Dave's Summer Adventures and Lisa Gardner's Latest Thriller!
On today's 240th episode of The Thriller Zone, your favorite host, Dave Temple, is diving into a conversation with the fabulous Lisa Gardner, who’s been busy crafting her latest thriller, "Kiss Her Goodbye."
Right off the bat, we’re digging into the heart of the story, which revolves around the intense and emotional journey of a mother and her daughter, who won’t stop searching for each other, no matter the odds.
I mean, talk about a nail-biter! Lisa shares some behind-the-scenes insights on her research process, which took her deep into the world of Afghan refugees and the challenges they face.
Folks, it’s not just about the thrills; it’s about connecting with real human experiences that tug at your heartstrings.
So grab your favorite snack and settle in, because this episode is packed with laughter, heart, and a whole lot of literary goodness!
LEARN MORE AT: LISAGARDNER.COM + FOLLOW US AT: THETHRILLERZONE.COM
Takeaways:
- This episode features an engaging chat with Lisa Gardner about her latest thriller, 'Kiss Her Goodbye', which is packed with emotional depth and riveting storytelling.
- Dave Temple, the host, shares his experiences from a podcast convention, emphasizing the joy he finds in creating nearly 300 episodes over four years.
- Listeners are treated to a light-hearted discussion about the joys and challenges of writing, including the balance between reading and creating original works.
- The episode touches on the importance of research in writing, especially focusing on real-world issues like the experiences of Afghan refugees, which adds authenticity to Gardner's narrative.
- Gardner discusses the significance of character development, particularly the mother-daughter dynamic, and how it drives the emotional core of her stories.
- The podcast wraps up with Dave hinting at exciting new projects ahead, including his upcoming honeymoon, leaving listeners eager for what's to come.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Reframe.fm
- Doctors Without Borders
KEYWORDS: podcast episode, thriller podcast, Lisa Gardner interview, Kiss Her Goodbye, summer podcast episodes, writing thrillers, character development, research in writing, emotional depth in storytelling, Afghan refugees in literature, family stories in thrillers, mystery writing techniques, Dave Temple podcast, author interviews, book recommendations, travel and writing, podcasting tips, creative writing process, overcoming writer's block, storytelling techniques
- KEYWORDS:
00:00 - Untitled
00:07 - Introduction to the Thriller Zone
01:57 - Transitioning to New Ventures
16:26 - The Heart of the Story: Finding Family in Trauma
16:58 - The Journey of Hope and Resilience
28:50 - Exploring New Ideas in Writing
Foreign.
Speaker AWelcome to the Thriller Zone.
Speaker AI'm your host, Dave Temple.
Speaker AHappy summer or close to finishing the summer.
Speaker ACan you believe it?
Speaker AWhere has this summer gone?
Speaker AWell, I'll tell you one thing, I have been working most of the summer.
Speaker AYeah, I mean show after show after show.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AAugust, I slowed down a little bit.
Speaker ASeptember, I'm taking off now.
Speaker AI'm pre recording the show so that we'll drop in September, which when you see this, of course it will be September.
Speaker AHow you doing?
Speaker ABut yeah, wife and I are taking a little vacation which you'll hear about inside the show as I speak with our guest, Lisa Gardner, who has written this smashing book.
Speaker AKiss her goodbye.
Speaker ASo stay tuned for that conversation in a moment and we'll check back in with you in, oh, I don't know, October.
Speaker AI'm not going anywhere just yet.
Speaker AJust hang with me.
Speaker ADaddy needs a break.
Speaker ADaddy and mom are going to take a vacay.
Speaker AIt's about time, right?
Speaker AHey, listen, before we get going into the show, let me just say thank you so much for being there.
Speaker AI attended a podcast convention recently with my good friend Jonathan Ayala of Reframe fm.
Speaker AAnd I realized something that I have really thoroughly enjoyed recording this show.
Speaker AI really have.
Speaker AExcuse me while, I'll take some water.
Speaker AAnd I've thoroughly enjoyed the show four years in the making, approaching 300 episodes.
Speaker ASomebody asked me the other day, how many books have you read?
Speaker AAnd I'm like, probably close to 300.
Speaker ASeriously.
Speaker AEven some of the books that never made it on the show I was reading.
Speaker ACouple of things are going to change here.
Speaker AI'm not reading as many books as I would as I have been.
Speaker AYou know why?
Speaker ABecause I'm writing my own books.
Speaker AThat's right.
Speaker AOh, you want to see it?
Speaker ANo, I can't do that.
Speaker AI have been working on this book for some time.
