Stephanie Plum at 'Twenty'

Photo: Roland Scarpa

We recently chatted with Janet Evanovich, whose latest Stephanie Plum caper, Takedown Twenty (Bantam, $28), has all her the familiar elements: Morelli and Ranger, family entanglements needing a Venn diagram to describe, and bingo. But a giraffe named Kevin? How does she come up with such wacky ways to keep her 20-book series fresh? Evanovich said she has no idea where it comes from: "Sometimes it's downright scary to think what must be rattling around in my head."

Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter with two hot guys and a crazy family. What is it about her that resonates with people? Evanovich considers Plum an average person "with an odd job and relationship issues. Mostly, I think her appeal is that she's not perfect, but she's a good person who rallies to the cause, gets through the day, pays her own way, and tries to do the right thing. I think the world is starved for positive entertainment that produces happy, hopeful feelings, so I try to be the author who makes people smile."

Evanovich's own family plays an integral role in her publishing empire (more than 45 books in print and more than 75 million books sold worldwide). Is it as zany as the Plums? What is Thanksgiving like at the Evanovich household?

"I'm related to Grandma Mazur! Thanksgiving this year will be at my house. Or as we're calling it... Chanugiving, since my son-in-law is Jewish and Thanksgiving falls on Chanukah. So we'll have turkey and brisket, and the menorah will have a place of honor beside my grandmother's glass turkey-shaped cranberry sauce dish. There will be 11 of us at the table plus Gus the cat, Ollie my rescued cross-eyed dog, and Bonnie the rescued three-legged dog. There will be lots of drinking, and it wouldn't surprise me if someone accidentally knocks the menorah over and sets the tablecloth on fire."

Sounds right on the mark. --Marilyn Dahl, editor, Shelf Awareness for Readers