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Interview: Author, John Locke
Filed in Interview , John Locke , The Sexy Lover Posted on March 23, 2010 @ 6:02 am
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We are happy to have John Locke, author of the Donovan Creed series, here today to answer our questions.
The Sexy Lover: Hello John. Thanks for letting me ‘grill’ you.
I have read all three novels in your Donovan Creed series which I think are wonderful.
John Locke: Thank you. I’m honored to hear you say that.
The Sexy Lover: Of the three so far which has been your favorite?
John Locke: Probably Saving Rachel, since it moves so quickly. I really like the twists and turns, and feel it is more in line with the type of books I’ll be writing in the future.
The Sexy Lover: Which was the hardest to write or gave you the most trouble?
John Locke: Lethal Experiment was a very difficult write because I got too much input. By the time I finished, I’d used three different editors. Winslow Eliot saved the novel. I’d gotten so frustrated by the first two editors, I nearly tossed it in the trash!
The Sexy Lover: Which was the easiest to write?
John Locke: Saving Rachel. The words just flew off the computer. It only took two weeks to write, and the final 20,000 words were written in just two days. I doubt I’ll ever write one that fast again!
The Sexy Lover: Of all the genres you could have chosen to write, why crime/drama thrillers?
John Locke: These are the types of books I like to read when I’m relaxing. It seemed a natural place to start as a writer. I also like the counterpoint that humor provides to a serious subject like crime.
The Sexy Lover: You been in a lot of different careers, what made you decide on becoming a writer? Or was it something you’ve always wanted to do?
John Locke: I’ve wanted to write a novel since the seventh grade. I wrote about a hundred pages that year, and made a couple of tries since then, but never saw it through. I did write a couple of non-fiction books and a number of business manuals, but fiction had been a life-long goal. The thing that finally got me started was the free time I had when I was trying to complete our lake house in Western Kentucky. I had no computer or TV, and lots of time on my hands and so I just started writing. Only this time, I started with my characters instead of my story. And that’s what works for me: character driven novels.
The Sexy Lover: So back to Donovan Creed.. How did you come up with this character and his world?
John Locke: I wanted to create a guy who could say and do all the things I wanted to say and do. I’ve been in hundreds of real-life situations where I thought of the perfect retort after the fact. That’s the value of speaking through a character—you have the time to feed him a perfect line, and he can deliver it at the right time. As for Creed’s world, I create a character like Creed and study him, learn all I can about him, then put him in a situation and write how he reacts to it.
The Sexy Lover: Donovan Creed goes through a lot changes since Lethal People… Where do you see him going next?
John Locke: I just completed my fourth novel, Now & Then, which is in two parts. Part One follows Creed and his girlfriend on vacation in a small beach town in Florida, as he solves a mystery. Part Two is a pirate adventure that goes back 300 years and sets the historical backdrop for the first half of the novel. In my fifth book, Wish List, Creed will be the narrator of the book, and only make a couple of minor appearances. As I told a Creed fan last week, I don’t want to fall into the trap of having Creed beat up five guys in every book. By making him a secondary character in Saving Rachel, we get to see how other people react to him. By making him the narrator of Wish List, you get to see what it would be like to have a drink with Creed and hear him tell a wild story. I believe I can define a character more thoroughly by letting the reader view him in different roles.
John Locke: I just completed my fourth novel, Now & Then, which is in two parts. Part One follows Creed and his girlfriend on vacation in a small beach town in Florida, as he solves a mystery. Part Two is a pirate adventure that goes back 300 years and sets the historical backdrop for the first half of the novel. In my fifth book, Wish List, Creed will be the narrator of the book, and only make a couple of minor appearances. As I told a Creed fan last week, I don’t want to fall into the trap of having Creed beat up five guys in every book. By making him a secondary character in Saving Rachel, we get to see how other people react to him. By making him the narrator of Wish List, you get to see what it would be like to have a drink with Creed and hear him tell a wild story. I believe I can define a character more thoroughly by letting the reader view him in different roles.
The Sexy Lover: I see that Now & Then is the next addition to the Donovan Creed saga. Any hints or spoilers about what is going to happen in this novel?
John Locke: The underlying premise of Now & Then is that there are people in the world who quietly, without asking for anything in return—heal our pain. While on vacation with his new girlfriend, Rachel (wink!), Creed stumbles on one of these special people. Of course, even while on vacation it’s hard for Creed to escape his past, and those who want to kill him.
The Sexy Lover: What is one thing that might surprise readers and fans about John Locke?
John Locke: At one time I was one of the premier insurance salespeople in the world. The Sexy Lover: I hate to ask (and you don’t have to answer) yet has it been hard for you ever since “Lost” premiered on ABC? I don’t know how one can prepared themselves to find a character having your name. Or do you take it all in stride? Are you a “Lost” fan?
John Locke: Just today someone asked me about it, and I said, “That guy on TV stole my name AND my hair style.” I loved the first two seasons. Then it sort of “lost” me. The Sexy Lover: Is there anything else you would like the readers and fans to know about you?
John Locke: I’m learning my craft as I go, and have gotten a lot of feedback along the way. I now know what you want from me: fun, fast-paced, dialogue-driven novels with twists and turns. And that’s what I’m going to give you! The Sexy Lover: Thank you for taking the time to let me interview you.
John Locke: My pleasure! Any time!
About John Locke:
John Locke’s career journey from rock and roll singer—to door-to-door salesman—to the creation of more than a dozen multimillion dollar companies, he has encountered a wellspring of bizarre people from which to craft his unique characters. He is the author of three fiction books, Lethal People, Lethal Experiment and Saving Rachel, and two nonfiction books, Dynasty in the Making and Qualities of Character. He lives in Kentucky
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