by Nicholas DeSutter & Keshia Polston
The novels of internationally bestselling author Harlan Coben, currently one of America’s most beloved crime writers, arouse our inner detectives and the suspense keeps us awake all hours of the night.
Coben began his writing career with the highly successful Myron Bolitar series about a sports-agent-turned-sleuth. His recent stand-alone thrillers have topped the New York Times bestseller list. His most recent work, The Innocent, was released in April. Coben has won the Edgar, the Shamus, and the Anthony awards; the only author to win all three. One False Move earned him the prestigious Fresh Talent award. His short story, "A Simple Philosophy" was nominated for the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Agatha awards. International awards include the W.H. SMITH Thumping Good Read award and Le Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle for fiction. Finally, Coben is the only American to ever be nominated for the Author of the Year British Book award.
A graduate of Amherst College, he was born and brought up in New Jersey, where he still lives with his pediatrician wife, Anne, and their four children. Pomp and Circumstantial Evidence had the opportunity to ask Mr. Coben a few questions:
PCE: What types of research did The Innocent require? How much time did you devote to researching for the novel?
HC: I’m more from the "hum a few bars and fake it" school of research. I also like making a lot of phone calls rather than doing a lot of reading. Talking to someone who actually does the job – cop, lawyer, doctor, whatever – often gives you an insight standard research won’t.
PCE: Why do you consistently write about the middle class? There seems to be a reoccurring presence of corruption among most of your middle class characters. Why do you feel that focusing on middle class corruption is successful in your novels?
HC: I don’t write books about serial killers or conspiracies that reach the White House. I prefer to write about people like you and me, people who are trying to do their best and live their lives and raise their kids and buy into the American dream. But where dreams seem to come true, well, that’s a ripe arena for things to go very wrong.
PCE: In most of your books you seem to generate a voice of reason in one of your characters. For example, in Tell No One, Tyrese is a crooked and foul character. However, his underlying character is loyal and reassuring. Do you purposely develop this good/bad persona? If so, who fills this role in The Innocent?
HC: Nothing purposeful about it, but I don’t like black and white. I prefer grays. That’s why the bad may do good and vice versa. People in real life surprise you. They are rarely consistent. Why should it be different in fiction?
PCE: All of the characters in your novels seem to possess minor and/or major personality flaws. Do you emphasize these flaws in order to expose man’s vulnerability, or do you do it in order to help the reader relate to the character?
HC: I don’t think about things like this. I don’t say, "Gee, she needs a minor flaw here." I try to create a flesh-n-blood character you’ll be interested in reading about. Perfect people are a) nonexistent, b) boring.
PCE: After seven Myron Bolitar novels, did you find it difficult to switch to stand-alones?
HC: Very difficult. But ultimately it was very freeing.
PCE: It seems as though you have a special affinity for your home of Newark. Is Newark conducive to your plot developments?
HC: I have a love/hate relationship with the city of Newark. You see its potential but mostly you see the decay. People talk about what the riots in the late 60s did to Watts and Detroit – but neither was crippled like Newark.
For the most part, I stay out of the city and dwell in the nearby suburbs. The difference between the places is staggering. The suburbs are what I know – the final battleground of the American Dream. That’s where I like to play.
PCE: After writing several New York Times bestsellers, do you find yourself with more pressure to write your next bestseller? If so, then how do you stay focused? If not, how do you continue to generate new and creative ideas?
HC: Not more pressure – different pressure. But it’s kind of a funny question that I get a lot. There was plenty of pressure before, when I wasn’t selling so well and I feared I’d never get published again! Being a midlist author – that’s pressure! This pressure, well, this pressure I love.
That said, the real pressure – the true pressure – still comes from within: I want to write a better book every time out. No editor or publisher is as tough on me as I am.
PCE: For you, does writing become easier with success, or does it become more difficult?
HC: About the same, maybe slightly more difficult. While I’m not complaining about it at all, the demands on your time are far greater. You need to tour more. You need to do more interviews. Like, uh, this one.
PCE: What projects can we expect from you in the future, and when will we see them?
HC: I am immensely dull. I finish one novel, I start on the next. I just finished touring for The Innocent and am now working on next spring’s release. I don’t talk about what comes next because it drains the energy. In short, I’m DYING to tell you about this wonderful new book, but the only way I can do that, the only way I’ll allow myself that satisfaction, is to write it.
Coben’s passion for and dedication to his writing are unmistakable. With news of next spring’s release, we’re waiting eagerly to see what he has in store for us. In the meantime, his bestsellers keep crime writing aficinados satisfied. N
(Article written by Magna interns Nicholas DeSutter and Keshia Polston. Nick is a student at Ball State University. He is a junior majoring in Business Entrepreneurship. Keshia is a sophomore majoring in Psychology.)