ReadersRoom: Hello Lisa, and thank you for taking the time to chat with ReadersRoom.com.
LisaGardner: Thanks for inviting me!
ReadersRoom: First off, congratulations on the birth of your first child, a daughter. That major production must have turned your writing schedule upside down, as only a small child with a lot of paraphernalia can do.
LisaGardner: Oh yeah. Sleep deprivation, toys, screaming. It's a whole new world around here. But she's a keeper.
ReadersRoom: Have you adjusted your schedule so you can find the time to write?
LisaGardner: Theoretically, sure. In reality, we're still working on it. Concentration is definitely harder to find these days.
ReadersRoom: There can be no doubt that children have their own schedule.
LisaGardner: Definitely! And Grace isn't fond of naps, so that's been a bit of a challenge. My husband, however, is a big help.
ReadersRoom: I understand you sold your first novel, a romantic suspense for Silhouette, when you were still in college. Have you always known you wanted to write?
LisaGardner: I've always been a writer. Short stories, bad poetry, you name it, I tried it. It wasn't until I was 18 that I decided to try novels, however. I'd read a lot of Silhouette Intimate Moments and was a big fan of the genre. Given the shorter length, I thought I might be able to write one. And lo' and behold, I did.
ReadersRoom: How many novels did you write for Silhouette?
LisaGardner: 13
ReadersRoom: You have nineteen published novels. Has the excitement of finishing each novel worn off, or do you just find new and higher goals to focus on?
LisaGardner: Actually, I'm shocked every time I complete a novel. I think that's one of my biggest learnings as my career has grown. It's great to achieve goals such as hitting the New York Times list or winning an award, but writing will always be writing. It's hard, painful, frightening and deliriously joyful. Each and every time.
ReadersRoom: The Perfect Husband was your breakout novel, as you moved out of romantic suspense and into mainstream suspense. Did you have this as a goal, or did it just happen?
LisaGardner: After 13 romantic suspense novels, I simply had an idea that was too big for the genre. Given the success of past category romance writers who had switched to suspense, it seemed like a good move. Little did my agent or I realize just how good of a move it would be!
ReadersRoom: Can you tell us the names of some of the romantic suspense novelists who inspired you to cross over?
LisaGardner: Sandra Brown--Slow Heat in Heaven is one of my all time favorite reads! Then Tami Hoag, Iris Johansen, Tess Gerritsen, Catherine Coulter, Janet Evanovich, etc.
ReadersRoom: We have interviewed Sandra Brown, Tess Gerritsen and Janet Evanovich and found they all had similar stories to yours.
LisaGardner: Yes, I read those interviews on your site and was very impressed! Ladies are definitely taking over the world of suspense--and the New York Times list.
ReadersRoom: The books that followed The Perfect Husband--The Other Daughter, The Third Victim, The Next Accident and The Survivors Club -- were all national bestsellers, proving that your strength lies in this genre. How do you feel about your work today, and is this what you want to continue to write?
LisaGardner: I think I'm developing as a writer all the time. I'm getting tighter, edgier, more comfortable with complicated plots. And--I don't know what this says about me--but I continue to come up with dark, twisted ideas on a moment's notice. So I'm looking forward to writing many more suspense novels. I'm slightly frightened by what I might think up next, but also curious.
ReadersRoom: In reading your work, the strong characterizations really drew me in. How do you make your characters so realistic? Do you base them on people you know?
LisaGardner: I'm not sure where my characters come from. They just appear in my mind as whole, complex people. I see their beauty and their heartache and that makes me want to tell their stories. I like characters who are strong but flawed. People who are trying to improve their lives, but wonder if they ever will.
ReadersRoom: How about your villains? Any inspired by people you know?
LisaGardner: Some of my villains have been inspired by true crime. Jim Beckett from The Perfect Husband is loosely based on Ted Bundy. In my most recent novel, The Killing Hour, the Eco-Killer shares some traits with the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. I wanted to explore a serial killer who wasn't a sexual predator, but a cold, calculating man with a horrible hidden agenda.
ReadersRoom: Your villains are never caricatures, but always seem so deep and real.
LisaGardner: The best advice I ever received for writing thrillers was to always have the villain be an equal match for the hero. So he/she must be equally compelling.
ReadersRoom: I'm not easy to fool in a novel, but I never guessed who the villain was in The Next Accident. I was also surprised by the villain in The Survivors Club. So plotting is another one of your strengths.
LisaGardner: I spend a lot of time on plotting. Research helps me quite a bit. When I interview law enforcement officers, I'm always running ideas by them. They're devious people.
ReadersRoom: And speaking of your most recent novel, would you like to tell us more about it?
