7 Minutes With... Jeff Abbott

I'm so delighted to have my friend Jeff Abbott on the blog today! I have been a huge fan of his for years, starting with his novel PANIC, which I picked up and read because Harlan Coben called it one of the best novels of the year, and he was absolutely right. I was blown away, and immediately began gobbling up all the books I could find with Abbott's name on the spine.

And then, as life has its strange little quirks, we met at a conference in Omaha, where I went all sorts of fan girl all over him. Wine was drunk, bread was broken, alliances formed, and lo and behold, we became friends. Jeff is one of the most talented writers working today, and his books just keep getting better and better. I'm in utter awe of him, and am so blessed to be able to call him my friend. He's one of the good guys. (And he totally looks like a spy. Totally.)

OK, enough of my gushing. You need to read him. STAT. INSIDE MAN is his brand new Sam Capra thriller. Get it. Right now. Go, go, go.

Done? OK. Let's get started, shall we?  

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Set your music to shuffle and hit play. What’s the first song that comes up?

The melancholy, spacey song “Twilight Zone” by Dr. John, from his Babylon album from 1969. I admire his career longevity. 

Now that we’ve set the mood, what are you working on today?

The fifth Sam Capra novel. Sam Capra is a former CIA agent who owns bars around the world, and continually finds himself drawn into the dark, shadowy world of international crime. Sam is very much a guy who comes to the aid of those in need. He’s tough and smart, but he’s also rather young—in his mid-twenties—and he isn’t quite as experienced as he thinks he is.

 What’s your latest book about?

INSIDE MAN is the fourth Sam Capra novel, where Sam goes undercover into a criminal family in order to find out the truth behind a friend’s death. Shakespeare’s King Lear was a clear influence on this story: the leader of the family is dividing his business empire between his three very different children, and if Sam makes one wrong move, he’s dead. Of course nothing goes as he plans—and nothing about this family is as it seems. I wanted to write a big international intrigue story that was wrapped up inside a big family drama. I hope I succeeded. INSIDE MAN was an Oprah, the O Magazine pick for its summer reading list. 

Where do you write, and what tools do you use?

I write in my home office. I write the first draft in Scrivener, and subsequent drafts in Microsoft Word. When I want to be away from the office, I write on an Alphasmart Neo, which is a text processor with no web functions. I get more done unplugged. I keep all my notes on paper, in a Clairefontaine notebook.

What was your favorite book as a child?

Madeleine L’Engle’s A WRINKLE IN TIME. 

What’s your favorite bit of writing advice?

Finish what you start. You can’t keep going back and rewriting what you have. You cannot edit a blank page. So stop rewriting your partial manuscript (people seem to do this a lot, at those who ask me for advice), and finish that first draft. You will have a much better idea of what rewriting needs to happen if you’re working with a complete manuscript.

What do you do if the words aren’t flowing?

Go for a walk or a swim. Read a favorite classic story. Play with my dogs. If I am quiet soon enough the words will come back.

What would you like to be remembered for?

Being a good father and husband, and for being a writer who delivered an entertaining and thoughtful read.

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Jeff Abbott is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of many mystery and suspense novels. He has been called “one of the best thriller writers in the business” (Washington Post). His novels have been called “compulsively readable” (Chicago Sun Times), “outstanding. . .genuinely moving” and “fresh, original… intricately woven” (Publishers Weekly), “nail-bitingly suspenseful and totally original” (Irish Independent), and “extremely compelling” (Associated Press). He is published in many languages and has been a bestseller in the US, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Australia, Portugal, and other countries.

His novel Adrenaline was a Summer Great Reads choice by both The Today Show and Good Morning America. Jeff is a winner of the Thriller Award (for The Last Minute) and was nominated for the Thriller Award forPanic. He is a three-time nominee for the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award and a two-time nominee for the Anthony Award. Jeff’s first novel, Do Unto Others, won both the Agatha Award and the Macavity Award.

His novels Adrenaline, Panic, and Collision have been optioned for film and are in script development.

Jeff graduated from Rice University with a degree in History and English. He lives in Austin with his wife and two sons.

More about INSIDE MAN (July 1, 201):

Sam Capra’s friend Steve has been murdered, shot dead in the rain outside of his Miami bar. The only lead: a mysterious, beautiful stranger Steve tried to protect. To avenge his friend, Sam goes undercover into the Varelas, one of Miami’s most prominent and dangerous families.

