Back to top.   

QUESTIONS FROM READERS

Lisa Jackson, Beverly Barton and Wendy Corsi Staub answer readers' questions about research, collaborating and sources of inspiration for book ideas.

Bernice from Brighton, MI: How do you decide, when collaborating on a book, who writes what sections?

Lisa Jackson: We talked over the structure of the book with our editor, John Scognamiglio, and he made the ultimate decision about who wrote what part.
 
Beverly Barton: With MOST LIKELY TO DIE, that was fairly easy --- since Lisa came up with the original idea, she made the decision.

Wendy Corsi Staub: Our editor broke it down for us in advance, and we each chose a setting for our section that reflects the part of the country we live in --- Oregon for Lisa, Alabama for Beverly, and New York City for me.

Debra from East Rutherford, NJ: What kind of research did you do to create such a disturbed murderer? Are you planning on any other book collaborations?

Lisa Jackson: All of us do a lot of research on murderers and serial killers, so we each added something different to the killer. As of now, there are no other book collaborations in the works.
 
Beverly Barton: Preparations for writing romantic suspense: I read books that give accounts of real-life killers, have a small personal library on various related subjects, and I talk to (in person and via email) law enforcement personnel, psychologists and various professionals in related fields who are willing to share their knowledge. For this particular killer in MOST LIKELY TO DIE, who was murdering women before their 20-year class reunion, Lisa can give you the particulars since she created this killer.

At present, we don’t have any plans to collaborate on another book.

Wendy Corsi Staub: I have done a lot of reading about real-life serial killers and deviant psychology. That helps to lend insight into what kinds of issues could push any human being into such heinous acts. We all have full schedules in the upcoming year so there are no current plans to collaborate again, but you never know!

Jennifer from Kansas City, MO: How did you piece the book together? Did you each write certain sections?

Lisa Jackson: We all worked from a general story arc or "Bible" for the book, so that everyone was "on the same page" as far as the progression of the plot. We all knew the basic information about the characters and their back stories from this general plot outline and character study. Then, we each wrote our section. I wrote the prologue and Kristin's story and turned it in. From there, our editor looked it over and handed what I'd written to Wendy Corsi Staub, and she wrote her part before handing it into John. After he checked it again, on went the first two-third to Beverly Barton to finish the book and tie up all the loose ends.
 
Beverly Barton: Yes, it was decided before we began the actual writing that each of us would write our section of the book from a different heroine’s point of view, starting the story in Oregon with Lisa’s heroine, Kristen, then moving to New York City with Wendy’s heroine, Lindsay, and finally going to Alabama with my heroine, Rachel. The murder mysteries (both the 20-year-old murder of Jake Marcott and the present-day murders of their classmates) are woven throughout the three stories.

Lisa created a basic storyline for the mystery and Wendy and I picked it up in each of our stories, expanding on it until the mysteries were solved in my section of the novel.

Wendy Corsi Staub: Lisa wrote a general plot overview and the first section, then passed it to me to write the middle, then I passed it to Beverly to write the end.

Liz from Austin, TX: How does one go about writing a book with three people? I would think that would be a rather difficult collaborative process, and I would be interested in hearing more about how that process worked.

Lisa Jackson: This was fairly easy, as our editor coordinated everything after the original story idea was put into a synopsis format.
 
Beverly Barton: It is a difficult process, but writing this book was made easier because of Lisa and Wendy. Great writers. Good communication. Lisa came up with the original idea and put together a basic plot. She wrote her section and it was sent to Wendy, who picked up where Lisa left off. Then, I received her section, picked up from there, and finished the book. Wendy and I discussed various ways to move the story cohesively from her section into mine, and I discussed ideas on how to tie up all the loose ends with our editor, without whom we couldn’t have created MOST LIKELY TO DIE.
 
Wendy Corsi Staub: Thank God for the Internet! We were able to communicate regularly, with all three of us and our editor cc'd on the emails, as we wrote. When I had a question about, say, Portland, where part of the book was set, I was able to email Lisa and she could send me the information and links to local sites that were a tremendous help. We were also able to email the chapters themselves, or passages of text.

