Almost Dead is a sequel to your very first New York Times bestseller,
If She Only Knew. Why did you decide to write a sequel?
If She Only Knew was a lot of fun to write and I particularly loved
the characters and the setting of San Francisco, one of my favorite
cities. My editor and I always thought we’d revisit the Cahill family,
but it took a few years to come up with the right plot, one that was
just as intriguing as If She Only Knew, but with a new twist. My editor
and I started e-mailing plot ideas back and forth and all of a
sudden, I had the story. Like If She Only Knew, Almost Dead is a
little over the top, but tons of fun!
How was writing Almost Dead compared to writing If She Only
Knew? Was it easier? Harder?
Actually Almost Dead was a little easier because I knew some of the
characters. When I wrote If She Only Knew I got stuck in the middle
of the plot and my editor came to the rescue —what a help!
With Almost Dead, the problem was lack of time to finish the book.
I was really up against the deadline and for the first time since college
I pulled an all-nighter, finishing the book twelve hours after I
thought I would. It took a lot of Hot Tamales candies and coffee to
get me through the night and into the next morning, let me tell you.
You came up with some pretty good twists in both books. How
hard is it to stay one step ahead of the reader? Obviously, you
want there to be clues so the reader can figure things out as they’re
turning the pages and if they can’t figure things out, you don’t
want them to feel like you’ve pulled a fast one on them once they
get to the big reveal. Is it a balancing act? How do you keep track
of everything?
When writing the book I try to remember what I enjoy as a reader
and inject it into my work. I love twists and turns and surprises, so
I think of writing the plot as kind of a game between me and the
reader. How can I lead the reader one direction, when I’m heading
another? And the game has to be fair. I can’t throw a bad guy in at
the last minute. The clues have to be hidden in plain sight, so to
speak. Also, I want my reader to need to start the next chapter when I end one, to keep them reading and guessing. Yes, you’re
right:Writing a suspense novel is a delicate balancing act, and I have
to keep track of everything in copious notes as I write the book.
What makes you decide to revisit a cast of characters and continue
to tell their story?
There are a couple of reasons why I’ll write a book with continuing
characters. If the readers clamor for another book, then I’ll
consider it. Of course if I think there’s another story to be written,
or my editor does, and if I want to work with the characters again,
then I’ll think about it, though sometimes it takes years for a plot
to simmer and come together. Also, the story has to be a logical
melding of the plot with the characters. I won’t write a sequel if I
don’t have what I consider a bang-up plot as well as intriguing
characters.
If She Only Knew wasn’t Cissy’s story, but she was a supporting
character, and also a child. In Almost Dead, she takes center
stage and is now a wife and mother. When you were writing her in
Almost Dead, did you feel like you were creating a totally new
character or was the essence of Cissy from If She Only Knew still
there? If I’m remembering correctly, she was a bit of a brat in If
She Only Knew!
She was more than “a bit” of a brat in If She Only Knew. She was
downright nasty, but she went through a lot in the telling of If She
Only Knew and she had the chance to grow up. Teenagers do blossom
into adulthood for the most part, and being a wife and mother,
having responsibilities does tend to grow a person up. So I gave
Cissy another chance and, of course, threw her into another untenable
situation. I wanted her to prove herself. She was the same
character, of course, but a much wiser and broader person who
cared about others, not just herself.
Do you think you’ll ever revisit the Cahill family? After all, Cissy
does have a half-brother, James. Might you create a plot around him?
My editor and I have discussed James’s story and we have a few ideas floating around, so I’m hoping that, yes, I’ll be able to bring
the Cahills back to life again.We have one idea floating around that
could become a solid story. The Cahills are such a fun, dysfunctional
family that I love to write about them, and the fact that
they’re situated in San Francisco only makes them more interesting
to me. We’ll see.
Then again, Cissy is Marla’s daughter. Could you ever see Cissy
deciding to follow in her mother’s footsteps? What do you think
makes a person decide to turn to the dark side?
True enough, but Cissy is her own woman now and a mother. I
think if she’d turn to the dark side she would have to have some
horrible tragedy to deal with and how much angst do I dare throw
at her? Hmmm. I think some people are born unhinged and others
through tragedy, misfortune, abuse, and physical and mental trauma
can become darker, more evil personalities.
You’re answering these questions in October. What’s your favorite
thing about this time of year?
Besides Halloween? I mean, what can be a better holiday? Candy
and little kids dressing up and all the interest in the dead and
ghouls, witches, monsters and ghosts? I love everything about fall.
Start with the crisp air and the leaves turning color. I like fog and
rain and dreary days interspersed with those magical, bright sunny
afternoons. Autumn is a season of anticipation and change. The
weather is cool, the holidays are just around the corner, and what’s
better that sitting around a fire, drinking tea or coffee or wine while
a storm rages outside? Yes, I love this time of year!
What have you been reading for fun these days?
I’m in the middle of my sister Nancy Bush’s Dangerous Behavior. So
far, I’m loving it. It’s a thriller set on the Oregon coast, which I love.
I just finished Ken Follett’s Fall of Giants, which is a huge tome set
during World War I and which I found absolutely fascinating. I
couldn’t help compare that era with what’s going on in our country
today. Kind of scary. Then I recently read Stephen King’s 11/22/63, which I totally loved. I’m in awe of how he wove that story with his
fictional characters and real history, but then again, he’s a master. I’ve
also recently read John Sandford, Rosalind Noonan, Harlan Coben,
and Linwood Barclay, some of my fave authors. I can’t keep up! My
To Be Read pile grows so fast.
Care to tell us anything about the new projects you’ve been working
on?
I’ve got several irons in the fire right now. I’ll be working on Willing
to Die, the next book in the Grizzly Falls, Montana, series with
Detectives Alvarez and Pescoli. Now that Reagan Pescoli has a new
baby and a new boss, she’s got some tough choices to make. Also,
I’ve had the next book in the series with Detectives Bentz and
Montoya approved, so I’ll be writing that along with another single
title that has yet to be named. So I’m busy. As I finish the books
and get closer to the publication dates, I’ll have more information
for all of you. Please check my website www.lisajackson.com or on
Facebook under Lisa Jackson fans, or on Twitter.