Gregg Olsen
BIO
New York Times bestselling author Gregg Olsen is the author of ten books. As a journalist and true crime author, Olsen has received numerous awards and much critical acclaim for his writing. He’s also been a guest on “Good Morning, America,” “CBS Early Show,” “Entertainment Tonight,” CNN, Fox News Channel, “48 Hours” and other national and international TV programs. The Seattle native lives in rural Washington State with his wife and twin daughters. He’s now at work on his next thriller. Readers are invited to visit his website, www.greggolsen.com.
INTERVIEW
March 13, 2009
Gregg Olsen's latest work, HEART OF ICE, marks the return of protagonists Sheriff Emily Kenyon and her daughter Jenna, who were first introduced in last year's A COLD DARK PLACE. In this interview with Bookreporter.com's Joe Hartlaub, Olsen explains what prompted him to resurrect these two characters despite his earlier objections to writing series, but discusses why they won't be making any more appearances in his work in the near future. He also reveals what fascinates him most about the inner workings of killers, gives his two cents on the nature vs. nurture argument, and shares details about two upcoming projects --- a true crime book due out next winter and a serial-killer thriller called VICTIM SIX.
Bookreporter.com: HEART OF ICE features the return of Cherrystone, Washington Sheriff Emily Kenyon, who you introduced in A COLD DARK PLACE. You have previously written nonfiction work and stand-alone thrillers. What made you decide to bring back Emily and her supporting characters in a second novel?
Gregg Olsen: I said I’d never do a continuing character, but honestly, I liked Emily and Jenna enough from A COLD DARK PLACE that they seemed worthy of a comeback of sorts. I liked the idea of Jenna being older, having survived what happened to her in COLD DARK. Look, I’m not saying that Emily, Chris and Jenna are/were living beings that I just had to bring back. We hear writers all the time talk about how “real” their creations are. Honestly, that kind of talk used to seem silly to me…until I thought about the possibilities of the people I was writing about. Hey, I might even bring Hannah Griffin back from A WICKED SNOW some day. She’s still looking for her own boogieman, or boogie mom. Maybe she should catch her in another book? What do you think?
BRC: HEART OF ICE is a chilling novel, dealing with two frightening and seemingly unconnected killers. You are actually telling two stories here. One deals with a serial killer who has targeted a specific set of individuals, including Jenna Kenyon, Emily’s daughter. You reveal his identity early on; the motive behind his pursuit is the mystery that you ever so slowly reveal, even as we learn about the killer’s tragic, horrific past. The other killer, who is pursued by Emily Kenyon, is totally unknown to the reader until the very end of the book. The difference between the two juxtapositioned mysteries provides a tautness that moved the novel along quite nicely. Did you intend to tell these two stories in such a different manner when you began writing HEART OF ICE? Or did the idea to do so come to you as you were completing the manuscript?
GO: My editor at Kensington has told me time and again that a thriller is thrilling even when you know who the killer is and who the intended victim is. That’s the point, right? The ticking of the clock as someone gets ready to pounce. Don’t go upstairs! We readers know that something very, very bad is about to happen. And yet, I find myself wanting to dig into the mystery side of things. If I’m going to have a serial killer stalking someone, I’d like to know as much as I can about him (or her). In HEART OF ICE I have the best of both worlds. To answer the last part of your question, I think I do take a more organic approach to my writing. I do a synopsis and rough outline and then let the story take me where I need to go.
BRC: The killers in your novels in general, and in HEART OF ICE in particular, are electrifying. Michael Barton, the serial killer who targets Jenna Kenyon, is unforgettable on several levels: his horrific childhood, his normal if somewhat eccentric outward demeanor, and his internal turbulence that ultimately results in his violent acting out. What characteristics does Barton share with serial murderers who you encountered in your research for your nonfiction works? In your opinion, are there a lot of Michael Bartons out there?
GO: This is a bit like sympathy for the devil, I guess. But I do think that for the most part killers are made, not born. My research and writing in true crime bears that out. People who do the unthinkable, for the most part, have had the unthinkable done to them. Not all. But most. That doesn’t mean that everyone who has been the victim of sex abuse, torture, or emotional neglect becomes a killer. We all know that. I have no idea how many Michael Bartons are really out there, but I am intrigued by the idea of the mask that some killers wear. When you think about it, aren’t the most mundane murderers the most frightening? Aren’t the killers who catch you off guard the ones who chill you to the bone? When the monster looks like a monster, we know to run as fast as we can, right?
