Q. Who or what is your “Muse” at the moment ?
A. For the book I just finished writing it was a bizarre combination of Roy Lichtenstein and Pat Benatar. Lichtenstein’s paintings ended up playing a major role in the book, but sadly Benatar’s music remained trapped on my iPod.
Q. When did you begin to write seriously?
A. When I quit my job in June 2006.
Q. How long after that were you published?
A. I finished the manuscript in June 2007, found an agent in December 2007, was offered a contract in February 2008, and my first book was published in May 2009.
Q. What makes a writer great?
A. The ability to create characters that readers care about as much – or more – as they do about real people.
Q. and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like?
A. For me, it breaks down into three phases: Percolating, where all the thoughts and ideas and “what ifs” that have built up in my head since finishing the last book coalesce and grow until they’re strong enough to carry a whole story; Writing, where I get the first draft of the book down on paper; and Revising, where, with input from my editor, I try to make the book as good as I’m able to. The only other thing you have to do is wait, until you can finally hold the finished version in your hand – one of the best feelings in the world!
Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters ?
A. They usually come to me gradually during the “Percolating” stage, when I’m wondering what kind of person would do the things I’m considering writing about.
Q. What inspired your story/stories ?
A. My stories usually begin with a situation I’ve experienced or something I’ve read about – for example a financial scandal for EVEN, details of a coup attempt for DIE TWICE, or something I saw when I was working a former job for MORE HARM THAN GOOD. These details then sit at the back of my mind until a sufficient number of strands come together to give me the material need to bend and shape into the backbone of a novel.
Q. When is your next book coming out? (or) What are you working on?
A. My next book – a standalone thriller, this time – will be released this fall by Random House.
Q. Have you? Or do you want to write in another genre`?
A. I never have written in another genre and I don’t have any plans to, but I never say never…
Q. Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?
A. I appreciate you taking the time to ask me these questions and read my answers, and hope you enjoy the new book when it hits the shelves! Click here to read Part I of my interview!
Click here to read my Review of Grant’s “Even”
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”
In addition to my twice weekly blog I will also feature an interview with another author once a month. These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Janet Evanovich, Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Tasha Alexander, Patrick Taylor, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Cathy Lamb, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Raymond Benson, Andrew Grant, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, Walter Mosley, and many others.
So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Raymond Benson was my January author. This month Andrew Grant will join us. Janet Evanovich, Barbara Delinski, Loretta Chase and Sherryl Woods in the coming months. Dean Koontz just granted me an interview and will be featured here this spring!
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