Website: cannell.com
Tavis Smiley Show: Mark Higgins Clark November 21, 2010
Mary Higgins Clark is America’s top-selling suspense author. For decades, readers have enjoyed her tense and tightly-woven tales of intrigue and mystery. All of her novels are still in print. Her first novel, Where are the Children?, is currently in its 75th printing. Her new novel, Just Take My Heart, will be released in April of 2009.
Mary Higgins Clark-Background Information
Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins was born December 25, 1927 in New York. Her family was of Irish descent. The family owned and operated a successful pub until the death of Mary’s father left Nora Clark a widow with three young children to support.
Though Ms. Clark felt inspired to write at an early age, she held down many jobs. She worked as a secretary, copy editor and stewardess. In 1949, she gave up her career with the airline to marry Warren Clark. They had four children, Marilyn, Warren Jr., David, and Carol. In 1964, tragedy struck. Her husband, who had been in poor health for a number of years, suffered a fatal heart attack. Mary’s mother-in law, who was visiting at the time, collapsed from the stress and died that same night.
Warren Clark’s death caused financial difficulties for the young widow. Mary turned to writing for a living. She worked as a radio scriptwriter and had also established herself as a successful short story writer. Her first novel, Where are the Children? became a bestseller and her career as America’s Queen of Suspense was launched.
Ms. Clark remarried twice. She now lives in Saddle River, New Jersey with her husband John J. Conheeney.
Best-Selling Suspense
After the publication of her first mystery novel, Where Are The Children? in 1975, Ms. Clark continued to pen best-sellers such as On the Street Where you Live and Before I Say Goodbye. Many of her plots deal with kidnapping and crimes involving children. Some storylines, such as Two Little Girls in Blue, also involve psychic phenomena, in this instance the telepathic communication between twins.
Her lead character is usually a strong and independent woman who uses her own wits to solve the mystery.
Two of her novels, Where are the Children? and A Stanger is Watching were made into film. Many of her short stories and other works were made for television. Ms. Clark has won numerous awards for her writing. She is very active in Mystery Writers of America and served as president in 1987 and has also served on the Board of Directors.
Ms. Clark’s Other Work
Ms. Clark is the author of an autobiography, Kitchen Privileges, which was published in 2002. She has published one nonfiction novel, Aspire to the Heavens, about George Washington, which was inspired by her days as a radio script writer, She has also written several collections of short stories, some in collaboration with her daughter Carol, and a children’s book, Ghost Ship.
Clark’s daughter, Carol, followed in her mother’s footsteps and became an author. Mother and daughter have co-authored three lighter suspense novels with holiday themes, Deck the Halls, He Sees You When You’re Sleeping, and The Christmas Thief. A new title, Dashing through the Snow, was released in November of 08.
Suspenses by Mary Higgins Clark
- Where Are The Children? (1975)
- A Stranger is Watching (1977
- The Cradle Will Fall (1980)
- A Cry in the Night (198
- Stillwatch (1984)
- Weep No More, My Lady (1987)
- While My Pretty One Sleeps (1989)
- Loves Music, Loves to Dance (1991)
- All Around the Town (1992)
- I’ll Be Seeing You (1993)
- Remember Me (1994)
- Let Me Call You Sweetheart (1995)
- Silent Night (1995)
- Moonlight Becomes You (1996)
- Pretend You Don’t See Her (1997)
- You Belong to Me (1998)
- All Through The Night (1998)
- We’ll Meet Again (1999)
- Before I Say Good-Bye (2000)
- On The Street Where You Live (2001)
- Daddy’s Little Girl (2002)
- The Second Time Around (2003)
- Nighttime Is My Time (2004)
- No Place Like Home (2005)
- Two Little Girls in Blue (2006)
- I Heard That Song Before (2007)
- Where Are You Now? (2008)
- Just Take My Heart (2009)
Source material: http://www.suite101.com/content/mary-higgins-clarkbiography-a80137
Best-Selling Author: Karen Kingsbury July 20, 2010
Author’s website: http://karenkingsbury.com/
