Thriller
Authors: James Patterson
Tags: #General, #Fiction, #Romance, #Suspense, #Thriller, #Anthologies (multiple authors), #Fiction - Espionage, #Short Story, #Anthologies, #Thrillers, #Suspense fiction; English, #Suspense fiction; American
®
To Dennis Lynds and all thriller writers,
past and present.
May their stories live forever.
Introduction by James Patterson
Michael Palmer and Daniel Palmer
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Introduction
This book is a trailblazer on two counts. It’s the first short-story
anthology of thrillers ever done, and it’s the first publication of a
new professional organization: International Thriller Writers, Inc.
By nature writers tend to be loners, happy with their work, their
families and a few close friends. But we also yearn occasionally for
collegiality. For years we’ve all said to one another, “Why don’t we
organize?” Then in June 2004, Barbara Peters, of the legendary Poisoned Pen bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona, held the first-ever
thriller conference in the United States. She invited six writers—
Lee Child, Vince Flynn, Steve Hamilton, Gayle Lynds, David
Morrell and Kathy Reichs—and one editor, Keith Kahla, of
St. Martin’s Press, to give presentations about the various aspects
of writing and publishing thrillers. Clive Cussler spoke at the luncheon.
With only two weeks to publicize the event, Barbara thought
she’d be lucky if a hundred people registered. In the end some 125
attended and, to everyone’s surprise, not all were there to learn
about writing. Many were readers who wanted to meet some of
their favorite thriller authors. Here for the first time was concrete
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evidence of what most of us had long suspected: there was a demand among fans for a thriller writers’ organization, too. If we held
conventions, readers would likely attend, as well as us. And if we
awarded prizes—there have never been awards specifically for
thriller books, stories and films in the English language—that interest would only grow.
On the last day of the conference, in the sunny restaurant at
the Biltmore Hotel in Scottsdale, several of the attendees stood
around talking. Gayle Lynds, a highly accomplished thriller writer,
mentioned that she thought the conference indicated the time had
come to create an association for thriller writers. Adrian Muller,
a journalist and freelance conference organizer, pointed out that
the association should not be limited to the United States. Barbara Peters said she’d be willing to hold another, larger convention. Realizing that she’d almost committed herself, Gayle quickly
announced, “I can’t organize this alone, though.” Her husband, the
incomparable Dennis Lynds, added, “She’s right. She can’t.” Barbara merely smiled and said, “Pull in David Morrell. He’s perfect.”
And that’s what happened.
Adrian Muller volunteered to send out e-mails to every thriller
author he could find to see if there was enough interest among writers to form a group. A few days later, Gayle and David had a long
telephone call, discussing their workloads and a potential thriller
organization that would be international in scope. They agreed to
jointly head the effort, and over the summer of 2004 Adrian,
David and Gayle talked and exchanged e-mails. Adrian arranged
with Al Navis, who was orchestrating Bouchercon 2004, the great
congregation of mystery readers and writers, to assign a room in
which the thriller authors could meet.
The response to Adrian’s e-mail was impressive. Author after
author said that an association was a great idea. A meeting was
held on October 9 in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and,
after many discussions, International Thriller Writers, Inc. was
born. In November 2004, members were solicited. That response
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was likewise incredible. Currently there are over four hundred
members, with combined sales exceeding 1,600,000,000 books.
This is all quite astonishing, and fitting because thrillers provide such a rich literary feast. There are all kinds. The legal thriller,
spy thriller, action-adventure thriller, medical thriller, police
thriller, romantic thriller, historical thriller, political thriller, religious thriller, high-tech thriller, military thriller. The list goes go
on and on, with new variations constantly being invented. In fact,
this openness to expansion is one of the genre’s most enduring
characteristics. But what gives the variety of thrillers a common
ground is the intensity of emotions they create, particularly those
of apprehension and exhilaration, of excitement and breathlessness, all designed to generate that all-important thrill. By definition, if a thriller doesn’t thrill, it’s not doing its job.
Thrillers, though, are also known for their pace, and the force
with which they hurtle the reader along. They’re an obstacle race
in which an objective is achieved at some heroic cost. The goal
can be personal (trying to save a spouse or a long-lost relative) or
global (trying to avert a world war) but often it’s both. Perhaps
there’s a time limit imposed, perhaps not. Sometimes they build
rhythmically to rousing climaxes that peak with a cathartic, explosive ending. Other times they start at top speed and never ease
off. At their best, thrillers use scrupulous research and accurate details to create environments in which meaningful characters teach
us about our world. When readers finish a thriller, they should feel
not only emotionally satisfied but also better informed—and hungry for the next riveting tale.
Henry James once wrote, “The house of fiction has many windows.” That observation certainly applies to thrillers, and this anthology is an excellent example. When Gayle Lynds suggested
producing it, International Thriller Writers, Inc. sent out a call to
its members for stories. Many replied, and thirty were ultimately
selected for inclusion. I was contacted about acting as editor and
readily agreed, while Steve Berry, another ITW member and
thriller author, took on the responsibility of managing director.
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When the book proposal was finally shopped by agent Richard
Pine, himself an ITW member, several publishers expressed interest and, after a bidding war, MIRA Books acquired the rights.
Generously, each of the contributors to this book donated his
or her story. Only ITW will share in the royalties, the proceeds
earned going into the corporate treasury to fund the expansion of
this worthwhile organization. The theme of this anthology is simple. Each writer has used a familiar character or plotline from their
body of work and crafted an original story. So you have something
known, along with something new. As you’ll see, the variations
are captivating, as the writers’ imaginations soared. Each story is
prefaced by an introduction from me that sets up the writer, his or
her work and the story. At the book’s end, there are short biographies of each contributor. What a pleasure it was to read the stories
as they came in, and it’s my hope that you’ll likewise relish the
tales.
So prepare to be thrilled.
And enjoy the experience.
—James Patterson
June 2006
P.S. More can be learned about ITW through its Web site at
www.internationalthrillerwriters.com. Check it out.
Lee Child’s debut novel was
Killing Floor,
a first-person narrative introducing his series character Jack Reacher, and although clearly a fast-paced thriller it shared characteristics
with the classic limited-universe Western. At the time Child
was also an experienced media professional, aware that his
second book had to be written before significant reaction
to his first had even been received. To avoid stereotyping—
which can affect a writer as much as any performer—Child
determined to make his second book,
Die Trying,
as different as possible, albeit part of the same series. His plan was
to stake out a wide “left field, right field” territorial span
between books one and two, one in which the rest of the
series could happily roam. Therefore
Die Trying
featured
third-person narration and a classic high-stakes, multistrand thriller structure. But, in its first draft, that structure
went one strand too far. There was a character—James Penney—who had an appealing introduction and backstory, but
who clearly didn’t have any valid place to go. So Penney
wasn’t featured in the completed novel. Instead, he languished on Child’s hard drive until a request came from an
obscure British anthology for a short story. Child repack-
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aged Penney’s narrative and added a prequel-style ending,
featuring a brief glimpse of Jack Reacher’s early career. The