Nickie's Ten Questions to Jonathan Kellerman

             
                                                           

        Jonathan Kellerman... master of suspense


1) When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I've been writing compulsively since the age of nine and began to think about it as a possible secondary job after I won a literary award at 21.

2) Do you feel it is helpful to be a psychologist to be also a good writer?

I'd like to think it helps me, as I'm able to open a window on certain aspects of the human condition that might otherwise be unavailable to me.

3) How long did it take you to develop your first novel, 'When the bough breaks'?
Generally, it takes up to 6 months to conceptualize, plot, and outline a novel. I can't recall precisely, because I wrote that particular book twenty six years ago. But no reason for the process to be any different.

4) How did you go along in your search for a publisher?
I was a failed writer with a good day job (psychologist and medical school professor) for 13 years.

5) Did you suffer many rejections for this first novel?
I suffered enough rejections for 9 previous unpublished novels to paper a castle. BOUGH was rejected, I believe, by two publishers before it was purchased.

6) And then... success. How did it feel?
Great. The ultimate vindication. I was no longer a self-deluded loser. The monetary advance for that book was small, but I didn't care.

7) Perhaps a questions many times asked - is there any resemblance between you and your main character, Alex Delaware?

He's younger, thinner, handsomer, and braver than I.

8) Your wife is also a well-known novelist. Do you often talk of books at home?
Rarely. We've been married 35 years and most of our conversation centers around real-life. Our son, Jesse, is also a best-selling novelist, but we're still his parents, and he's still our kid. We have four children and one grand-daughter and we're pretty focused on family life.

9) How do you deal with criticism?
I listen to my own criticism - the toughest - and ignore everyone else's.

10) Would you mind telling us who your favorite authors are, and which books you like best?

The list is too long and I dread omitting someone. So let's just say there's tons of talent out there and I'm always thrilled to encounter a great book. That said, I just finished Bob Dylan's auto-biography and thought it was wonderful.