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Ransom From Daniel Silva A New Mission Fir Gabriel And It Includes Billions · Arroe Collins Like It's Live

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  Speaker 1: Ero dot net a r r oe dot net not
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  Speaker 1: just one podcast. Very easily, you could be scanning over
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  Speaker 1: twenty different podcasts every time you visit. One of the
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  Speaker 1: biggest ones that voice. I've spent over ten years with
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  Speaker 1: those featured on NBC's The Voice. Hear they're opening stories.
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  Speaker 1: Watch as they grow forward that voice only on ero
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  Speaker 1: dot net, r r oe dot net. Enjoy your exploration, Dan,
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  Speaker 1: I gotta tell you something. I'm so fascinated with your
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  Speaker 1: writing style because it's the type of book where I
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  Speaker 1: will sit there and I'll digest the chapter, and then
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  Speaker 1: I have a conversation with my wife and she'll go, so,
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  Speaker 1: what is the source of this? And I'll go He
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  Speaker 1: makes me feel like it's so real that I want
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  Speaker 1: to go on to chat GPT and read more about
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  Speaker 1: this Alice Winter, I want to know more about this game, Reel.
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  Speaker 1: I want do you understand what I mean? You write
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  Speaker 1: in such a real way that I feel like that, Man,
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  Speaker 1: this is my fix for news today.
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  Speaker 2: You know, it's it's a it's a it's a magic
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  Speaker 2: trick that I'm using. I'm casting a spell on you.
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  Speaker 2: I I have have studied great literature and and and
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  Speaker 2: great writing throughout my life and and try to apply
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  Speaker 2: the things that I've learned. And I do think that
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  Speaker 2: people have said this to me. You're not the first
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  Speaker 2: that my characters do just sort of jump off the
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  Speaker 2: page in a way that is not always true in fiction.
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  Speaker 2: And I don't know. I frankly, I don't know how
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  Speaker 2: I do it. But I do have a good uh
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  Speaker 2: set of characters in the books, and and Alice Winter,
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  Speaker 2: the the missing uh British uh socialize at the at
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  Speaker 2: the heart of this spot is really one of my
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  Speaker 2: favorite characters that I've done in a while. Wow.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, for that character to come to life inside your imagination.
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  Speaker 1: Now I've been hit to write a book while I'm
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  Speaker 1: more can in a mall, I could be in a forest,
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  Speaker 1: I can be just driving in the car. How did
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  Speaker 1: this story even come to you?
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  Speaker 2: I I start with broad brushes. Okay, so I've finished
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  Speaker 2: an inside job which was a was a Gabriel's trackdown
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  Speaker 2: and missing Leonardo and and I was like, okay, so
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  Speaker 2: but you know what's next? What's next? And I my
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  Speaker 2: wife is my is my primary editor, and I says,
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  Speaker 2: we have have a shorthand you know we can I said,
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  Speaker 2: this is what I'm thinking about I think it's time
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  Speaker 2: for this kind of story, and this is how I
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  Speaker 2: wanted to do it, and and I we could shorthand
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  Speaker 2: a novel, and honestly, we could plot a novel in
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  Speaker 2: about five minutes, just bouncing it back and forth and
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  Speaker 2: and with with with with her, and and so I
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  Speaker 2: I know enough of the story to get started. And
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  Speaker 2: but but Alice just, oh gosh, she just jumped off
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  Speaker 2: the page from the from the from the minute she
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  Speaker 2: appeared on I guess he's about the third page of
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  Speaker 2: the of the book which he actually steps on to
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  Speaker 2: the stage. And she's just one of those characters that
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  Speaker 2: I just loved writing. And uh, I'm not sure. I
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  Speaker 2: actually already have a plot in mind for another Alice
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  Speaker 2: Winter book at a certain point.
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  Speaker 1: Oh my god. Yeah, because you're you're writing style. I
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  Speaker 1: mean I really did look you up and say, did
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  Speaker 1: this guy come from radio? Because you have intention writing.
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  Speaker 1: In other words, it's like getting to the song hook
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  Speaker 1: as quickly as possible, and and that's what radio wants
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  Speaker 1: with with their songs. And I feel like that that
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  Speaker 1: you're taking me into this story, and it's like, man,
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  Speaker 1: we're getting to it right now. There's no he's he's
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  Speaker 1: not wasting time here. And that's what I feel about
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  Speaker 1: even Gabriel, is that you make Gabriel say boom boom boom.
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  Speaker 1: We're into Gabriel's life and it's like, okay, am I Gabriel?
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  Speaker 1: Am I gonna be Alice Winter? Who am I going
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  Speaker 1: to be inside this story? Because I want to be
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  Speaker 1: able to relate with it? And then all of a sudden,
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  Speaker 1: here comes Edward Knight and it's like, oh my god,
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  Speaker 1: they're all me.
