Flawed characters are real: Amos Decker

With over a 110 million copies in print, David Baldacci is one of the most popular thriller writers of the last decade. The bestselling American novelist started his career in 1996 with the novel Absolute Power and has created some of the most compelling characters since then, including Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, John Puller and more recently, Amos Decker. After last year’s Memory Man, Baldacci is back with another Decker thriller, The Last Mile. The lawyer turned author shared a glimpse of his writing world with After Hrs…

The characters in your novels are always flawed and Amos Decker is no exception. Do you find it more challenging to write flawed characters?

Flawed characters are real characters. I don’t write about perfect people because I don’t know any. And I don’t think people want to read about perfect people. The story gets silly after a while. Plus, with flawed characters you can see them evolve through the story and become, if not better, at least wiser. Transformations like that happen in real life and allow the reader to make a connection with a character.

What kind of research did you put in for The Last Mile?

I researched the criminal justice system and capital punishment, both of which I knew a fair amount about, being a lawyer myself.  I continued to research Decker’s hyperthymesia and the fact that it can continue to evolve and further change him. I also had to do some football research but I’ve been a fan for a long time and already had a good grounding in the vernacular and sport.

The novel, along with being a taut crime thriller, touches upon the issue of racism as well. Is it an issue that is close to your heart? Or something that you think deserves attention and needs to be addressed?

I grew up in the South in the 1960s. Racism was all around me. And racism still persists in the country, and pretty much every country in varying degrees. We will never be able to fully eradicate it, but we can come damn close. And we should take every step to ensure that we do.

Does the story develop in your head as you go along or is it in your head from start to finish when you begin writing it?

It evolves organically day by day. I never outline the whole story. I never know the ending before I sit down to write it. I like inspiration and epiphanies to play a role in the creative process. It makes it more fun.

Did your career in law help you in your writing career?

Absolutely. It built in discipline and a work ethic that has served me well. Plus, as a lawyer you’re a writer who is expected to write persuasively. Some of the best “fiction” I ever wrote was when I was a lawyer!

You’re one of the most successful thriller writers of the last decade. Is it still a big high for you when you see someone reading your book or when someone gives you a good review?

Yes it is. That never gets old. For a long time I never thought I’d be published. I never take any of this for granted.

What’s the one tip you would give a person who wants to write a good thriller?

Don’t necessarily write what you know about, but what you’d like to know about. That passion will carry you through the entire process of writing the book. If you don’t care about the subject matter, you’re going to run out of creative juice long before you’re done.

The writers he admires…

Eric Ambler, Robert Ludlum, Patricia Highsmith, Thomas Harris, Patricia Cornwell, John LeCarre, Nelson DeMille