About Jeff
Q&A
| Q: | Why do you write suspense novels? |
| A: | I enjoy putting people through hell. (I mean the characters, not readers.) Well, I started reading mystery and suspense when I was a kid, loved the books always. I think I love them because heroes in suspense stories find out who they really are by a trial by fire (as opposed to finding out through therapy, chemicals, or whining.) |
| Q: | Where do you get your ideas? |
| A: | The secret aisle at Target. What, no one told you? Okay, seriously—ideas are constantly floating around me. I have new ideas every day, they’re not necessarily good ones, but I think you have to keep your head and your heart open to anything—a news report, an idle comment, an unanswered question, a strange juxtaposition of two unrelated elements—that could spark a story idea. |
| Q: | What’s your favorite book of all time? |
| A: | Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. |
| Q: | You’re a suspense author, you don’t get to list a children’s book. How about your favorite books for grown-ups? |
| A: | I just answered this question for a German magazine and my list there included: The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Marathon Man by William Goldman, Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett, and A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler. |
| Q: | Your books often center on ordinary people caught in extraordinary danger. Why? |
| A: | Because ordinary people have the most to lose. They don’t necessarily agree to a life of danger the way a police officer or a spy or a hired gun does, they get pulled into one. And they have to adapt to a new world to survive it. It’s an immediately big and throat-grabbing dramatic premise. |
| Q: | Do I need to read your books in any order? |
| A: | If you are a stickler for reading books in order, then you should know the following. My most recent (and successful) books are standalone thrillers, meaning that they do not feature a series character and can be read in any order. Panic Fear Collision (called Run in the UK) My second series features justice of the peace Whit Mosley and detective Claudia Salazar, set on the Texas Gulf Coast. These are thrillers with a strong mystery element. In order: |
| Q: | I loved your Jordan Poteet series, will you ever write another one? |
| A: | It is wonderful how many readers ask for Jordan’s return, but I don’t think that, given my other commitments, I can write a Jordan novel any time soon. I had a lot of fun writing those books, and am so pleased that they are still in print. Perhaps Jordan will reappear in a short story in the near future—you never know. |
| Q: | Will you write another Whit Mosley/Claudia Salazar novel? |
| A: | Yes. I don’t know when, but the answer is yes. The challenge is to bring along the readers of the standalone novels into Whit’s world, while being true to the tone and feel and scope of the Whit novels. But I freaking love Whit and Claudia and Gooch and everyone in Port Leo, so, yes, I will write about them all again. |
| Q: | What’s the biggest influence on your writing? |
| A: | Alfred Hitchcock and knowing that my kids are depending on me to write some entertaining stuff so they can eat. |
| Q: | What’s the status of the film versions of Panic (and now Collision)? |
| A: | Both are in script development, and no, I’m not involved with either project beyond being happy and gratified that there is film interest in the books. I hope to have a cameo as a thug or an innocent bystander in either film if they’re made. |
| Q: | Why did you choose to write about post-traumatic stress disorder in Fear? |
| A: | I am always looking for slightly unusual aspects to my main characters, things we haven’t seen before in suspense fiction. I thought it would be interesting to have a character who was mentally ill, but I worried that it might be hard for readers to connect with him. PTSD is the one mental affliction that could strike any of us, given a terrible twist of fate. |
| Q: | Will you write a sequel to Panic? |
| A: | I get asked about a followup to Panic (what would I call it? Still Panicking? Panic Some More?) more than I ever imagined I would, and I don’t honestly know. I might, if I get the right idea for the next chapter in Evan Casher’s very twisted, action-filled life. |
| Q: | Why are there different titles for your new book (Collision in the US, Run in the UK and Ireland and Australia)? |
| A: | My British publisher strongly felt that Run was a title that would work well for the book in that market, and I defer to their marketing expertise, considering they made Panic and Fear successful bestsellers in their markets. Please understand no one is trying to trick you or make you think I have two new books coming out at once or trying to trap you into buying two copies of the same book. I am working on much better evil projects than that. |
| Q: | May I send you my manuscript to read? |
| A: | I’m very sorry, but no, on the advice of both legal counsel and my agents, I cannot read unsolicited, unpublished material. A critique group of writers working in the same field would be a better way to get feedback on your work (and that’s how I got the most useful feedback before I sold my first novel.) |
| Q: | Can you give me advice on how to get published? |
| A: | Asking me how to get published is like asking someone who’s been married for fifteen years for dating advice. I didn’t even know until recently that agents accepted emailed queries. So I’m not your best resource, sorry. There’s an absolute ton of useful advice out there on the web: agent blogs, publishing blogs, discussion boards, etc. Google is your friend. |
| Q: | Do you outline? |
| A: | This is the number one real “writing” question I get and the definitive answer is: sometimes. |
