In an attempt to earn the forgiveness of my faithful blog readers for my unexplained absence of late, I’m making my return to the GG clubhouse with a splash. A big splash.

You see, I figure we all need a little inspiration once in a while. A success story to make us sit up a little straighter and type a little harder. And in the search for such a story you’d be hard pressed to find a better candidate than #1 New York Times Best Selling Novelist Harlan Coben.

Fortunately for me, I know the guy, and he agreed to my request for a Q & A with absolutely no resistance. And I didn’t even have to bribe him!

So here goes…

For those people who may be living under a rock, Harlan Coben is the mega-selling suspense writer of such titles as TELL NO ONE, NO SECOND CHANCE, THE WOODS, PROMISE ME, HOLD TIGHT, and (my personal favorite) THE INNOCENT. He has sixteen novels on the shelf and another in the works. He’s published in thirty-eight different languages and has had the amazing honor of watching the first of his standalones, TELL NO ONE, on the big screen in France.

And that’s just the beginning.

If I ran down the list of all of Harlan’s accomplishments over the past nineteen years, I’d have the longest blog entry in history. So if you want to know more about his stellar career, go here.

In the meantime, I shall don my dusty reporter’s hat and get down to business with the man himself.

Q#1: What are some of your favorite moments as a writer (thus far)?

A: I will tell you a quick story. An unknown writer was in a big chain bookstore for a god-awful booksigning – we all know them — sitting at a table alone, playing with his pen, nobody buying. He felt like a chump and a loser. An older man came over to him, looked at the book, put it down and said to the unknown writer, “You’re living my dream.” So in short, I love it all.

Q#2: Do you always know how a story will end before you start?

A: I used to say that, but for THE WOODS (2007 release), my, what, sixteenth book or so, I had no idea. Four kids vanished in the woods in the beginning and I had no clue why. My point? You still learn.

Q#3: What’s the best advice you ever received as a young writer?

A: Elmore Leonard says, “I try to cut out all the parts you’d skip.” Live it, baby.

Q#4: What’s the best advice YOU can now give as a seasoned writer?

A: Read Elmore Leonard’s quote. And write. Just write. Don’t worry about marketing or selling the book or what publishers are buying now. I know NO ONE who has had a successful career as a novelist chasing trends — usually it’s just the opposite.

Q#5: How long from your first book published until you hit the NYT?

A: 1988 was the year my first novel was published. I first hit the NYT in 2001. Overnight success, right?

Q#6: Have the majority of your standalones come to you in an instant? Or gradually, over time?

A: Nothing comes to me in an instant.

Q#7 What was your favorite touring moment?

A: I will quote Dan Fogelberg here: “The audience is heavenly, but the traveling is hell.” Specific moment? So many. Maybe one was when a nice man in a baseball cap waited patiently in a fairly long line, politely asked me to personalize his book “To John,” thanked me and left. After he was out the door, someone in line said to me, “That was John Sanford.” Talk about flattering.

Q#8: What was your favorite conference moment?

A: I love it all. But maybe when I won the Anthony at my first Bouchercon in St Paul. That was pretty dang cool.

***GG side note: My favorite conference moment was when this guy put me on the phone with Mary Higgins Clark. Sigh…

Q#9: Do you have any writerly quirks (you know…writing in your boxers, only writing when the sun is in the eastern sky–that sorta thing)?

A: I have two writerly quirks. I write naked. Oh, and I only write at Starbucks.

I kid.

No quirks really. Whatever seems to make me write I will ride until it doesn’t work anymore. Then I will look for a new quirk.

Q#10: Any moments–early in your career–that you found particularly challenging?

A: All of it. But I loved the early years. I was wonderfully naïve and I wish more writers could be that way. Now everyone knows everything – marketing and print runs and printing up bookmarks, etc — but back when I started the Myron Bolitar series, when I was making five grand a book and only published in mass market with a print run of 15K, I thought I was the cat’s pajamas. If I knew the odds, I would probably have gone crazy. So put your head down and write and realize how lucky you are. Makes life easier.

##

A big thank you to Harlan for assisting me in my olive branch offering. And as for the rest of you, who knows…maybe he’ll even lurk in the comment section today in the event someone has a really scintillating question.

Hugs,

~Laura