Between The Lines with Jonathan Kellerman
Jonathan Kellerman's publishing history shows that he hit the ground running with his first novel, When the Bough Breaks, which won several awards and landed on the New York Times bestseller list. But just as in his books, there is a more complex web behind the scenes.
"Actually, When the Bough Breaks was my ninth or tenth novel," Kellerman explains. "I wrote a slew of unpublished 'masterpieces' over a thirteen year dry period. The process began in 1971 after I won a writing award in college, got an agent, and began to believe literary success was imminent. Alas, Bough wasn't bought until 1983 and publication was delayed to 1985 because the publisher, Atheneum, had no idea what to do with it."Suffice to say, Kellerman did not have high hopes for his debut.
"The book was purchased as (what I now realize was) a small book destine for a quick death and an unceremonious burial. The advance came out to three bucks an hour and at the time I was making considerably more as a med school professor, clinical psychologist, and court consultant. So I never really thought writing would be a job. It was just something I loved and I figured I'd continue seeing patients and turn out a book every few years, if I could afford the time."
Still, the fact of publication was "proof that I wasn't just a self-deluded neurotic typing away in an unheated garage without a speck of success."
But then the thing all authors hope for happened.
"Somehow--I still don't understand it--the book became a word-of-mouth bestseller. I said, Hmm, okay, let's try another. Same deal. Ditto for my third, fourth, fifth . . .twenty-five years and 30 or so bestsellers later, I still don't get it. But I sure love it and I'm deeply grateful to my readers."
How did Kellerman prepare for this? What foundation was laid down for ultimate bestsellerdom?
"My preparation was being a curious fellow, having a hyperactive imagination and, most important, writing constantly, since the age of nine. It's just something that's always felt right--what psychologists term 'ego-syntonic.' I was the kid who won the essay contests, penned the school plays, ghost-wrote everyone else's compositions. In college I worked as a cartoonist, reporter, columnist and editor, but my primary goal was to become a clinical psychologist."
Kellerman's creation, Alex Delaware, is now one of the longest running series characters inall crime fiction. I asked Kellerman what he did to keep the character fresh for the readers.
"I don't begin writing a book until I'm excited myself," Kellerman said. "If it doesn't keep me up at night, it wont keep my readers up. Some novels take years to conceive. I'd like to think that my background as a psychologist has helped enrich my stories and I do spend a lot of time devising complex plots and creating suspense. But readers tell me what they like are the characters and characterizing is certainly the most enjoyable element for me."
I also wanted to know what Kellerman's "non-negotiables" are for writing a compelling novel.
"I never really thought in those terms. In fact, I never spend much time trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. Nor do I attempt to write commercially or with an audience in mind. I allow interesting stories and characters to float into my head. Gradually, a plot coalesces, then I do a lot of thinking and researching and outlining until I'm ready to sit down to write the darn thing."
There are, however, some things Kellerman does not like in a novel.
"I despise books where murder and violence are taken lightly, because during my psychology days I had many opportunities to witness the effects of violence, and they're anything but cute. And if someone sends me another galley about a psychologically bruised serial-killer hunting a former FBI agent named Kat . . .but apart from that, I really don't have any rules. I suppose any good novel needs to be a mystery in the sense that the reader should want to turn the page to find out what happens next. I do like a strong story catalyzed by serious events, not just minor league angst. I don't have anything against what P. G. Wodehouse termed 'the kind of book where people sit around talking for 200 pages. Then the adolescent doesn't kill himself.' I just don't want to write one."
What Kellerman writes are flat out bestsellers, one after another. How does he do it? Here is a glimpse of a typical Kellerman writing day.
"I get up when I feel like it (a luxury since the kids are grown) which can be anywhere from six-thirty to nine. Shuffle downstairs, mutter bleary greetings to Faye [his wife, bestselling author Faye Kellerman] who is distressingly awake, chipper, gorgeous, and has accomplished more while I snoozed than most people do in a month. Drink coffee, hang out with my beautiful wife for awhile, walk over to the home gym and pretend to be fit, shower, shave, dress, head for the office, turn off the phone, lock the door, rewrite yesterday's work of genius which has now paled considerably in the cold light of morning. Try not to groan. Finally, segue to new stuff. Try to get five good pages down or until my typing falls apart and my head throbs, whichever comes first. Break for lunch, do a bit more writing, then play guitar, do some business, answer fan mail, hang with the granddaughter. If there's any energy left, I like to paint in oils. All the while I'm thinking about my book-in-progress during those zillions of nano-moments when nothing else is occupying my consciousness."
