Harlan Coben

Since his critically-acclaimed Myron Bolitar series debuted in 1995, Harlan Coben has won the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback Original, was nominated for another Edgar, won the Anthony Award at the World Mystery Conference, was nominated for another Anthony Award, won theShamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America, was nominated for another Shamus, and was twice nominated for the Dilys Award by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. Harlan was born, raised, and lives in New Jersey with his wife Anne and two young children, Charlotte and Benjamin.

 

 

"The strongest yet in a series that deftly balances realism with entertainment, while refusing to fall back on genre cliches."
-- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (Starred Review)
on THE FINAL DETAIL

 

"EXHILARATING... Myron is as skilled at
solving puzzles as his creator is at devising them."
-- Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
on THE FINAL DETAIL

Interview '99 | Interview '98

 

 

Interview '99

Page ONE
"The latest Myron Bolitar book is The Final Detail -- Do you feel this book is different/better from the rest in the series and why?"

 

 

Harlan
"I think -- and I hope -- it's better. Writing is about imperfection, about never achieving your goals. I don't know any writers who are entirely satisfied with their novels. That makes them hunger to get it right the next time. It should, methinks, make them better."

 

 

Page ONE
"You've had some great beginnings (Batman trivia in DROP SHOT or Myron on vacation and hating it in The Final Detail) -- Where do you get such novel beginnings? Anything from the Coben household?"

 

Harlan
"It's a funny thing. When I handed in THE FINAL DETAIL, my editor predicted that the first paragraph would end up in that section of Entertainment Weekly that lists favorite openings. Voila, it happened. But nothing in my household makes me do that, except maybe the airplane glue. I'm just trying to engage you right off the bat. A strange and oft-times contradictory opening does that."

 

 

 

Page ONE
"Do you push the envelope with humor in your first drafts that we may not see in the final publication? And if so, can you give us an example from The Final Detail that the delete button digested?"

 

Harlan
"Which book is THE FINAL DETAIL again? This is going to sound like a dodge, but I finished that book a year ago. It's flushed out of my head, especially the stuff I cut out. The key, I think, is that it's okay to overwrite - as long as a) you're writing and not merely playing computer Solitaire and b) you don't fall so in love with your words that you won't have the discipline to cut and cut big-time later. It's like trying on clothes at Loehmans. If you bring a lot into the dressing room, you have a better chance of finding stuff you like -- as long as you don't overspend. Er, not that I know this from personal experience mind you. Sheesh, what a terrible analogy. I'm saving the good ones for the book."

 

 

 

 

 

Page ONE
"What makes Harlan Coben laugh? What is the spectrum of your humor? Were you a class clown in school or just the silent witty type?"

 

Harlan
"No, I was the handsome, debonair type with the rapier wit and flocks of women. But then I woke up. Let's see... Woody Allen makes me laugh. Chris Rock makes me laugh. Philip Roth makes me laugh. The Simpsons make me laugh. Quick wit makes me laugh. Long jokes and meandering stories do NOT make me laugh"

 

 

 

Page ONE
"Any chance for another series with one of the many characters from Myrons books? And if so who and why?"

 

Harlan
"Chance, sure. Planning it, nope. If I ever did it... probably Win or Esperanza. They have lives totally removed from Myron. I might like to explore them one day.

 

 

 

Page ONE
"With controversy surrounding Pro wrestling these days and with a couple of ex-wrestlers in your books (Esperanza Diaz and Big Cindy) have you thought about the wrestling world for a Myron whodunit?"

 

Harlan

"Thought about it, sure. Done it, not yet. In the next book - May 2000, for those who care -- Big Cyndi actually returns to the ring for the "senior tour." The commissioner of FLOW (Fabulous Ladies of Wrestling, for the uniniated) has seen how well the senior circuit is doing for pro golf and decides to try it out with women wrestling. So Breshnev's Babe, Queen Qadafi and all your favorite wrestlers from the old days return. But it's a tiny part of the book. One scene, no grappling."

