AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH NY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR , JOHN GILSTRAP
John Gilstrap is the New York Times bestselling and Thriller Award-winning author of Final Target , Friendly Fire , Nick of Time , Against All Enemies , End Game , Soft Targets , High Treason , Damage Control , Threat Warning , Hostage Zero , No Mercy , Nathan ' s Run , At All Costs , Even Steven , Scott Free and Six Minutes to Freedom . In addition , John has written four screenplays for Hollywood , adapting the works of Nelson DeMille , Norman McLean and Thomas Harris . He will write and co-produce the film adaptation of his book , Six Minutes to Freedom . A frequent speaker at literary events , John also teaches seminars on suspense writing techniques at a wide variety of venues , from local libraries to The Smithsonian Institution . Outside of his writing life , John is a renowned safety expert with extensive knowledge of explosives , hazardous materials , and fire behavior . John lives in Fairfax , VA . Now , let ’ s dive into my conversation with John Gilstrap :
Please tell us a little about your latest thriller , Final Target .
I love this book . What should be a routine rescue mission for Jonathan Grave and Boxers turns into a nightmare when it becomes apparent that nothing about the mission is what it was purported to be . By the end of the first chapter , we learn that the team they are working with are in fact their enemies . Jonathan can forgive a lot of transgressions , but
INTERVIEWS
betrayal is the step from which there is no forgiveness . As they try to find their way out of trouble , they inadvertently endanger the residents of a nearby orphanage , and now they need to make their way hundreds of miles to the coast with a bunch of kids in tow , all while a brutal cartel leader is trying to kill them all .
How did the quick sale of your first book change your process of writing , if at all ?
Well , not to put too fine a point on it , but my “ first ” book , Nathan ’ s Run , was actually the fourth book I ’ d written . It was , however , the first book I thought was good enough to be publishable . Twenty-seven rejections later , I found an agent who was willing to take me on , and from there , a lot happened very , very quickly . Within three months , Nathan ’ s Run had been purchased by publishers in over 20 countries , and I ’ d sold the movie rights . That sale didn ’ t change my process so much as it made me suddenly conscious of my writing . On the heels of that kind of stunning success , you begin to wonder what was it about the book that people liked so much . Was it the characters ? Was it the twists in the plot ? Once you start thinking too hard about that stuff , the result can be stifling . We ’ ve all heard about “ sophomore syndrome ” and I think that ’ s where its roots lie — in thinking too much about a process that defies definition . My wife , Joy , was the one who put it in perspective when she pointed out that the success of my storytelling might lie in the fact that I simply wrote a story and had fun doing it . So , in the end , I guess the sale didn ’ t change much about my process . But it took a long time to get there in my head .
How did you celebrate the publishing of your first book ?
Actually , that ’ s a funny story . I learned of the six-figure sale of North American rights while I was at my office , working late . Our son was only eight years old at the time , and it was 7:30 or so — too late to go out anywhere and celebrate . Plus , there wasn ’ t much food in the house . So , Joy and I celebrated with peanut butter crackers and champagne .
Please , tell us a little bit about the Jonathan Grave Challenge Coin .
Challenge coins are a part of the military and emergency response worlds . They are tokens of friendship and respect . I originally developed the coin for Jonathan Grave as a interviews
marketing plan , a form of swag , but after I received the first shipment , I realized that that was a bad idea . It ran counter to the principle of a coin . So , I changed my plans to use those coins for their original purpose , as tokens of gratitude and respect . Thus , when members of the military or emergency communities lend me assistance , I offer them a coin as a token of thanks . Via my website , I will trade coins with just about anyone who has a similar token to trade . After it became apparent that many of my fans who have no involvement with groups of the sort that trade coins , I wanted to create an avenue for them to get a coin . I worked with the SEAL Legacy Foundation , a wonderful charity that supports the needs of families of fallen and wounded Navy SEALs , to develop a program whereby anyone can make a $ 20 contribution to the foundation , and in return , I will send them a coin on my own dime . Please visit my website , www . johngilstrap . com , for details .
How has being a firefighter / EMT as well as being expert in explosive safety and hazardous waste influenced your writing ?
My years in the fire and rescue service inform everything I do , including my writing . I don ’ t think you can deliver babies into the world , or hold a person ’ s hands as they die , or nearly die yourself in a burning building without the experience changing you at a fundamental level . I believe there ’ s a humanity in my books that is rare among thrillers , and I trace that humanity to all those very human interactions in my youth . The explosives and hazmat backgrounds lend themselves very nicely to some of the technical sides of what I write .
If there ’ s one thing you believe all aspiring authors need to know , it is ...
Aspiring writers need to know that writing a good story is more difficult than it appears . They need to own the fact that their early works are probably not going to be very good , and that that ’ s the way it is supposed to be . “ Writing a book ” should not be the goal . The goal should be to tell a good story well and take the reader on an entertaining ride .
Read more of our interview with John Gilstrap at : www . TopShelfMagazine . net
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TOPShelf magazine AUGUST2017