Ten Tips for Aspiring Authors 1. Keep Writing If God has given you a book to write, or if you feel He has placed a story on your heart that needs to be told…write, write, write. Get it finished, and make sure it is written to the best of your ability. 2. Join a Writer’s Group There are many Christian writers groups for aspiring authors. In order to make your manuscript the best book it can be, you should join one of these groups and learn from others. A few you might try would be: Christian Writers Guild http://www.faithwriters.com/ 3. Join a Critique Group Once you’re connected with a writers group, you should be able to form a critique group. This may be an online club, wherein you and a few other aspiring authors take turns reading each others’ work. Feedback is then given, allowing you to take your manuscript to another level. 4. Read Other Books Similar to Yours If you want to write a mystery, read mysteries. If you want to write a Christian romance, read Christian romances. If you want to write a Christian general fiction, such as Karen Kingsbury’s works – read Karen Kingsbury’s books. You get the idea. You must be well versed in the type of genre you wish to write. Editors and agents will expect this. 5. Get a Copy of Writer’s Market This is an informational book that releases new every year and has a list of editors and agents who are acquiring new material. 6. Write a Brief Synopsis for Your Book Once you’ve finished your book, and you’re happy with it, write a very brief one-sentence or two-sentence synopsis. This will go a long way in helping you convey the story to an editor or agent. Example: Gideon’s Gift is about a sick little girl, an angry homeless man, and the gift that changes both of their lives forever. You need something like this for your book. 7. Write Back Cover Copy Next make your synopsis long enough to work as back cover copy. This will give you a way to place on one single sheet of paper, the summation of your story. Read the copy on back covers to get an idea of how long and how detailed this information should be. It should fit on one page, double-spaced. If you are writing a non-fiction book, you will also include a chapter outline at this point. 8. Write a 2-3 Page Synopsis This will be the synopsis an agent or editor will read if he or she is interested in your previous synopses. You must include all information in this synopsis. Whereas the others might have intrigue and missing information, this one must give it all away. It will give adequate information about characters, plot points, conflict, and resolution, to be a concise version of the novel. 9. Submit It’s time! Submit all forms of your synopses to an agent. Karen Kingsbury is represented by Alive Communications in Colorado Springs. You may look online for other agencies, or check out the listings in the Writer’s Market or Agent’s Market book. Every agent may want something slightly different, but it’s always wise to include these items in your proposal: ■Cover letter introducing yourself and your idea. ■Brief bio on yourself. ■All forms of your synopses. ■First three chapters of your book. 10. Pray! Nothing written or done for God will happen without your diligent prayer. Pray and seek God’s will. Sometimes He is telling you to write; other times He is telling you to take a season of education toward your writing. Other times He wants you to volunteer at your child’s school and put writing on hold. Try to be discerning.
Interview: Emily Griffin July 18, 2010
website: http://www.emilygiffin.com/
What is your writing process? Do you outline your stories ahead of time? I never outline my novels before I write. I have a vague sense of beginning, middle and end, but for me, it is a very character-driven process. As I get to know my characters, and the relationships between them form, the plot evolves accordingly. For example, the plot twist at the end of Something Borrowed came to me late in the game. *SPOILER ALERT* I had this moment where I thought, “Why, of course! Darcy was with Marcus all along! Just another example of her taking from Rachel.” Another instance of such plot shift involved Dex. Originally, I saw him as a smooth-talking cad. But as I spent time with him, he changed in my mind, and I decided that his feelings for Rachel were sincere from the start. This worked a lot better in the story, of course, because Rachel’s dilemma would have become trivial if her relationship with Dex was merely about sex, intrigue or getting even with a friend. Although this method of writing can be inefficient, and I sometimes have to scrap whole chapters if I don’t like the direction the story is unfolding, I love being surprised in the writing process.
Where do you write? Do you have any special writing rituals? I usually write in my attic office—two floors above the chaos created by my three children. When I get stir crazy, I transfer to a coffee shop or bookstore. I don’t have many rituals—but I always start out my writing day with a cup of coffee and find that my work is the strongest in the morning or in the middle of the night.
What inspires your stories? My books are all relationship-focused, so much of my inspiration comes from my own relationships and the issues and concerns that arise among my friends and family. It’s amazing how universal certain themes are, such as whether there are deal breakers when it comes to true love (Baby Proof); the idealization of a past relationship and a fixation on the “the one who got away” (Love the One You’re With); or complicated, if not downright toxic, female friendships (Something Borrowed). It is always so satisfying to write a book and discover how much it resonates with readers of all ages, worldwide.
