On saying nothing…
When I read my first Jack Reacher novel (61 hours, by Lee Child), one phrase struck me. It’s in every Reacher novel, sprinkled sparingly into the prose like a subtle spice.
Reacher said nothing.
Usually it’s in the midst of tense dialogue, at a point where nineteen out of twenty people, and thus most readers, would have said something. But Jack Reacher held his tongue. Not because he was afraid to speak, quite the reverse. It made me, as a reader, re-evaluate what I would have said, and come to the conclusion that Jack was right, it was better not to speak at this point. …
In the footsteps of Nadia…(Hong Kong)
Over the summer I went to do some tai chi training in Hong Kong, which happened to be where I sent Nadia and Jake in the final book, 88 North. When I wasn’t training, I spent quite a bit of time re-tracing their steps in Wan Chai, Central, the Peak, Victoria Park, etc. It was like doing research after the writing. Upon my return, I was asked by a local Paris magazine (Panache) to write about Hong Kong and Taichi, so here’s what I wrote.
Countdown to 88 North…
Just a few days now until the release of 88 North, the third in the Nadia Laksheva series. So, here’s an extract involving Jake, in a rather difficult situation as he approaches 88 degrees North…
Jake had always wanted to be on an ice-breaker. Careful what you wish for, wasn’t that what they said? He was in a locked cabin. The single oval window opened, and in theory he could squeeze through it, but it was a sheer drop to the blue ice-water below.…