Margaret from Brockport, NY: What inspires your ideas other than your own favorite authors? How do your ideas come about? I have always found it fascinating how authors can invent whole lives and have them interact together to write a really good book.

Lisa Jackson: Most of my ideas are sparked by real-life situations or my own mind. I read something and think, Oh, what if this happened, or that happened. From there, I'm off to the races.
 
Beverly Barton: I believe this is one of the most frequently asked questions. My ideas come from everywhere, and I seem to never run out of them. Everything I hear, see, read and experience becomes a source of information for a story idea. Creating fictional worlds and the people who inhabit them come as naturally to me as breathing. Even as a child, I had stories inside my head and did not realize everyone else didn’t. It’s difficult to explain something that is a part of who you are.

Wendy Corsi Staub: Usually it starts with the briefest snippet of a What If. For example, I'll be watching the television news, or overhear a conversation between strangers on a train, or a friend will tell me about something that happened to them in the past, and the next thing I know, I'm brewing a plot based on the tiniest concept of an idea. It's just second nature. I guess I was born to think like a writer --- or maybe I learned it along the way. Ideas come at me everywhere, from all directions.

Mary Angela from Big Sandy, TN: Was it hard for all three of you to agree on what to write for this book? 

Lisa Jackson: It was pretty easy. We knew the suspense arc would be one story and the individual love stories would be somewhat separate.
 
Beverly Barton: No. Wendy and I were happy to let Lisa take the lead and create the basic story plot. We then had the creative freedom to take that plot and run with it, and we each took our individual heroine and made her our own. I had the task of tying up loose ends and revealing the killer. I found both a wonderful challenge.

Wendy Corsi Staub: I think it's surprising that we were pretty much in sync from the very beginning. There were no clashing egos or disagreements about plot points or characterizations. These two women are total pros and I'm honored to have worked with them. It was a pleasure.

Rose from Pittsburgh, PA: How hard is it to collaborate with two others, and how do you each decide what areas you prefer to concentrate on?

Lisa Jackson: Again, we let our editor figure this out. He's brilliant.
 
Beverly Barton: Lisa and Wendy are such professionals that working with them on this project was both an honor and a pleasure. What made writing a story like this easier was the freedom we each had to create our hero and heroine to suit ourselves and the fact that we each wrote a different section of the same mystery story, but each section was a mini-love story in itself.

Wendy Corsi Staub: It wasn't hard at all. In fact, because writing can be an isolating business, it was nice to have company during the creative process for a change! Our editor was instrumental in pulling this together. He is brilliant and this was his brainstorm from the very beginning. Each of us wrote about characters who lived in our own geographical region, which felt natural.

Sheryl from Deerfield Beach, FL: MOST LIKELY TO DIE was seamless to me. If I hadn't known that three authors wrote the book, I never would have realized it. How did the three of you work together to accomplish this amazing achievement?

Lisa Jackson: First of all, we all do write romantic suspense and we were chosen for this project because our styles mesh. As for the book seeming seamless, the book was written in stages, first one author, then the next, and finally the third. Also, we all had a chance to look over the final manuscript, all three authors’ work, before it went to press. However, I think a lot of the credit goes to the editor and copy editors who took the book through its final stages and made it appear seamless.
 
Beverly Barton: Cooperation, professionalism, and a great editor who put it all together and made it “seamless.”

Wendy Corsi Staub: Thank you for such kind words about the book. Again, our editor conceived this idea, and I think he put the three of us together because our writing styles complement each other and he thought we would work well together. He encouraged us each to use our own voice and not worry about trying to mirror each others' writing styles, so it's testimony to his vision that the end result was so seamless. Honestly, it wasn't difficult, when Lisa gave me her completed first section, to get into the characters' heads and pick up the plot where she had left off. She did a great job of creating a world that I basically stepped right into.

© Copyright 1996-2009, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.

Back to top.