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A Conversation with Douglas Preston

by maberry on July 20, 2009

Douglas PrestonDouglas Preston is the New York Times best-selling author of BLASPHEMY, TYRANNOSAUR CANYON and THE CODEX, as well as the co-author of the deviously plotted thrillers featuring enigmatic FBI agent Aloysius X. L. Pendergast, PhD: RELIC, THE WHEEL OF DARKNESS and their latest hit, CEMETERY DANCE.

Doug’s also a magazine feature writer who contributes regularly to The New Yorker magazine; and his articles have appeared in National Geographic, Natural History, Smithsonisan, Harper’s, and Travel & Leisure, among others.

Doug is a Research Associate at the Laboratory of The CodexAnthropology in Santa Fe, a member of PEN New Mexico, and a board member of the School of American Research in Santa Fe. He counts in his ancestry the poet Emily Dickinson, the newspaperman Horace Greeley, and the infamous murderer and opium addict Amasa Greenough. Preston and his wife, Christine, have three children, Selene, Aletheia, and Isaac. They live on the coast of Maine.

JONATHAN MABERRY: You’ve written a lot of novels.  What keeps it fresh for you?

DOUGLAS PRESTON: What keeps it fresh is when I think of what else I might be doing to make a living. Digging ditches? I sit in my little 8 x 10 shack in the Maine woods and think that this isn’t a bad way to make a living. The truth is, I love writing, I love entering that mysterious quasi-universe that exists in my head and is slowly forming on my computer screen as I write a novel.

MABERRY: You seem to be something of a research junkie.  Talk about the fun of research for your books.

The Monster of FlorencePRESTON: I know some writers hire researchers. I could never relinquish my own research, for the simple reason that while researching one thing, I often find something else which is totally unrelated but fabulous. The central idea for the new novel Linc and I are writing came about when I was researching a completely unconnected factoid for another novel. Research is like digging for gold—you never know when you’re going to hit pay dirt.

MABERRY: Describe the differences in the writing process between your solo work and the collaborations with Lincoln Child.

PRESTON: Writing with Lincoln is a lot more fun. We argue, we curse each other out, we struggle with the plots and characters, and then when the book is published we gripe about moronic Amazon reviews and tell each other what fine and brilliant fellows we are. Writing a solo book is a lonely enterprise. It’s just you and the glowing screen—no one to complain to, no one to bounce ideas off, no one to argue with, no one’s bad grammar to correct.

MABERRY: Your books occasionally step over the line between science and supernatural.  Why’s that fun for you as a writer?

PRESTON: We skirt the supernatural, we play with it, but we rarely step over that line. Both Linc and I are attracted by the outré, the strange, the bizarre. Much of what appears to be supernatural in our books turns out to be cutting-edge science or bizarre biology. We love to ask the question, What if…? and then play it out.

MABERRY: You have a hot new Pendergast novel out.  What’s the skinny on that?

PRESTON:  In the current book, CEMETERY DANCE, we had the idea to start with Cemetary Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Childthe religious practice known as Obeah.

MABERRY: Obeah…that’s like Voodoo?

PRESTON:  I had worked at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and knew an anthropologist who had done research in Haiti on Voodoo practice and Obeah (a very similar tradition). We thought it would be interesting to write a novel featuring those practices. That was the initial idea. But there is a long, long journey between idea and plot. Many inexperienced people and beginning writers don’t realize that the key is not so much in the idea, but how you turn it into a plot. I get people all the time saying, “I’ve got a great idea!” as if that’s the end point of the process. No. You’ve got to transform it into a great plot, and that can be exceedingly difficult. And then you have to write the book, and create believable characters. Great ideas are a dime a dozen. Give me a great plot, great characters, and good writing.

MABERRY: Your books often have a bit of social awareness or social commentary in them.  Is that the case with the new one?

PRESTON:  With CEMETERY DANCE, the plot involved animal rights activists, among other things. And the Voodoo and Zombii elements proved to be something else entirely…

MABERRY: Tell us about your next book.

PRESTON: It’s a Pendergast novel, called FEVER DREAM. It delves into the greatest mystery in Pendergast’s past, the one our readers have been asking us about for fifteen years. The novel opens in Africa, in the bush, many years ago… I can say no more.

MABERRY: Great…you’re going to leave us hanging.  Just like a thriller writer!

