1. You’ve written more than two dozen novels, almost all of which have gone on to become New York Times bestsellers. It’s clear that your inspiration is boundless – but how do you determine from book to book which story to tackle next?
JG: I usually have a dozen story ideas running through my head at any given time, but eventually there will be one that fights its way to the front—the one that I can’t stop thinking about. In the case of FAST TRACK, I had already introduced the main characters, Aiden and Cordie, in a couple of other books. It was inevitable that these two would get together. I just didn’t know how. I actually thought about them for several years, and then their story just came to me. Generally my books begin with one scene. I see it playing out, and then I begin to ask questions about who is in the scene and what happens next. From there the story unfolds.
2 .At the center of your latest novel, Fast Track, exists a rock-solid father-daughter relationship. What is it about this kind of relationship that makes it perfect to serve as the springboard for such an emotionally charged, complicated story?
JG: I love to write about families. To me, the dynamics and emotions among family members always make for interesting stories. Some family relationships are loving and happy, and some are toxic. I’ve written about almost every type, from a sociopathic mother with no motherly instincts in KILLJOY to a close-knit New England brood in my Buchanan books. Cordie’s bond with her father was a strong and caring one. He was the only family she had, and she was devoted to him, so when she discovers a painful secret from his past, she instinctively wants to do something about it.
2. Where did you find the inspiration for this particular story’s intricacies – the mysterious roots, the complicated familial ties, the dangers and benefits of such ties?
JG: As I said, it took me a while to know Cordie’s and Aiden’s story, but I finally found it in MURDER LIST, the book in which these two first appeared. In that story I describe Cordie as a woman who is a contradiction because she’s beautiful and feminine but also comfortable working on a car, the result of being raised by her father after losing her mother at a young age. I knew the relationship between father and daughter had to be pretty special, but I didn’t know anything about the mother. When I began to explore her character a little more, I found out what happened to her, and it became a really intriguing story that would put Cordie an Aiden together in the right place at the right time.
3. If a reader were coming to your novels for the first time via FAST TRACK and, naturally, wanted more after the conclusion of Cordie and Aidan’s story, which of your books would you recommend he or she pick up next?
JG: I’d recommend they look at MURDER LIST and FIRE AND ICE. These two books precede FAST TRACK and are about Cordie’s best friends, Regan and Sophie.
4. Any thoughts on where your next book will start off?
JG: I’m working on it now. It’s a little early to tell much, but I can reveal that it’s about a young woman whose dreams have been taken away by a family crisis. She’s put up so many shields in her life she doesn’t believe she needs anyone…and then she meets the man who is going to change everything.
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