Tess Gerritsen
Tess Gerritsen
Tess Gerritsenis an American novelist and retired physician...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth12 June 1953
CountryUnited States of America
believe evil world
I know there’s evil in the world, and there always has been. But you don’t need to believe in Satan or demons to explain it. Human beings are perfectly capable of evil all by themselves.
cheerfully family forgotten homes niches pointed relatives
In China, the dead are not forgotten - my relatives cheerfully pointed out all the niches of deceased friends and family, as if gesturing at the homes of the living.
affect best bone ideas love work
The best ideas are those that really affect me emotionally - those are the ones you never forget. You think to yourself, 'I want to write that book', for years; those are the ideas that I love to work with, and 'The Bone Garden' was one of them.
believe science trained truly
I'm trained in science, believe in logic, and like to think there's an explanation for everything. And I'm truly not really at ease with other people.
finds measure work writers
It's what all writers dream of, that our work finds a measure of immortality that long outlives the words of any critic.
feeling love plot sold stories surprise watching
Even if I never sold another book, I'd keep writing, because the stories are here, in my head. Stories that just need to be told. I love watching a plot unfold, and feeling the surprise when the unexpected happens.
adopted birth characters inspired jane runner tells total tv
While the TV show 'Rizzoli & Isles' may have been inspired by my books, show runner Janet Tamaro has total control over where the TV characters go from there. As Janet once put it, I'm the birth mother, but she's the mother who adopted them, and now that Jane and Maura are living in her house, they have to do what she tells them to do.
stories whether
Aside from the Rizzoli & Isles books, there are many other stories I want to write. The question is whether I'll live long enough to write them all!
began both enjoying home intrigue maternity novels romance short since sold third time wrote
I sold my first short story while I was home on maternity leave, then began working on novels. Since I was reading and enjoying romance novels at the time, the first two unpublished manuscripts I wrote were both romances. I sold my third novel, 'Call After Midnight,' to Harlequin Intrigue after submitting it unagented.
age best childhood education gave hollywood moments reproduce scary sitting spent theater watching
I spent my childhood watching every scary movie that Hollywood ever made. And I think that gave me the best education for storytelling. It also made me want to reproduce the scary moments that I felt, sitting in a theater at the age of 5.
coming life love priest
Isles love life is stalled right now, ... But I think the priest is coming back.
books cruelty event happens scene showing shy
I shy away from showing cruelty on the page. A lot of the violence in my books actually happens off stage. The police come on to the scene after the event has occurred.
call happened
A project like 'Rizzoli & Isles' is something you can't pursue. It's something that comes to you... I like to call it 'fairy dust.' And it happened without my having to do anything.
behind bringing coming felt hidden market married point race safe time
I have hidden my race for 22 books. I have hidden behind my married name, which is very Caucasian, because I didn't feel safe coming out with it. I didn't feel that the market would really accept me. I think I felt it's time to start bringing in an Asian-American point of view.