Julie Garwood

BIO

Julie Garwood is the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, including SHADOW DANCE, SLOW BURN, MURDER LIST, KILLJOY, MERCY, HEARTBREAKER, RANSOM and COME THE SPRING. There are more than 32 million copies of her books in print.

Q&A with Julie Garwood, author of KILLJOY

Q: When did you begin your writing career?

JG: When I was around eleven or twelve years old, my reading teacher, Sister Elizabeth, gave me a blank journal and suggested that every night I write down my thoughts and hopes and dreams. I started out using the journal like a diary, recording the day's events, but I soon tired of what I thought was a very boring life. Going to school during the day and doing homework at night wasn't exciting to me. Making up stories was much more fun. The characters I created didn't go to school. They didn't get detention, as I often did, and they certainly didn't have to do homework. I made sure that they had wonderful adventures.

I guess you could say my training came from my father. The Irish are great storytellers, and my dad had a wonderful imagination. I shared a dorm-sized bedroom with two of my sisters, and every night before we went to sleep, Dad would come in and tell us a bedtime story. He always made the stories up as he went along; he always put in a ghost or two to properly scare us --- which of course we loved --- and his stories always had a happy ending.

I continued writing in my journal through high school and college, but life got in the way, and I ultimately put it aside. Many years later, when the youngest of my three children started first grade, I decided to write again because I missed it so. I got up every morning at 4:30 and wrote until it was time to get the kids up for school and time for me to get ready to go to work. I eventually finished a manuscript, put it on a shelf, and began to write another. Luck definitely had a hand in selling my work. I met an agent at a local writers' conference, and she gave me permission to send her my manuscript. She sold the book, and it was published a year later. From that point on, I've called myself a writer, and I feel truly blessed that I can spend my days doing work I truly love.

Q: What do you do when you're not writing?

JG: I learned a long time ago that there simply aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done, and so I try to keep my priorities straight. Family always comes first, of course. I've got three great kids, and I come from a large Irish Catholic family, so there are lots and lots of relatives. There's usually something fun going on, like graduations and weddings and births. I try not to miss any of those special celebrations.

I also have great friends. We laugh a lot, and we all share the same passion for good books. I love to travel, especially when it involves research for my next book. And then there's always paperwork to catch up on, e-mails to answer, and readers to visit with on my website.

Life is never boring, and I think it's important to value the time we have. One of my heroes is Ralph Waldo Emerson. I have a passage from one of his essays printed and framed on my office wall. It's his definition of success, and I think he's got it right. It says:

"To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived-This is to have succeeded."

© Copyright 2002 by Julie Garwood. Reprinted with permission by Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

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