Speaker AYou're going to hear more about that inside the show too.
Speaker ABut I realized, and I've been talking to a couple of my good friends, Jack Stewart, Anthony Goodell, a couple of different guys, Chris Haughty and just, and, and, and they keep saying to me, dude, why are you not spending more time writing?
Speaker AWe know how much you love books and how much you love to write.
Speaker AAnd, and so after four years and a lot of gray hair, can you believe the color of my hair now versus when I started?
Speaker AI should pull up a, a picture of me when I first started this show, which would have been 21.
Speaker AYeah, yeah.
Speaker ABrowner.
Speaker AMuch browner.
Speaker ABut anyway, my point is I, I want to do some more writing.
Speaker AAnd to do that writing, it takes research and travel, et cetera.
Speaker ASo that's why you're going to see me bounce in and out.
Speaker AAnyway, I'm also working on something else, something very new, very fresh.
Speaker AI'll share that in the coming days.
Speaker AI realized I've just hit the three minute mark of babbling and we got to get to the show.
Speaker ALisa Gardner is a delightful gal.
Speaker AI love speaking with her.
Speaker AShe's one of the good people, right?
Speaker AI mean, she's just.
Speaker AAnd she's talented.
Speaker AOh, my goodness.
Speaker AI did learn a few things inside today's show that I haven't known before.
Speaker ASo I think you're going to enjoy that.
Speaker ASo without any further ado, this is your host Dave Temple saying thank you once again.
Speaker AFeel free to reach out at any time atthethriserzone.com and stay tuned for some new, fresh, new fun stuff in the very near future.
Speaker ADavid, you're such a tease.
Speaker AAll right, folks, here's Lisa Gardner on the Thriller Zone.
Speaker AThat is so perfectly framed.
Speaker AVery nice top.
Speaker AVery nice books display.
Speaker BThis poor book cover is actually a little too shiny.
Speaker BWe're going to do this.
Speaker BWe're going to put in the non glossy.
Speaker AYou've been at this a while.
Speaker APlus I'll hold this up from time to time and I'll tilt it forward.
Speaker AI used to be a QVC host, so I, Yeah, I used to.
Speaker BYou know how to handle the gloss?
Speaker AYou got to do that.
Speaker AYou got to handle it like this.
Speaker AOne hand here, one hand here.
Speaker AAlways have a manicure.
Speaker AAnd tilt forward.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker BOh, I don't even have the manicure.
Speaker BI have gardening hands.
Speaker BOh, no.
Speaker AYou know, one thing, by the way, we're started.
Speaker AWelcome to the Thriller Zone.
Speaker AWelcome back.
Speaker BThank you, David.
Speaker BI'm happy we're able to make this work out.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker AThank you.
Speaker AYou know, one thing I don't always do, which I did with you this time, I went back to your acknowledgments.
Speaker AAnd, and I always find every once in a while I go in there, I'm like, who, who, who are these cats hanging out with and studying with and, and thanking?
Speaker AAnd one thing here, I, I, I think I knew this, but In March of 23, let's see, we got together and I think the last time we talked it was March of 24.
Speaker ASo we may have met.
Speaker BThat would make sense.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AMarch 24th, the last book.
Speaker BYep.
Speaker ABut you were you playing, literally playing with gray whales in Baja's California Magdalena Bay.
Speaker BOh, it was a fabulous trip.
Speaker BYou go out and it was National Geographic, and you just sit in little boats and the whales will come choose you.
Speaker BSo particularly the younger whales will play with the boats.
Speaker BWe had one day a large whale, it was blowing bubbles.
Speaker BThey'll dive under and around, and they're just curious and they just seem to enjoy, you know, amusing themselves.
Speaker ATwo things come to my mind.
Speaker AWhales and.
Speaker AAnd dolphins have this love of humans.
Speaker AAnd.
Speaker AAnd then on top of that, something that completely surprised me.
Speaker AAnd.
Speaker AAnd if you trust Instagram, Lisa, if you trust Instagram, I'm watching all these people hanging out with sharks and come to find out, I always thought the sharks are predators and we're just going to eat you regardless.
Speaker ABut some of these cats are under the water petting the sharks noses and, you know, some of them have rescued them in the past and the sharks know how to find them again, so they're operating on a different frequency than we are.
Speaker BAs a thriller author, perhaps I should be petting sharks, but I might not actually be that brave a traveler.
Speaker BI've done some pretty weird things.
Speaker AI'm going to stick to petting dogs.
Speaker AOkay.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker BI have mine on my lap in position right now.