 

 

 

 

Page ONE
"What do you think about and work on while writing a novel to keep your plots moving long?"

 

Harlan
"Simply this: am I moving the story or am I amusing myself? Did the sentence I just write propel the story forward or am I just engaging in a solo activity that begins with an m, if you catch my not-so-subtle drift. That isn't to say every sentence passes this test. But I'm asking it. I'm thinking about it. And I'm trying.

 

 

 

 

Page ONE

"What's next?"

 

Harlan
"I just finished the Harlan the Whore Tour for THE FINAL DETAIL and the paperback of ONE FALSE MOVE. Now I'm back home with the kids and getting back in writing shape. I'm working on another Myron novel, probably - and I'm going back to your first question here about trying to improve - the most ambitious to date. I really whallop the poor boy good in his one. I think the readers will be most pleased."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interview '98

 

 

Page ONE
"Who were your Literary inspirations when you were growing up?

What did you read? What do you read now?"

 

 

Harlan
"My mother was the best literary inspiration. We'd go to the old Barnes & Noble in Manhattan (back then, if you can believe this, I think there was only one) and spend the entire day. We didn't have much money back then and we almost never bought toys -- but we were always allowed to get whatever books we wanted.

 

I read a bizarre variety of stuff and my tastes change, but at the risk of sound extra corny (risk?) there are certain books that are life signposts. I'll always remember the first time I read A WRINKLE IN TIME or the Narnia series. I remember my first true adult thriller (William Goldman's MARATHON MAN -- still one of my favorites) and my first experience with Philip Roth."

 

 

 

 

Page ONE
"How difficult was it for you to get your first book published?"

 

 

Harlan
"Difficult, but not as difficult as most. My first book was accepted when I was twenty-six. But after publishing two stand-alone thrillers in my twenties, I knew I had to make a move or perish. That meant changing directions and going almost four years without publishing. That was when I switched from the stand-alone thrillers to the Myron Bolitar series."

 

 

 

 

Page ONE
"Plot and character; which do you feel is the most important and why?"

 

 

Harlan
"A chicken and egg question, but I'll settle on plot. Here's why: too many writers today are forgetting plot. We are so concerned with our hero's angst that we forget to tell a story. Concentrate on plot. Ask yourself on every page, "Am I moving the story?" If the answer is no, cut it. The character development should be a natural, unforced byproduct of the story."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page ONE
"Tell us a little about your last novel and it's theme. Where did the idea came from?"

 

 

Harlan
"Sports agent Myron Bolitar is asked to keep an eye on the star of the new women's professional basketball league. But when her father suddenly disappears -- and when Myron uncovers a link to her mother's disappearance more than twenty years ago -- Myron gets caught up in a lot of lies, lust and old family secrets. There's a bit of everything in this one: racism, love, dreams, shattered aspirations, tragedy.

 

Ideas never come to me with a cry of "Eureka!" I'm not even sure what an idea is. Is it a one sentence description of the book, for example? The twist at the end? The creation of a character? Most of my work is done by taking random situations and mixing them together and then marinating them in the brain fridge for a while. If they end up tasty, great. If they don't -- and most of the time, they don't -- then we start again."

 

 

 

Page ONE
"Do you feel the gap between crime fiction and serious literature has closed since the days of Chandler and Hammett or widened and why?"

 

 

Harlan
"Crime fiction has never been better. I'd stack up the best practioners we have working today against so-called serious writers. There is a school of thought out there that claims that this is indeed the golden age of crime fiction. I'm a committed student of that school."

 

 

 

 

Page ONE
"Any advice for beginning mystery novelists?"

 

 

Harlan
"Remember first and foremost that you are telling a story. Keep it moving. Start fast, but don't fall into the trap of starting with a murder and then giving the reader fifty pages of background material. Read a lot. I don't know of too many great musicians who don't listen to music, and I don't know too many great writers who don't read. When in doubt about any section of your book, cut it out and store in a spare file. You can always put it back. I've done this a hundred times and I've never ended up putting it back."