Janice Gable Bashman: September 2010 Archives

Award-winning author Weyman Jones took a roundabout route to writing thrillers, as many of us do. After serving in the Navy, he worked in corporate communications for years. He began writing fiction for magazines and published three books for young readers, including The Edge of Two Worlds, which won the Lewis Carroll Shelf and the Western Heritage Awards and was selected as one of the best books of the year by both the School Library Journal and Book World. His thrillers include The Doublooner, Broken Glass, The Unexpected and the newly released Messages. I chatted recently with Weyman Jones about Messages and his writing process.

Tell us about Messages and why it's such an interesting read.

A thriller introduces us to interesting people doing exciting things. Messages also raises some questions about animal rights and other ethical issues. But the most important thing is what happens inside the characters' heads. If I can make you understand why a character or two behave as they do, you'll begin to care about what happens to them. Then I've got you.