I wondered who Kellerman would choose if he could have any writer from the past sit down and look at his work with a blue pencil.
"No one! Everyone's got their own voice. I'm hard enough on myself without adding to the Delphic chorus of naysayers."
Not many naysayers out there for the work of Jonathan Kellerman, whose latest, True Detectives, debuted at #1 on the New York Times list.
So what kept Kellerman going during that thirteen year dry spell? "Awhile back I delivered the keynote address at the American Psychological Association's national conference. I faced a couple of thousand shrinks and my first words were, 'I stand before you today as proof of the value of obsessive-compulsive personality.'"
James Scott Bell is the author of the Ty Buchanan series, Try Dying, Try Darkness and Try Fear, all from Hachette/Center Street. www.jamesscottbell.com
Kellerman's creation, Alex Delaware, is now one of the longest running series characters inall crime fiction. I asked Kellerman what he did to keep the character fresh for the readers.
"I don't begin writing a book until I'm excited myself," Kellerman said. "If it doesn't keep me up at night, it wont keep my readers up. Some novels take years to conceive. I'd like to think that my background as a psychologist has helped enrich my stories and I do spend a lot of time devising complex plots and creating suspense. But readers tell me what they like are the characters and characterizing is certainly the most enjoyable element for me."
I also wanted to know what Kellerman's "non-negotiables" are for writing a compelling novel.
"I never really thought in those terms. In fact, I never spend much time trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. Nor do I attempt to write commercially or with an audience in mind. I allow interesting stories and characters to float into my head. Gradually, a plot coalesces, then I do a lot of thinking and researching and outlining until I'm ready to sit down to write the darn thing."
There are, however, some things Kellerman does not like in a novel.
"I despise books where murder and violence are taken lightly, because during my psychology days I had many opportunities to witness the effects of violence, and they're anything but cute. And if someone sends me another galley about a psychologically bruised serial-killer hunting a former FBI agent named Kat . . .but apart from that, I really don't have any rules. I suppose any good novel needs to be a mystery in the sense that the reader should want to turn the page to find out what happens next. I do like a strong story catalyzed by serious events, not just minor league angst. I don't have anything against what P. G. Wodehouse termed 'the kind of book where people sit around talking for 200 pages. Then the adolescent doesn't kill himself.' I just don't want to write one."
What Kellerman writes are flat out bestsellers, one after another. How does he do it? Here is a glimpse of a typical Kellerman writing day.
"I get up when I feel like it (a luxury since the kids are grown) which can be anywhere from six-thirty to nine. Shuffle downstairs, mutter bleary greetings to Faye [his wife, bestselling author Faye Kellerman] who is distressingly awake, chipper, gorgeous, and has accomplished more while I snoozed than most people do in a month. Drink coffee, hang out with my beautiful wife for awhile, walk over to the home gym and pretend to be fit, shower, shave, dress, head for the office, turn off the phone, lock the door, rewrite yesterday's work of genius which has now paled considerably in the cold light of morning. Try not to groan. Finally, segue to new stuff. Try to get five good pages down or until my typing falls apart and my head throbs, whichever comes first. Break for lunch, do a bit more writing, then play guitar, do some business, answer fan mail, hang with the granddaughter. If there's any energy left, I like to paint in oils. All the while I'm thinking about my book-in-progress during those zillions of nano-moments when nothing else is occupying my consciousness."
I wondered who Kellerman would choose if he could have any writer from the past sit down and look at his work with a blue pencil."No one! Everyone's got their own voice. I'm hard enough on myself without adding to the Delphic chorus of naysayers."
Not many naysayers out there for the work of Jonathan Kellerman, whose latest, True Detectives, debuted at #1 on the New York Times list.
So what kept Kellerman going during that thirteen year dry spell? "Awhile back I delivered the keynote address at the American Psychological Association's national conference. I faced a couple of thousand shrinks and my first words were, 'I stand before you today as proof of the value of obsessive-compulsive personality.'"
James Scott Bell is the author of the Ty Buchanan series, Try Dying, Try Darkness and Try Fear, all from Hachette/Center Street. www.jamesscottbell.com
ThrillerFest
ITW's annual celebration of the thriller world is the largest event of its kind, a meeting place for authors, readers, budding writers, and publishing industry professionals.
For 2011, we’ll be back in the heart of New York in July with the ThrillerFest conference including CraftFest and AgentFest.
ThrillerFest VI will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.
The dates will be July 6-9, 2011.
More information to follow.
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