Find Douglas Preston at The Official Douglas Preston / Lincoln Child website: http://www.prestonchild.com/

- JM

Think Outside the Books

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{ 12 comments }

1 Daryl August 20, 2009 at 11:49 pm

That’s all we get Doug?? I am already chomping at the bit for more. Pendergast is such an interesting character, he should be in everyone’s book!

2 Mary King August 19, 2009 at 5:13 pm

Just finished Cemetery Dance. Liked it very much. I would like to have another book featuring Pendergast’s ward Constance Green. You left us hanging with her pregnant by the evil twin. My daughter Kathy who lives in Raleigh, NC. got me hooked on your books and between the two of us we have every book you have written. I finished Lincoln Childs Terminal Freeze 2 weeks ago and really loved that one. I especially like the Pendergast stories,they are definately my favorites. I thank you for providing me with great novels. As a newley retired Nursing Home Administrator it is nice to have time to read for pleasure. Thanks Guys.
Mary King
Hamlet, NC

3 Pam August 19, 2009 at 7:52 am

Thanks for sharing the interview and asking the right questions! Sounds like we are going to receive more information to further the Pendergast character. Keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully the debonair duo will be touring Northeast Ohio with their next book so I can get an opportunity to meet them in person. Thanks for the many hours of reading enjoyment. Pam

4 Chante Brown August 18, 2009 at 9:13 pm

I’m positively jumping for joy at the thought of a new Pendergast novel! Pendie is the anchor that keeps me coming back for more…..please keep the Pendergast novels coming, I simply can’t get enough! (And for me personally, if I was lucky enough to meet a man like Pendergast, I don’t think I could possibly turn that down…he’s simply too attractive, fascinating, intelligent and gentlemanly – something women desire but can’t find enough of today. Maybe I need to move to the South….heh heh).

Great job to both of you, and thanks!

Chante :)

5 viola August 12, 2009 at 2:19 pm

i’m madly in love with pendergast! in the real world, i would not be attracted to a skinny, silver-eyed, quasi albino with spidery fingers and the stealth of a feline. however, i’m ready to move into pendergast’s riverside mansion and ride his many roller coasters. aloysius has the wrong viola! can’t wait for the next installment. please hurry.

6 Dorothy Shea August 11, 2009 at 11:53 pm

Dear Doug, I enjoy re-reading your books because they’re so complex, little details can be found upon another run-through. Did you REALLY kill off Bill Smithback in “Cemetary Dance”? Maybe he’s gone undercover to write a story. I’m looking forward to “Fever Dream” as Pendie is my favorite sleuth!
Your friend , Dorothy Shea

7 Diane August 10, 2009 at 10:41 am

I got hooked on your books when I read “Relic.” Then, I continued to read all your Pendergast books as they came out. As the books come on audio, I have downloaded them to my ipod. I keep wondering if Hollywood will make a movie on one of the other books, both of you have to be advisors. I wasn’t too happy when they did “Relic” because Pendergast was almost “invisible.” If Johnny Depp was taller, he could play Pendergast. I can’t wait for “Fever Dream.”

8 Carolyn August 4, 2009 at 8:28 pm

Loved “Cemetery Dance” – would also like to know when we are going to see more of Pendergast and Viola – and I never knew he was married to “Helen” – and what about Constance and her child? I sense more about her and Viola to come – more! soon! please!

9 Nolan Aiken August 3, 2009 at 5:09 pm

Great to hear about the continuing adventures (whether forward in a timeline, or a glimpse from the past) of Pendergast! I greatly look forward to learning more about this enigmatic character. However, I hope that not all his mysterious layers are unveiled. Furthermore, I think all your fans have read the teaser on your website, so how much longer are you going to make us wait for a sequel to THE ICE LIMIT?

10 elizabeth July 24, 2009 at 2:28 pm

I was turned on to the Preston/Child books by a co-worker, and have every one they have written together!!! Great interview Jonathan! Cannot wait till “Fever Dream” comes out, I love the Perdergast character!

11 Janice Gable Bashman July 20, 2009 at 10:40 am

Great interview Doug – I love your line – “Research is like digging for gold—you never know when you’re going to hit pay dirt.” I’m looking forward to reading FEVER DREAM – it sounds like another winner.

12 Mitzi Flyte July 20, 2009 at 7:37 am

Thanks to you both for an interview that just “wetted” my appetite for the new book(s). I’ve become a fan of Preston/Child and Preston and Child. I enjoy the “skirting the supernatural” themes. You never know: what is supernatural or paranormal today may become the natural and the normal of tomorrow.

Thanks, Douglas, for keeping me up at night.

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