Speaker AAnd what kind of dog do we have?
Speaker BI have a little Carn Terrier, like a Toto.
Speaker ANice.
Speaker AI love it.
Speaker AWell, kiss her.
Speaker AKiss her goodbye.
Speaker AFantastic read.
Speaker AWe're gonna.
Speaker AWe're gonna jump in here just to make sure we get everything done.
Speaker ABut referencing this research that you do, because Baja was research, right?
Speaker BReason, Absolutely.
Speaker AOkay.
Speaker AI know that you're a research junkie and it shines in this book, so I want to come out.
Speaker AI'm gonna come out with some heavy questions, then I'm gonna back off.
Speaker ABut between this refugee experience, the trauma, forensic detail, this book feels the only word I could think of because I always try to do this.
Speaker AI. I read the book, I take my notes, then I go, how does it.
Speaker AHow did it hit you?
Speaker AWhat does it make you feel?
Speaker AI'm like, this feels lived in, this feels real, this feels organic.
Speaker AIt feels a little bit more like I'm watching a movie rather than reading a book, which I always.
Speaker ATo me, that's the best compliment I could give you.
Speaker AAnd so to that point, do you think.
Speaker AHow do you think your dedication to this craft, the research, the digging so deep into real worlds shapes that emotional, psychological depth, which it does in spades of both Sabera.
Speaker AI hope I'm saying this.
Speaker ASabera and Zara's characters.
Speaker BSo for me, Kiss or Goodbye was the most intense research I'VE done.
Speaker BBecause it was also different.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker BI mean, to your point, I love to research, but being a thriller author, generally it's procedural.
Speaker BYou know, I'm with the FBI or the police or SWAT team.
Speaker BIt's all really good stuff.
Speaker BBut I'm learning how to do something well, to write this book about Afghan refugees and the experience of coming to the United States.
Speaker BAnd then I started to realize it is a family story.
Speaker BSo who they were also in Afghanistan was interviewing people.
Speaker BI felt like I got to be like my heroine, Frankie Elkin, a little bit.
Speaker BMy job was to.
Speaker BI had friends that were connecting me with various refugees, and I was amazed they were willing to talk.
Speaker BAnd then my job was to listen and just absorb their stories.
Speaker BAnd, oh, my goodness, the heartbreak.
Speaker BI mean, you know, it's going to be heartbreaking, but, I mean, there were sessions I just cried at the end.
Speaker BSometimes I cried with them at the end.
Speaker BI mean, it's a level of loss to lose your entire country, your extended family, your culture.
Speaker BAnd, I mean, Kabul fell in, like, eight hours.
Speaker BLike, I just.
Speaker BIt'd be like New York City was there in the morning and not in the afternoon.
Speaker BLike, I just.
Speaker BI can't even wrap my brain around it.
Speaker AAnd to that point, we take, as Americans, I think we take so much for granted because we live in this safe, open society where a lot of freedom is enjoyed.
Speaker AAnd when I read this story and I think about the folks in.
Speaker AOh, geez, I dropped the word Ukraine.
Speaker AYeah, You.
Speaker BYou.
Speaker AYou realize what we take for granted and how we shouldn't.
Speaker AAnd when I'm.
Speaker AAnd back to your.
Speaker AMy point in your acknowledgments, the volume of people that you thanked, which told me that all of this was verified, justified all along the way.
Speaker AIt's kind of mind blowing.
Speaker BI was so blown away by how many people were willing to talk to me.
Speaker BAnd it was also really interesting, too, because some things were challenging.
Speaker BYou know, when I start talking to refugees, one of the first one, a big, big chunk of the refugee experience.
Speaker BI mean, because it takes years to finally get placed in the United States or anywhere in the world.
Speaker BIt's a UN designation, it's legally recognized, but you have to wait for your placement.
Speaker BYou're spending that time in a refugee camp.
Speaker BAnd one of the first things all the volunteer coordinators told me when I was talking, speaking to the refugees here in the US that had been placed was, don't ask about the refugee camps.
Speaker BThey will not speak of it.
Speaker BIt's too traumatic.
Speaker BIt would be A rude thing to do for them, to put them back in that.
Speaker BSo don't ask about the refugee camps.
Speaker BSo now I'm like, but I can't relate this experience without talking about the refugee camps.
Speaker BBut actually the sister of my editor had volunteered in one.
Speaker BAnd after talking to her and getting hooked up with people like from Doctors Without Borders, I mean, hearing about those experiences was in many ways even more mind boggling because, I mean, some of these refugee camps, I mean, they're like a thousand percent overcrowded, but they work because of the volunteers, because of the refugees stepping up to help other refugees.
