Interview with Richard Doetsch

I reviewed The Thirteenth Hour by Richard Doetsch a few weeks ago. The publisher, Atria Books, asked if I wanted to send him some questions and I was excited because someday I want to publish a book and such. So I asked him questions about writing. I've always wanted to know what it is like to write, really write, fiction.

I'm still hung up that he wrote the book in 30 days. Hold the phone. 

What is your favorite book?

Such a tough question. All time would probably be A Christmas Carol, something I read every year. Ghosts, redemption, great characters, the holidays what could be better. close second though is The Count of Monte Cristo.

I love so many books it would take too long to list them but I might add some of my favorite authors are Dickens, Hemingway, HG Wells, Jules Verne, Ludlum, Crichton, Alistair Maclean, Alexander Dumas, Ian Fleming. I love To Kill a Mockingbird, The List of Seven, Sherlock Holmes, I could go on and on.

What path led you to become a writer?

I came to writing a bit later in life, in fact, the first thing I wrote (and longer than five pages) since high school was my first novel, The Thieves of Heaven. I never took a writing class but found that my voracious appetite for reading served as the ultimate school. I actually consider myself a story teller first and a writer second as my job is to tap my imagination so as not to repeat what others have done.

One day I was looking for something new to read but I found nothing interested me which got me thinking what would I want to see in a book. Everyone talks about writing a novel someday which is ridiculous from so many points of view, but I had a story to tell so I just started writing on the train one day and did it every day for almost a year, writing my first novel, The Thieves of Heaven. I never had so much fun and, as it turns, out, I could actually do it.

What do you love about writing? Also, what do you hate?

I really have a passion for writing and consider myself lucky that I found it at this point in my life. Some people drink to forget, play golf to get away, watch TV to escape, I get all of that plus much more when I sit down to write.

I get lost in my stories as my mind takes me to places and situation that I can’t believe I imagine. The greatest thing is to pick something up that you wrote and be entirely baffled that you wrote something that good. Of course the bad part of that is, you think you will never write something that good again.

Your characters in The Thirteenth Hour almost develop backwards... did you have to write the story forwards to get that?

Writing The Thirteenth Hour was like playing five games of chess in my head at the same time. I wrote the story backwards in the same way the reader experiences it. In so doing, I had to remember the future and the past. It was difficult but fun as it was like a giant puzzle whose every move reverberated throughout the story. I wrote a one page outline broken down by 12 chapters (hours) and wrote down how each started and ended. Other than that it was just full steam ahead with whatever popped into my head at the moment. I should note I had a note pad that grew daily with little facts, notes, and time sensitive points so I wouldn’t fall flat on my face in frustration or failure.

Julia Quinn is a sassy power-woman attorney. Why did you want to pick a strong woman for the role of the victim and how did it help the story?

Julie Quinn is Virginia Doetsch, my wife, with blonde hair. My main characters are usually based on my wife and I and in The Thirteenth Hour, they are an even closer reflection of us than my other books. As I was trying to write the story in 30 days, it was far easier for me to tap into our lives whether it be our jobs, our experiences, or our hearts as opposed to creating the characters out of thin air. I do believe by doing this it makes the characters far more real and helps the reader connect even more.

Where do you get your story ideas? How do you develop those into a novel?

I consider myself a story teller first and writer second and so I think, just like writing everyday, we need to keep the imagination sharp creating fresh, original stories. I have what I call the every day idea file where I force myself to dream up a new story each and every day. It has grown rather thick over time and is filled with ideas that go in every direction, some terrible, some good, and some completely original, wild, and great.

When it comes time to start a new novel, I sort through ‘the file’ and decide what excites me the most. Because there are so many ideas, I sometimes end up combining some of the ideas for a richer story. I’ll then do a very brief outline as I have found when I do a long outline, it loses some of the spontaneity and fun for me. I’ll then start writing. I write every day in usually three shifts: 8:30 until noon., 1 to 5 and then 10 pm to 3 AM. Of course, I do live life so when I’m out or have plans those times can shift around but I still find the time to get it all in and endeavor to write 3,000 words a day.

Any new and exciting projects you'd like to share?

My next novel, The Thieves of Darkness comes out this August in hardcover from Atria Books. I’m really excited about this story as it is the third in my Thieves series. The first book in that series, The Thieves of Heaven is being developed by 20th Century Fox while the series is published in 28 languages as they are really globetrotting thrillers about a gentleman thief.

We are also nearing the start of casting for The Thirteenth Hour. New Line Cinema and Mike Deluca are making it; the script was written by Mike Brandt and Derek Haas who did 3:10 to Yuma and Wanted, and I have to admit the script came out great. Early next year people will se the novel I just completed called Half Past Dawn. It’s a stand alone story that I think is even more exciting than The Thirteenth Hour.

FTC Disclosure - the book was provided to me by Atria Books.