Now on the inside, playing a part where one wrong move means death, Sam faces a powerful, unstable tycoon intent on dividing his business empire between his three very different children, who each may hold murderous secrets of their own.

Sam is relentlessly drawn into this family’s intense drama, amplifying painful echoes of his own shattered relationships as a son, brother, father, and husband. And just when he thinks he understands why the family is self-destructing, he discovers a lethal secret so shocking that the Varelas cannot let him walk away alive . . 

7.16.14 - On Finally Having a Good Writing Day

Can you hear the relief in that headline? I haven't made any bones about the struggle I've been having with this book. It's been absolutely driving me bonkers. No matter which direction I've tried, it's bit my hands, chewed on my shoes, left scratch marks along my arms. It's truly a... monster book!

But all monsters can be tamed, with the right set of circumstances. I gave up the story I'd originally proposed (sorry, Nicole) and went in a completely new direction. I started making actual progress over the weekend, when elements began to come together. And today, I had my best day yet with this frigging story - 4082 words. Everything flowed. Everything worked. A small golden thread appeared. It's only leading to the next chapter, but at least it's finally there.

I've built writing time into my RWA schedule, so I don't lose the thread. But I've had to admit I'm not going to make my self-imposed deadline, and that rankles. Alas and alack, right? So long as it doesn't affect the production schedule, I'm fine. (She says, hopeful.)

Fingers crossed tomorrow will be well. And do stop by early - I have a special treat for you!

7.15.14 - On Resurrecting Murderati (sort of)

I miss Murderati. We had an incredible run, and it gave me so much in return — discipline, friendship, an outlet to learn the business of writing, and learn about myself. The pressure, though, was tremendous, which was why we eventually shuttered the site. Coming up with something new and interesting 7 days a week for 7 years can be difficult.

But you can’t keep a good site down. And so, I’m so incredibly happy to share with you some great news:

 The brand new Murderati website is now live.

We have a new look, courtesy of Writerspace.com, an archive section, for all those old posts, links to the current publishing news of the day, and…. a blog.

Now, this is a little different than before. Like I said, it was difficult to keep 14 authors spinning like tops. Many of our authors have decided not to participate. For the ones who have, we have a new blog page - Our Blogs - which is a feed directly from the personal blog pages of each author. So when they post on their own blog, Murderati gets updated.

Pretty cool, huh? We're back to a one stop shop for many of the Murderati authors!

You can sign up for the Murderati feed right here, have it delivered to your RSS reader. You can go to the site directly and poke around. You can leave love notes, follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Whatever you’d like, all there for the taking.

I hope you love the new site, and enjoy getting updates from your old friends. Do check out Alex Sokoloff’s latest update - she explains what we're about, and has some wonderful news to share - love, and new books? Now THIS is what Murderati is all about!

Please share this news with your friends! We're really happy to be back with you again.

7.11.14 - On Losing A Friend

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We’ve lost a great man. John Seigenthaler is a Nashville legend, one of the classiest, smartest, most interesting men I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. When I heard the news today, the inevitable news, because he’s been fighting cancer, and was clearly getting frail, I cried. I haven’t seen him lately, despite our planning to have a lunch date to discuss a story I want to do on the Fugitive Poets, and we didn’t do our annual interview, which told me the end was near. As is always the case, I’ve been meaning to reach out these past few weeks, and of course hadn’t, and that’s a terrible shame, something I’ll always regret.

There are a lot of great stories out there about his incredible life, and I encourage you to read them. My own will be more personal.

You see, John was a catalyst for me. He was my first big interview when my debut novel came out in 2007. My publicist at the time was friends with him, and got me slated for the show. A WORD ON WORDS has been a Nashville Sunday morning institution for years. I was scared to death, and thrilled that I was about to enters the annals of the shows history, get to sit down with the John Seigenthaler. 

Most authors will tell you, many interviewers don’t read the books. They have talking points and synopses sent by publicists, and they rely on a few well-placed questions to guide the discussion. That wasn’t John Seigenthaler. He read the book. He read all the books. When we sat down, before the cameras rolled, he opened the back cover and I saw three pages of notes. He refreshed his memory whilst I panicked, then the cameras rolled and we began.

