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Andrea Semple Carole Matthews Kate Harrison Preethi Nair Nick Earls Omar Tyree Tess Gerritsen Deborah Wright Dorothy Koomson Lola Douglas Adele Parks Abiola Abrams Lisa Jewell |
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Tess Gerritsen
In 1987, Tess's first novel was published. CALL AFTER MIDNIGHT, a romantic thriller, was soon followed by eight more romantic suspense novels. She also wrote a screenplay, "Adrift," which aired as a 1993 CBS Movie of the Week starring Kate Jackson. It was a chance dinner conversation that inspired Tess to write her first medical thriller. The man sitting beside her at the restaurant was an ex-cop who ran a security service protecting American businessmen in Russia. On his last trip abroad, Moscow cops had told him that Russian orphans were vanishing from the streets. They believed the children were being kidnaped by the Russian mafia and shipped abroad as organ donors.
The story so horrified Tess, she immediately called her brother-in-law, a reporter for NEWSWEEK, suggesting he investigate. NEWSWEEK was unable to track down any proof. Weeks later, Tess was still unable to forget those missing Russian orphans. They became the inspiration for the plot of her first medical thriller, HARVEST. HARVEST was released in hardcover in 1996, and marked Tess's debut on the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list. Film rights were sold to Paramount/Dreamworks, and the book was translated into twenty foreign languages.
The Bone Garden is her latest novel. Now retired from medicine, Tess
writes full time. She and her family live in Maine. In her free time
she enjoys gardening and playing the fiddle.
Envisage yourself as an animal, what would it be
and why
A cat. I don't make much noise, I'm a loner, and I love tuna.
Describe your writing style in one sentence
Fast-paced,
scary, and to the point.
Without the naughty bits, describe your typical writing
day
Without the naughty bits, it's boring. I have a cup of coffee,
sit down at my desk, and write. With pen and paper. Oh, I mutter under
my breath and tug at my hair, too, but mostly it's just sitting in that
chair and scribbling on blank paper.
Which book character are you most like and why
I'm
most like Maura Isles. She's reserved, logical, and believes in the power
of science. Much of her biographical information is taken from my own life.
Describe your road to a publishing deal?
After three
unpublished manuscripts, I submitted CALL AFTER MIDNIGHT over the transom
to Harlequin Intrigue and to a literary agent simultaneously. They
both took me on at the same time. And that was my first published novel.
The last book you bought?
CONVERSATIONAL ARABIC IN SEVEN DAYS (note: I've discovered that
the language is too difficult to learn in seven years, much less seven
days!)
Trashy novel or thought provoking 1000 page epic?
If
you're asking about my preference between the two, why do I have to choose?
Your fantasy screen kiss would be with?
Viggo Mortensen.
But I wouldn't turn down George Clooney either.
What's been your most extravagant recent purchase?
300
acres of farmland. I don't actually plan to farm it or even live on it,
but it's so beautiful I couldn't resist it. I'm Chinese, and if you give
us a choice of what to spend our money on, we'll always go for land.
One piece of advice to any aspiring authors?
Read the
books of successful authors. Find out why they sell, why their writing
works. Then look at your own manuscript and ask yourself what you can
do to improve your own work.
And the best thing about being a writer is? (Feel free
to be totally fickle and materialistic here)
Working at home in my bare
feet.
Thanx Tess!
© Lola Jaye