You often write about flawed characters. Is this something you do intentionally? I find flawed characters much more interesting than perfect ones and enjoy the challenge of making readers root for them in spite of their unsympathetic path and destructive choices. Life is about the gray areas. Things are seldom black and white, even when we wish they were and think they should be, and I like exploring this nuanced terrain. I believe most people are good at heart and sincerely try to do the right thing. Yet we are all capable of missteps and of hurting the people we love, and we all have had to grapple with the guilt and regret that come from these mistakes and weaknesses.
Do you ever get writer’s block? How do you deal with it? What is the hardest part of being a writer? Yes—pretty much every day is filled with at least a few moments of frustration in which I’m staring at a blank screen (or a screen filled with sentences I loathe). To me, writing is about overcoming those moments, fighting through them, getting to the other side. More than anything, I write for that feeling of accomplishment and relief. I remember my publicist once saying to me, about another writer, “She only had one book in her.” That is always my fear—that I’ve reached my limit. But I’ve discovered that nearly every author—no matter how accomplished—has this feeling on occasion. And ultimately, I believe that writing is mostly about hard work, perseverance, keeping faith in yourself—which, I believe, is true of most things in life worth pursuing.
Do you have any advice for beginning writers, or for those who’ve never tackled something as big as a novel before? What about writers who are trying to get published? First, stop referring to yourself as an “aspiring writer.” You might aspire to get paid for what you do, but you are a writer if you write… As a corollary, stop worrying that you won’t be good enough, or comparing yourself to others. Don’t let the idea of a novel overwhelm or intimidate you so much that you are too afraid to begin. It’s like training for a marathon. Nobody gets out there and runs twenty-six miles on their first effort. It takes daily training and discipline and desire. There’s no real magic to writing a novel or one method that works for all—it’s just a question of attacking the project sentence by paragraph by page by chapter. Also, try to follow Stephen King’s advice (from his memoir On Writing) to keep the door “closed” when writing early drafts. In other words, don’t concern yourself with what others might think of your work, or whether it is commercially viable. Write what you feel and be fiercely honest. If you don’t feel a deep connection to your characters and writing, then chances are nobody else will. Other books I recommend are: Turning Life Into Fiction by Robin Hemley, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, Self-editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King.
When you get to the “finding an agent” stage, check out Jeff Herman’s Guide to Agents. I found it to be very useful in that it gives a bit more background on agents. Always keep in mind that publishing is a very subjective and personality-driven. Therefore, you really want to click with your agent and be sure that your work resonates with her. If you have multiple offers, do your due diligence and ask to speak to their respective clients. And until those offers come in, resolve to have a thick skin. Rejection is simply part of the process. It happens to most every successful writer. Many times. When I was writing Something Borrowed in London, I lived around the corner from J.K. Rowling’s flat, and derived strength from walking by her place on my way to get coffee and thinking of all the rejection she endured. So no matter what else, persevere, believe in yourself and keep doing what you love.
Interview: Lee Child July 9, 2010
More interview:
Author’s Website: http://www.leechild.com/
What did you like to read when you were growing up?
I started with kids’ adventure and mystery stories, war stories, explorer stories … all very escapist, I suppose, looking back. Then moved on to Alistair Maclean, John D. Macdonald, Raymond Chandler. I detoured into the great 19th century Russian classics for a while. Then modern classics, and came back to genre fiction — my natural home, I guess.
How did you get your start in British television?
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I had a brief theater background and loved the backstage world … there’s more backstage work in television, so I saw a job advertised and applied, and got it. That was back in 1977, when getting jobs was easy.
What did enjoy most about working in television?
I worked for the BBC’s rival, ITV, the commercial network. What was great about it was that due to regulatory wrinkles, there was a lot of money that had to be spent on programming.
When you were at Granada television it produced some fantastic programming, such as Brideshead Revisited and Cracker. Do you believe that the quality of television has overall declined in the last 10 years?
Absolutely … really the last eight years or so. The British regulatory system was revised, so that bigger profits were encouraged, which removed the option of big spending on programming. Quality just fell off a cliff, and all the old hands either left or were fired for being too expensive. In America, the fragmentation of the market spurred a chase toward the lowest common denominator (and the cheapest programming.) We’ll never see the likes of Roots or Brideshead again, which is a shame.
The amount of sex and violence that children see on television is a hot topic in American politics right now. Should the government have a role in censoring what is seen on television or in films? Does it make a difference if the films or shows are marketed to children?
