounds good, doesn’t it? I did go back and search the book to double check what number I used -- it was more than 3000 and I got that figure from one of the humanitarian groups here. And the current estimate on the number of illegal immigrants here is now ten to twelve million.

CM: Meagan's uncle Billy Stewart- one of the most interesting characters in the book- is quite a religious man. At one stage he picks up a Gideon Bible and reads "You have made known to me the path of life." The illuminated Celtic cross shining the way across the desert like a beacon, the fact that Jesus and the Holy Family were themselves refugees and migrants in Egypt, in Herod's reign. Am I picking up an angle or purpose?

CM: Is Tomas and Lucinda's migrant-aid charity, Tender Mercies, a real group?

FB: While Tender Mercies isn’t real, there are several wonderful organizations that are committed to helping illegal entrants in many ways. Humane Borders, No More Deaths, and Coalicion de Derechos Humanos (the Human Rights Coalition) are extremely active here. I’ve attached a document that gives information on each, including their web sites. CM: Are there actual vigilantes like Nevada's posse who harass bands of migrants unlucky enough to cross their paths? FB: There is one group that has been labeled vigilantes but they state their intent is to guard private land rather than hunt on horseback. But … my research and interviews with some Mexicans described men like Nevada and his cronies. I don’t doubt they exist. CM: The novel's main character, Meagan Wagner, is an award-winning journalist. How much of her experience is autobiographical? Passages like these got me wondering: "The excitement and satisfaction she discovered in writing fulfilled her as nothing else had." FB: Well, all my teachers and mentors told me to "write what you know." Can I insert laughter here? Meagan had much larger success than I had but I don’t think that matters for any journalist or writer, for that matter. There is something almost magical about putting words to paper, or fingers to keyboard. I gain a tremendous amount of pleasure sharing things with other folks – be it a fictional piece, a feature on some wonderfully old historic jewel found along a dusty back road, or describing unique experiences. FB: I was in Washington, D.C. on September 11 and it was a frightening experience. But I’d already found my sanctuary here in Arizona by then. Still, I think we all have fears and insecurities and what happened to the United States on that day affected us in so many ways. It was surrealistic and yet we couldn’t deny it was happening. That evening, driving close to the most powerful city in the world and traffic being almost non-existent really shook my sense of security. And, like Meagan, I’ve learned that there’s no security trusting in external things. CM: What effect should good writing have on its readers? FB: For me, it’s making them feel something … anything (more laughter). I think Stephen King said something like, ‘make ‘em laugh, make ‘em cry …’, and of course, he can scare the pants off most folks. I’m sure there will be some people who will love the book (at least I hope so) but I fully expect others will feel various levels of anger. Still, it’s creating characters that readers can identify with and empathize with. Let’s face it, if readers don’t care about the characters first, and the story, then you’ve lost them. But, my hope is that I can teach them something as well. I want my writing to mean something. I’d like to think that Death in the Desert will make readers stop and think. If you give them something to think about, maybe they can see a different perspective. Many write just for entertainment and that’s fine. I don’t know about you but if I can learn something along the way, I’m more likely to read that author again. CM: The novel makes efforts to capture the color of the desert valleys, the shade of the mountains, the taste of the air and the ferocity of Arizona thunderstorms. Go on, admit it! You received a big fat grant from Cochise County's tourist board, didn't you? FB: Don’t I wish. (lots of laughter here) I’m glad my love of Arizona comes through. It’s unique. Unfortunately, I believe we are now the second fastest growing state in the U.S. Folks have found out our secret, I guess. But it is an awesome place. There’s something about looking up into the nighttime sky and seeing endless blackness littered with unnumbered spangled points of light.

Water station servicing trips: More than 40 service trips per month during the 2003 season of heat. Increased to 70 trips per month in May 2004. Number of water stations as of May 1, 2005: 73. Locations: Public land in Pima County, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Ironwood Forest National Monument. Private land in Cochise and Pima counties. We embrace an action plan that includes movable desert camps, support of migrant aid centers, maintenance of water stations, Samaritan patrols that search the desert for migrants in need, and advocacy on behalf of migrant-related issues. We are a diverse coalition of individuals, faith communities, human rights advocates, and grassroots organizers who have joined together to work for justice along the U.S.- Mexico border. We offer a strategy to intervene and put a stop to migrant deaths in the Borderlands. Our actions are lawful and follow a protocol based on the principle of civil initiative. a grassroots organization which promotes respect for human/civil rights and fights the militarization of the Southern Border region, discrimination, and human rights abuses by federal, state, and local law enforcement officials affecting U.S. and non-U.S. citizens alike. Goals include increasing public awareness of the magnitude of human rights abuses, deaths and assaults at the border resulting from U.S. policy. Derechos Humanos holds press conferences and interviews, hosts media crews, has demonstrations, weekly vigils, symposiums and marches to draw attention to the unjust policies and inhumane treatment of immigrants. We counter the anti-immigrant hysteria and work to change the stereotypes and misinformation about immigrants.

CM: Seriously, where can readers intrigued by your Arizona find more information on this novel's setting? Where, for instance, can maps, photos and more information on Cochise be found?

CM: What about more information on illegal migration, the effects of NAFTA, and the efforts of groups like Tender Mercies?

CM: What are you working on now?

FB: Getting my laptop back (lots of hysterical laughter here). Seriously, since returning to Arizona, I’m focusing on marketing Death in the Desert.

FB: I’m also working on When Darkness Falls – the working title of the next book in the series. It will deal with homelessness. Since I want my writing to mean something, I’m focusing on issues that delve into some of the most significant issues facing the downtrodden, abused, used, and rejected via the contemporary suspense genre. Readers will find characters they’ve met in Death in the Desert, learn more about their pasts, and meet a few new folks. I want my books to have a familiar feel to them. And, readers won’t have to read them in any particular order.

CM: Elvis- alive or dead?

FB: Funny you should ask. (Insert a little mischievous laughter here) I guess readers will just have to check out my next book and see what Uncle Billy and his curmudgeon old friend, Sugar, are up to when they make a pilgrimage to Las Vegas.

CM: Thanks again, Francine!

FB: Mick, the pleasure has been all mine.

Learn more about Francine Biere on her website, www.francinebiere.com

Yo! This interview and all content on the DFA Guide site are copyright 2006 Mick Halpin. All links to other sites and documents are copyright to whatever source wrote something cool enough for Mick to give it a referral. Try to claim them as your own work and bad karma will catch up with you, baby. Believe it.

Irate, huh? Managed to piss off another one? Direct your hatemail to mick @ mickhalpin dot com.

This Page Was Last Updated On 6 March, 2006.