Speaker BWhat I learned is there are a lot of Frankie Elkins out there in the world.
Speaker BThere are a lot of strangers who've committed themselves to helping strangers.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AAnd thank God for that, right?
Speaker BYes.
Speaker AAt the heart, as we know, for those who have read it or are considering reading, is a missing mom and her daughter who won't give up.
Speaker ADo you connect more with the mystery itself or the mother daughter bond?
Speaker AAnd I know that's kind of an odd question, but I was.
Speaker ABut I think you know what I'm.
Speaker BSaying there, I feel the mystery doesn't work if you're not connected to that mother daughter bond.
Speaker BThat the whole point with a great thriller is what's at stake.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BI mean, we like the academic puzzle, the fact that there's codes in this book and a little girl even has this very cool riddle that I didn't actually know the answer to for a while.
Speaker BI mean, that's the fun stuff, but you get connected and tied into it because of the mother daughter and because it's something we can relate to as a parent, as a person.
Speaker AThe heartbreak and heartbreak potential is what we all relate to.
Speaker AAnd that's one thing I walked away with.
Speaker AAnd that's, you know, it's so funny.
Speaker AWe read thrillers to turn the pages and to escape and so forth.
Speaker ABut when you get a chance to be thrilled and moved at the same time, which doesn't happen if I'm reading two books a week, I don't, I don't run across that every month, is what I'm saying.
Speaker ALisa, There is some heart.
Speaker AThere is a lot of heart in a lot of the books, but there isn't the dramatic heart, loss, pain like in this book.
Speaker AAnd, and the other thing is, you know, Frankie never stays in one place very long.
Speaker AMakes me think of my radio career when I'm bouncing all over the country.
Speaker ABut I'm like, do you think that kind of drifting makes her stronger?
Speaker AOr just more lonely.
Speaker BWhat I love about Frankie is I'm still learning her.
Speaker BI think we all are.
Speaker BYou know, she's an everyday person on this crazy mission, you know, to search for the vanish that nobody else is even looking for.
Speaker BAnd it bounces her around, but in a way, I think she needs.
Speaker BI think Franke, if she stays in one place too long, it's almost like gets itchy, and that's when sobriety and returning to drinking become more and more of an issue for her.
Speaker BSo kind of being this Rolling stone, and I think we can all relate.
Speaker BIt's easier to solve other people's problems.
Speaker BIt's a great way to kind of avoid your own.
Speaker BI mean, maybe it's not the best method out there, but it's.
Speaker BIt's working for Frankie.
Speaker AYou put it.
Speaker ASo you put it well, because you.
Speaker AYou know what?
Speaker ALet me.
Speaker ALet me solve your problem because, geez, I do not want to put a mirror in my face.
Speaker BExactly.
Speaker BExactly.
Speaker AAnother thing I loved about this, and living in a Mediterranean kind of climate, as I do in San Diego, and we visit the.
Speaker AThe desert a lot because our families out there, the.
Speaker AThe.
Speaker AThe.
Speaker AThe feeling of desert was so vivid.
Speaker AI mean, I. I could.
Speaker AI could feel the heat coming off the page.
Speaker AAnd it.
Speaker AI get that it showed Frankie being out of her element, but I have to believe, again, circling back to my opening comment, this has to be a reflection of the love of your.
Speaker AYour love of desert and.
Speaker AAnd your travels.
Speaker AThat's one thing I love about your books is.
Speaker AIt's.
Speaker AI always know.
Speaker AOkay, if Lisa's talking about blank, blank, blank, blank, she's lived it.
Speaker BI love Tucson, though.
Speaker BI would admit one of the reasons I read about the heat so much is from the mountains of New Hampshire.
Speaker BIt was shocking knowing what it's going to be every time I walked out the door, it's like, oh, yeah, that's right again.
Speaker BI found it to be a very visceral experience, so it's possible that it's communicated on the pages of this thriller.
Speaker AYou know, And I got to bring this up just as a little side note.
Speaker AI was in Dallas last week for a podcast.
Speaker APodcast convention.
Speaker AAnd, you know, I'm this.
Speaker AI'm used to 72 to about 78 every single day, except maybe the dead of summer.
Speaker AOddly, it's reverse.
Speaker ABut I stepped off that plane.
Speaker AIt was 105 with 98.5% humidity.
Speaker AAnd I had forgotten, even being from the south, just how that could smack you in the face.
Speaker BYes.
Speaker BYes, exactly.
