The character of Janice in Brendan Slocumb’s hit mystery novel, The Violin Conspiracy, is based on Slocumb’s mentor, adjunct professor in music Rachel Vetter Huang, the Los Angeles Times . Huang, who has appeared as violin soloist with the Boston Pops and the Concord Symphony Orchestra, has also been honored by both the National Endowment of the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Slocumb calls Huang βa life-saving force.β