fiction

Forrest Gump’s Alter Ego: Author Winston Groom

Bill Thompson
Photo by Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant

Only a handful of novels ever become major motion pictures And of those only a tiny number produce a character who lives on in our imaginations for years to come.

The author of one such book was Winston Groom. He enjoyed modest success as a writer — and then a novel he wrote in 1986 was made into a movie.

Get your copy of Winston Groom’s book

Since its release in 1994 “Forrest Gump” has become one of the most popular movies of all time. It has contributed phrases that are now part of our everyday lexicon.

IN 1995 Groom continued Forrest;s story in a book called Gump & Co. Being a big Forrest fan, I jumped at the chance to talk with him about it.

So here now, from 1995, Winston Groom.

Winston Groom died in 2020. He was 77.

Brad Meltzer Once Imagined a Leaky Supreme Court

Bill Thompson

It’s the first Monday in October, the day that traditionally the United States Supreme Court returns to work after its summer recess.

Behind the scenes at the high court are a few dozen law clerks, the young lawyers who do much of the work that ultimately is reflected in Supreme Court rulings.

It was his fascination with the largely unrecognized power of those clerks that inspired thriller writer Brad Meltzer’s first novel, published 27 years ago, a book he called The Tenth Justice.

Get your copy of Brad Meltzer’s book

Building on that simple premise of “what if?” Meltzer imagined what could happen if a Supreme Court clerk inadvertently leaked a decision before its official release.

This was the first of many interviews I’ve had with Brad as his popularity has exploded,

So h3ere now, from 1997, Brad Meltzer.

Brad Meltzer is 54 now. He lives in Florida.

How ‘Term Limits’ Launched Vince Flynn’s Thrilling Career

Bill Thompson

Fed up with business as usual in Washington, DC?

This election cycle may feel like a new phenomenon, but that voter frustration has been around for decades.

Get your copy of Vince Flynn’s book

Back in 1997 a young dyslexic sales and marketing executive, temporarily employed as a bartender, turned his own frustration into his first book, a self-published political thriller called Term Limits

It got only lukewarm reviews – some even hated it. But readers ate it up. and Vince Flynn’s professional writing career was launched.

His second book introduced us to a counterterrorism specialist named Mitch Rapp, who was then featured in a bestselling series of Flynn thrillers.

Vince was a popular speaker on book tours, so I had the chance to interview him several times over the years. But today let’s go back to where it all started, our conversation about Term Limits.

So here now, from 1998, Vince Flynn.

Vince Flynn died from cancer in 2013. He was 47.

From Murder Scene to Murde3r Scene: Crime Writer Edna Buchanan

Bill Thompson

Edna Buchanan joined the Miami Herald in 1973, working the police beat. And she was good at it. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for her reporting.

By the late 1980s, she had turned to fiction writing, The real life stories she had covered became the raw material for her fiction.

And it turned out she was really good at that, too. Many of her books became best sellers, and a couple were turned into movies.

Get your copy of Edna Buchanan’s book

But she also wrote several nonfiction books, including one in 1992 called Never Let Them See You Cry. That’s when she and I had one of our several conversations over the years.

So here now, from 1992, Edna Buchanan

Edna Buchanan is 85 now, and still lives in Florida.

Rita Mae Brown: Bestselling Author and Pioneering LGBTQ 0Advocate

Bill Thompson
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Since her college days in the early 1960s Rita Mae Brown has been an advocate for the LGBTQ community. Long before it was known by that shorthand descriptor..

She was also active in the anti-war movement, the feminist cause, and the lesbian liberation effort.

She holds two doctorates, in literature and political science.

Get your copy of Rita Mae Brown’s book

But she is also widely known for her fiction, her “cozy” mysteries as well as her standalone novels. Her book Rubyfruit Jungle, published in 1973, has become a literary classic.

