From job loss to mystery's heights: Lee Child's story
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Lee Child
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Big-screen thrillers often feature steamy scenes. But it's not often that mystery writers cause fans to swoon.
So infatuated are some readers with the blond, chiseled good looks of Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher mysteries, that they call themselves "Reacher Creatures." The British-born author of 16 books speaks at 7:30 tonight at the Drue Heinz Lectures in Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland. His latest work, published in October, is "Worth Dying For."
If all that success weren't enough, the resonant, accented voice evident in a telephone interview from his Manhattan home evokes the can-do spirit personified by Daniel Craig's portrayal of James Bond.
Where: Drue Heinz Lectures, Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland.
When: 7:30 tonight.
Tickets: $10-$25. 412-622-8866 or www.pittsburghlectures.org.
But the details of how Mr. Child created his famous protagonist have a much grittier side. In 1995, a restructuring forced him out of his dream directing job after 20 years in British television.
"My wife was a bit worried. I was at home all day and available for errands," the author recalled. "Every time I go in the supermarkets, there is always some little old lady who says, 'You're a nice tall fellow. Could you reach me that box?' "
After one such encounter, his American wife, Jane, remarked: "If this writing gig doesn't work out, you could get a job as a reacher in a supermarket."
And that's how Jack, a common name that appealed to Mr. Child, became Jack Reacher.
"I was determined to avoid cutesyness. I just wanted a plain, simple name. I was struggling with it. Naming characters is the thing I have most trouble with. My mind's a blank every time."
Before sharpening his pencils to write fiction, Mr. Child wrote commercials, movie trailers and news stories as a producer for England's Granada Television during the 1970s and '80s. He compared the work to being an air traffic controller.
"We would be putting together the on-air presentation in real time. If something went wrong, ran short or there was a news emergency, we had to figure out what we were going to drop or what were going to insert," he recalled.
First Published December 6, 2010 12:00 am
