Interview with Gayle Lynds (March 2001)
Author of The Coil (2004)
March 4, 2001
Gayle Lynds is a former editor with Top Secret security clearance at a think tank. She has written numerous novels, including 7 of them under her own name, the most recent of which is The Coil.
Interview by David J. Montgomery
Q. What made you decide to start writing thrillers?
A. I grew up reading two masters of the form--Helen MacInnes and Robert Ludlum. I loved the adventure, the sense of exotic place, and the struggle between good and evil on a grand scale, all of which I found in the best of their books. But in the end, what really clinched my addiction to suspense novels was my fascination with secrets and what goes unsaid not only in families but in nations.
Like parents, governments of all sorts keep secrets. When they're "good" governments, they do this in the belief it's necessary to protect their citizens. When they're bad, they do it to protect themselves. All governments are mixtures of good and bad (witness the arrest of our latest turncoat spy, Robert Hanssen), offering plenty of opportunity for fiction based on fact.
I believe it's our job as members of society to pay attention to not only what's going on among those who govern us but those in any position of tremendous power--multinational corporations, global organizations, other nations, and so forth. All of these areas are breeding grounds for suspense tales. I will never run out of topics!
Q. What was it like collaborating with Robert Ludlum?
A. Easy and fun. He came up with a six-page idea for The Hades Factor, and I turned it into an outline, creating characters and developing a plot. We did everything by snail mail, because he doesn't even type. Therefore, using email simply wasn't going to work. I wrote the novel, and again we corresponded. I think his new thriller, The Prometheus Deception, is excellent. I highly recommend it.
Q. As a female writer, was it hard for you to write a convincing male protagonist?
A. No, not at all. On the other hand, I think writing a convincing character of any sort is challenging. One of our jobs as artists--whether we're writers, actors, painters, whatever-- is to be able to understand the world through the eyes of others. For instance, I've never died, but I write regularly about what it's like to die, and apparently I'm good at that.
My conviction about this responsibility in writing characters arises from an incident when I was studying at a writers conference. Our teacher told us that he would never presume to write from a female point of view, and we should not presume to write from the view point of the opposite sex either. I asked why. He told me in all sincerity, "I don't like to shop or cook. So how can I write from the perspective of a woman?"
I figured that was probably one of the most shallow attitudes I'd ever heard. If he was so lazy (or dumb) as to think that that's what it meant to be a woman, he was probably not a terrific writer at all. At which point, I read his work and decided he was definitely on the sidelines when it came to talent.
On the other hand, some of the most moving, most beautifully literate books we have are graced with main characters whose authors are of the opposite sex. I decided I found that goal not only more appealing but necessary. That was what I wanted. Thanks for saying my men are convincing!
Q. Do you read reviews of your books?
A. Oh, yes. And of course no one ever gets all good reviews. I don't mind a bad review nearly as much as an inaccurate one. BTW, I've noticed that the inaccurate ones also tend to be the bad ones. Go figure.
Q. What's your writing routine like?
A. I work pretty much all the time. I get up and go straight to my desk between 6 and 7 a.m. and write until 9 or 10. I have some breakfast and read the newspaper and do some dishes or other household chores. I'm back at work by 11 a.m. I usually eat lunch at my desk and keep working until dinnertime, which is around 7 p.m. I cook, my husband does the dishes. Since he's a writer, too (Dennis Lynds, aka Michael Collins), we both work at home and share chores.
Once a week our assistant comes and does filing, mailing, and runs errands. Dennis and I have learned the hard way that we must exercise, so three times a week our routines are interrupted by trips to the gym.
I like our lives and feel very, very fortunate.
Q. What advice would you give aspiring writers (10 words or less)?
A. A friend of mine, John Lescroart, who writes fabulous legal thrillers, told me this: "Don't get it write, get it written." Amen.
Q. Do you have a "day job"?
A. I used to. I've been a reporter, a magazine editor, a think-tank editor with top-secret security clearance, and a private secretary. In 1995 when I sold my first thriller, Masquerade, it was for a goodly amount of money. I've been financially fortunate with my tales, and I'm most grateful that anybody would spend their money to read them.
Q. What are your thoughts about Hollywood adapting your books?
A. I'd like it very much. I have no ego investment in a film script, since it's hard enough to write a book. Why would I want to take up script writing, too? So to have a fine script writer, director, and producer take on one of my novels would thrill me.
Q. What's the last book you read?
A. The Cassandra Compact by Philip Shelby. It's the next one in the Covert-One series with Bob Ludlum. Alas, I don't have time to co-author every book, so they brought in Phil, who's done a terrific job. It's another book I highly recommend. I'll be back with the third in the series: The Paris Option.
Q. What's next for you?
Two new books: The Paris Option and a new stand-alone thriller that I'm working on that I expect will be out in 2002.
Meanwhile, I hope everyone who enjoys thrillers will take a look at my new one, Mesmerized, which will be in stores May 1. For a preview of it, drawings for free books, and to read some of my collection of espionage information, please visit me at http://www.gaylelynds.com.
Don't miss Gayle Lynds' Overnight Success story.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Interviews | Permalink