BRC: Interestingly enough, it is Olivia Barton, Michael’s wife, who is almost as interesting as Michael himself, although in a markedly different way. She is such a good, decent person that one has the sense she could almost --- almost --- redeem him if he would just reveal more of himself to her, something that he is afraid to do, for obvious reasons. Do real-world Michael Bartons attract Olivias? Or are their significant others more likely to be passive observers who attempt to ignore the obvious?
GO: Your questions are intriguing here. I think many people are tortured by something they hold inside and wish that they could be healed, fixed, by telling someone. I don’t know that serial killers agonize over what they do, but plenty of people with dark secrets wish they could share them. Maybe sharing something could stop a compulsive behavior? Michael understands intellectually what he’s doing is wrong, but the compulsion and rage cannot be stopped. Olivia loves him for what he has revealed to her as a husband and father. There are many women like Oliva who think they can fix or change the men they love. Maybe he drinks. Maybe he’s smacked her around. Maybe he gambles and she has to work two jobs to keep a roof over their heads. Predators and victims have a knack for finding each other --- they go wherever the hunting is good.
BRC: You end HEART OF ICE on a note that could easily result in a series of several more novels featuring Emily Kenyon, although in a different capacity. What plans do you have for her? And will you continue to utilize Jenna Kenyon in future works to the degree that you have in the past?
GO: I don’t think Emily or Jenna will be back any time soon. Sometimes I feel that the serial killer thriller/mystery genre suffers from a Jessica Fletcher syndrome…just how many friends of hers can actually be murdered? Serial killers are exceedingly rare and it seems unlikely that Emily would face off with yet another. Having said that, I have considered the idea of putting Jenna in a lead role. She’s been through so much, and as a young person she could possibly reinvent herself as a victim’s advocate, working a case from the other side. I’d like to write from a young woman’s perspective --- because I have twin daughters in their 20s and I think observing them could give me a leg up.
BRC: What serial murderer have you encountered in the course of your research who has terrified you the most?
GO: I always go back to Ted Bundy. I’m from the Northwest and I will never forget the fear that swept through our region during those days. The idea that someone so seemingly normal could do so much evil is chilling. I corresponded with Ted when he was on death row in Florida. He signed his letters, “Peace, Ted.” I’m not sure if he was being ironic or not.
BRC: You have been steadily creating an enviable body of work. Is there any novel you have written that is your particular favorite?
GO: I’m sure that most authors are like me --- they love the book they are working on. When you think about it, you are investing your heart and soul (and every night and weekend!) in the creation of something that you hope will enlighten or entertain. HEART OF ICE might be my favorite for a long time because someone told me that while she didn’t condone anything that Michael did, she felt a little sorry for him. Sorry for a serial killer? That’s an interesting concept.
BRC: On a related note, I heard that your true crime work, STARVATION HEIGHTS, has been optioned for film. What can you share with us about this?
GO: Tracy Letts, who won the Pulitzer Prize last year for drama, has written an amazing script. The story of Dr. Linda Hazzard and her fasting sanitarium is worthy of a movie. I hope it happens, but then again, Hollywood isn’t a sure thing. Is it?
BRC: An excerpt from your next, unnamed thriller is included at the conclusion of HEART OF ICE. Can you tell us anything about that work? What else are you working on?
GO: The new book for Kensington is called VICTIM SIX and, really, I think it is my first 100 percent serial killer thriller. While there are a few elements of a mystery, those things take a backseat to the serial killer known as the Cutter as evil unfolds in a quiet coastal town in Washington. This is the darkest book I’ve ever written. Hey, I live in a quiet coastal town in Washington and what I’m writing creeps me out. I think readers will enjoy the new novel --- I just have to get it finished! I do have some other news --- my first new true crime book in a good long while will be out in Winter 2010. The story concerns the death of a minister’s wife and the goings on at his church. Nothing, as we like to say, is as it seems. Especially in real life!
BRC: I notice that your novels are generally published in late winter, and that your titles of late --- HEART OF ICE, A COLD DARK PLACE, A WICKED SNOW --- reflect that. Is the symmetry between the titles and the release dates by accident or by design? And will we be seeing a thaw in the titles, if not in subject matter, any time in the foreseeable future?
