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BIO
Lisa Gardner is the New York Times bestselling author of Say Goodbye, Hide, Gone, Alone, The Killing Hour, The Survivors Club, The Next Accident, The Other Daughter, The Third Victim, and The Perfect Husband. She lives with her family in New England, where she is at work on her next suspense novel.
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AUTHOR TALK
June 19, 2009
Lisa Gardner's new novel, THE NEIGHBOR, marks the return of D. D. Warren, a Boston PD Sergeant who was also featured in previous works ALONE and HIDE. In this interview, Gardner explains why she chose to continue Warren's story, and discusses the real-life cases that inspired the plot of this latest book about the disappearance of a young wife and mother whose secretive husband is suspected of her murder. She also describes the most fascinating and most challenging aspects of researching and writing about sex offenders, provides insight into the complex characters and their relationships, and hints at what's in store for Sergeant D. D. in future installments of the series.
Question: THE NEIGHBOR features Boston PD Sergeant D.D. Warren from ALONE and HIDE. Why did you bring her back?
Lisa Gardner: D.D. is one of those cameo actresses who totally steals the show. I never intended her to be anything other than a single-scene character for ALONE. But something about her --- the attitude, the killer boots, I don’t know --- she ended up becoming a major character. At the end of ALONE, she didn’t get her man. In HIDE, same problem; Bobby Dodge chose the other woman. So D.D. has stayed with me, my favorite hard-assed detective, still searching for more out of life than a great all-you-can-eat buffet.
Q: What inspired the plot of the novel?
LG: The Petersons. Scott Peterson. Drew Peterson. Is it just me, or are way too many men solving their marital woes by killing off their young, beautiful wives? I’m fascinated by the inherent drama. From the woman’s point of view, what’s it like to be sleeping with the man most likely to kill you? From the husband’s point of view, how do you go about the day after, looking for your missing spouse, caring for your children, balancing work and home life, when you have half the cable networks camped out on your front lawn? If you’re a psychopath, I suspect the attention’s gratifying. But if you’re an innocent man, the good guy just trying to do right by your traumatized child…
Q: The novel opens with the disappearance of a young wife, Sandra Jones, told from her point of view. What was it like to write a novel where one of the most important characters is off stage?
LG: I’d like to say I was brilliant and had this dynamic figured out from the start. In reality, I learned as I wrote. Sandra had to have a voice, because if you don’t care about her, what’s the point? So I started the book from her point of view, and I liked that so much, she kept on providing her voice to the novel. Then it turned out there’s a lot more to pretty little Sandy than I first imagined. Wait till you get to the spa weekends. My husband read that chapter, and told me I was never allowed to go to a spa again.
Q: THE NEIGHBOR also features a four-year-old girl, Ree. What was it like to write from the perspective of a small child?
LG: I love Ree. Probably, in no small part, because I had the world’s most adorable team of four-year-old consultants assisting me with Ree’s development. Team Diva, I called them. I’d load them up with Cheddar Bunnies, and they’d supply the movies Ree should watch, decorations for her room, her favorite dolls. We had a blast.
Q: Jason Jones, Sandra’s husband, is definitely suspicious. It’s clear he’s a man with a lot to hide. How do you create a character that appears simultaneously guilty yet likable?
LG: The trick with Jason is that he genuinely loves his daughter. His feelings for Sandy are much more complex, and as you learn about the marriage, you can understand that. But his complete and utter devotion to his daughter is established from page one. In fact, he and Sandy both are committed to their child. It’s the lengths they will go to in order to protect Ree that make this family so complicated.
Q: You’re known for your research --- what was some of the most fascinating things you learned while researching THE NEIGHBOR?
LG: The research into sex offenders was the most interesting. Probably because the experts I interviewed, from parole officers, to court officers, to counselors, genuinely had nice things to say about them. One person, who assesses sex offenders for their risk of re-offending, likened them to bad people now on their best behavior, versus the parents he assesses for custody hearings, who are good people now on their worst behavior. Not that some sex offenders aren’t monsters, but the majority rehabilitate better than the media would have us believe. Fear sells papers. Success stories do not.
Q: THE NEIGHBOR has a lot to do with intimate secrets and internal fears, how you never really know anyone, not even the people you love. What was it like to write a novel where danger literally lurks everywhere?
