Bestselling Crime Writer Lisa Gardner Answers Your Questions

I recently had the privilege of interviewing best-selling author crime writer Lisa Gardner, who has published her most recent book, Hide. On Monday, November 19th at 10 p.m. ET, Lisa Gardner will reveal her favorite true crime story on Court TV's series "Murder By The Book."  The episode revolves around the disappearance of Portland, ME resident Amy St. Laurent and follows the investigation through to the shocking conclusion.

Can you tell us how you got involved with the Court TV series "Murder by the Book"? Kathryn Esplin-Oleski

Court TV and the "Murder By The Book" staff approached me last spring.  They brought to the table the very interesting case of Amy St. Laurent, which really captivated me.  Even though I'm local, when she was first abducted, I had a vague memory of the case.  It happened in October 2001 right after September 11th. So it's one of those really incredible cases that if it had happened in this day and age, it would have gotten the full coverage and media feeding frenzy that we would normally see, but given its timing, media was focusing on this huge tragedy of September 11^th.  So this case went virtually unnoticed and slipped under everyone's radar.  I thought this was a really wonderful opportunity to finally give the coverage to Amy St. Laurent and to the remarkable efforts on behalf of her family and especially her mother, to get her the justice she so desperately deserved. 

What was it about the case that intrigued you? Kathryn Esplin-Oleski

I really felt that the Amy St. Laurent case was a case of two mothers.  Being a mother myself, I found that fascinating.  You had Diane Jenkins, Amy's mother, who worked so hard to find her daughter and when that ended tragically, worked so hard to find the truth of what happened the last few moments of her daughter's life.  And then you had the parents of Jeff Gorman.  His mother also played a pivotal role in the investigation so unfortunately for her, it was coming to terms with what her son might really be capable of.  And the two women were heavily involved in the investigation and each played a key role, one who finally got a feeling of redemption for her child and the other one had to come to terms with what her son did. I found that captivating as a mother myself.

Have you ever ventured outside of crime fiction? Mary F.

I started my career writing romantic suspense as Alicia Scott.  Those novels still have suspense elements, but don't have the police procedural data that I am known for now.  So yes, I started my career outside of crime fiction and then really discovered, for better or for worse, that it was the crime that I liked.  I worked my way in to full-fledged crime fiction. 

Do you have a complete outline before you start writing a book or do you leave it open-ended and see where the tale takes you? Emily B.

No, I don't have a complete outline.  Because I write crime fiction, I do three months of intensive research with experts in the field.  So what I do have by the time I sit down to write is a skeleton of a novel that is determined by the police procedure I'm going to be using. Because I am using real world forensics, discovery dictates a certain structure of a novel. But I do like to leave it open ended.  When I was writing my current book "Hide" that is out now, I wrote a huge part of it where three different people could be the killer and I myself wasn't sure which one it would be.  It made it exciting for me to write, to find that truth.

From all the research that you do with the FBI, swat teams etc., you are obviously very knowledgeable about procedures and the ins and outs.  Do you find that many of today's crime/thriller movies are true to real life?  Or do you catch blatant mistakes? Ted L.

I capture a lot of mistakes, but I still enjoy them.  I like to watch "C.S.I." but I know from the extensive research that I have done that the timeline or database that they use doesn't exist.  I can appreciate them for what they are, which is an attempt at entertainment. 

Can you talk a little bit about your writing process?  Do you have set hours when you write?  A special place to write?  Do you write longhand or on the computer? Gerry M.

This is a fun question for me these days.  I am a mom.  I have a small child and we have a very busy household. And I used to, until I wrote my latest novel "Say Goodbye," work out of the house.  But last year, it became clear that there is no such thing as adult spots in the house anymore.  Laughs So my husband, very kindly, got me a writing space, which I refer to as my outside dorm room.  I have a little mini fridge and everything.  So that's where I write now.  I write for about four hours a day Monday through Friday.  I do work on a laptop.  But it's nice.  It's quiet. I have my iPod. I'm learning to be inspired by soundtracks.  So probably Nickelback helped inspire my latest novel "Say Goodbye," which comes out next year.

Where does the inspiration come from for the interesting and sometimes "off the norm" characters you use in your books? They are fantastic, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I wonder WHERE in the world did that person come from?!? Susan P.

This is the one question I can never answer.  Plotting and research is something I learned and dedicated myself to.  The characters for me are the part that happens organically.  All I can say is that I must like off beat, slightly warped human beings. Laughs Those are the people I create in my novels time and time again.

What would people be surprised to know about you?  In previous interviews, we discovered that Dean Koontz is a competent home contractor and that David Baldacci drives a mean speedboat. Gather Editorial

Laughs What do people not know about me? I am desperately addicted to FreeCell and periodically, when I am close to my deadline, my husband has to remove it from my computer until I make my page count.  Laughs This is not an honorable thing to admit, I think.

I'd be interested to know how living in New England has influenced Ms. Gardner's work. Kerry Dexter

I've been using Boston for a lot of my novels including "Alone" and "Hide," my current release.  We're just a fabulous cultural melting pot with an interesting history, interesting architecture, and interesting people.  And I love the profound changes of seasons.  It's old and you never know what you are going to discover.  "Hide" was inspired, in part, by a tour of an abandoned mental institute, sitting smack in the middle of downtown Boston.  That's a very New England thing. You never know what's around the next corner.  Inspiration is everywhere.

When you are "on a roll" so to speak, where do you go to keep that inspiration going so as to not lose the moment? I get distracted in a heartbeat and I am curious as to how you keep the suspense fresh in your writing? Susan P.

I think every writer has to figure out what inspires them.  I've always had my best ideas walking. When I'm working on a scene and I want to keep it in my mind, I'll go for a walk or I will go for walk the next day right before I start writing.  The details and the imagination will all come back to me.

I am always curious as to what authors like to read. What has been on your reading list recently? Linda H.

I read all over the place.  My favorite suspense author is probably John Sandford.  I just finished Tess Gerritsen's "The Bone Garden," which I absolutely adored.  And I love vampire books.  I've also been enjoying Stephenie Meyer's series.

You are very prolific and have published a book every year for a number of years.  Did you have a background in newspapers or the publishing industry-or did you study English or writing in college? Kathryn Esplin-Oleski

No. I'm a reformed management consultant and international relations major.  Writing is just something that I've always done.  I'm really happy to say that I've been prolific but in this day an age, a book a year is considered average.  But I like to think of it as speedy. Laughs.

Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer Gather member questions.

Thank you. The only thing I'd like to mention in case this of interest to your gather.com readers is that we are hosting on my website (www.lisagardner.com) the 5^th Annual Kill a Friend/Maim a Buddy Sweepstakes where they can nominate the person of their choice who dies in my latest novel.  It's a great way to immortalize someone.