Authors Interviewing Characters: Patricia Grayhall

FRAMED

She’s taking on Big Oil. But when her star witness is arrested for bank robbery, the fight for justice becomes a battle for survival.

Environmental attorney Jo Turner is building the case of a lifetime, suing World Petrol, one of the country’s largest refineries, for toxic emissions linked to rising cancer rates along the Houston Ship Channel. Her crucial evidence comes from Dr. Tori Nelson, a respected physician and Jo’s college crush, whose research exposes devastating community health impacts.

But just as the lawsuit gains momentum, Tori is arrested for a shocking, high-profile bank robbery. Jo knows it’s a setup. Someone is trying to silence Tori to bury the findings that could bring World Petrol down.

As Jo races to prove Tori’s innocence, she uncovers a chilling conspiracy that reaches deeper than she imagined. With Tori’s freedom, career, and the lives of an entire community at stake, Jo has a choice: walk away or risk everything.

She’s never been good at walking away.

Journalist: Hi Jo, it’s sweltering in Houston today, and I know you’re busy with your big case, so thank you for agreeing to this interview.

Jo: Yes, I’m signing up residents living near one of the largest petrochemical companies in the country. They really need help; some are dying.

Journalist: You were just getting started with your legal case against World Petrol when the FBI arrested your star medical expert for bank robbery. Couldn’t you just find another doctor?

Jo: No way. Dr. Nelson, Tori, was my former college roommate and close friend. Her credentials are impeccable, her integrity unimpeachable, and her study of cancer in the community surrounding one of the county’s largest oil refineries is unique. It’s the keystone of our whole case. And of course, there is absolutely no way Tori could have robbed a bank. I’ve got to help her.

Journalist: So why was she arrested? I must say, it is very unusual for a woman to rob a bank, let alone a physician who’s probably making good money.

Jo: She was probably framed by Big Oil. To keep her from revealing her findings that are central to our case. Her study and our lawsuit will make them accountable for their crimes. They’d have to pay millions in fines and restitution to the community.

Journalist: Why did your author put you in this situation?

Jo: Ah, yes. Several decades ago, she worked with a brilliant physician colleague, a vocal advocate for worker health and safety and the environment. He was shockingly arrested for bank robbery. His colleagues couldn’t believe he did it, and some wondered if he might have been set up. But his story is not hers to tell. So, she made up this fictional one, starring Tori and me.

Journalist: The author’s really putting pressure on you to solve this.

Jo: Absolutely. She’s complicating my life, personally and professionally. Sometimes I wish she’d give me a break.

Journalist: From some background research I’ve done, you seem to be the sort of person who must fight for underdogs. If I were to ascribe one verb to you, it would be: To protect.  You are loyal— almost to a fault— and a fierce protector of your friends and those affected by corporate greed and disregard for the environment. So tell me, how do you think you got this way?

Jo: My father, a chemist, died from cancer when I was very young, which I now believe was due to workplace chemical exposures. I was raised by a single mother who worked long hours and had little time for me. My friends, particularly Tori, became especially important to me.

Journalist: I see. Does your love life come up at all in this story? 

Jo: This is a thriller, not a romance, right? I have a steady girlfriend at home in Washington, D.C.  But I admit to having an occasional unsettling frisson around straight, married Tori, my former college crush.

Journalist: I suppose a touch of romantic tension and triangulation adds a bit of flavor to a novel. What does your girlfriend think of your spending so much time with your ex-college crush?

Jo: Let’s not go there. I really need to focus on this case, the most important one of my life. I can’t let these people in the community down—not after they’ve trusted me to stand up for them against this petrochemical giant that has caused them such pain and suffering.

Journalist: Of course. But if Tori, your star medical expert, is accused of robbing a bank, how credible is her cancer study going to be anyway? No matter how compelling the evidence.

Jo: That’s the point, isn’t it? It’s why she was framed.

Journalist: Perhaps. But what about Tori’s husband? I understand he and Tori haven’t been getting along lately, and he seems angry. Could he have played a role in her arrest?

Jo: Sighs. I’m keeping an eye on him.

Journalist: You never liked him, did you? Thought he wasn’t good enough for Tori.

Jo: That’s true.

Journalist: Do you think Tori tells you everything that is going on in her life?

Jo: Of course. At least she always used to.

Journalist: There’s a rumor Tori had lunch with a mysterious woman around the time of the robbery. She doesn’t seem to want to tell anyone about who she met or why. Does that concern you?

Jo: I’m sure she has her reasons. I’ll ask her more about it when the time is right.

Journalist: What do your law partners in Washington DC think of the fact that your star witness has been arrested for bank robbery?

Jo: Oh God, don’t ask.

Journalist: What will you do if they tell you to pull out? Go home? Drop the case?

Jo: You’re giving me a headache just thinking about it. It’s not just the plaintiffs’ lives at stake. My career is on the line here.

Journalist: I understand. One last question. Do you think any of this story is true?

Jo: You’ll have to ask the author.

BUY FRAMED HERE

“Original, clever, deftly written, and a simply riveting read…A consummate legal thriller…the stuff of which high-tension movies are made.” —Midwest Book Review

“With masterful pacing and a twist that will leave you breathless, Grayhall keeps readers guessing at every turn.” —Michelle Cox, author of The Henrietta and Inspector Howard series

Grayhall’s prose is clean, precise, and emotionally intelligent. She writes with the clarity of a scientist and the empathy of a novelist.” —San Francisco Book Review (5 stars)

Order on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G5241SHD

Print book also available at other book retailers

Pub date: January 20, 2026

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Patricia Grayhall is a retired physician turned acclaimed author whose memoir, Making the Rounds, won multiple prestigious awards. Following the success of her memoir, Patricia co-authored the romance novel Golden Years and Silver Linings with her partner in 2023. Her literary range expanded with A Place for Us: A Novel, published in June 2025. Patricia’s current medical/legal thriller, FRAMED, released January 2026, blends her medical expertise with compelling storytelling, marking her evolution from memoirist to a versatile fiction author. She lives with her partner in the Pacific Northwest.

 

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Category: Interviews, On Writing