L is for Lee Child

Last year was my first crack at the A-Z Blogging Challenge, a blogging phenomenon created by the amazing Arlee Bird. The object is to blog every day of the month of April (except Sundays), and to increase the challenge (if you want), to blog thematically from A to Z. No sweat, right? Last year, I blogged about music with Jessica Bell. This year, I'm heading back to my roots and blogging about all things thriller. Join me?

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I saw Lee Child speak at Thrillerfest a few years ago. Despite his crazy success, he's very humble, and in fact, said these untrue words: I don't really know much about writing.

If you've read Lee Child book and are a bonafide "Reacher Creature" (an ode to his main character Jack Reacher), you absolutely know this is a bold-faced lie. Lee Child is one of the most talented thriller writers in the industry.

His style is unique. There's no flowery prose in a Jack Reacher book - his sentences are short, to the point, as tight as it gets. At first, it almost seems choppy, sometimes repetitive, until you realize the staccato is part of the writing charm. 

Lee Child's books are fast-paced. The dialogue is effective. And even though Reacher is not a typical hero (aka: he isn't Tom Cruise and it's sad Tom was cast for that role in the movie adaptation), I don't know many women who aren't crushing on him. 

What's perhaps most inspiring - or frustrating - about Lee Child's publishing story is that writing wasn't what he wanted to do. He started his first book because he had just lost his job and needed to earn a living for his family - and figured writing a book would do the trick. (Don't we all?) His first effort, The Killing Floor, was picked up by a publisher, and he's never looked back.

Never read a Lee Child? Start with the first, if you can.

Are you a Reacher Creature? How do you feel about Tom Cruise being cast in the coveted role?

- Dawn