Speaker BI like Using the location though is also part of the stress.
Speaker BI mean, for Frankie.
Speaker BYeah, this is very stressful because not used to it.
Speaker BBut also when you talk about these families that are being placed and basically, you know, the murder unit means you're lucky because you got a cheap apartment.
Speaker BBut you know, the ACs are barely working.
Speaker BI mean, again, the amount of physical, financial, emotional pressure on these families.
Speaker BAnd I think the best thrillers, the best stories come from that place.
Speaker ANow this next question is going to feel like Captain Obvious and I should, I feel like I should be wearing a cap, going, you can call me Captain Obvious.
Speaker ABut Zara's determination to find her mom hit me.
Speaker ABut did it make you think.
Speaker AAnd it again, this is Captain Obvious.
Speaker ADid it make you think about how far you would go if what you'd have to risk for family?
Speaker AAnd I have to believe you did because to be able to put that viscerally on the page is your craft.
Speaker BWell, and what I loved when I was writing it is I didn't really know what to do with Zara, a four year old girl.
Speaker BAnd we need her because you have to have a heart to the story.
Speaker BYou really need a compelling reason why Frankie shouldn't just be looking for this missing mom, but she must find her.
Speaker BYou know, this four little girl who was born in a refugee camp, whose entire life has been trauma, needs her mom back.
Speaker BAnd that's a little like, I don't know, Charles Dickens.
Speaker BIt's like, well, yeah, okay, so at a certain point I'm like, no, we actually need to know who.
Speaker BZara needs to be her own person too, her own character.
Speaker BAnd it is a family we learn of kind of intellectual superpowers.
Speaker BYou know, the father's this brilliant mathematician, the missing mom has this gift with languages.
Speaker BIt's like, you know, Zara needs a gift and for her it's memory because what a curse also.
Speaker BAnd it does make her this old soul.
Speaker BAnd she, I just love when she first meets Frankie and Frankie's like, I swear she's looking right inside and she already knows every hope, regret, love, loss I've ever experienced in 30 seconds.
Speaker AIt's funny, you just used the exact four letter word that I said.
Speaker AIf it was.
Speaker AIf there was a tent pole holding this story up, it would be the word hope.
Speaker AWould you agree with that?
Speaker BYeah, absolutely.
Speaker BBecause that's the other thing.
Speaker BFor all the heartbreaking stories I heard to our point, everyone was so grateful to be here.
Speaker BI mean, being.
Speaker BYou don't know, will you be placed so to be Placed in America is like winning the lottery.
Speaker BWe remain so, such a beacon of hope.
Speaker BAnd these families have come from a terrible place.
Speaker BThey're facing terrible odds.
Speaker BBut here, there really is the stability.
Speaker BYou know, it's going to be tough going in the beginning, but, you know, they can.
Speaker BThey can work.
Speaker BThey do have a roof over their head.
Speaker BThey do have access to food.
Speaker BI mean, they can start making a new future for their family.
Speaker BAnd that is what it's all about, is all about their children, their future, and feeling safe again.
Speaker AWell, another point that happens in all of your books now.
Speaker AI have not read every single one of your books, Lisa.
Speaker AI've tried.
Speaker AI just don't have the time.
Speaker AThere's so many of them.
Speaker BI've been busy.
Speaker ABut in all of your, you know, all your books, love, your love of travel shines, do you find.
Speaker AHave you.
Speaker ACan you imagine yourself writing a book that does not involve travel?
Speaker AIn other words, I'm going to sit down and do something maybe completely different, but that does not involve that number one passion of yours.
Speaker AI can't imagine it.
Speaker BFor me, it's the refresher.
Speaker BI mean, to your point, I've been a writer for 35 years now.
Speaker BI've written a lot of thrillers.
Speaker BSo travel is often what I do right after finishing one book to kind of refill the well.
Speaker BAnd sometimes it's ending up at a location that's so cool.
Speaker BLike last time we spoke, a remote atoll which became the setting for Still See youe Everywhere.
Speaker BThis time it was meeting this couple.
Speaker BAnd over dinner, they're talking about their volunteer work with Afghan refugees in Tucson.
Speaker BAnd the more they talk about the obstacles and what this is really like.
Speaker BLike, I think I know what refugees.
Speaker BBut then when they were done talking, it's like, oh, I. I barely knew anything.
Speaker BIt's like, oh, my God, this is the perfect Frankie story.
Speaker AWell, again, not to make it about me, but my wife and I are gonna finally take a vacation.
Speaker AIt's our honeymoon.
