A thriller writer's deceptions

That's always been your motivation, showing people? What about when you were starting out? Like the very beginning?

 

Pretty much, until the last couple of years, when I can honestly say my motivation has been to provide for my kids and live a good, happy life. And I don't mean exclusively, that hate was my only motivation. I was motivated to do good work to do good work. But when I was first hired by a paper, a lot of people didn't like that I was hired. I'll show them, I thought. (They weren't wrong, by the way. I shouldn't have been hired.) Then when I started talking about writing for magazines, an editor laughed and said it would never happen. I bet him I'd be at a national magazine in five years. I was. And I sure as shit collected. And then when I was in magazines, I joined a message board for sports journalists where some people got kind of stroppy, and then I really went to fucking work...

 

BRB, going to look up "stroppy."

EDIT: Yep, ya used that perfectly

 

LOL. I say none of this proudly, by the way. There have been times in my life when I've behaved like the worst kind of wounded animal. It's not healthy.

 

sounds fun!

 

The best. There were a few years when the people who couldn't do the thing that you were doing would tell you constantly how to do it! Oh my stars. The best was when some dopey blogger kid told Charlie Pierce, "You're no Charlie Pierce."

Why are my clothes suddenly torn to shreds?

 

It's the best of all British-isms. It's the perfect word for a certain type of person.

 

ditto

Even when it's a struggle; even when it's not going well, there's nothing I'd rather be doing.

Best job in the world.

 

Best job in the world. Salut.

 

And he wound up getting better (IMHO, at least).

 

Absolutely, yes. And he did some great stuff drunk.