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  Speaker 2: I did work as a broadcast writer. I think I
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  Speaker 2: was a news writer. I wrote for a number of
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  Speaker 2: different CNN anchors that helped me writing for different voices.
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  Speaker 2: I had to write my copies completely differently for all
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  Speaker 2: of the people that are for whom I was writing.
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  Speaker 2: I do have a I think a journalist's sense of
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  Speaker 2: timing and economy of words. I try to to do
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  Speaker 2: as much as I can using as few words as possible.
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  Speaker 2: It's still a lengthy book. It's almost one hundred thousand words,
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  Speaker 2: but I'm I do have an economy of language. I think,
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  Speaker 2: and I do I do. I do not waste time.
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  Speaker 2: I'm getting to the point, well.
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  Speaker 1: You do something that Mark Twain really talked about a lot,
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  Speaker 1: and he said that authors need to use their own language,
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  Speaker 1: their own their own style and accent, and you've got that.
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  Speaker 1: In other words, it would be like that if I
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  Speaker 1: were to sit down with an Alice Winter or Gabriel,
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  Speaker 1: you you present them in a way where I'm going. God,
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  Speaker 1: I know exactly where you're from. I can hear it
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  Speaker 1: in your voice and your tone. And what is that
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  Speaker 1: like for you to even write with a British accent
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  Speaker 1: for Alice Winter? Because I mean, do you hear British?
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  Speaker 2: I oh, definitely I hear I hear them. I might
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  Speaker 2: hear her voice. And I never work on a scene,
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  Speaker 2: you know, write a scene without visualizing it first. And
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  Speaker 2: more importantly, if it's a scene that involves two characters
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  Speaker 2: speaking to one another without listening to the scene first,
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  Speaker 2: I just close my eyes and just listen to them.
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  Speaker 2: If it's going well, I'm not making up anything. I'm
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  Speaker 2: writing down what I'm hearing. I'm eavesdropping on the characters,
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  Speaker 2: and so yes, I could I could hear so. So
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  Speaker 2: I hope that when you know when they when Gabriel
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  Speaker 2: and Alice are This is a little bit of a
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  Speaker 2: spoiler but when Gabriel and Alice are speaking to one another,
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  Speaker 2: that you can hear two different voices with two different accents,
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  Speaker 2: and without me having to say exactly what uh, you
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  Speaker 2: know what I did? I do say in this book
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  Speaker 2: that Gabriel has a certain type of accent. Uh. And
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  Speaker 2: but I write Alice, I write Alice the way she speaks,
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  Speaker 2: and I write Gabriel the way he speaks, and I
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  Speaker 2: write I write Edward Knight the way he speaks. And
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  Speaker 2: I hope that it comes through.
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  Speaker 1: I want to know how you stay focused with all that,
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  Speaker 1: because everybody seems to be carrying luggage, and for some
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  Speaker 1: I mean Edward and Alice, they've got something that's a
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  Speaker 1: little bit heavier than Gabriel. But the thing is is
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  Speaker 1: that what somebody's got to be your continuity director. Is
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  Speaker 1: that is that you personally or is that your wife
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  Speaker 1: coming in and saying, you know, great, great attempt here, Bud,
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  Speaker 1: but we we need to get something, you know, we
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  Speaker 1: got to put some substance in there.
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  Speaker 2: No, I'm I've done this a time or two, so
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  Speaker 2: I know how to uh to stage it out. It's
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  Speaker 2: it's look, it's a mystery with lots of twists. In it.
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  Speaker 2: It starts in one direction and ends up in it
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  Speaker 2: in a completely different place. And uh, you know, I
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  Speaker 2: I have a clear sense of who these characters are
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  Speaker 2: as as I'm writing them, and and I but dud,
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  Speaker 2: the last thing you want to do is, like you know,
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  Speaker 2: tell their their whole life story, or attempt to just
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  Speaker 2: tell the important parts. What's what's germane to the story,
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  Speaker 2: what's what's what's memorable? And and and use just enough
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  Speaker 2: description and tone to make them come, uh, come alive
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  Speaker 2: on the page.
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  Speaker 1: Well, you do something here that really activates that reader
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  Speaker 1: in the way of saying, oh, really, do you think
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  Speaker 1: the villain ever knows the motive? That? Right there is
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  Speaker 1: when do we go? Oh? And you pause, and you pause,
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  Speaker 1: if you close the book a little bit, you go
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  Speaker 1: back to the front cover, you look at that island,
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  Speaker 1: you look at the gold on the front cover, and
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  Speaker 1: then you go back in there. Do you think the
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  Speaker 1: villain ever knows the motive? I want the villain to
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  Speaker 1: be up there and in that courtroom, on that stand,
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  Speaker 1: giving me the answers right now.
