Is the first lady trying to overthrow the president? Award-winning writer Kathleen Antrim's fictional response to this shocking premise is at the heart of her chillingly convincing political thriller, CAPITAL OFFENSE.
Book a long time coming - By Andrea Widener
After giving up prose for years, Pleasanton author spent 6 years researching and 2 years writing 'Capital Offense'
Kathleen Antrim considers herself a powerful woman.
She has worked in sales and marketing at a high-powered company; she ran a successful engineering business with her husband; and now she serves on the bards of several Tri-Valley foundations.
So it was no surprise the Pleasanton resident's first novel revolves around one of the world's most powerful women - the first lady.
Released three weeks ago, "Capital Offense" delves into what would happen if the first lady attempted to overthrow the government, explained Antrim. She returned this week from a book publishing meeting where, she has been persuading book sellers to carry her newly published book.
The founding father "never conceived that we would have powerful women," said Antrim, sitting on a massive leather chair in the library of her Ruby Hill home. "The topic just really caught me. I think if I wrote it 50 years ago, (people) would have said 'no way.'"
Antrim was a devout writer and reader throughout her school years, until a high school teacher vowed to vomit on an admittedly flowery short story.
That stifled her writing passion until her 30s, when a friend urged her to start again because she had such good twists on the "what if" idea.
Until she started again, "I didn't ever realize what had stopped me," Antrim said.
She spent years going to weekend writing workshops and writing other novels and short stories before starting work on her current novel. For "Capital Offense," Antrim spent six years doing research and two years writing and rewriting.
"At one point in my research, I was told to be very careful. I might be stepping on toes," she said.
Antrim talked with several major publishers, but, after numerous delays, she eventually she settled on a small Indiana publishing house.
"I'm not the kind of person who waits for other people," she said. "I was impatient. I was ready to go with it. I knew if I got it (out) it would do really well."
The book has been out three weeks, and Antrim has been very happy with its reception so far. The nephew of a friend even passed a copy to the current first lady.
"The book is just taking off," she said.
Antrim moved to Pleasanton 14 years ago and is now entrenched in the community, serving on the foundation board of ValleyCare Medical Center and the Livermore Valley Wine Growers Foundation board.
Her next novel is set in the Silicon Valley, and she has no immediate plans to write a Tri-Valley thriller. But, she said, you never know.
Reach Andrea Widener at 925-847-2158 or awidener@cctimes.com.