I’m opposed to censorship of any kind, especially by government.
| “I’m opposed to censorship of any kind, especially by government. But it’s plain common sense that producers should target their product with some kind of sensitivity. I think there should be an unspoken rule that anything shown before, say, nine o’clock will be fairly inoffensive. After that, anything goes.” |
But it’s plain common sense that producers should target their product with some kind of sensitivity. I think there should be an unspoken rule that anything shown before, say, nine o’clock will be fairly inoffensive. After that, anything goes. If people felt they could rely on such a system, I don’t think there would be problems.
What led up to the publication of your first book?
I was fired from my television job, simple as that. Well, downsized, really, a classic 1990s situation. I felt alienated by the experience and decided to stay away from corporate employment. So, how to stay inside the world of entertainment without actually getting another job? I felt the only logical answer was to become a novelist. So I wrote the first book — driven by some very real feelings of desperation — and it worked.
Jack Reacher is an interesting, and enigmatic character. How did you create Jack? Were there any characteristics that you were specifically trying to avoid with him?
Specifically, I was determined to avoid the hero-as-self-aware-damaged-person paradigm. I’m afraid as a reader I got sick of all the depressed and miserable alcoholics that increasingly peopled the genre. I wanted a happy-go-lucky guy. He has quirks and problems, but the thing is, he doesn’t know he’s got them. Hence, no tedious self-pity. He’s smart and strong, an introvert, but any anguish he suffers is caused by others.
Jack is a wanderer, a hero who is a bit alienated from the establishment, but whose sense of justice is strong. He reminds me a bit of a character from the Old West: the strong, mysterious loner who never stays in town for long. Are you fond of Westerns at all, or did you read any when you were a boy?
Great point. The stories are all very contemporary, but Reacher is an old-West character for sure. He could be a Zane Grey character. But the funny thing is, I didn’t really realize that until well after the first book was written, and I wasn’t a big Western fan as a kid. Obviously I watched the movies and the TV shows, but I guess I wasn’t aware how deeply the influence was affecting me.
The novels are very American in voice, they are not British in style or tone at all. How did you develop your sense of American dialogue and speech patterns?
Well, writers become writers because they love words and language, and attempting a non-native style is all part of the fun. Plus, I had been coming to America very frequently for many, many years, so I had plenty of exposure — and maybe the best kind of exposure, because I think first impressions are very important. Maybe I notice stuff that is just subliminal to people who live here all the time.
I’d like to talk about your latest book, Echo Burning. What was your inspiration for this story?
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Two things, really – one was a “what if?” idea (writers spend a lot of time thinking … what if?) about meeting a woman whose husband was due out of prison, and she really didn’t want him to come out. The other was a gravestone I saw, a monument to Clay Allison, the Gentleman Gunfighter, that has an inscription: he never killed a man that did not need killing. I asked myself: what would Reacher do, confronted with a man that somebody told him needed killing?
The book has incredibly vivid descriptions of life in South Texas. Did you spend a lot of time there to soak up the atmosphere (and the broiling heat)?
Not a lot of time. I just hang out and move on, like Reacher does. I depend on first impressions, because as a drifter, that’s all that Reacher ever gets.
In Echo Burning, Jack meets Carmen, a woman who claims she has an abusive husband — but other people say she’s a pathological liar. She’s an interesting character; what was the greatest challenge in writing Carmen?
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Simply to balance the two aspects … I wanted readers to be genuinely unsure as to whether she’s telling the truth or lying. It meant making her partly sympathetic, and partly unsympathetic, which wasn’t easy.
Another interesting character is Alice, the attorney who helps Jack out with Carmen’s case. She is a bit of a scene stealer, I thought. What was your inspiration for Alice?
She’s a reflection of my fascination with the diversity of America … she’s totally normal in New York, but a freak in Texas. There are dozens of such clashes in America.
What’s next for Jack Reacher?
Next year’s book is Without Fail … a woman Secret Service agent who many years ago dated Reacher’s (now dead) brother brings Reacher to Washington DC because she needs an outsider to assess a threat against the VP. It’s a tough case … and the first time Reacher needs to recruit somebody to help him out. He uses a woman he knew in the army … she’s a fascinating character.
I’d like to talk about the day to day process of writing. Do you have a set schedule for writing? What are your surroundings when you write?