Speaker AIf you wanna be really inside scoop on it.
Speaker AWe've only been planning this for about eight years, Lisa.
Speaker AFinally gonna do it.
Speaker ABut we're going to London.
Speaker ASo what could I study in London?
Speaker AAnd that's the first leg.
Speaker AThat's the first week.
Speaker ABy the way, folks, I'm gonna put this.
Speaker ANow, if you don't hear from me much in September, it's.
Speaker ACause I'm taking the entire month off.
Speaker ABut London, what have you done in London that I.
Speaker AYou go, David, inside scoop.
Speaker AYou gotta do this.
Speaker BWell, in that Way I'm kind of a boring traveler for you because what I love to do in London any place is just walk around.
Speaker BAnd actually London, I love the parks.
Speaker ANice.
Speaker BI mean, what an amazing collection of.
Speaker BAnd I mean the trees are hundreds of years old and the collection of the ducks in the.
Speaker BWhat is it?
Speaker BThe St. James Park.
Speaker BI mean, I can do.
Speaker BIt's like you came all the way to London to be in parks and it's like, yes.
Speaker BAnd it was great.
Speaker BAnd buy a little snack at a cafe and sit in the park and watch the people.
Speaker BI'm a people watcher, so.
Speaker BAnd you know, then the next book writes itself.
Speaker ASo let's see, 35 books.
Speaker AYou must have started when you were about 7 years old.
Speaker ASo here's my question.
Speaker ADo you.
Speaker AThere's, there's a couple things that I was.
Speaker AAs I was meditating over coffee this morning.
Speaker AI'm like, I want to ask Lisa.
Speaker AAsk that.
Speaker AI just standard questions like, what would you write if you weren't writing a thriller?
Speaker ASo hold that one for a second.
Speaker AYou know, there's bound to be.
Speaker AI, I know a writer is a writer and will write anything no matter what.
Speaker ASo I'd like to know what it would be if you weren't doing that number.
Speaker ADo you ever say to yourself, is there ever a moment where you're afraid where you go, oh, Jesus, I'm not gonna be able to pull anything out this time, you know, I know there.
Speaker AI know the gray matter is working.
Speaker AI just don't have anything.
Speaker ASo two part question.
Speaker BI've.
Speaker BOne of the things you get with time as a writer is you learn what helps you get in the groove or get unstuck.
Speaker BBecause it definitely does happen.
Speaker BFor me.
Speaker BIt's one of the reasons I live in the mountains.
Speaker BAnytime I'm stuck with a book where I need the next idea, like what is going to happen tomorrow in this novel?
Speaker BBecause I don't block, so I'm having to find it each day is that's hiking the mountains.
Speaker BIt's taking my dogs and hitting the trails.
Speaker BAnd by the end of it.
Speaker BOkay, now I got it.
Speaker BThis is what we're going to do.
Speaker BSo.
Speaker AOkay, hold on a second.
Speaker ATap the brakes.
Speaker AYou don't plot.
Speaker AYou just sit down and whip these four 40, 450400 pages of deliciousness just like that.
Speaker BI would like to say like that, but it's more like two steps forward, one step back, two steps forward, six steps back.
Speaker BIt is a messy, iterative, lots of revision along the way and Then there's this just, there's this.
Speaker BAll these years later, there's still this magic moment.
Speaker BAnd it's generally toward the end where you're all of a sudden, I know what this book is actually about.
Speaker BI actually, even better, I know who did it, because I don't.
Speaker BAnd the fact that, yeah, it, you just always get that magic moment.
Speaker BI think I come back for that as much as anything.
Speaker AAnd so back to the fear point.
Speaker AIs there anything that you just go, that you wake up, you sit down at the blank page, slash screen and you, you know, just something.
Speaker AWhat's the note?
Speaker AI wrote the note, very specific was what do you, what are you afraid of?
Speaker AWhat do you fear?
Speaker AI wrote it down here because I want to make sure I'm very specific.
Speaker AIt's, hold on, here it is.
Speaker AHow do you keep the fear, how do you keep the fear of failure at bay?
Speaker AAnd what's your biggest fear of writing?
Speaker BYou know, this is why I love belonging to writing communities, because the fear of failure and the sense of the imposter syndrome we call it looms very large.
Speaker BAnd I think for any artist probably is true.
Speaker BI think it helps for me that I'm a character based writer.
Speaker BSo weirdly enough, I think that this less is my book or at a certain point, this is Sabra's story, this is Frankie's story and I'm just trying to get their story out for them and having a little bit of a distance makes it less daunting.
