Talk about your next book. What is its premise?
For the next book, Deadfall, I intentionally veered away from the conspiratorial globetrotting chases that made up so much of Germ and Comes a Horseman. It’s more of an action/adventure/survival story, a la First Blood (Rambo) and Deliverance. It’s still a suspenseful thriller, as the first two are, but instead of the intrigue coming from a lot of twists and turns in the plot, it comes from the question, 'How in the world are these guys going to survive—or will they?' Several producers are looking at it now. I’m optimistic about its chances of getting sold and made. It’s actually more movie-like than my previous books.
Do you have a title for book four? Who bought its film rights?
It’s a political thriller. (Slated for release July 2008.) Mike Medavoy at Phoenix Pictures bought the rights. I just spoke to a big-name director the other day who wants to direct it. If he gets on board, it’ll elevate the project to a new level. I’m pretty excited by the early interest it’s generating.
What comes next? Any titles or premises that you can talk about that are in the works - on the back burner?
I’m working on the political thriller right now. The novel after that will be one of two I’ve got simmering in the back of my mind: a big high-concept story more akin to Horseman and Germ; or the first in a sniper trilogy I’ve been planning for a while. The sniper story is more intimate, but I truly like it a lot. The main character was introduced in Kill Zone, the short story that appeared in James Patterson’s anthology called Thriller.
As a journalist, you’ve published in a wide range of interest-specific magazines. Where did all the ideas for articles come from?
I majored in creative writing at Weber State University. I never wanted to be or imagined myself as a journalist. But when I got married shortly out of college, I followed the money; at the time, that meant freelancing magazine articles and newspaper stories…. I’m curious about everything, as writers should be…. Over time, the things that really interested me started to become apparent: military and police operations, travel… relationships, not just romantic relationships, but father/child, siblings, friends… Novel writing is where my heart is. It’s what I was designed to do, so when I could focus solely on writing novels, I let all of the magazine writing go.
How has your journalism experience contributed to the novels?
As an investigative reporter, I learned how to research well, and I got over the fear of picking up the phone and calling someone in authority when I needed some information. These skills helped when I started researching Comes a Horseman. I wanted to be as factual as possible, to give the fictional side of the story a strong foundation in fact.
Article comments
1 - Joe
Great informative read.
2 - Vicki
Thanks, Joe!