Jeff Abbott
Jeff Abbott
Jeff Abbottis a U.S. suspense novelist. He has degrees in History and English from Rice University. He lives in Austin, Texas. His early novels were traditional detective fiction, but in recent years he has turned to writing thriller fiction. A theme of his work is the idea of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary danger and fighting to return to their normal lives. His novels are published in several countries and have also been bestsellers in the United Kingdom, Australia,...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
CountryUnited States of America
If it's broken, it can be fixed.
I had started writing the fourth Whit Mosley book, ... I was 40 pages into it, and then Dutton asked me if I would consider writing a standalone. The series novel can do a lot to build a loyal readership, but the standalone is sometimes easier for the publisher to market to a broader audience.
I outline in some detail, but even after the outline is done I often get a new idea that is an improvement, so the outline is a living, breathing thing as well. I also re-outline when I'm two-thirds done, to be sure that there is an emotional payoff from all the plot lines and to be sure the story is as tight as it can be.
I want the reader to be in the shoes of everyday people who are facing incredible dangers and wonder if they would make the same choices.
I travel, a lot, to research the locales for the books. I have professional contacts that I can ask questions of or show them scenes to vet.
You can't be a professor and talk out of a textbook to teach locomotive operations. You can't create the end product without hands-on training.