I met her in 1993, when we had the first of what would be many conversations in the years that followed. We talked about her novel Venus Envy, the story of a young woman who makes one of those life choices that changes everything – and not always for the better,

So here now, from 1993. Rita Mae Brown.

Rita Mae Brown Is 79. She lives in Virginia.

From Insider to Author: Susan Ford’s White House Thriller

Bill Thompson

Susan Ford was 17 when her father, Gerald Ford, became the nation’s 38th president, and she moved into the White House.

The youngest of the Fords’ children, and the only daughter, Susan acclimated to her new surroundings, absorbing details about the history and protocols of the First Family’s home.

And years later, she drew upon that intimate insider’s knowledge to write fiction, a mystery set in the White House, complete with scandal and intrigue. .

Susan Ford at 17

In a nod to her real life profession, and that of her book’s main character, Ford called her book Double Exposure.

And alongside all the elements of a good, page-turning mystery Ford gave her readers some delectable tidbits about the White House and its mysteries.

Get your copy of Susan Ford’s book

So here now, from 2002, Susan Ford.

Susan Ford will be 67 in July. She lives in Texas.

Dean Koontz: Suspense, Horror, and 500 Million Book Sales

Bill Thompson

Most authors would be very, very happy if their books sold half a million copies.
Most would be thrilled if their books sold one or two million or five million or ten.

But Dean Koontz has sold 500 million books since his first one was published in 1968.

A master of suspense thrillers, with some horror thrown in, Koontz never fails to satisfy readers. His books routinely appear on major bestseller lists.

I’ve interviewed him several times, including our 2004 conversation about his thriller Life Get your copy of Dean Koontz’s bookExpectancy. What’s terrifying about the storyline is how ordinary his protagonist is, except for the deadly things that could happen to him

So here now from 2004 http://Get your copy of Dean Koontz’s bookDean Koontz.

Dean Koontz will be 79 years old in July.Get your copy of Dean Koontz’s book

Comedy, Red Hats, and Inspiration: Damon Wayans’ Debut Novel

Bill Thompson
Photo by Brian Solis

Some inspirational words from Lionel Richie, and a chance encounter with a group of ladies with red hats, led to the first novel by actor, comedian, and writer Damon Wayans.

From his early years in movies (as the banana man in “Beverly Hills Cop”) to his days on TV’s “In Living Color,” as characters like Homey D. Clown, Wayans has proven his comedic abilities in many ways. And his novel Red Hats demonstrated his keen ability to create memorable, if sometimes irascible, characters.

Our conversation about his book was a little more sedate than his TV sketches.

So here now, from 2010, Damon Wayans.

Damon Wayans is 63 now, and is reportedly working on a new project with ABC.

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Zane: The Theologian’s Daughter Who Rocked the Erotica World

Bill Thompson

As the saying goes, sex sells.Books about sex can sell very well, if they are well written. And in the early 2000s a powerful new voice in erotica emerged, and dominated bestseller lists.

She wrote under the pseudonym Zane. Her short erotic stories attracted a loyal following on the Internet, inspiring her to self-publish The Sex Chronicles Before long, she had a book deal with Simon and Schuster.

I met Zane in 2004, when she had just published her novel Nervous. And this soft spoken theologian’s daughter had a lot to say about writing, and publishing.

So here now, from 2004, Zane.

Zane – real name: Kristina Roberts – is about 57 now, She published Strebor Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, publishing as many as 60 books a year.

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Neil Gaiman’s Literary Multiverse

Bill Thompson

British born Neil Gaiman is nothing if not prolific and versatile. He’s written short stories, novels, screenplays, poetry, even comic books and graphic novels.

And his fiction has won an entire trophy case full of major awards.

As a child, Gaiman started reading at age 4, and devoured books throughout his youth.

I met him in the fall of 2006 when he published a book of short fiction called Fragile Things.

So here now, from 2006, Neil Gaiman.

Neil Gaiman is 63. He lives in Wisconsin and Massachusetts.

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