GO: My editor, Michaela Hamilton, came up with the concept of linking the books by name and imagery as a way to give me a bit of a brand as I enter a very competitive paperback arena. Michaela and the team at Kensington are busy working on cover concepts for VICTIM SIX right now. I have no idea which way they are going. I don’t mind. I like to be in suspense as much as my readers.
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April 11, 2008
Bookreporter.com's Joe Hartlaub recently spoke with Gregg Olsen, bestselling author of seven true crime books and two novels, including the newly released A COLD DARK PLACE. In this interview, Olsen describes the highly unusual real-life news story that inspired the plot of his latest work of fiction and explains how his family gave him insight into how to portray female characters realistically. He also compares and contrasts writing fiction and nonfiction, shares his thoughts on the influx in television police procedural dramas and reveals who most influenced him in his career.
Bookreporter.com: The heart of A COLD DARK PLACE featured what might be called a very innovative method of artificial insemination carried out by an incarcerated serial killer. Was this based on a real-world occurrence, in whole or in part, or was this your own creation?
Gregg Olsen: The inspiration for that conception did come from real life. The case of a Milwaukee inmate who sought to confuse DNA analysis on a crime scene by sending out a sample of his semen in a ketchup package made the news several years ago. He figured if his DNA was found outside while he was in jail, it would make the case against him suspect. His girlfriend helped him set up a phony rape. But in the end, he was found out.
BRC: I liked the way you handle the life of Emily Kenyon, a police officer who is also the single mother of a teenaged daughter. She attempts to balance the demands of investigating a multiple murder, being involved in her daughter’s life and dealing with her own personal issues. She makes a couple of realistic mistakes --- the kind that guys scratch their heads over --- that ultimately make her a more sympathetic and realistic character. Did you find Emily an easy or difficult character to conceptualize? What made you ultimately decide to feature a female, rather than a male, protagonist?
GO: I liked Emily very much --- so much, in fact, that I’m bringing her and her daughter Jenna back in my next book, HEART OF ICE (Pinnacle, 2009). She certainly is flawed, but hey, we all are, right? I liked working with a female character on the side of good for a change (in my true crime writing, many of the killers are female). What I liked about Emily is the idea that she is a cop, of course, but first and foremost, she’s a mother. She’s like all of us who have families. She has a job, but it isn’t always on the front burner. There’s a conflict there, of course. That’s what makes me care about her.
BRC: I also was impressed with the way you got into the psyches --- good and bad, bright and dark --- of all your characters. From Emily’s erstwhile boyfriend --- in some ways, one of the scariest players in the book --- to Jenna, Emily’s teenaged daughter, each character was fully developed. How did you keep all the players so true to life?
GO: I’m not writing about my own life, but I do have an advantage here. As the father of twin daughters, I’m constantly reminded how women/girls think. I’m so glad that you think the characters are realistic. Flaws make all of us a little more interesting, don’t they? I have plenty of my own.
BRC: One of the issues that A COLD DARK PLACE raised, in a subtle way, was the pros and cons of adoption, both for the children and the families. In your opinion, in what ways does the process currently work correctly? How could it be improved?
GO: This is a far bigger question than I can handle with any authority. But I will tell you this: My heart goes out to those who open their homes to children in need of love, nurturing and a family. Certainly, some children bring insurmountable issues with them when they come into an adoptive home. During my research for the novel, I talked with people on both sides of the issue --- children who adored their adoptive parents and had no interest in finding their biological folks, and those who felt a longing for that missing piece of their history.
Years ago, I remember talking to an adoptee who said that his sister (also adopted) regretted the day she met her biological parents. For her, it ruined everything.
BRC: Another issue that is raised, if not necessarily resolved, in A COLD DARK PLACE is that of nature versus nurture as the primary influence in an individual’s development. In your opinion, which, if either, has the greatest effect?
GO: Nurture, of course, is crucial. I’ve seen it over and over in the true life cases that I’ve written about --- from Mary Kay Letourneau to Eli Stutzman. I always tell people that a murderer is on the road to killing someone long before they administer poison or pull the trigger. We see that kind of evidence in serial killers all the time (torturing small animals, etc.), but we also see patterns emerge in childhoods of murderers.
