Arnold Kanarek
asked
Joseph Finder:
Just read Vanished and I really enjoyed it. I will follow Nick Heller onto his next case in Buried Secrets. I am sorry about your dog. The great author Dean Koontz had a famous Golden Retriever who died and he moved on to get another dog. (Maybe his wife can convince yours.) You have many characters from your other books, so why did you choose to only do a series on Nick Heller?
Joseph Finder
Thanks for the kind words! My wife and I have since adopted another dog, a mutt named Millie who brightens every day.
Nick Heller was my first series character, and it took me a long time to decide I wanted to create one. In my standalone novels, the lead character's life is turned upside down and inside out. I can't imagine putting him or her through something like that for book after book. A series character is built for a different kind of adventure — usually an investigation that's intensive and maybe even life-changing, but something he or she can recover from.
Nick Heller was intended to go through one adventure after another. He's a different kind of character than I would create for a standalone.
Nick Heller was my first series character, and it took me a long time to decide I wanted to create one. In my standalone novels, the lead character's life is turned upside down and inside out. I can't imagine putting him or her through something like that for book after book. A series character is built for a different kind of adventure — usually an investigation that's intensive and maybe even life-changing, but something he or she can recover from.
Nick Heller was intended to go through one adventure after another. He's a different kind of character than I would create for a standalone.
More Answered Questions
Edith
asked
Joseph Finder:
I find it challenging to decide how to research a topic I want to use in a piece of fiction I am writing, whether short fiction or novel. That is, determining what resources to access. What steps do you take when planning how to research a topic you want to use? (In the interest of full disclosure, you should know I am extremely averse to flying. However, I will do it if absolutely necessary.)
Aaron Jesko
asked
Joseph Finder:
Joe, Here comes my Ask-the-author-question for you. When an author is working on a story every day I guess they’re bound to start dreaming about their characters and plotlines at some point. I recently read an article about how some authors use their nightly dreams to improve upon their projects. Have you ever made changes to a character or a plot following a dream you had? Best, AJ
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