Jeffery Deaver
Jeffery Deaver
Jeffery Deaver is an American mystery/crime writer. He has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a law degree from Fordham University and originally started working as a journalist. He later practiced law before embarking on a successful career as a best-selling novelist. He has been awarded the Steel Dagger and Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association and the Nero Wolfe Award, and he is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen...
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth6 May 1950
CityGlen Ellyn, IL
In general, I think, less is more, and that if a reader stops reading because a book is too icky then I've failed in my obligation to the readers.
It means working harder to do the research but I don't really mind - I don't think I have what it takes to chase criminals through back alleys and wade through blood at crime scenes.
It's becoming apparent that I like bad boys. That's one of my problems. They've all been bad boys. You're one too. You're a bad boy. But, I think you're a good bad boy.
I think a lot of young aspiring writers get misdirected; they think 'I ought to write this, even though I enjoy reading that'. What you have to do is write what you enjoy reading.
You think publishing is tough but the music world is ten times tougher.
I've always written, all my life, and when I was very young I developed an interest in poetry.
Rule one: Write about settings you're familiar with.
Of course, I write crime stories, and I have to describe violence and the aftermath of violence.
Of course, all writers draw upon their personal experiences in describing day-to-day life and human relationships, but I tend to keep my own experiences largely separate from my stories.
The recent fascination, I think, reflects the shift in approach by law enforcement officials to embrace technology as wholeheartedly as the rest of the world.
To answer that I have to describe what I think is my responsibility as a thriller writer: To give my readers the most exciting roller coaster ride of a suspense story I can possibly think of.
It's accurate to the extent that I explore the psychology of crime and crime detection in my books: the minds of the criminal and his hunters.
When I find myself frozen - whether I'm working on a brief passage in a novel or brainstorming about an entire book - it's usually because I'm trying to shoehorn an idea into the passage or story where it has no place.
I have to say that there are certain books that exist to tell a particular story and then there are books that exist in the context of character.