Written by Alex on 12/11/2007
Douglas Preston is half of the New York Times bestselling writing team (with Lincoln Child) behind Relic, Still Life with Crows, and most recently, The Wheel of Darkness. His solo novels include Tyrannosaur Canyon and Dinosaurs in the Attic.
Class-B: Writing with a co-author must be a very different experience than working on your novels independently. What is the process like?
DP: We plot the books together by phone and email, and then I (usually) start writing a rough first draft. Linc rewrites my deathless prose, which pisses me off, so I mercilessly rewrite him, which makes him furious, and we go back and forth like this until the publisher rips the manuscript from our hands. Somehow, beyond all odds, the end result seems to work.
Class-B: Your next solo novel, Blasphemy, will be released on January 8th. Can you tell us about it?
DP: Blasphemy centers around a powerful particle accelerator in the Arizona desert, the most expensive scientific instrument ever built. A team of scientists have been tapped to turn it on and get it running. When they do, they make a frightening discovery, which they must hide from the world. Wyman Ford (who first appeared in Tyrannosaur Canyon) is tapped to go to Arizona and find out what the team is hiding...
Class-B: Fans have been clamoring for a sequel to The Ice Limit since its release, and you've promised one (eventually) on your website. Do you any ideas as to what the plot will be like?
DP: We've been thinking about writing a short, exciting novella about it. I would hate to give away much, but suffice to say, it will not be what you might expect. As soon as we can find the time we'll write it.
Class-B: How did the idea for your latest collaborative work, The Wheel of Darkness, come about?
DP: Linc and I have long been interested in Tibetan Buddhism and mysticism, especially the idea that contemplation and meditation can cause physical changes in the brain. Good meditation can cause positive chances, but the opposite can occur, at least according to some esoteric Tibetan beliefs... And that is the central idea of the THE WHEEL OF DARKNESS.
Class-B: The facts that serve as the foundation for your novels- both solo and collaborative- are incredibly detailed. What kind of research do you do while writing?
DP: We generally divide up the research responsibilities. For example, in WHEEL Linc researched the public areas of the ocean liner and drew up a set of deck plans. I researched the ship's technology, bridge procedures, engines, electronics, and command structure. I managed to convince a British company to loan me several training videos for officers who command very large vessels, such as supertankers.
Class-B: Your first novel with Lincoln Child, Relic, is set in a museum which bears an entirely coincidental resemblance to the New York Museum of Natural History, where you once worked. Can you tell us about your experiences there?
DP: I worked at the Museum for seven years, starting off as editor of the museum's throwaway newsletter, and ending up as the manager of publications. It was a fascinating place to work, extraordinary, filled with interesting people. Of course, the museum also had its share of fossilized, shit-encrusted bureaucrats, petty officials and narrow-skulled administrators. We had a lot of fun killing them off... Fictitiously, of course.
Class-B: What contemporary authors or filmmakers do you consider to be your greatest influences?
DP: My brother, Richard (The Hot Zone; The Wild Trees) is a big personal influence. Crichton's earliest books (Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park) had a big effect on me. (I can't even read his latest work and I deplore his politics.) I admire the plotting of Thomas Harris and early Ken Follett; The Silence and the Lambs, and the Eye of the Needle, I consider to be among the most perfect thrillers ever written.
Class-B: Are there any characters or storylines you'd like to revisit, but just haven't had the chance to yet?
DP: I keep trying to work Corrie Swanson into a novel. She's such an unusual character that it has proven to be difficult. She takes over, if you know what I mean. But we love her and will find a place for her in a future book without fail.
Class-B: Your novels with Lincoln Child have, over time, become part of a larger world with interconnected stories and characters. Was this planned from the beginning, or did it develop organically?
DP: It happened organically, sort of an in-joke for ourselves and then our readers. We like some of our characters so much that we kept stealing them from other books, and they, of course, bring along with them all their history and personal baggage.
Class-B: What novel (collaborative or solo) was the most difficult to write? To research?
DP: Reliquary was the most difficult. We never intended to write a sequel to Relic. The structure of Relic made a sequel very difficult, because at the end of Relic, the reader knows a great deal more than any of the characters, so the first part of Reliquary had to be the characters discovering what the reader already knew.
Class-B: Relic has already been made into a film. Are they plans for any other adaptations?
DP: Riptide is being made into a film by 20th Century Fox. Cabinet of Curiosities has been optioned, as has Still Life with Crows... No word on when they will be made into films.
Class-B: And lastly, can you give us any details on your next novel with Lincoln Child?
DP: So far it has no title. I can tell you only that it is set in New York City, that it is a Pendergast-D'Agosta novel, and that it involves Obeah...
Thanks for taking the time to talk with us!