BRC: You have become very well known not only for your fictional works but also for your nonfiction, true crime books. What are some of the similarities and differences between writing fiction and nonfiction? Which do you prefer? Do you find that one genre is easier to write than the other? And have you ever been inspired to write a true crime book based upon something that your research uncovered while writing a work of fiction?
GO: I could spend all day answering this, and probably get myself into trouble. I think writing fiction is more liberating, for sure. The loose ends of a story can be tied up easily --- if the author chooses that route (I didn’t in A WICKED SNOW but did in A COLD DARK PLACE). In the true crime stories I’ve written, the facts are just as they are. I think that both genres require different shades of the truth. With fiction, the events and details must ring true or the reader will toss the book out the window. With nonfiction, the events must be true or the judge presiding over a libel case will throw the book at the author.
The last part of your question is exceedingly interesting. While I have been inspired by true-life cases for my novels, the reverse hasn’t been true --- so far. Now that you mention it, if I could find a true story about a place like Angel’s Nest...
BRC: The central theme of A COLD DARK PLACE that runs through all of your fiction and true crime works is the etiology of violent crime and its unfortunate after-effects. How did you first become interested in this topic?
GO: I can’t think of a time when I wasn’t interested or drawn to crime stories. I’ve always wanted to know the why of some terrible act.
BRC: What is your opinion of the proliferation of criminal procedure programs, both fictional and real-world, on television? Do you think that they function as a deterrent to criminal behavior?
GO: I’ve thought about that from time to time, wondering if criminals were watching and taking notes so they won’t get caught. And I do think the shows have made the average person more knowledgeable --- we all know so much more about DNA and forensic science than we did years ago. But I don’t see "CSI" or "Cold Case" as deterrents. Many crimes are committed without reason. The cold, calculating ones capture the headlines. So, for every Ted Bundy, there are a zillion Joe Blows who got mad, got drunk, and didn’t think about what they were doing until it was too late. It is only AFTER the act that they try to think of a way out.
BRC: We have many readers who aspire to be writers. What inspired your own writing career? How did you get started? And what is your writing schedule like? Have you found it difficult to stay on a set working schedule, particularly when you have a lecture schedule as well?
GO: I’ve always treated writing like a job. I have a word count quota that I pretty much stick to without fail --- 1,000 words a day. Some days they might be really great words, and other days they need a lot of help. But if I don’t hit that magic number, I haven’t done my job. Like most writers, I’ve always been a writer. I can look back on some of the schoolwork that my mom saved and I can see that I was on that journey long before I thought I could make a living at it. I have little books I wrote back then that are a far cry from anything criminal. I actually wrote stories of rabbits hopping through the woods --- not a knife in sight!
BRC: When you are working on a novel, do you start with an outline, or begin writing based on an idea and see what occurs?
GO: So far I’ve started with a very simple two-page description of what I’m going to write and I just wing it from there. This, of course, is the opposite of true crime writing. In those books, I’ve had to plot out each moment because, well, it was a true story! With fiction, I’m having a ball seeing where the story takes me.
BRC: Who has exerted the most influence on your writing career? And, if you can remember, who wrote the first crime novel you ever read?
GO: Donald Sobol’s Encyclopedia Brown series, does that count? It is hard to say who has exerted the most influence on my writing career --- there have been so many. Beyond the great teachers I’ve had along the way (big thanks here to my high school English teacher, Sandra Clark), I’d have to say my wife and daughters have played the greatest role. After all, they’ve put up with my clacking away on the keyboard for all these years.
BRC: A COLD DARK PLACE almost begs for a sequel. Do you have any plans to revisit Emily Kenyon, or, more pointedly, the alumni of the Angel’s Nest Adoption Agency?
GO: Angel’s Nest is history, for sure. But Emily and some of the key folks from the book are back, five years later, in HEART OF ICE. Hold on tight. I think you’ll like it.
BRC: What are you working on now? And in the future, do you plan to focus on fiction, nonfiction, or both?
GO: I’m delighted to say that my publisher has signed me up for three more thrillers, which will keep me busy for the next few years. I also completed my next true crime book, which will be out sometime next year. I like the mix of doing nonfiction and fiction, and I hope to continue to keep a kind of balance between the two.
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