ReadersRoom: Peter, we're excited to have you here to chat with us.
Peter: And I'm glad to be here.
ReadersRoom: Peter, can you tell us how you got your start as a writer, and what your background is?
Peter: Writing is something that's in my blood, although I ignored this inclination for many years. Finally I did something about it.
ReadersRoom: When did you start writing your novels?
Peter: My first book, which was also my first attempt--The Fury of Rachel Monette--came out in 1980. It seems like long ago, but all those words have gone by pretty fast.
ReadersRoom: How many books have you written?
Peter: The thirteenth--Their Wildest Dreams--comes out in July.
ReadersRoom: I find your psychological suspense fascinating. In both A Perfect Crime, and Their Wildest Dreams, you have themes of deep psychological suspense. Your characters are often ordinary, but good, people who find themselves in perilous circumstances after making bad choices. Do you put a lot of research into the way the human mind works?
Peter: I'm interested in real people, and see no reason they can't populate a suspense story. I think my research has been mostly living and observing.
ReadersRoom: What is your favorite book? The one you really "think" you got right?
Peter: That's a tough question. Of my darker books, I'd say A Perfect Crime. Of the slightly
lighter ones -- Their Wildest Dreams. As for getting one right, I'm never completely satisfied. The character Ruby in The Tutor seems pretty much right to me.
ReadersRoom: A Perfect Crime featured an extremely intelligent man who plots his wife's murder once he discovers she is having an affair. You so "got" that POV, using Roger's mannerisms, that he was incredibly real. His thought process was so different than in the rest of the book.
Peter: Yes, Roger. I really enjoyed putting myself in the head of someone much smarter than myself. A Perfect Crime is actually a kind of contemporary Scarlet Letter, with lots of hints to that effect, although not too many people notice.
ReadersRoom: Going back to Ruby. Ruby was a fascinating character. Does your daughter share the same fascination with Sherlock Holmes?
Peter: Ruby--my daughter Rosie is convinced she's the model. Thanks. As an agent of mine said, the book's about grrrl power. The fascination with Holmes was mine and hers.
ReadersRoom: That's great! I also noticed that you tie your characters together with a thin thread that ends up leading them back to each other, when one would think these characters would have no ties at all. It reminds me of the saying "it's a small, small world." Is that part of what you are trying to get across in your plots?
Peter: Yes, I do that, although not always. There's so much suspense fiction out there, my interest is really in improvising on some of the common themes to generate surprise.
ReadersRoom: Your book, The Fan, was made into a movie starring Robert DeNiro along with Wesley Snipes, Benecio Del Toro and Ellen Barkin. How involved were you in the making of this movie?
Peter: Not at all.
ReadersRoom: Were you happy with the way the movie followed the book?
Peter: I did meet Benicio del Toro on the set, and he asked some good questions. As for happy, everything's relative.
ReadersRoom: Have any other of your books been made into movies?
Peter: No. The Tutor is in development, along with 8 million other projects.
ReadersRoom: What has been the high point of your career so far, and what do you have planned for the future? I know you have been nominated for an Edgar, for Lights Out. And also Stephen King called you his "favorite American suspense novelist."
Peter: The high point emotionally was actually finishing the first book, knowing I could do it. I'm now working on my first detective novel, the kind of detective though, who'd be in an Oliver Sacks case study.
ReadersRoom: That sounds fascinating! Can you tell us more about it?
Peter: It's called Oblivion -- can't really talk before it's done, in case I blow it.
ReadersRoom: I understand. We'll look forward to it. Do you have a set writing schedule, or do you just write when the muse hits you?
Peter: Every day if I can. I take my daughter to school, hit the gym and then the computer, 6 or more hours a day. If the muse hits, so much the better.
ReadersRoom: Yes, a recalcitrant muse is horrible.
Peter: In fact, those are the best moments, when something comes out of the blue. The idea, for example, in Their Wildest Dreams, that the stolen money would keep changing hands. Finally ending up with the migrants.
ReadersRoom: I loved that twist! Talk about your poetic justice. Peter, can you answer some reader questions for us?
Peter: Yes, to the questions.
ReadersRoom: From Cass D. in Oregon: "Mr. Abrahams, Last of the Dixie Heroes dealt extensively with Civil Way Re-enactments. Are you a re-enactor yourself or, if not, what kind of research did you need to do for the novel?"
Peter: Not a re-enactor myself, but got to know many for the book. I enjoyed that research a lot. Almost enough to prefer 1863 myself.
ReadersRoom: How did you research it?
Peter: I met some reenactors and temporarily reenacted with them.
ReadersRoom: Bob L. in Mass: "Did you use a specific small college as your model for Inverness in Crying Wolf? There has long been rumors of secret tunnels and such running beneath Harvard."
Peter: Good question, Bob. Inverness -- and the college in Hard Rain -- are modeled on Williams. There are tunnels under many campuses and tunnels are the kind of metaphor I can't resist.
ReadersRoom: Jim K. in Cleveland: "All of your novels seem very well researched. How much of your 'writing time' is spent researching, and how much is actually spent writing?"
Peter: That depends on the book, Jim. Dixie Heroes took months, Their Wildest Dreams about a month, The Tutor a week.
ReadersRoom: Shelly J. in San Diego: "I was fascinated with your portrayal of the twins Grace and Izzie Zorn in Crying Wolf. Did you do much studying about identical twins for that book?"
Peter: I did a little.
ReadersRoom: Thanks for answering those questions, Peter. Now, I have one for you.
Peter: Pleasure -- ok
ReadersRoom: In your new book, Their Wildest Dreams, I was intrigued with Mary Jane Krupsha, who became Nick Loeb's "thorn-in-the-side" muse, and ultimately almost destroyed him. But she also "saved" him.
Peter: Yes.
ReadersRoom: She was an amateur Amazon reviewer, who panned his latest book. I'm curious...has anything like that ever happened to you?
Peter: She's pretty complicated, the reader as a double-edged necessity. Not to that extent. Most of what I hear from readers is really nice, even heart-warming.
ReadersRoom: That's good to know.
Peter: It's one of the great pleasures of the job.
ReadersRoom: When is Their Wildest Dreams due to be released?
Peter: July 29
ReadersRoom: And do you have anything you would like to say to your fans?
Peter: I appreciate your interest in me more than I can say. Please tell your friends.
ReadersRoom: Thanks again, Peter, for taking the time to visit with us. We wish you the best of success.
Peter: Thank you. I enjoyed it.
Copyright 2003 by ReadersRoom, LLC. All rights reserved.