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  Speaker 2: You know what in this book, the the villain is
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  Speaker 2: does not end up on in the in the dock
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  Speaker 2: as it were in the in the British term, but yeah,
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  Speaker 2: it's it's a it's a beautiful quote. P. D. Change
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  Speaker 2: is one of my heroes. And who can know the
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  Speaker 2: truth about motive sometimes I think not even the villain himself.
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  Speaker 2: That's a wonderful quote. And then, without giving too much away,
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  Speaker 2: if you if you look at page I guess it's
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  Speaker 2: page seven. The entire story is kind of laid out
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  Speaker 2: in a cryptic little clue right of page seven, when
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  Speaker 2: Alice Winter spoils the pool side reading material of her
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  Speaker 2: old friend from Cambridge and there's a little exchange of
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  Speaker 2: dialogue there that foretells the entire story.
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  Speaker 1: See, that's the stuff right there that gets my wife
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  Speaker 1: and I having a conversation and we really do it.
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  Speaker 1: And that's what I love about your writing is that
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  Speaker 1: this isn't just a summer read for the girls group,
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  Speaker 1: and it's not just a guy where he's sitting over
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  Speaker 1: there and is reading and writing chair picking up a book.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, it really is creating communication between two people.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I have you know, I'm on a national
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  Speaker 2: book tour right now and I am always astonished that
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  Speaker 2: you know, of whole families come up to the signing
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  Speaker 2: table and they're all reading it and they talk about it.
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  Speaker 2: I just think it's it's wonderful when when when that happens.
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  Speaker 2: And I guess the other thing I would say to
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  Speaker 2: that is that you know, two people, even if you're
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  Speaker 2: talking about it, and think about this. Wonderful about books
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  Speaker 2: is that you know two people can read the exact
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  Speaker 2: same scene and that in their mind's eye they will
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  Speaker 2: see it completely differently. And that's sort of the magic
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  Speaker 2: of books. But but yeah, I said, you're you are
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  Speaker 2: not alone, you and your wife discussing it and and
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  Speaker 2: and figure out out what's going on. I'm ever astonished
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  Speaker 2: at how many complete families read the gabriel On books together.
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  Speaker 1: So now how many people have come up to you
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  Speaker 1: during these signings right now and said, did you bring
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  Speaker 1: Larry with you? Where's Larry at?
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  Speaker 2: You know, readers, my readers know that animals sometimes play
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  Speaker 2: critical roles. And in my in my book and there's
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  Speaker 2: there's there's a there's a there's a dog, an Austrian
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  Speaker 2: dog that plays a prominent role in this book. I
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  Speaker 2: won't I won't give it away, but I am an
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  Speaker 2: animal lover and I do I do love putting animals
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  Speaker 2: in in in little roles, and and and the other
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  Speaker 2: thing about I would say is that you know it's
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  Speaker 2: it's sometimes helpful too as to give animal qualities to
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  Speaker 2: people and and human qualities to animals, and and that,
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  Speaker 2: and this is something that I like to do.
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  Speaker 1: Please don't move. We'll be right back with Daniel Silva
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  Speaker 1: coming up next. The name of his gorgeous book, and
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  Speaker 1: you will notice it right away at any bookstore, including
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  Speaker 1: Amazon Ransom. That book cover is amazing. We are back
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  Speaker 1: with Daniel Silva. Well, I'm a firm believer that the
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  Speaker 1: animals be with us, because I mean I've got seven books,
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  Speaker 1: and with nine rescues and seven books, I totally believe
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  Speaker 1: that every one of those books are different because of
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  Speaker 1: the animal that I rescued, And for instance, it could
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  Speaker 1: have been my Maltese and helped me with this one.
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  Speaker 1: Jazzy right now is very edgy, and so all of
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  Speaker 1: my stuff is on the edge. I mean, do you
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  Speaker 1: go through that too in life as a writer. It's
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  Speaker 1: like you pick up that energy from the animal nearest you,
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  Speaker 1: and all of a sudden you're going, what the okay,
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  Speaker 1: let's run with this emotion.
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  Speaker 2: You know, my lifestyle is such that I'm not allowed
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  Speaker 2: to have to have a dog or a cat. So
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  Speaker 2: and I know, I know it's heartbreaking, but I'm constantly
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  Speaker 2: on the move. But when I was a kid, oh
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  Speaker 2: my goodness, there was at one point in my life
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  Speaker 2: I think I had seven dogs, thirteen cats, a couple
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  Speaker 2: of ducks, several chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, goldfish. My parents
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  Speaker 2: for saints to let me have all these animals. But
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  Speaker 2: as you know, being a big city journalist and a
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  Speaker 2: foreign correspondence and I just have not gotten into a
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  Speaker 2: situation where I've been able to have a pet in
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  Speaker 2: my life.