LG: I’ve always been fascinated by the notion that danger is closer than you think. My first novel, THE PERFECT HUSBAND, was about the handsome charming husband who moonlights as Ted Bundy. THE NEIGHBOR picks up on that theme, but is more equal opportunity. Sure, Jason definitely has something to hide. But Sandy…my, my, my does that girl have some secrets worth killing over. Let alone the registered sex offender, plus the overeager student who adores his missing school teacher, etc. etc. We all have a capacity for violence given the right set of circumstances. THE NEIGHBOR is all about finding that set of circumstances...
Q: What did you find to be the most challenging aspect of writing THE NEIGHBOR?
LG: Writing as a first person male sex offender. I’m known for my complex characters, and I didn’t want to disappoint. On the one hand, Aidan’s definitely done something very bad. On the other hand, he’s a young guy still trying to figure out life and how to make better choices. I don’t think you have to like him, per se, but I want you to understand him. He has a story to tell, and it’s worth listening to.
Q: Will we see Sergeant D.D. again?
LG: Yep.
Q: What are you working on next?
LG: Sergeant D.D. returns in my next novel, where she investigates a string of family annihilations. All over Boston, fathers suddenly seem to be killing off their entire families. Coincidence, or something more sinister at work? You’ll find out in 2010.
© Copyright 2009, Lisa Gardner. All rights reserved.
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AUTHOR TALK
 July 18, 2008
Lisa Gardner's latest novel, SAY GOODBYE, marks the return of FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy (last seen in 2006’s GONE), this time in a starring role. In this interview, Gardner explains why she chose to continue the Quincy family's story and describes the unlikely inspiration behind some of the book's more gruesome elements. She also discusses the amount of research she performed to give the narrative a unique and authentic flavor, shares her favorite scene, and reveals details about her next project, the sequel to SAY GOODBYE.
Question: SAY GOODBYE brings back Kimberly Quincy, Pierce Quincy’s daughter, in a starring role. Did you plan that?
Lisa Gardner: Absolutely. I wanted to return to Kimberly’s story. We’ve watched her grow up, join Quantico, become an FBI agent, and fall in love. Last time we saw her --- at the end of GONE --- she was living happily ever after with Mac. But is she a happily-ever-after kind of gal?
Q: So you wanted to return to Kimberly, and yet you rarely write back-to-back sequels. What’s up with that?
LG: You caught me. I’ve never planned a sequel to any book I’ve written. That I’ve now written five novels with the same characters --- Pierce Quincy, Rainie Conner, and Kimberly Quincy --- is as much a surprise to me as anyone. I'm idea driven. If my existing characters can work for my latest and greatest idea, I bring them back. It sort of just happens that the Quincy family fits into every other book.
Q: What was the impetus for the rest of the novel?
LG: My daughter developed a passion for spiders last year. Not daddy long legs, which maybe I could understand. No, she likes the big, fat, hairy tarantulas. Ended up decorating our front porch with over a hundred spiders, not to mention all the books she checked out from the library on the subject. At a certain point, I realized this had the makings of a book idea. So I created a tarantula named Henrietta as a major character. Henrietta is very special to the villain in SAY GOODBYE. You don’t want anything bad to happen to Henrietta.
Q: Speaking of villains, the reviewers clearly agree this is your creepiest novel to date. Was that a goal of yours?
LG: I haven't written anyone nearly as scary as Jim Beckett from THE PERFECT HUSBAND in a while, so I decided to terrify my readers. I wanted to show how monsters are made. Not tell you. Not lecture you. But show you. The scenes involving the villain are not sugar-coated; in fact, many of the scenes are from actual cases (for more info, check out True Crime Shopping). I think the end result is a very intense read. For some readers, it might be too intense. For others, this will hands down become the novel they read again and again. Interestingly enough, in my next novel --- due out July 2009 --- there’s hardly any on-stage violence, so go figure.
Q: You are known for the research you do for your novels. What went into the making of SAY GOODBYE?
LG: I was talking to a fellow author one day, and told her I wanted to learn more about bugs, but I didn't know an entomologist. She immediately volunteered her husband, who turned out to be a noted insect expert. He and I spoke many times, about the role of insects in decomp, etc., etc. Everything we covered, however, felt like something that had already been done. Then, one day, he mentioned that he'd discovered a black widow spider, and put it in a terrarium as a pet. You know, as if that was the most perfectly normal thing in the world to do. Immediately, I knew how he could help me with SAY GOODBYE.
I also spent a great deal of time learning about Evidence Response Teams from the FBI, which is an “extracurricular” I hadn’t even known existed. Finally, the whole family got to take a trip to Blood Mountain. There’s nothing that says quality time like searching for a crime scene.
