In Short, The Satisfaction Of Creating, Not

The Preparation For Building A Series Of Thrillers Based On A Single Character Is Kind Of Like The Preparation For Becoming A Parent: The Best Part Is The Idea - Wink, Wink.

The Actual Writing Time Is A Lot Shorter Than The Thinking Time. I Don't Do Too Many Notes. I Keep It Mostly In My Head. I Usually Start Writing A New Book Around January, And It's Due October 1.

But Sometimes, Maybe Most Times, It Isn't That Clear. It Is Dark And You Are Near The Edge Of A Cliff, But You're Moving Slowly, Not Sure Which Direction You're Heading In. Your Steps Are Tentative But They Are Still Blind In The Night. You Don't Realize How Close You Are To The Edge, How The Soft Earth Could Give Away, How You Could Just Slip A Bit And Suddenly Plunge Into The Dark.

What I Love About The Thriller Form Is That It Makes You Write A Story. You Can't Get Lost In Your Own Genius, Which Is A Dangerous Place For Writers. You Don't Want To Ever Get Complacent. If A Book Starts Going Too Well, I Usually Know There's A Problem. I Need To Struggle. I Need That Self-doubt. I Need To Think It's Not The Best Thing Ever.

Tragedy Is A Hell Of A Teacher. It's Much Too Strict, But It's A Hell Of A Teacher.