Red Mist might be the 19th novel in the best-selling Kay Scarpetta series, but author Patricia Cornwell isn’t tired of her forensic examiner heroine.

In fact, 20 years since Scarpetta made her debut in 1990′s Postmortem and the series went on to become an international sensation, Cornwell says she’s just getting started.

“I am still quite passionate about her,” Cornwell  says with a twang, revealing her Southern roots.

“I’m having more fun with her now than ever, and I hope (my fans) don’t get bored with them because I’m not bored with them.”

Cornwell speaks about her characters almost as though they are real people, a charming tendency that occurred throughout our interview.

And it’s understandable -  you’d be hard-pressed to find an author who is closer to her main character than Cornwell is to Scarpetta.

“I look at the world through her and, when I write, I filter my personality through her,” says Cornwell.

When asked what percentage of herself manifests in Scarpetta, she wouldn’t name a figure, just saying: “I created this character and if she had a disposition that I found objectionable, I would not want to spend decades of my life with that person.”

Another way Cornwell and Scarpetta are intertwined? The 55-year-old author is especially known for trying out activities that Scarpetta undertakes in her books – from scuba diving to flying helicopters to riding motorcycles.

“I do things enough so I can make you believe it enough when I’m recreating them for you. I want you to feel like you are in Savannah, Georgia,” says Cornwell about the setting for Red Mist.

“And, actually, when a scene is going really well for me, I always have a flicker of a start when I leave my Boston office and there isn’t moss outside on the trees.”