LisaGardner: The Killing Hour involves a man known as the Eco-Killer. For three years, he has operated in Georgia, always kidnapping women in pairs. The first body is left easy to find next to a major road. If the police can interpret the clues in time--flora, fauna, etc.--they may find the second woman who has been abandoned alive in a remote location. Unfortunately, the police are never in time. Finally, one summer the police manage to save the second woman--and the Eco-Killer never strikes again. Now it is years later, and new agent Kimberly Quincy has discovered a body of a young woman on Quantico grounds. When it becomes clear this is the work of the Eco-Killer, Kimberly and Georgia detective Mac McCormack race against the clock to find the other woman in time.
ReadersRoom: In this book we revisit characters we met in The Third Victim, FBI Special Agent Pierce Quincy and ex-cop Rainie Conner, although they are not at the forefront. Also, Kimberly is at the forefront of this novel, where she was a pivotal but secondary player in Accident.
LisaGardner: Yes.
ReadersRoom: Did you start out planning to write a series of these novels with these characters? Or did it just happen?
LisaGardner: There was no plan; that would be too easy. It's more like my characters suck me in. I miss them, wonder what they might be doing, and boom, I have another book. Plus, I enjoy revisiting them in different ways, now seeing Quincy through the eyes of his daughter. I think it's interesting.
ReadersRoom: Absolutely. Do you have more books planned with Rainie, Quincy and
Kimberly? Or are you waiting for the muse to dictate?
LisaGardner: Yes. But it will have to wait one novel. I'm already at work on the next book and that involves a police sniper in Boston. Then I'll probably return to Quincy and the gang.
ReadersRoom: I've heard that you do extensive research for every one of your novels. Can you tell us how you go about researching a novel?
LisaGardner: I get lucky! Seriously, when I pitched the idea for The Killing Hour, I had no idea how I was going to pull it off. I know nothing about flora and fauna, let alone the state of Virginia. I received permission, however, to visit the FBI Academy at Quantico which was loads of fun.
ReadersRoom: And it made the scenes very realistic.
LisaGardner: Thank you. On the flight to Virginia, the guy on the plane next to me turned out to be a hydrologist from the US Geological Survey team. He knew exactly how I could use water as a trace element at a crime scene, plus he put me in touch with the rest of his buddies at the USGS for the other clues. It was very, very sweet! So I do lots of interviewing and try to do all the on-site research I can.
ReadersRoom: I understand some of your books have been turned into movies and television movies. Can you tell us more about that?
LisaGardner: I could tell you more if I knew more. The movie stuff happens at a distance. A producer buys rights, a screenwriter rewrites the whole story and a director makes the movie. Then I watch the movie at the end and am pleasantly surprised by how much money I made off a project that now only bears the slightest resemblance to my work. But, I'm not complaining!
ReadersRoom: If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?
LisaGardner: Changing more diapers!
ReadersRoom: Lisa, we have a few readers that sent us some questions. Can you answer them now?
LisaGardner: Sure.
ReadersRoom: From Gwen in New Jersey: Hi Lisa. Are there any plans to make The Survivor's Club into a movie or TV show? I think it would make a great movie!
LisaGardner: We have just learned that CBS has green lighted The Survivors Club as a possible TV movie starring Roma Downey. It's still a long road to actually appearing on the air, but the project is one step closer.
ReadersRoom: From Carolyn in Chicago: Who are some of your favorite authors and inspirations?
LisaGardner: I read across lots of genres. Favorite authors include John Sandford, M.M. Kaye, Janet Evanovich and Michael Connelly. I also truly loved Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones. Oh, and SeaBiscuit! What a great story!
ReadersRoom: From Millie, in Mass: A couple of your novels have been set in New England, and I have read that you live there. Do you enjoy writing about places that are "closer to home"?
LisaGardner: I feel most comfortable writing about places I know well. It makes the scene more authentic.
ReadersRoom: From Phil in MI: I read on your website that you just had a baby. Congratulations! How do you juggle an infant with the touring schedule you must have in support of your novels?
LisaGardner: Actually, I've never done a book tour. Mostly I've attended a lot of conferences. I cut back this year in honor of Grace's arrival. Next year, however, I hope to be back in the circuit.
ReadersRoom: Lisa, as I perused your Web site, I read "A Day in the Life," and laughed my head off. I also read your dedication pages, and I love your sense of humor.
LisaGardner: Thank you.
ReadersRoom: You speak of being an Evanovich fan, and I'm wondering, do you have any plans to incorporate your humor in a future work?
LisaGardner: Maybe...
ReadersRoom: Ah! Something we can look forward to. Lisa, do you have anything you want to say to your many readers before we go?
LisaGardner: Keep reading, have fun, and if you know any great way to get an infant to sleep through the night, drop me a line!
ReadersRoom: Thanks again, Lisa, for taking the time to chat with ReadersRoom!
LisaGardner: Thank you so much.
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