Q: What is your favorite scene in the book and why?
LG: My favorite scene is toward the end, when Kimberly finally figures out how the killer has been hiding the bodies. I would like to take credit for that scene, which I think is ingenuous, but it was the idea of a good friend of mine. I was lamenting one day that I couldn’t think of any new and interesting ways to dispose of corpses, when she stopped me mid-sentence and exclaimed --- “I have the best idea; I’ll be right over.” Ironically enough, this is a woman who has never read my novels because she’s worried they’ll scare her too much.
Q: In this novel, both Kimberly and the shady informant, Delilah Rose, are pregnant. Why a “pregnancy” theme in such a dark novel?
LG: I initially made Kimberly pregnant because that’s the logical next phase of her life. Plus, I think this is what makes Kimberly so interesting as a character. It seems like most thrillers these days are populated by the antisocial, hard-as-nails loner with nothing to lose. Kimberly has a loving husband, a supportive father, a blossoming family. She has everything to lose, and yet she can’t say no to her job. You tell me what’s scarier --- risking your own life, or risking your unborn child’s.
Q: Will we see Kimberly again?
LG: It’s possible.
Q: Then what are you working on next?
LG: I have just wrapped up a sequel to SAY GOODBYE, except the character has moved to Boston where he must take on Sergeant D.D. Warren from ALONE and HIDE. It was fun for me to bring together two characters from two different series, so to speak. The book does not involve the Quincy family, however. I think D.D. is more than enough.
© Copyright 2008, Lisa Gardner. All rights reserved.
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INTERVIEW
July 18, 2003
Lisa Gardner is the New York Times bestselling author of such suspense novels as THE PERFECT HUSBAND, THE OTHER DAUGHTER, THE THIRD VICTIM, THE NEXT ACCIDENT, and THE SURVIVORS CLUB. In this special interview with Bookreporter.com's Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight team (Carol Fitzgerald, Joe Hartlaub, and Wiley Saichek), Gardner discusses the themes and characters in her latest novel, THE KILLING HOUR, as well as the writers who have most influenced her and the bone-chilling details of her next book.
BRC: The theme that seems to run through many of your novels strikes us as being somewhat Neitzchean in nature, in the sense that your protagonists --- who by and large are strong, though damaged women --- have evolved a philosophy that that which does not kill them made them stronger. To put it another way, while your characters are people who have had bad things happen to them, they fight to be survivors, rather than victims. From where does that approach in your writing come?
LG: I'm simply fascinated by survivors. Being a victim is a matter of luck --- bad luck. Being a survivor, on the other hand, is a matter of character. There is a lot of bad in this world --- boy, with all the research I do, don't I know it. And I think that gives everyone a fascination with heroes. How do they find the strength? What secrets have they learned about themselves? And how can we best steal that knowledge, wrapping it around ourselves like armor, so that we might be survivors, too? The world isn't going to get magically better anytime soon, so we could all benefit from more strength.
BRC: Kimberly Quincy, who had a prominent role in THE NEXT ACCIDENT, is featured once again in THE KILLING HOUR. Do you have any plans for her --- or for that matter, Pierce Quincy and Rainie Conner --- in any future novels? What are the advantages and disadvantages of working with continuing characters?
LG: I have no immediate plans for another book involving Kimberly, Rainie and Quincy. But having said that, I'm nearly certain we'll see more of them in the future. I enjoy writing books with continuing characters for the same reason readers enjoy reading them --- I genuinely miss the people and want to catch up on their lives. Rainie and Quincy, in particular, continue to fascinate me. I'm already wondering what life might be like for them now. Yep, definitely another novel somewhere down the road.
BRC: For Wiley, Quincy and Rainie were his favorite characters in THE KILLING HOUR. Off all the characters in your books, which is your personal favorite(s), and why?
LG: Rainie is still my favorite character. She's such a wise ass. She says all the stuff my conservative nature would never allow me to say. I get to live vicariously through her.
BRC: Your books are filled with fully fleshed-out, "real" characters --- to the delight of your readers. Who are some of the authors you keep returning to as a reader because of their ability to create vivid, three-dimensional characters?
LG: For characterization, I think some of the fantasy authors do it best. I absolutely adore Robert Jordan, as well as J.R.R. Tolkien. Fantasy novels hinge on the hero's journey --- a young protagonist learning what he's truly made of. By definition, the characters must be compelling and grow through the course of the novel. In my own way, I'm following that formula, adapted to a contemporary setting where the monsters are even more frightening because they don't hide under the bed.
