Interview

Gregg recently did an interview with Crimezone, a thriller website in the Netherlands, where Gregg’s books have found a wide readership. He talks about the Rackley series in general, and of course, The Program.

Did you always wanted to be a writer and when and why did you decide to become one?

As long as I remember, I wanted to be a crime writer. I have mysteries that I wrote when I was in third grade that I bound between cardboard covers. When I went to Harvard, I chose my major(s) based on what I thought would be the best combination for a novelist.

Was it hard to get your first novel published? And how did you manage to get it published?

I was very lucky. I had done an internship with a film producer (Cary Woods, who produced Swingers, Scream, Kids, Godzilla) when I first started writing The Tower. Cary produced Night Shyamalan’s movie just before The Sixth Sense. When I finished my book, a producer at the film company got the manuscript to Night’s attorney. The lawyer loved it and flew me to New York, and got me an agent, who promptly sold it to Simon & Schuster.

You started with writing stand alones before you started writing the series about Tim Rackley? What’s the difference between writing stand alones or a series, what are the advantages and the disadvantages?

That’s a very interesting question. I love to explore new worlds, and that’s one of the reasons I started with stand-alones, and one of the reasons each Rackley book deals with a new dark underworld for Rackley to fight his way out of. For The Kill Clause, I went out with the US Marshals ART team, fired an MP5, and learned how to pick locks like the Stork. For The Program, I went undercover into cults to do research so I could build my own cult. I love writing both stand-alone and series books, but I would say one advantage of starting with stand-alones is that it helped me to really view each book as its own world, that has to work on its own terms.

How did you create the character of Tim Rackley. What consideration played a role in creating the character?

I had a rough idea for the plot of The Kill Clause, but I never wrote it. Until one day, I started thinking about a law officer – an ethical, upstanding man with a background in Spec Ops (to pull off some of the missions he creates). I heard the Marshal Service was great, so I went in and talked to the Marshal for the central district, LA. And so Tim’s career came to life that way. As for his personality, he evolved in my mind mostly in relation to his wife, Dray, and his daughter, Ginny. Once I placed him in the context of his family, he came to life.

Was it always the plan to write more books about Tim and make him a series hero?

No. I wrote The Kill Clause as a stand-alone, but then Tim decided to stick around.

How would you describe the character of Tim Rackley for the readers of Crimezone Magazine?

He’s a strong, ethical man with a background in the Army Rangers, which makes him extremely capable when it comes to missions. He’s very courageous, and a man of action, but he sometimes is too quick to act. His wife, Dray, provides an excellent balance for him. As a Sheriff’s deputy, she’s extremely tough and smart, and she’s capable of showing him the sides of issues he’s yet to consider. Tim was crushed by the death of his daughter, Ginny. He finds out about her violent murder in the first sentence of the first book – that’s where I pick up his story.

Did you put something from yourself in Tim’s character? What are the similarities between you and him and what are the differences between the two of you?

Yes – there’s something of me in every character I write. Tim is tougher than me. He’s a better shot, and better trained. He’s smarter than I am, but perhaps I’m more intellectual. I wouldn’t want to fight him, though!

Does the series about Tim differ from your former books and in what way? Could you describe your former books to me (They are not yet translated in Dutch).

My former books are The Tower, a serial killer novel that opens in an underwater prison; Minutes to Burn, a Navy SEALs/creature science thriller set in Galápagos; and Do No Harm, a medical thriller that takes place in LA, and opens with a nurse stumbling through the ER doors after a vicious attack just outside the hospital. They are different in that they are all stand-alones, and aren’t procedural thrillers.

When do you think is the time to stop the series about Tim Rackley? Do you think you can ever say goodbye to him?

As soon as he stops talking to me.

What was the inspiration for The Kill Clause?

I always had an idea lurking in the back of my mind: What if there was a group of people out there determined to deal with criminals who had slipped through the cracks of the justice system? During my research in the field, I always asked cops and prosecutors what bothered them most, and they said when a criminal got off due to loopholes in the justice system, even when the evidence clearly showed they were guilty.

Did you do a lot of research for The Kill Clause? Could you give me some examples?

I followed a locksmith and learned how to pick locks. I shot MP5s with the Marshals’ Arrest Response Team. I shot a sniper rifle. I went with Navy SEALs to a demolition range to blow up cars (while researching Mitchell’s character). I spent a lot of time with prosecutors and defense attorneys.

What do you think about/ how do you look at people who take revenge on a perpetrator (like the people in The Kill Clause) when the law releases them while you know they are guilty.

I think it’s a losing cause. Violence doesn’t solve the problem, or fill the loss. That’s one of the things Tim discovers.

Was there a message for your readers in The Kill Clause? For example, did you want them to think about good and evil and moral dilemmas?

Yes – at the center of each of the Rackley books is an ethical dilemma. Early in the book, Tim is handed a gun by a cop and allowed to go into a garage, alone, to confront his daughter’s killer. I want readers to wonder – what would I do in that situation?

What was the inspiration for The Program?

A friend lost his sister into a cult and told me all about it. I found it fascinating.

Did you do a lot of research for The Program? Could you give me some examples?

I went undercover into mind-control cults. I submitted to cult testing. I got ahold of bootleg copies of indoctrination tapes for various cults. I interviewed former cult victims. I studied the history of mind control.

Do you understand people who join a cult? What kind of people are they in your opinion?

Yes, I do. They tend to be normal, healthy people, caught during a time of transition. That’s one of the reasons why cults recruit on college campuses and at airports.

What do you think people hope to find at a cult?

Acceptance, community, understanding.

I read you went undercover to cult meetings? Could you describe your experiences to me? Was it hard to stay neutral and not be influenced by the things they told?

I’d done a lot of research, so I knew how to stay less involved. And I was careful not to eat any food offered, and not to spend the night at a cult center. I was kept in a room with others, and subjected to indoctrination in the form of testimonials, speeches by leadership, and group pressure. One place hooked me up to machines to test my “responses.”

Was it hard to create the character of Terrance Donald Betters and make him a credible cult leader?

No – it was so much fun. He’s one of the most fun – and stimulating – characters I’ve ever written. He’s much smarter than I am.

What do you think is more important, characterization or plot and why?

Both, and more importantly, the intersection of character and plot. I had a rough idea for the plot of The Kill Clause in my mind for a long time, but it wasn’t until Tim Rackley came along that I had a book.

How would you describe the average characters in your book? What kind of people do you like to write about?

I like to write about good people who find themselves in extraordinary situations. Where they have to uphold their ethics at a time least convenient to them.

What do you think are the ingredients of a good suspense novel?

Pace and plotting are essential, as are great characters. And meticulous research judiciously implemented.

Is writing very hard work for you or is it a natural kind of thing that goes very easily? What do you find the most difficult when you are writing?

I love writing more than anything. It’s the most natural thing I do, which doesn’t mean it’s not sometimes difficult. I think the hardest part is rewriting, getting every last detail right.

If I was a reader who had never read a book from Gregg Hurwitz, how would you describe your books and writing style to me and why should I read your books?

I write fast-paced, high-octane thrillers. Just read the first sentence and it’ll hook you.

What’s the best thriller you ever read until now and why/ which thriller would you recommend to everybody as a ‘must read’ and why?

I believe Red Dragon is the greatest thriller ever written. It’s terrifying, and the characterization is absolutely stunning.