Netflix writer Karin Slaughter talks to Australian crime author Dervla McTiernan
International thriller sensation and Netflix writer Karin Slaughter reveals to an Australian crime queen why we all want to break the rules.
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Aussie crime queen DERVLA McTIERNAN turns the forensics on international thriller sensation KARIN SLAUGHTER in a Sunday Book Club special ahead of their coming online live event.
DM: Karin, Gillian Flynn said about you – “I’d follow her anywhere,” and I think a lot of us feel that way. Your books have been published in 37 languages, 120 countries and have sold more than 35 million copies around the globe. There are so many reasons for that incredible success, I’m sure, but for me I think it’s mostly because we love your characters and we can trust in the quality of your books. You’ve written a book or more a year since 2001. As a writer, I want to know … what’s the secret to being so prolific and still maintaining the quality and heart that make your books special?
KS: Well first, let me say thank you. I owe a lot to my fans because if you weren’t reading I would still be writing, but I would be very, very lonely. In terms of my writing, I really work to keep myself relevant — I read all of the time, I watch a lot of television and movies, and I listen to a lot of podcasts. I think about the ways people are telling stories. The other part of that equation is that I really, really love what I am doing. Every new book presents an opportunity to do and say something new. I’m always puzzling out in my head why people do things, whether it’s stealing a grape at the grocery store or murdering someone. There are degrees by which we are comfortable breaking the social contract. Some push to the outer limits of that, and I want to know why. But I also want to know what that break leaves behind. Does it make the community stronger or does it leave everyone shattered?
DM: Can you tell us a little bit about your writing process? Has it settled over the years, or do you feel that it is still developing?
KS: When I’m ready to work on a story, I drive two hours outside of Atlanta to the Blue Ridge mountains, where I have a cabin that my father built for me. I wish I could say that I have a very balanced day when I’m working, but all I do is get up in the morning, start writing, then stop writing when I can’t see or think anymore. Sometimes, that can be 12 or 16 hours (with naps in between) and sometimes that can be four hours (with more naps) but I’ve always been better in isolation. My dad lives right up the road, so sometimes I’ll open my front door in the morning and he’s left me soup and cornbread to make sure I’m eating. I don’t understand how people can work in coffee shops or, worse, stop in the middle of a chapter for conversation or whatever. I’m very focused when I write and nothing else can interfere with that process. I suppose part of it is my obsessive/compulsiveness. I’m completely incapable of not finishing something I start. It is the same routine book after book. I think if I tried to change it up now it would really throw me off.
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DM: What can you tell us about your new book, The Silent Wife?
KS: The Silent Wife is my 20th book. The main character, Will Trent, is an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and when he is pulled in to investigate a violent murder that occurred during a prison riot, a case from the past is reopened. Unfortunately, that case has some ties to his longtime girlfriend, Sara Linton. So you can imagine that things are going to get worse before they get better. As Will digs deeper into the past, a very disturbing picture starts to emerge.
DM: How has the COVID lockdown impacted you?
KS: In terms of my day to day work schedule, not at all really. I was very surprised to learn that my general lifestyle has a word to describe it. That word is “quarantine.”
DM: Your 2018 book, Pieces of Her, is to be adapted into an eight part thriller for Netflix, which is so exciting. I think filming has been paused due to COVID. Have you heard anything about when it might get started again or when the show might reach our screens?
KS: We were three days away from beginning principal photography when the shutdown happened. In one respect, that gave the writers some breathing room to hone the scripts even more, and I’m delighted by what they came up with during this time. I heard a rumour that Hollywood may be opening up at the end of this month. I have no idea what that means for our production schedule. The goal on set is to make sure everyone feels safe and protected, because this virus doesn’t care about your schedule.
Karin Slaughter will be interviewed by Dervla McTiernan on @HarperCollinsAustralia Facebook Live on Monday 6th July at 9:00pm AEST. Karin’s The Silent Wife is our Book of the Month for July, which means 30 per cent off pre-orders at Booktopia with the code WIFE. And do drop by our Sunday Book Club Facebook group to talk crime and more.
Originally published as Netflix writer Karin Slaughter talks to Australian crime author Dervla McTiernan
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