Interview with Tess Gerritsen
by Jon Jordan
Tess' Web Site

Jon:  What made you want to write instead of practicing medicine?

Tess:  It was motherhood that actually forced me to withdraw from medicine. My husband was also a busy physician, and with two young sons at home, and a dearth of available childcare, we decided that one of us should stay home for awhile. I had already sold several short stories, and had always loved writing, so I decided to take a break from medicine and pursue another career -- one that I could work on while being at home with my sons. The first books I wrote were romantic suspense novels. Within a few years, I was selling steadily to Harlequin Intrigue. I never did go back to medicine! I guess I can thank my sons for my writing career.

Jon:  Do you do a lot of research for your books? You know you topics very well.

Tess:  Every book requires a certain amount of research, but some stand out as particularly research-intensive. For GRAVITY, for instance, I had to devote a number of months learning about the space program. I spent several weeks on travel and interviews at Johnson Space Center and Kennedy Space Center, and thoroughly familiarized myself with NASA lingo and flight medicine. I find that what establishes one's authority isn't a long list of facts spewed out on the page, but the correct use of insider "language." Physicians, for instance, have their own way of conversing with one another. As long as you get their language down right, you can convince your reader you're an "expert."

Jon:  For someone who has not read your books yet, how would you describe them?

Tess:  Suspense novels in which the central conflict involves medical science or medical ethics. However my current novel, THE SURGEON, is a novel about a serial killer whose nickname happens to be "the surgeon," so it's a bit of a departure for me.

Jon:  Gravity was an amazing book. Has space and the space programs been of interest to you a long time? Have you any interest in going into space your self?

Tess:  I'm an old Star Trekker, and once dreamed of being an astronaut. I was in high school when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, and I still remember that as one of the most amazing -- and moving -- events of my lifetime. Once, I would have jumped at the chance to go into space. But knowing what I do now, about the incredible risks involved, I believe that space is no place for amateurs. At least, not yet.

Jon:  What sparks ideas for you? Do you find things that scare you and then scare us with them?

Tess:  Ideas come from all over the place. HARVEST, about a black market in human organs, was sparked by a conversation I had with a cop who'd just returned from Russia. He told me that kids were vanishing from the streets of Moscow, and the police there thought those kids were being kidnapped as organ donors. That immediately launched a novel for me. THE SURGEON was inspired by quite a different source. A reader came up to me at a signing and told me she really, really wanted me to write a book about her favorite topic: "serial killers and twisted sex." (I found out later that she was a third-grade
teacher!) I find ideas in the newspaper, in magazines, and in everyday conversations. A writer has to be open to everything as source material.

Jon:  What brought about the change from romantic thrillers to more mystery thriller oriented books?

Tess:  It all had to do with that idea for HARVEST dropping into my lap. Up till then, I'd been happily writing romantic thrillers. But HARVEST, just by its premise, was a far deeper and darker idea. When I discussed the idea with my agent at the time, she was wildly enthusiastic and told me that was exactly the book I should be writing.

When HARVEST hit the NY Times bestseller list, I knew that suspense was going to be the new focus for all my books from then on.

Jon:  What authors do you enjoy?

Tess:  I love to read a wide variety of literature. I'm fond of Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver, and Stephen King. Among suspense novelists, my favorites are Patricia Cornwell and Jeffrey Deaver.

Jon:  Any interest on the Hollywood front?

Tess:  The film rights to HARVEST were bought by Paramount, and 20th Century Fox bought the rights to GRAVITY. However, neither project has yet produced a script they're happy with.

Jon:  Do you approach your writing scientifically? Setting up outlines, and keeping journals?

Tess:  I'm very UNscientific! I have a vague idea of where a story is headed when I sit down, and then I let it just happen. I find that if a story wants to take an unexpected twist, it's best to just let it go where it wants to go. I don't always know which characters will live and which will die -- sometimes they surprise me. I let the characters tell me who they are.

It all makes for inefficient writing, and lots of re-writes, but in the end, I think, if a twist surprises me, then it probably surprises my readers as well.

Jon:  Do you think the internet is a tool that can help authors or just another toy?

Tess:  I use the internet extensively. For instance, while researching GRAVITY, I downloaded a lot of information from the NASA website, and corresponded with engineers there by e-mail. And you can learn the most obscure facts online. In THE SURGEON, my villain has a fascination with the bloodier episodes of human history, and in human sacrifice in particular. An online search introduced me to some horrifying practices I had never heard of before -- for instance, how DID those Aztecs cut out human hearts? What was the surgical approach? Yep. I found the answer on the internet.

Jon:  You really play the fiddle?

Tess:  I even have a ragtag band! We play for parties and public events, but most of the time, we just get together and make a lot of noise.

Jon:  What kind of music do you listen too? I s there a music generation gap in your home?

Tess:  I love Celtic music. My teenage sons listen to -- strangely enough -- The Eagles and some of those good, melodic oldies from Bread and Richard Harris. So there's not much of a generation gap there, thank heavens. I don't think I could stand hearing rap all day.

Jon:  Do you enjoy feedback from fans and meeting fans?

Tess:  I love getting feedback. At heart I'm a very shy person, and meeting fans requires me to put on a public face, which is exhausting for me. Still, the experience of talking to people face-to-face is so rewarding, and I'm SO appreciative whenever readers make the enormous effort to go to a bookstore to see me. (And for readers who are afraid of authors -- the truth is, we authors are often just as afraid of you!)

Jon:  Any weird experiences with fans? I’m guessing with the books you write, you might have occasion to run into some strange people.

Tess:  I've had very few weird experiences. Most of the fans who come to meet me appear to be quite sane. Although, with THE SURGEON, I think some strange ones are going to start coming out of the woodwork!

Jon:  How would you describe a perfect day?

Tess:  Writing my four-page quota before noon, and taking the rest of the day off!

Jon:  You seem to have been very lucky with your cover art. Do you have any input with this?

Tess:  Yes, my contracts call for my approval of all cover art. Although, frankly, I'm not a very good judge of which covers will work. There are all sorts of superstitions in NYC about what should and should not be on a cover. (e.g., wisdom there says green covers are bad, and snakes/bare feet/palm trees are bad luck.) Most of the time, all I can say is "I'll know a good cover when I see it."

Jon:  If you were to go back in time and meet 17 year old Tess, what would you tell her?

Tess:  To forget that loser boyfriend in college and spend the summer in Mexico instead!

Jon:  What do you consider the biggest perk to being an author?

Tess:  That I can spend my life doing exactly what I've always loved doing -- making up stories.

Jon:  Do you ever get writer’s block? If so , what do you do about it?

Tess:  Oh, yes. I get block with every single book I've ever written, and it usually has to do with my subconscious telling me that I've written myself or my characters into a corner. Or that my characters have just done something I know in my heart they wouldn't really do. I find that I just have to take a few days or weeks off until the solution comes to me. I take lots of long walks. And long drives in the car seem to work wonders.

Jon:  What is the one thing that’s always in your fridge?

Tess:  Dijon mustard. Can't live without it!