Last Installment of Jeff Mariotte/Tracy Sharp Interview

TS: Are you a pantser or plotter?

JM: I have worked both ways, but I prefer to have a good solid outline in hand before I start writing. I don't see it as limiting, as some people do, or as stifling creativity--I wrote the thing, after all, which means I've already been putting creativity into it. I see it as a road map for a trip, Along the way, I might see an area I want to explore that's not on the map. I can go explore it, with the security of knowing that I have the map, so ultimately know where I'm going and won't get myself lost.


I know you work where and when you have a chance--parking lot writing sessions, I think you called some of them. How do you manage that, physically? Laptop? Notebook? What do you need to have with you when you write?


TS: Parking lot sessions occur early in the morning on weekends and after I drop my little guy off on week days. When you have a small child it's impossible to write when they are awake, and since I'm pretty much shot at night after I put him down to bed, I need to write when my mind is fresh. All I need is my laptop or netbook and a shady area to park in. Lately I've been using the netbook more often. It's just really easy to drag around. Writing in my truck is great because I really don't hear much going on around me, and I write best when it's really quiet. The winter months are more challenging. It's too cold to write in the truck, so I have to set my alarm and get up an hour earlier. Five a.m sessions are nice, once I wake up. The waking up part is tough.


Which was the easiest book to write and which was the most difficult?

JM: Easiest is a tough call. In some ways, The Devil's Bait was easier than many, because of a stylistic decision I made early on. It required a lot of research into some areas that were foreign to me--the ins and outs of the big banks, money laundering and how law enforcement deals with it, etc.--but I wanted to write it in a leaner, more rapid-fire fashion than usual. The paragraphs are short, the chapters are short, there's still a reasonable amount of description but less than I typically use. Once I was in that rhythm, the pages came fast.




Every book is difficult in its own way. My nonfiction book Criminal Minds: Sociopaths, Serial Killers & Other Deviants, which is a nonfiction account of every criminal mentioned on, or who inspired, the episodes of that TV shows first five seasons, was hard because of the sheer amount of research involved, and because of the subject matter--I was up to my neck in information about truly horrible people and the truly awful things they have done. It was a bit of a downer, you might say. But the book came out pretty well, and I think it's actually a good reference for writers, because it covers a lot of criminals, and police procedure, the real work of criminal profiling, etc.


Are your first drafts over-stuffed, or too slender, or just right? In other words, is your editing/revising process mostly about getting rid of excess or filling in the gaps?

TS: When I'm writing the first draft I always think it's too slender, but when I read through it after I reach the end, it's actually pretty close. I do some layering in during later drafts, but the initial draft is where all the good stuff comes from. When I write, I spill some of my own blood on the page, and so it's exhausting but cathartic. I write about things that piss me off. Things that I don't understand. Something really needs to set a fire under my ass for me to stick with it. Each one of the Leah books deals with something I find horrific and unfathomable. The writing is my way of trying to process terrible things I have trouble wrapping my mind around.



I'm very aware when I begin a scene what the purpose of it is. So I don't tend to write blindly and then have to cut a ton later. Every scene has a roll in moving the story forward and revealing something about character. So other than layering in some descriptive stuff and fleshing out scenes here and there, the drafts are pretty close.

Strangely, though, the original idea I have in my head is never what the book turns out to be. The story always turns into so much more. It's always like an unruly octopus that keeps sprouting arms.

I want to thank you, Jeff for being so kind and for coming up with this unique and fun idea. I've had a blast doing the dual interview with you. I'm also really glad that you responded to me because I now have another fantastic writer to follow, and I'm thrilled that I have not only your new stuff but your backlist to read.

You've been a joy to work with.

Anyone who hasn't read Jeff needs to. You are cheating yourself out of reading skillfully written, totally addictive edge of your seat stories. Pick up a couple of Jeff's books now!

Great thanks are due to Tracy for responding to this crazy idea with enthusiasm and attacking it with gusto. She's a fine writer with a few terrific books available now and many more to come in the future. If you're not reading her, you might want to get on the bandwagon before she's so popular that you won't be one of the cool kids.


J.S As for me, I've been doing this a while and have a pretty hefty backlist. But for the moment, since these blog posts are all about pushing the traditional envelope, I'd like to call your attention to my newest endeavor. After a long career publishing books mostly through the big traditional houses, I've started releasing some of my work in e-book form.

One of these, horror novel , The Slab, is a reprint of a small press publication from a few years ago. It's been very nicely reviewed, and if you like intelligent, suspenseful terror, you might find it worth a look. Nine Frights is a brand new collection of short horror fiction, some of which has been previously published, some of which is original to this collection.

And The Devil's Bait is a taut, suspenseful thriller about a decent woman who finds herself in a precarious situation, a jaded, mostly over-the-hill mercenary who is looking for a little late-in-life redemption, and a big bad bank. I hope you'll check them out.