I write in the afternoon, from about 12 until 6 or 7. I use an upstairs room as my office. Once I get going I keep at it, and it usually takes about six months from the first blank screen until “The End.”
When you begin a new novel, do you have the ending worked out in advance? Or is it a more organic process, where the story unfolds as you write?
| “I was determined to avoid the ‘hero as self-aware damaged person’ paradigm. I’m afraid as a reader I got sick of all the depressed and miserable alcoholics that increasingly peopled the genre.” |
I have the “thing” worked out — the trick or the surprise or the pivotal fact. Then I just start somewhere and let the story work itself out.
How has your background in television affected your style as a novelist?
I think my books come out very visual, which is an obvious consequence. I think my previous experience has helped me with dialog. But it’s the “nuts-and-bolts” of the business that benefits the most — I’m not scared of deadlines, and I’m not the sort of guy who revises endlessly because I’m reluctant to turn a product in. Not quite “don’t get it right, get it written”, but close.
So, you’ve just finished a rather long book tour. Do you enjoy touring, or do you dread it? What was the oddest thing that happened to you while on tour?
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I love touring. The rest of the year is very solitary, so it’s great to get out with real live humans. I love to talk about books — mine or anybody else’s. Can’t think of anything odd that happened this time around. I met a few people I’d emailed with extensively — strange to put faces to names.
What do you enjoy most about living in the U.S.? What things do you miss about England when you aren’t there?
The US? Everything, I guess. The people, the weather, the food, the cars, baseball. I’m a classic happy immigrant. What do I miss about the UK? Sadly, almost nothing. Maybe the midnight sun, in June in the north. That’s all.
How much do you use the Internet? Has it had any impact on your career as a novelist?
I do a little fact checking now and then. Other than that its impact is simply that email has revolutionized
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communication for me, and my website has built up a community of readers, which is a lot of fun.
When you’re not working, what are your favorite ways to relax?
Listening to music, watching the Yankees, reading, staring into space.
Interview: Nick Hornby
More interview: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/11/the-younger-side-of-nick-hornby/6457/
Author’s Website: http://www.nicksbooks.com/index.php/archives/category/news/
TBR: You claim that it’s not possible to plan the kind of book that you write in any detail. How do you actually write your books?
N.H: I start with a fragment of narrative, or a character, something that seems to have resonance for me and which allows me to explore the kinds of themes I’m interested in. But I don’t begin to write for maybe a year, and in the meantime other elements start to attach themselves to the initial spark. A character or scene from another idea might suddenly start to make sense in a new context, things accumulate…And then I sit down with a very rough sense of a beginning, a middle and an end, maybe just a tonal sense rather than plot points. Most of the work, the jokes and the observations and the smaller narrative episodes, come with the actual writing rather than with the preparation.
TBR: You’ve said that the difference between writing novels and screenplays is that novels do not necessarily pass through the hands of a good editor, whereas screenplays are constantly scrutinised and, therefore, improved. Yet it strikes me that the quality of writing for the cinema is far lower than that in contemporary novels.
N.H: Well, I’m not sure you’re comparing like with like. If you’re talking about subtlety and sophistication, then novels of course have the edge. But so many novels don’t work – they are undisciplined, shapeless, they lose their readership. Whatever you think of film scripts, they frequently work as far as an audience is concerned. All I meant was that if the degree of scrutiny given to a screenplay – sometimes by the wrong people, financiers and producers who have no sympathy for the material – were given to a lot of contemporary novels (by sympathetic readers!), then those novels would be improved no end.
TBR: Both you and Zadie Smith have repeatedly stated that as readers and writers you feel more American than British “My content is British, my style American,” you said at one point. Yet you come across to a non-American foreign reader as very English.
N.H: Both Zadie and I write about our own cities and countries, but we probably both feel that we’ve been shaped much more by American writing than by our own. It’s that American simplicity and inclusivity, its soul, its lack of allusion….My own literary heroes and models, the people who made me want to write, were all American: Tyler, Lorrie Moore, Tobias Wolff, Carver, Ford, Roth….
TBR: Martin Amis says novels should stand the test of time, yet you say that you’d “rather be read now than in the future” and also that you write to entertain, that you deal with “the affecting of the emotions in some way.” Is this the definition of a popular writer, or has it something to do with reflecting popular culture in your novels?