BRC: You have said in interviews that research is one of your favorite parts of writing a book. Share with us some of your favorite "discoveries" --- of any kind --- when you were researching for one of your books.
LG: I had the most fun researching my current release, THE KILLING HOUR. As an avid outdoorswoman, I thought I knew a fair amount about hiking, nature, etc. I knew nothing. Once I started digging deeper on survival skills and outdoor basics, I was fascinated to discover that children have the highest survival rate when lost in the woods --- mostly because they listen to their own instincts. They sleep when they need to sleep and take shelter almost immediately, limiting their risk of exposure. Adults, on the other hand, walk themselves into an exhausted state, always convinced help is around the next corner. In other words, kids listen to nature; adults try to outthink it. Thus, a "helpless" child will last ten days and a strong adult will perish in three. Talk about irony!
BRC: In THE KILLING HOUR you did a great job of showing the tension between Quantico, NCIS, and Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Did the tension come in to play in "real life" as you were researching the book?
LG: Actually, when you interview law enforcement agencies, they are all very adamant about how well they cooperate with other jurisdictional agencies. And there's something about their very forcefulness on this subject that always makes me wonder. Promotions and budgets are based on performance. So by definition, no agency --- or agent --- wants someone else cracking a high-profile case. Of course there are some tensions. It would be odd if there weren't.
BRC: Good pacing is one of the most important parts of a thriller, and you do pacing so well in your books. Do you find pacing an easy or difficult part of writing a novel? Why?
LG: Pacing was the hardest thing for me to learn in the beginning, and the most natural thing for me to do now. I'm a speed-reader. So I finally figured out, if I'm skimming over all these words, why put them in at all? Trim the fat, get to the meat. In hindsight, duh!
BRC: You have had two novels adapted for film. Your first --- AT THE MIDNIGHT HOUR, under your Alice Scott nom de plume --- was released in 1995, while your second, THE PERFECT HUSBAND, was released in Europe under the title INSTINCT TO KILL. Were you involved at all with the scriptwriting for either movie? Have you seen either or both movies? And what is your reaction when you see your work translated into a different medium?
LG: I wasn't involved in the movie process for either AT THE MIDNIGHT HOUR or INSTINCT TO KILL. I got phone calls telling me they were making movies, then I got checks in the mail. As I like getting checks in the mail, I certainly can't complain.
BRC: On a related note, which of your novels would you most like to see adapted to for film? And do you have any idea who you would like to see cast in the starring roles?
LG: I'd like anything I've ever written to be turned into a movie if it would involve Brad Pitt. They can have my grocery list, just give me Brad Pitt. Then I'd have to serve as a technical adviser, of course. And the movie would definitely need a lot of technical assistance. A lot of technical assistance.
BRC: What writers, if any, have influenced your work in both genres? And what writers who have not influenced you do you continue to read solely for pleasure?
LG: I've been heavily influenced by Stephen King, as well as the great host of female suspense writers taking over the bestseller lists: Tami Hoag, Iris Johansen, Tess Gerritsen, etc. As an artist, everything I read influences me, so there really isn't an answer to your second question. I enjoy a lot of literary fiction and nonfiction, however. I loved SEABISCUIT, Alice Sebold's THE LOVELY BONES and anything by Anita Shreve.
BRC: You have stated that true crime books and forensic television shows often inspire your fiction. Are there any subjects you feel you won't ever write about? Why or why not?
LG: Now that I'm a parent, it would be difficult for me to write about violence toward children. Of course, my next novel does involve a child in jeopardy, so I'm still walking the edge. I think to write a frightening book, you have to be frightened. Thus the most disturbing topics become the most compelling.
BRC: Congratulations are in order on the birth of your daughter, who at the time of this interview is two months old. Can you tell us what your work schedule was like before she was born, and how it has changed?
LG: Before my daughter's birth, I wrote each morning, maintaining a disciplined work schedule. Now ... Schedule? Discipline? Work? I'm lucky if I get bathed each day. Let's just say the new work environment is still being ironed out.
BRC: When will we see your next book, and can you share anything about it with us now?
LG: I'm hot at work on a new novel featuring a police sniper, Robert Dakota. One night, Dakota saves a mother and child by fatally shooting the father, who is holding them both at gunpoint. Or was he? By morning light, allegations are already starting to fly. Was it the father who was a threat to the child? Or is it the mother? And why exactly did Dakota take the shot? Every family has secrets, and what's going on with this one family may cost Dakota everything he's ever held dear.
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