Inspiration from Three Great Thriller Authors
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The question I've been asked frequently over my years of developing the character of "Robert McCall" and creating exciting storylines in my work on "The Equalizer" is fairly common for many writers: what inspires you to write in the suspense-thriller genre?
My answer is always the same: the work of other authors that I enjoy. The "inside secret" behind all successful writers is that they're also inveterate, almost compulsive readers themselves, and I firmly believe that the more one reads, the better one will write. The writing profession demands more than just sitting down and scribbling whatever comes to mind. It's a business of constant learning and of a never-ending quest for the improvement of the craft. In my case, the "hard work" of that constant learning is actually one of my greatest pleasures. Discovering a great character driving great stories, written with the skill of a fine craftsman is not only inspiring to me as a writer, but a great bit of fun. There are three truly fine suspense-thriller authors who manage to both entertain and inspire me every time I pick up one of their books... |
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Lee Child - "Jack Reacher"
I first picked up a paperback book on Lee Child in a Ralph's Market in Los Angeles for my son's birthday some years ago. The book was "61 Hours." I had never heard of Child before, nor of his character Jack Reacher. But it looked interesting at first glance, so I gave the book to my son. His enthusiasm for it was so great that he thrust it upon me, and within a few pages, I was completely riveted. Lee Child has a serious knack for hooking his readers from Page One, and he sure had me on board. The character of Jack Reacher is complex and dangerous and Child's plotting is flawless. I finished "61 Hours" and immediately read the next one in the Jack Reacher series, "Worth Dying For." This book was just as taut and compelling as "61 Hours" had been, if not better! From that moment on, I became a BIG Lee Child fan, and I've read all of the Jack Reacher novels to date. I can relate to Reacher because he has own moral code and sense of justice, much like Robert McCall in "The Equalizer." Lee Child's books are intricately plotted, and filled with quirky characters, most of whom are very bad guys whom Reacher deals with imaginative dispatch. He's a one-man force-of-nature...but he's on the side of the angels. |
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Robert B. Parker - "Spenser"
When I first arrived at Warner Bros. Studios after working as a writer-producer at Universal City Studios, the head of development (that's the executive responsible for generating new show ideas) introduced me to a series of paperback books about a private eye called "Spenser". I was soon preoccupied with my own show ideas, but the studio did eventually develop the show into a TV series starring Robert Urich. Spenser: For Hire became a terrific series, running for three years on ABC-TV. I started reading the Spenser books written by Robert B. Parker and discovered that they were truly delightful. "Spenser" himself was funny, sassy, tough, and uncompromising. His adventures were always set in Boston, with his sidekick "Hawk", who was a bad-ass thug with a taste for champagne, beautiful ladies and a fierce loyalty to Spenser. Spenser's wonderful girlfriend, psychologist "Susan Silverman," managed to keep our hero centered. Parker's Spenser books were hugely entertaining, full of great characters, plot twists, and the funniest hero in detective fiction. "Spenser" has a moral compass and great compassion, both tough and tender, and always taking care of his clients, no matter what the cost. When Robert B. Parker sadly passed away in 2010, his estate found a worthy successor in writer Ace Atkins already a best-selling novelist who has picked up the Spenser mantle and has written several new "Spenser" books to great acclaim. |
Ed McBain - "The 87th Precinct"
"The 87th Precinct" detective novels are police procedural books written by Ed McBain, one of several pseudonyms of the novelist Even Hunter with more than 100 books and numerous film adaptations to his credit. "The 87th Precinct" novels were published from 1956 to 2005, with 2nd Grade detective "Steve Carella" as a heroic, compassionate, tough cop who pieced together intricate mysteries based on the cases he was investigating. The setting was always a fictional city called Isola, loosely based on New York City. "Steve Carella" was surrounded by wonderful characters from the 87th squad: "Meyer Meyer," a friendly but cynical Jewish cop, "Bert Kling," young and impulsive, "Cotton Hawkes," good-looking, red-haired who had a white streak in his hair (the result of a knife wound). Steve Carella's wife "Teddy" was a deaf mute, a wonderful character who brought some solace to a world-weary Carella. There was also a character who recurred throughout the books called "The Deaf Man", a Professor Moriarty-esque criminal mastermind who plagues the cops at the 87th Precinct. A TV series was made from the books starring Robert Lansing as "Steve Carella" and Gena Rowlands as "Teddy Carella." It was seeing this TV series in the early1960's that gave me the inspiration for the "Control" character in The Equalizer who was also played by Robert Lansing. The Ed McBain books are extremely well-plotted, intricate, dramatic, with the cops of "The 87th Precinct" dealing with multiple storylines with great humor and camaraderie. The books hold up as well today as they did when EdMcBain was weaving his masterful stories. |
I know, I know...
I started this post intending to only talk about my "Top Three"...but there is another author worthy of special note: James Rollins The thriller books of James Rollins are like taking the reader on a twisting, serpentine roller coaster ride on Six Flags' "Goliath". You'd better buckle up, keep your arms and legs inside the car, and hang on for dear life! He combines scientific mysteries, imaginative locales and high-octane thrills like no other author today. His characters are like old friends that the readers are looking forward to seeing again. Rollins's books are very intricately plotted with so many surprising twists and turns along the way that the reader can't imagine what possibly could be coming next. These are the most riveting and unconventional books in the thriller genre...and like the works of Child, Parker, and McBain, truly do inspire me! |