N.H: Oh, this stuff…..! One thing I know: you can’t be read in the future UNLESS you are read now. This idea that ‘literature’ can somehow survive without a contemporary readership is new, and I suspect wrong. There is a particularly dreary kind of literary writing which quite clearly aims for posterity – I’m not interested in reading it, and I’m certainly not interested in writing it. As for the reflection of popular culture – I don’t think this has much to do with anything, because clearly one can write about popular culture in a way that excludes. I don’t want my books to exclude anyone, but if they have to, then I would rather they excluded the people who feel they are too smart for them! It seems a very worthwhile thing to do to me, to write books that are about something, that aren’t beach books or genre books, and that are read by large numbers of people. How much more fun it is to be told by people at a football match (as I was last night) that they enjoyed How To Be Good – and these are not people who are going to read Rushdie or Bellow – than to have to wait a few hundred years……
TBR: In your view “the gender thing doesn’t apply anymore.” Your work should be read, in other words, as a declaration of the mutual understanding of the sexes. Yet you – and in a certain sense Helen Fielding – are saying that this new will to understand each other means accepting the other as they are without romantic illusions. Don’t we, though, need some kind of romantic illusion to make relationships survive?
N.H: I’m not sure that this is how my work should be read at all, but never mind. We need a romantic illusion to embark on relationships in the first place – after that, they survive or fail for other, more practical reasons.
TBR: The humour in your novels is one of their distinct and most enjoyable characteristics. The idea of making people laugh is something you have repeatedly criticised literary fiction for not considering “an important job.” Yet your novels are becoming sadder; you have even said that you’d like to make them both sadder and funnier. Are you worried that readers may typecast you as a comic writer and find comedy where there’s none to be found?
N.H: I’m really not worried about anything! I write the books I want to write, and readers will either respond or not respond. All I want to do is make sure that I continue to try to exploit the potential I have.
From Page to Screen: The devil wears prada
Article from: http://www.universitychic.com/node/266
Author’s Website: http://www.laurenweisberger.com/
Lauren Weisberger calls me from a doorway at a California Barnes and Noble. She’s in the golden state, signing books on a promotional tour for her second novel, Everyone Worth Knowing. In case you’ve been living in a cave, her first book, The Devil Wears Prada, spent an impressive six months on the New York Times hardcover best-seller list and is currently being made into a movie by FOX starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway.
Right now, Lauren’s life is crazy busy. She’s making stops at bookshops and hotels in San Diego, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Toronto and Miami. She’s also beginning to do research for her third novel AND she continues to do freelance magazine work, like this summer, when she wrote an article about scuba diving in Bali, something she actually got to do…now that’s a good job, the kind of job I wouldn’t mind having… I suddenly feel an overwhelming desire to copy her every career move …I start asking rapid-fire questions and taking desperate notes, the way I did in my freshmen political science class.
Where did you go to college and what did you major in?
Lauren tells me she went to Cornell and graduated in English and that she also took courses in near-Eastern studies, a combination she describes as very random and very unemployable. While she was there she joined a sorority, AEPhi where she met some of her “great oldest girlfriends” and she also was a campus tour guide. “I loved the school so much that I learned to walk backwards and talk to people.”
What did you do during the summers? Did you have internships?
She tells me that the summer after her freshman year she moved back in with her parents and got a job at a restaurant. Pretty normal. And the summer after that she worked as an intern for a public relations firm in Washington D.C. (I casually mention that I’m from the D.C. area and we chat about that. I’m surprised and relieved at how easy she is to talk to. She seems more like a college roommate than a best-selling author.)
Was your position at Vogue the first job you applied for after graduation?
“Yes, very first,” she says. “Which was incredible, as you can imagine. I just thought I wanted to work at a magazine and started applying and basically sent resumes to every publishing company in New York and Conde Nast was the first one that got back to me.”
What did you do in between the time you finished at Vogue up until when the Devil Wears Prada was published? Did you have any other jobs?
“I did. I went from there to work at a travel magazine, a high-end travel and lifestyle magazine, Departures, which is published by American Express publishing for their platinum cardholders. One of the features editors at Vogue left to become editor in chief at Departures so I followed him over there. It was there that I was working on writing The Devil Wears Prada.” And I ended up selling the manuscript while working at Departures.
In what ways has your life changed since you began writing novels?
