Ask the Author: David Baldacci

Answered Questions (20)

Sort By:

An error occurred while sorting questions for author David Baldacci.

Hi David -- You have a history of developing a large number of three-dimensional characters and providing deep understanding of sub-cultures to which most of us are not exposed; yet your stories never get bogged down in the details. What are your litmus tests for how much detail to provide, how to spread them out so as not to lose momentum and at what point to let the plot begin its final stretch run?

David Baldacci Thanks for writing, Tracy. On plotting and character, it's really almost an instinctual feel. Turn the tap on and off, providing just enough info to whet the reader's appetite. Bits and pieces of a character come out with tantalizing references to more to come. You want to tell enough to get people curious but you don't want to have an info dump that ruins the pace of the book. Less is definitely best.

29 likes · like
1 comment

Love your books!!! I was all excited over a year ago when I saw a TV ad about a new TV series based on your books with the King & Maxwell characters. I keep waiting for it. Did I miss it? Would appreciate knowing if it ever got started or if not, the anticipated starting date. I know it will become a favorite TV series of mine. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Gloria Maturi Whitehouse Station, NJ

David Baldacci Hi Gloria! King and Maxwell will be back (in print, anyway; TNT did not renew the television series). They were my first series and I don't think I can live without them.

11 likes · like
2 comments

Your books always have amazing plot twists. Do you come up with a basic plot then intentionally plan a surprise twist, or does it just happen in the course of writing? In other words, are your books carefully planned before you start writing, or do you just start writing and let the story develop?

David Baldacci Hi John. I don't outline the book before I write. I'm a spontaneous writer and I let the twists and turns evolve naturally as I'm writing.

7 likes · like
1 comment

David I am BIG fan of yours. I am so happy that I can ask you something about your books and writing!!!!!!!! I am currently reading Absolute Power and I am in love. So,I want to know if you will write another A. Shaw book?A third one?? I read the book 2 and i am sad for what happen.

David Baldacci Hi Brenda; thanks for writing. Shaw is a great character and I would love to bring him back. I just have to find the right plot in which to do so. He has had it tough, I would agree. The guy deserves some happiness, but then again, there's not a lot of happiness in thrillers!

13 likes · like
2 comments

Desde Colombia. I justd finish ABSOLUTE POWER and is Brillant, ¿which is the character is the hardest to kill?

David Baldacci It was very tough to kill Luther. In fact, in the movie version he was played by Clint Eastwood and they found it impossible to kill him, so he lived! That's Hollywood for you.

58 likes · like
7 comments

Unlike many others, I have only had the opportunity to read one of your books, The Collectors. I absolutely loved it. However, I have recently purchased: Stone Cold, The Camel Club, and Last Man Standing. Of the three, which one did you enjoy writing the most? That will be the next one I read.

David Baldacci Hi Dustin; thanks for your question. Of the three, I'd probably say STONE COLD, because it was the culmination of three books in the Camel Club series and I think the ending of the novel was one of my most powerful.

3 likes · like
Comment

You clearly have a profound respect for service members; which special operations group do you find most intriguing and why do you feel this is so?

David Baldacci I do indeed. I'm most intrigued by the Army Rangers, by the Navy's SEAL Team Six and by the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team.

2 likes · like
Comment

How much research do you need to do before publishing a book?

David Baldacci It depends on the subject matter, but you can usually count on at least a couple of months.

2 likes · like
Comment

Your characters all have way more exciting jobs than anything I was ever offered in Washington, back in the day—I can imagine you get great feedback from people who work at the CIA and the Secret Service. What kind of feedback do you get from your CIA/FBI/Secret Service readers? Do they write in with plot ideas? (Not that you need them….)

David Baldacci Hey, Joe! The feedback has been very positive. I think they like the fact that I do my research and try to get it right even though I don’t always present them in a favorable light. What they don’t like are writers who put them in stories and just make up how they do their jobs. I politely decline all plot ideas with a legal disclaimer. (Note to readers: Joe's newest novel, SUSPICION, published last week. Don't miss it.)

2 likes · like
Comment

Hello David, I am a big fan, almost read most of your books and especially love the King and Maxwell series. Will the next book be out early next year? I know the chance for this year will be very slim as you are giving us Robbie and Puller.....Also hope to see them both become a real couple but of course would love what you have planned for them and their investigative adventures though! Elaine

David Baldacci Many thanks, Elaine! King and Maxwell will be back. In the meantime, look for John Puller's return in November in THE ESCAPE.

4 likes · like
Comment

Can we see more novels based on the characters of sean king and michelle maxwell ?

David Baldacci You will see more of King and Maxwell.

6 likes · like
Comment

I heard that you write more than one novel at a time .Is it true ? If so, how do you manage shifting from one novel to another ?

David Baldacci I have done that and it requires pretty good compartmentalization skills. Since you create the characters and their world, it’s easy to keep them separate. And while you may exhaust your creative well on one story, instead of calling it a day you can move on to something else. It's quite cathartic, actually.

3 likes · like
Comment

Do you have a family? And if so, how do you find the time to write your books? Lock yourself away in a room? Go out to the garage tot write, or the basement, send them all away for a vacation? I'm being silly, but some writers put put so many books, I wonder how they find the time. Also, do famous writers ever take the time to write short reviews for us up-coming suspense/thriller writers?

David Baldacci Writing requires a lot of “alone” time. Each writer has his or her own way of going about it. I don’t go off and lock myself in a cabin. I write in the middle of chaos, meaning smack in the middle of real life. I do my best to create quiet and solitude in my mind and then start to work.

9 likes · like
Comment

This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

David Baldacci There is lots of damage from not reading. Numerous studies show that your information base, experiences, tolerance, acceptance of new ideas can be depleted. Don’t know many bad things that come from reading. So keep cracking open those books.

3 likes · like
Comment

Hello, thank you so much for taking the time to answer questions. I've enjoyed many of your books, particularly Last Man Standing. Are you planning to write a sequel?

David Baldacci If I can find a worthy enough story for Web London, I will bring him back.

1 like · like
1 comment

David, Long time reader, fan of the Camel Club and Puller. In our club there have been comparisons between the Puller series and the Reacher series. I wonder if there are other styles that you try to emulate when writing new series, or if the settings and scenes just come to you. In other words, who do you read and admire?

David Baldacci I love to read and admire many writers, both in the thriller/mystery genre and elsewhere. Ludlum, Clancy, DeMille, Agatha Christie, Graham Greene, Eric Ambler, to name a few in the thriller/mystery field. Every writer needs to find his/her own way of doing things, his/her own voice.

1 like · like
2 comments

This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

David Baldacci Robie and Reel will be back. I have a lot left I want to do with them.

7 likes · like
2 comments

What are your writing routines?

David Baldacci They are typical for being atypical. Every day is different. Sometimes that’s good and sometimes not. But it’s long solitary hours, days and months.

1 like · like
Comment

What have you read lately that you loved?

David Baldacci I AM PILGRIM by Terry Hayes. A great international thriller.

3 likes · like
1 comment

Dear Mr. Baldacci, You probably read (or maybe you didn't, you're a busy person, after all) the message I sent you on your website. In case you didn't, I just wanted to ask: is there going to be a sequel to your book, "The Finisher"? Because I really enjoyed it, and the ending suggested that more was to come. -Lucia the Book-Addict

David Baldacci Dear Lucia: Many thanks for your question. There will indeed be a sequel to THE FINISHER; I've already started writing it. Vega Jane, Delph and Harry Two will be back!

110 likes · like
9 comments

122,379 followers

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions