For most thriller and mystery readers, Stuart Woods needs no introduction. Ever since his bestselling debut novel hit the bookstores twenty-seven years ago, Woods has been a household name among those who love an invigorating read that hooks us immediately and keeps us hooked until the last word. That novel, Chiefs, won the Edgar and was subsequently made into a CBS-TV mini-series starring Charlton Heston and Danny Glover.Not a bad way to start a career.
Since then, Woods has kept himself busy, writing a number of stand-alones, as well as two bestselling series, one featuring Holly Barker and the other, Stone Barrington. The Barrington novels are particularly popular, featuring an ex-homicide cop/lawyer who spends his nights hanging out at Manhattan's world-famous eatery, Elaine's, only to be pulled into a fresh new mystery -- and a fresh new bed -- with alarming frequency.
Barrington is the star of Woods's latest release, Hot Mahogany, which finds Stone lured from Manhattan to New England, and the genteel but cutthroat world of priceless antiques, historic homes, and lavish country estates. In a place dominated by bluebloods and their inherited wealth, along with the nouveau riche, there are surprisingly few rules of engagement, and Stone is forced to navigate a dangerous course -- one where even the most expensive and sought-after status symbols are sometimes stolen and sometimes clever fakes, though no less priceless.When asked by a reader about his writing process, Woods had this to say:
"When I finish a novel, I ship the manuscript off to my editor, and while he's reading it, I begin a new one. I write half a dozen chapters and a brief synopsis - just enough to get my publishers hooked - then, as soon as I get the first check, I throw away the synopsis and let the book lead where it will. (My publishers have never complained about this.) I tend to think a book ahead. I've been writing two books a year, but my publishers have asked me to write three this year, so there'll be three new novels out in 2008, in January, April and October. This means I'll have only four months to write each book, instead of six. I'm solving this problem by working more days."
This is the kind of output that most novelists can only dream of achieving. And judging by his sustained popularity, it seems to be working out quite well for Mr. Woods.
Winner of the AMPAS Nicholl Award for screenwriting, ITW contributing editor Robert Gregory Browne
spent over a decade riding the Hollywood roller coaster before severe
motion sickness forced him to jump the track and finally write the
novel he'd always been threatening to write. That novel, a thriller
called KISS HER GOODBYE, was bought by St. Martin's Press and is the
first of four books he's writing for St. Martin's, Pan Macmillan and
Droemer Knaur. His second thriller, WHISPER IN THE DARK, was released
in May in the UK and is due for release in the US in February of 2009.