“The obvious one is that I set my own schedule, which I just adore,” she says in a way so candid and refreshingly blunt that I have to giggle. “It’s like being back in school again.” She tells me that her life really hasn’t changed so much, but she travels a lot more now. Especially while she’s on her book tour, every second of her life is mapped out, but when she has down time she tells me she loves hanging out with friends and family and she isn’t really into clubs. I tell her I’m the same way. “You love it or you don’t,” she says.
She also tells me she loves to travel and read. “Fiction, nonfiction,anything,”_ she says. The main character in her new book loves reading romance novels, so I ask her if she has any guilty pleasures like that. “Not romance novels, although I have read a couple,” she says. “I’m not hooked on them. I would say, US Weekly, tabloids, sensationalistic TomKat update stuff. It’s embarrassing, but I love it.”
The main characters in both of your books have difficulties balancing their new careers with their personal relationships, in fact, they end up having to choose between the two. Is this something you’ve experienced firsthand?
“It is. And maybe not to that extreme, but I think, I hope, that’s one of the things about my books that young women relate to. In their twenties especially”(She pauses to ask me if I’m even there yet. I tell her I’m twenty-two and I just graduated from college and she congratulates me in a way that’s more sincere than some of my actual friends. I’m embarrassed. I mutter a thank you and she goes back to what she was saying.) “It’s a long road. But I think that the main thing facing people is trying to get that balance between work and social life and love life. And you can’t ever seem to get all three to play at the same time. You sort of fix one and the other one falls apart. So, I think that’s something I try to write about in my books. And it’s something that I definitely had trouble with in my twenties and it’s something that me and my friends are always talking about.”
In your new book, the main character changes careers several times, (starting in investment banking, switching to event planning and, at the end, contemplating a career in writing,) what would you say to young women who are unhappy with their current jobs?
“I would say that nothing is permanent. Again, I know it sounds like a cliche, but I think that when you’re just out of college and you have a job that other people think you should feel lucky to have, and in a lot of cases you should, it’s hard to get any jobs especially at that point, but it doesn’t mean that it’s something you have to do forever. And I think there’s that feeling, my sister had it, I had it where you think to yourself, it doesn’t matter what you’re doing, ‘Ohmygod, I’m going to throw myself off a bridge if I have to do this for the rest of my life.’ And I think that’s very common early on in your career, but things do get better. You change jobs, opportunities come up out of nowhere, when you least expect it. And even if you do stay, it gets a lot more interesting as you get more responsibility, and start meeting more people in your industry and you’re doing real things rather than just administrative stuff. I mean, work is still work, it’s called work for a reason. I think the first two years are so hard and you can’t get discouraged.”
What’s the best piece of advice you could give to women in college who are just beginning the job-hunting process? “Like me!,” I squeak. I immediately feel like I’ve thrown a real personal question into the mix since I happen to be in the “vortex” of the job-hunting experience right now. She tells me she can’t remember ever being asked this before. And I guess that, in a way, I’m invested in her response, hoping, wishing she’ll tell me something inspiring. And she does.
“Don’t be afraid to take a risk. Everyone follows the format: Cover letter, plays it very safe, resume is always done the exact same way. And anyone who is hiring people for any position is getting dozens and dozens and dozens of resumes and cover letters and I think the only way to get noticed or to really stand out is to take a risk. Do something funny, something different, something really outside the box. And I think the more you want the job the more you should do that. It’s not the type of thing where you say I’m desperate for this, I’m gonna play it safe. As long as it’s nothing inappropriate, I don’t think there’s anything to be lost by it. I think it’s very hard, when you’re just starting, to distinguish yourself because there are so many accomplished people. That’s what I would tell people.
“I like that,” I say coolly. It was all I could say. But inside I’m thinking, “Yes! That is exactly what I think too, but no professor or academic advisor has ever told me to take risks. That’s something I’ve had to do on my own. And in that moment, I realize I’m a lot like Lauren, and that maybe…just maybe, with a lot of hard work and outside-the-box thinking, I can take a risk too.”
Q & A: David Baldacci July 8, 2010
More interview: http://davidbaldacci.com/in-the-media/youtube/interviews
Article: http://www.theglobaltownhall.com/david_baldacci
David Baldacci has sold over 60 million books in over 80 countries AND was on People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful list??? He has a loving family, contributes back to society and is a social genius. Every one of his seventeen books have become national and international sellers. He is the American success story that inspires us with hope. After all, hope is what the homeless man lost when he took to living on the streets so its power should never be underestimated.
