About S. J. Rozan
An award winning mystery writer residing in New York City, S.J.
Rozan has won the Edgar Best Novel Award and the Macavity Best Novel Award for Winter
and Night (2003); the Edgar Best Short Story Award for Double Crossing
Delancy (2002); the Shamus Best Novel Award for Concourse (1996)
and Reflecting the Sky (2002); and the Anthony Best Novel Award for No
Colder Place (1998), representing kudos from her colleagues
as well as her public.
Rozan’s mysteries focus on the exploits of private eyes,
Lydia Chin and Bill Smith. Each maintains a separate practice but work together
for assistance or backup. Lydia is the youngest and only girl of five children.
She still lives with her mother, who speaks only Cantonese and believes in
traditional male / female roles. Needless to say, she is less than happy about
her daughter’s choice of vocation and the conversation between them can get a
bit dicey. Nevertheless, Lydia tries to balance her independent nature with the
duties of a traditional daughter.
Nearing 40, Bill Smith is older and more experienced. Due to
his tempestuous youth, he was raised by his uncle, Police Captain Dave Maguire,
a much admired professional. After a time in the Navy and a brief stormy
marriage, he has lived in the same loft over Shorty’s Bar in lower Manhattan
for twenty-five years.
For those who like well-developed characters, Ms. Rozan uses
hers to advantage, enabling her to show different perspectives. While both
characters appear in her books, she has chosen to alternate the narrator of her
novels, giving each book a different voice.
Her latest novel is not part of the series and is set in the
aftermath of 9/11. Included in “The
Year’s Best Crime Novels” in the May 1, 2005 issue of Booklist magazine,
Absent Friends, “ponders the bonds of friendship, the meaning of
truth, and the stuff of heroism”.*
Now a full-time writer, she previously worked as an
architect in a practice that focused on police stations, firehouses,
and zoos.
She’s a devoted basketball fan and has worked as a janitor,
self-defense instructor, photographer, and jewelry sales person.
A lover of poetry, Ms. Rozan spends her early mornings on a
familiar bench by the Hudson River where she composes Haiku. Poetry is infused
in her books, as a glimpse at the epilogue of Absent Friends will
attest.
*Taken from the book jacket.