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  Speaker 1: Right now, Oh my god. And the way that you
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  Speaker 1: bring words together even while you speak, it's so amazing.
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  Speaker 1: Do you believe in stream thinking, in the way of
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  Speaker 1: using the subconscious mind as your guide? And how did
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  Speaker 1: you learn how to trust it?
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  Speaker 2: Look? Writing fiction is I try to explain to my wife,
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  Speaker 2: you know, you know, don't sneak up on me. When
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  Speaker 2: I'm working my kids, I have terrible startle reflex why
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  Speaker 2: because I'm not really here. I spend more time in
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  Speaker 2: their world than this world, easily, and so much of
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  Speaker 2: what I do is is deep subconscious and just it's
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  Speaker 2: just a story plays out in my mind as I'm writing,
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  Speaker 2: and I have a little tricks to you know, and
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  Speaker 2: do some emotions. I do listen to a fair amount
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  Speaker 2: of music while I'm writing, and I listen to a
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  Speaker 2: lot of soundtracks when I'm working. You know, movie soundtracks
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  Speaker 2: are meant to invoke emotion. Obviously, they they and they
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  Speaker 2: helped me when I'm when I'm reaching for something. But yeah,
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  Speaker 2: I spent most of my most of my day in
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  Speaker 2: my subconscious I write in Longhand by the way, and
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  Speaker 2: it's very quiet, and it helps me stay in that place.
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  Speaker 2: And so yeah, as I suffer from preoccupation, I don't
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  Speaker 2: really sleep very much when I'm working on a book,
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  Speaker 2: and as a results, I get pretty worn out at
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  Speaker 2: the end. But but yeah, you live in in live
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  Speaker 2: in your own mind mind.
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  Speaker 1: So now when when you're writing long form, I am
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  Speaker 1: the freak that has to buy a brand new mont
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  Speaker 1: Blanc every time that I write a new book, like
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  Speaker 1: my last one was. I have the John Lennon mont
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  Speaker 1: Blanc writing instrument. And that's just the way that I am,
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  Speaker 1: because no other writing instrument is to touch these manuscripts
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  Speaker 1: or these these this writing because it belongs to that
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  Speaker 1: writing instrument.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I write, I write in pencil, and I've been
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  Speaker 2: using this, I've been used. I'm using the same, the
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  Speaker 2: same type of pencil my entire career. And yeah, I'm
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  Speaker 2: I'm a number two Morato Black Warrior pencil guy. And
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  Speaker 2: that's how that's how I do it. And I do
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  Speaker 2: own a mall Blanc pen and I do use it sometimes,
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  Speaker 2: but really I prefer the way that, uh, the pencil
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  Speaker 2: puts my words on the page.
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  Speaker 1: Oh my god. The only one I ever did was
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  Speaker 1: when I was in the eleventh grade. And it's in pencil,
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  Speaker 1: and boy, it is so in the dark and sealed
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  Speaker 1: up that I don't want anything to happen to it.
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  Speaker 1: Are you as protective as I am when when it
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  Speaker 1: comes to the penciled writing.
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  Speaker 2: I am very protective of the pencils. I don't like
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  Speaker 2: anyone to touch my pencils when I'm working. And and
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  Speaker 2: while I've tried to get rid of a lot of
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: the paper that I've accumulated over the years, I do
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  Speaker 2: I do keep all of those. Ye I write on
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  Speaker 2: yellow legal pads, and I've got all those, and I'll
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  Speaker 2: tell you I can look back in those legal pads
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  Speaker 2: and see you know, page after page after page of
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  Speaker 2: copy without any changes to it, that went from that
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  Speaker 2: page and into the book and stay there. And I
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: can't I can't duplicate that at a keyboard. You know.
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  Speaker 2: It's just too many distractions. It's too easy to edit
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: while you write, and your fingers are too fast at
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  Speaker 2: the keyboard. I I think the writing of log hand
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: is UH is essential UH to creating the tone that
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: that you that you get when in a game. Briel
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  Speaker 2: Long novel.
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  Speaker 1: Oh my god, you got to come back to this
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  Speaker 1: show anytime, anytime. Anytime we were together during New Girl,
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  Speaker 1: we're together now. So anytime that door is open, please
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  Speaker 1: walk through and say, dude, let's talk.
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  Speaker 2: Okay. I'd love to thank you so much for having
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  Speaker 2: me and it's a real pleasure.
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  Speaker 1: Will you be brilliant today?
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  Speaker 2: Okay, well, okay, to have a sparkling day.
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  Speaker 1: I love that.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you,