Today, I have the good fortune of welcoming one of my favorite authors to Hartford Books Examiner: Tess Gerritsen. (Pinch me!)
Tess Gerritsen’s name is well known to booklovers worldwide. Her first medical thriller, Harvest, marked her debut on the New York Times bestseller list in 1996—a feat that each of her eleven subsequent releases has accomplished. Further, 2001’s The Surgeon won the Rita Award and Vanish (2005) was honored with Nero Wolfe Award. Both critics and fans have agreed that Gerritsen, who has an M.D. and was once a practicing physician, is at the forefront of her field. Her books have been translated into 33 languages, and Publisher’s Weekly has dubbed her the “medical suspense queen”.
What many people don’t know is that before Tess Gerritsen became an international phenomenon, she wrote romantic suspense. While on maternity leave, she composed a short story which was followed up by three manuscripts—the third of which, Call After Midnight, sold. Eight genre titles later, she set her sights on the world of medical thrillers—a decision that would lead to mainstream success and literary prominence.
Just back from a three-week trip to Turkey, Tess was kind enough to take a look back at her career and share some fascinating insights with us…
1) For the first time in recent memory you do not have a new book out this fall. How do you weigh the personal benefits vs. the professional risks of such a decision?
Sometimes, you don't have a choice. Sometimes personal demands must take precedence over professional ambitions. In my case, it was my mother's needs that kept me from delivering a new book for 2009. She was living alone out in California, going blind, and unable to drive, pay her bills, or handle her finances. I knew what I had to do, and that meant taking months away from my writing to pack up her house and move her to Maine. It was both a physically and emotionally exhausting job, and there was no way I could have written a book during that time. But it's what I had to do.
2) Last year's THE KEEPSAKE is now out in paperback. The book features a killer so well versed in the post-mortem rituals of mummification that investigators initially believe that they are dealing with the remains of "centuries-old" relic as opposed to a modern-day murder victim. Where did such an idea come from? And can you tell us a little bit about tsantsas and how this book allowed you to travel with "Fred the Head"?
I was an anthropology major in college, and I've had a lifelong fascination with Egyptology, mummies, and all sorts of bizarre cultural practices. For years I've wanted to write a book about mummies, and had been following the science of mummy CT scans when the premise for THE KEEPSAKE occurred to me: what if an "ancient" mummy turns out to have a bullet in its leg? How does a modern murder victim get turned into a mummy? I had a great time folding some grotesque archaeological lore into the story.
That's where the tsantsas (shrunken heads) came in. I've been interested in tsantsas since I read about them when I was twelve and wondered how one goes about shrinking a human head to a fraction of its size. (Answer: you remove the skull first, and shrink only the soft tissues.) When I went on book tour, I brought along a fake shrunken head (made of goatskin) to demonstrate the techniques used by the head-shrinking Jivaro tribe. Dubbed "Fred the Head," he turned out to be the hit of the book tour.
3) You began to write fiction while on maternity leave from your job. Did you always have the inclination to write or was it just a way to pass the time? And can you tell us about your road to publication?
Like so many writers, I knew I was a storyteller by the age of seven. I would have continued writing whether or not I found a publisher. It's a compulsion, and even if I never sell another book, I'll still be telling stories.
I sold my first short story while I was home on maternity leave, then began working on novels. Since I was reading and enjoying romance novels at the time, the first two unpublished manuscripts I wrote were both romances. I sold my third novel, CALL AFTER MIDNIGHT, to Harlequin Intrigue after submitting it unagented. Persistence, I discovered, is key. If your first novel doesn't get accepted, then write a second novel, and a third. In this business, you can't be too easily discouraged.
4) Your first nine books are classified as romantic suspense. What made you decide to make the change from that genre to medical thrillers? What did you find to be the greatest challenge when you were making the transition?
I wrote HARVEST because it was simply a story I wanted to tell. During a conversation with a retired detective, I learned that children were vanishing from the streets of Moscow, and Russian police believed the children were being shipped abroad, to be sacrificed as organ donors. The premise gave me what I now call the "whomp on the chest" -- that strong emotional reaction that tells me this is something I have to write about. So I did. I wasn't thinking about the market; my focus was on telling the best story I could, and following these characters to the bitter end. Since my romance novels had all been thrillers as well, it wasn't such a leap for me to move into the straight thriller genre. The most difficult part, I think, was being accepted as a thriller writer. Once you've written romance, unfortunately, critics will never stop calling you a "former romance author."
5) As most people know, you have your M.D. and were a practicing physician before you decided to concentrate on writing full-time. Even with that background, I would imagine that a lot of research is required for your books--especially considering how often the landscape of the medical field changes. How does that process work? Also, do you ever find yourself disappointed when reading the works of others who may not have done the same level of research? (I'll bet you pick right up on things that ring false!)
It's really hard to keep up with a field as fast-moving as medicine. I focus my research on the specific topics I need to know -- for instance, what's the latest antibiotic a character might use? The latest seizure medication? More of my research lately has to do with forensic pathology, which is Maura's field. I try to keep up in the field, both with scientific journals and attending conferences. Having a medical background helps a lot, just because I understand lingo that might be a difficult barrier for a non-medical person.
When I read books where the medical details are all wrong, it does rather ruin the story for me. Part of believing in a character is believing their authoritative voice, and once you've ruined that, you just can't believe in the character. But I realize that as a physician, I'm a very small minority among readers. Most readers don't really care about those details, and they're just as happy reading on.
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Be sure to check back for part two of my discussion with Tess Gerritsen tomorrow. In it, she discusses the Jane Rizzoli/Maura Isles series, blogging (and the backlash that often comes with doing so), the relevance of book tours, and what’s next for her beloved characters…
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