Saying he’d read the book is a misnomer. He’d dissected it. Had gone so in-depth, as a matter of fact, that he asked me questions I had no answers for, in ways I’d never thought of, about parts I didn’t even realize were there. He drew every exquisite inch out of that interview, peppering me with interrogatories and asides about his own life as a crime reporter (there’s a crime reporter in the book) diving into relationships between the police and the feds, the poems, the killer, the whys behind the story, my process. 

It’s funny, you can hear the abject terror in my voice when we started. By the end, I wanted to keep on talking with him for days. If he’d offered me a spot living in his pocket, I would have gladly accepted.

Our meetings became more personal. I'd always wear my pearls in his honor, he'd always wear a tie. When he told me about the cancer, I wanted to weep, but he kept a brave face on, and so did I. Every time we parted, he gave me a hug and a kiss, because “it might be the last time.” He was hyper-aware of his own mortality, telling me his age with a sly sense of pride. After one interview, he plainly stated he was wondering about his legacy, and that he feared this would be our last interview. He wasn’t kidding, and I gave him the only answer I could.

“John, you are unforgettable.”

And he is.

When I heard the news this morning, I wanted to hear his voice again, so I went to the Nashville Public Television website, lit a candle, and starting listening to the podcasts of our many interviews for A WORD ON WORDS. It’s like stepping through a time warp, watching my career unfold. And having been able to share it with this incredible man is something I will treasure, always. 

John taught me how to do an interview. He taught me how to think about my novels, about my work, about the interconnectivity of the characters and the story. His interviews were my favorite part of every tour, because I knew he’d find something so challenging for me to think about, to chew on. There were lines I’d throw in just to see if he’d catch the reference, and he always, always did. 

And it wasn’t only the intellectual challenge he provided. The kindness this man showed to all of us was legendary. His gift was his ability to make every author, every person who met him feel like the most important person he’d ever been with. He made it clear that you mattered. 

You mattered to me, John. I will miss you terribly. And if you have a chance to send me a dream, please do. 

There's a big book event tonight at Parnassus, our major local indie bookstore. I know John will be toasted all over town tonight, and can't help but think that raising our glasses to him in the midst of words and friends is the best tribute of all. 

Here are links to our interviews. I hope you listen to one or two, simply to get an idea of how amazing John was. 

Rest in peace, my friend. 

2007 - ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS  

2008 - 14 

2009 - JUDAS KISS 

2010 - THE COLD ROOM 

2011 - SO CLOSE THE HAND OF DEATH 

2012 - A DEEPER DARKNESS 

7.10.14 - On Yogic Dreams

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I dreamt of yoga last night. I had mastered Chaturanga, a transition pose I struggle with mightily. It drives me crazy that I can’t do this pose correctly. It seems silly to me that this is what I have trouble with, it looks so simple and elegant when my teachers do it, but I have three screws in my left shoulder and it doesn’t move exactly right, and it takes a LOT of upper body strength.  At least, that’s my excuse.

In the dream, I was flowing seamlessly from down dog to child’s pose to Chaturanga to upward facing dog, over and over, astonished that I felt like I was floating through the movements. I was showing off for my DH, running through sun sal Surya Namaskar A, my body moving in concert with my mind. It was glorious, and I woke this morning so excited to get on my mat today. (for those who haven’t a clue what I’m about: click here.)

I dream about doing yoga a lot, and doing wildly difficult positions with utter ease, like I’m lighten than a feather and moving myself around is nothing. Balancing armstands especially are possible in this dreamworld, something I doubt I’ll ever get to in real life, especially since I haven’t been sticking to my yoga schedule lately. I want to get on my mat every day, and yet, I always often myself busy with other things. I’m trying to find the exact reason behind this mental block. I was thinking about it yesterday, and clearly, Chaturanga has something to do with it. 

Add another goal to the ever growing list. 

I just turned my guest room into a mini yoga studio. It’s perfectly sized for me, exactly enough room to flail about. I have a superb app on my iPad I use called Yoga Studio, a couple of Strala videos by Tara Stiles I’m excited to try. All it wants is a regular visitor.

To my yogi friends - any advice for rebuilding my home practice?

And a bit of business: WHEN SHADOWS FALL comes out in paperback next month (August 26). I’d love it if you pre-ordered from your favorite bookstore. If you’re a book blogger who is interested in reading WHEN SHADOWS FALL for review, please contact media@jtellison.com with your website, credentials and recent reviews to request your digital epub copy. 

1834 today. Not bad. Story's moving, and that's all I can ask.