David has kindly swung by The Global Townhall to share some of his stardust with our readers.
Gabrielle Reilly: What positive or motivational quote can you share to help improve the lives of our readers?
David Baldacci: Passion is a rare commodity. When you find it, treasure it and never give it up!
Gabrielle Reilly: How do you structure your writing schedule to complete a book?
David Baldacci: I don’t have a set structure. I usually start with a mini outline and a target as to where I think the book might go. After about 150 pages, I’ve established the flow and then generally let the characters take me through the story.
Gabrielle Reilly: How do you get inspired to write a book?
David Baldacci: Everyday things and language can inspire me. Most people see the world in black and white, I see it in tones of gray. For whatever reason, I see how things are and take it a step further to how things could be.
Gabrielle Reilly: Are there any characters in your books that represent you?
David Baldacci: There are pieces of me in many characters but I never take a real person and plop them into one of my novels. An example, the character Oz in my novel WISH YOU WELL has a bit of me as a child and some traits of my son. Building complex characters makes writing exciting for me.
Gabrielle Reilly: How much impact did your political science degree and your experience practicing law in DC help with the development of your plots?
David Baldacci: Being a practicing attorney gave me an enormous work ethic. I had to work on long projects at a time and break them down into little pieces, much like writing. And working in Washington, DC brought a host of character ideas that I have incorporated over the years in my novels. As for my political science degree, it helped me to be aware of seeing both sides of an issue. This really comes in handy with book plots.
Gabrielle Reilly: Flattered to be named one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world in People magazine?
David Baldacci: Shocked really.
Gabrielle Reilly: Did you always expect to be this successful growing up or is this somewhat of a surprise?
David Baldacci: I always knew I wanted to be a writer but I never anticipated that I would make a living doing what I love.
Gabrielle Reilly: Do you have a new book in the pipeline?
David Baldacci: I am working on the fall book. It features a new and bold character that I really like. I’m excited to bring this one to the fans this fall.
Gabrielle Reilly: What is your Foundation dedicated to?
David Baldacci: The Wish You Well Foundation is dedicated to supporting family literacy in the United States by fostering and promoting the development and expansion of new and existing literacy and educational programs. Fans can find out more at www.WishYouWellFoundation.org
website: http://davidbaldacci.com/
Advice to Authors:- Neil Gaiman May 13, 2010
Advice to Authors
How does one get published?
How do you do it? You do it.
You write.
You finish what you write.
You look for publishers who publish “that kind of thing”, whatever it is. You send them what you’ve done (a letter asking if they’d like to see a whole manuscript or a few chapters and an outline will always be welcome. And stamped self-addressed envelopes help keep the wheels turning.)
Sooner or later, if you don’t give up and you have some measurable amount of ability or talent or luck, you get published. But for people who don’t know where to begin, let me offer a few suggestions:
Meet editors. If you’re into SF, Horror or Fantasy, go to the kinds of SF, Horror or Fantasy conventions that editors go to (mainly the big ones – look for words like WORLD or NATIONAL in the title). Same goes for Romance or Crime. Join associations – SFWA or HWA or the Romance Writers of America or The Society of Authors. Most organisations like that have an associate membership for people who wouldn’t qualify for a full membership.
Even if you haven’t met any editors, send your stuff out.
The “slush pile” of unsolicited manuscripts is not always a bad thing – publishers take enormous pleasure in finding authors from the slush pile (Iain Banks and Storm Constantine are both writers who simply sent out manuscripts to publishers), although it occurs rarely enough that it has to be a special thing when it happens.
If you write short stories, don’t worry about agents, just find places that might print the stories and get them out there. If you write novels, I think it’s six of one, half a dozen of the other. I’d written and published 3 books before I decided it was time to get an agent.
Writers groups can be good and they can be bad. Depends on the people in them, and what they’re in them for.
On the whole, anything that gets you writing and keeps you writing is a good thing. Anything that stops you writing is a bad thing. If you find your writers group stopping you from writing, then drop it.
The other thing I’d suggest is Use The Web.
Use it for anything you can – writers groups, feedback, networking, finding out how things work, getting published. It exists: take advantage of it.
Believe in yourself. Keep writing.
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