Speaker AYou know, it's so funny, when I started writing and I've got 9 self pubmed under my belt now, I was all about, ooh, make the setting the star and make sure you have all the description words you possibly can.
Speaker AAnd with time.
Speaker AI know, I know, sorry, I'm admit, hey, I'm, I'm, I'm pulling my pants down here.
Speaker ABut 10 years, 20 years later, 10 years later, plus I go, all right, Dave, well, what kind of books do you really enjoy reading?
Speaker AI'm like, no, no, no, I like the books that you, I got the.
Speaker AYou walked into a park, it's dark, a sound is in the far distance.
Speaker AI'm always, I got scared.
Speaker AYou don't have to tell me what color the.
Speaker AYou know.
Speaker AYeah, so.
Speaker AAnd your, and your stories, your stories do that because here it is, characters.
Speaker AIf I'm interested in the characters, I don't care what the bloody hell you do.
Speaker AI don't care if you're, you're sitting in a room just talking.
Speaker AAnd you do that for A few pages on.
Speaker AHonestly, I mean, as much as I love to rip pages, if that, if those care, if I'm, if I love those characters, if I'm drawn to those characters and you're making me inspired or thinking or feeling or hurting or crying or laughing by the actions of those characters, I'm in.
Speaker BAnd that's how I am also, even as a reader.
Speaker BSo it's one of the things, I mean, I don't actually care about genre.
Speaker BI'll read anything.
Speaker BIt's the person, you know, if I care about the character.
Speaker BWe can be fantasy, we can be thriller, we can be cozy mystery, we can be coming of age.
Speaker BAnd so for me it has always been about the character.
Speaker AAll right, now I asked you a question and then I bounced over and I'll let you slip, but I'm going to come back around.
Speaker ASo if you weren't writing thrillers, mysteries, suspense and you can share it with me.
Speaker AWe're girlfriends, you can say that.
Speaker AWhat would you be doing?
Speaker BWell, I've had many people suggest and I kind of toss it around the back of my head.
Speaker BI love my dogs and animals and I've done animal rescue work and they're like, you tell funny little stories about your dog.
Speaker BLike it'd be great to do like a dog book of some kind or you know, and I don't like where the dogs are the characters kind of thing.
Speaker BAnd it's like that would be kind of fun or children's book, something like that.
Speaker BI don't know.
Speaker BIt'd be fun.
Speaker AOh, come on.
Speaker AI would so read that.
Speaker AI mean we have a 12, 13, 14 month old yellow lab and.
Speaker AOh, oh wait.
Speaker AOh wait, I'm gonna have to, I'm gonna have to.
Speaker BOh my goodness.
Speaker BAdorable.
Speaker ANow of course this is at, you know, six months, but the, and I've, I've had dogs in the past, but there's something magical about this dog.
Speaker ASomething just magical.
Speaker AThe way she'll look at me and sometimes talk to me.
Speaker AOkay, co kids, I'm not really crazy, but I would love that.
Speaker ALisa, I especially now, I don't know your little stories from your friends, but I, I would challenge you on a whim, on a funsy.
Speaker AI mean you're established enough as a baller writer.
Speaker AYou can do kind of whatever the hell you want to, so why not?
Speaker BIt's in the, you know, it's something I think about.
Speaker BBut in the meantime, for the record, the character that surprised me the most and kiss her goodbye that I actually threw in to challenge Myself and Frankie was Petunia, the green iguana.
Speaker BBecause I had a friend who had iguanas and loved them and kept telling stories about the iguanas.
Speaker BSit on his lap and he could pet the iguanas.
Speaker BI'm like, you're insane.
Speaker BDogs sit on laps.
Speaker BIguana should be outside, not on your lap.
Speaker BAnd I have to say petunia.
Speaker BI mean, I loved Petunia.
Speaker BBy the end, I am all up on my iguanas.
Speaker ANow, the juxtaposition of petunia for an iguana, yeah, that'd be like if you had a bull mastiff and you called it puff, you know, or, you know, muffin.
Speaker BPetunia has attitude.
Speaker BAnd we learned Petunia has some skills too.
Speaker BSo, I mean, I know I'm like all about iguana now.
Speaker AAll right, well, as we start to wrap, I. I asked you this before, back in March, and.
Speaker AAnd I'm going to ask it again, only because.
Speaker AAnd I. Geez, I. I did not remember you were a.
Speaker AA panther.
Speaker AWhat is that best writing advice that you.
Speaker AMaybe you have a sticky note on your desk.
Speaker AMaybe you have a pillow needle pointed across the room.
Speaker AI don't even know if you're into that or not, but a mantra that you live by, something that you're you, that you tell a good friend.
Speaker AMaybe not that you're going to tell a room full of strangers at a conference, but you'd say, hey, Sally, my good friend, if you had a friend named Sally.
Speaker AHere's my best writing advice.
Speaker BIf you want to do it, just reach the end.
Speaker BIt can be awful, it can be the shitty draft.
Speaker BWe call it the vomit draft.
Speaker BBut you have to get to the end because then you can fix it.
Speaker BBut if you write a ton of short, little, even the best words in the world or the best scenes, but you never actually produce a book.
Speaker BIt doesn't matter how brilliant those scenes are, there's nothing you can do with them, folks.
Speaker AStitch that on a pillow.
Speaker AYou know, it's funny, I was worried.
Speaker AI started yesterday about 5 o' clock in the morning.
Speaker AI finished last night around 8.
Speaker AI'm doing a. I'm building a website.
Speaker AI'm doing a few other things for some people and.
Speaker ABut I'm also working on a book.
Speaker AAnd at about 7 o' clock last night, I pulled out my book.
Speaker AI'm looking at my notes and I don't know what it was, why out of nowhere, I was going through my notes and I'm going, oh shit.
Speaker AThis big chunk right Here makes no sense.
Speaker ALike it makes sense, but it belongs maybe up there or there.
Speaker AAnd I started getting freaked out and I'm like, well, that's like 12,000 words.
Speaker AI can't just toss that aside.
Speaker ASo to your point, I thought, okay, let's just stop right now.
Speaker ABy then it was about 8:30, I'd had enough, go to bed, get up in the morning, get it, fresh eyes, hit it again and go, hey, at least you had all this written to your point.
Speaker ANow you can just trim it out.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BAnd it is weird.
Speaker BThere's sometimes I've written things and realized, oh, no, wait, that should be the beginning or that should be the middle.
Speaker BYou have it, you know, that's what you want to start with.
Speaker BAnd you need to give yourself permission to write badly, as long as you make it to the end.
Speaker AAnd see, this is kind of funny because.
Speaker AAnd I'm going to sound like a real idiot saying this, but I look at someone like you with your kind of track record and tenure, and I go, well, she.
Speaker AShe doesn't have any problems anymore.
Speaker AI'm sure there are other.
Speaker AMy listeners are going, you know, Lisa's.
Speaker AShe's an old pro.
Speaker AShe doesn't run into that.
Speaker ASo when I hear you go, oh, my God, it gives me hope.
Speaker BSo, yeah, kiss her goodbye.
Speaker BTortured me.
Speaker BIt was just.
Speaker BIt was so different.
Speaker BAnd then you learn so much, and now you're bogging it down and trying to find the heart of the novel, which really, it has to be the family.
Speaker BThe family.
Speaker BI mean, I feel like I wrote like five books to be able to give you this one.
Speaker BKiss her goodbye.
Speaker BAnd that's highly, highly inefficient, especially for someone who's been doing this for 35 years.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker AAre you at a place, Lisa, as we close, are you at a place where you can.
Speaker AAnd I know, look, we're all about.
Speaker AKiss her goodbye.
Speaker AFolks, you're gonna wanna get this.
Speaker ATilting, tilting, tilting.
Speaker AYou wanna get this and read it.
Speaker AYou'll enjoy it.
Speaker ABut is there something you're working on right now we can hear about?
Speaker BI'm actually really excited for my next novel, which will be a standalone for the first time in a long time.
Speaker BAnd it takes place in the mountains of New Hampshire.
Speaker BAnd I love the Gothics, and I grew up with romantic suspense and things like that.
Speaker BSo it's the mysterious young couple that buys this run that was the site of an infamous unsolved mystery where a family of six disappeared in the middle of the night and there's bloody footprints everywhere.
Speaker BAnd there's a stray dog named Dog that knows things no dog should know.
Speaker BI mean, it is really a lot of fun.
Speaker AOh, wow.
Speaker AAnd estimated drop date, 26 next year.
Speaker BYeah, probably August 2026.
Speaker BThat's the plan.
Speaker BIf you know who did it, feel free to tell me.
Speaker ALisa, thank you so much, folks.
Speaker AIf you want to know more, go to LisaGardiner.com Lisa is always such a pleasure and good luck to you here.
Speaker BSo much fun.
Speaker BEnjoy your honeymoon.
Speaker AThank you.
Speaker AAbout time, right?
Speaker BYes.
Speaker BThank you.