| Lincoln Child April 12, 2008 |
| About Lincoln Child Lincoln Child is an author of techno-thriller and horror novels. Often paired with writing partner Douglas Preston, many of their novels have become bestsellers and one, Relic, was adapted into a feature film. Child and Preston's books are known for their thorough research, making their stories credible and believable. Born in Westport, Connecticut, but now a New Jersey resident, Child graduated from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, with a major in English. Soon afterwards in 1979, he secured a job as an editorial assistant at St. Martin's Press. By 1984, Child would achieve the position as full editor. While in this position, Child edited hundreds of books, most titles being American and English fiction. In 1987 after founding the company's mass-market horror division, Child left the St. Martin's Press to become a Systems Analyst at MetLife. While in this position, Child's first novel, Relic, was published. He left the company a few years later to write full time. HIs solo works include Utopia, Death Match, and Deep Storm. Visit his website at: www.prestonchild.com |
Post Meeting Write-up
Greetings Friends and Fans! If you were not at the Borders
Garden State Plaza on Saturday 4/12 for the April edition of
our Face the Fiction event, then you missed a great one.
Not only did we premiere the all-new Whispers from
Beyond special event for before the event, but we also had
a great time with our special guest, Lincoln Child.
Unfortunately for me, Craig and I got stuck at the restaurant
before the event, and were a bit late for the Whispers from
Beyond portion of the event. Thankfully, our good and dear
friend, Kate Landis, was on hand to start the ball rolling and
get folks in the mood to read. The store had set up the
microphone, and during the time that I was there, we heard
from several cool folks including Chris Hasselkus (reading
from Richard Adams' classic Watership Down), myself (reading
from Naomi Novick's His Majesty's Dragon), and Eugene
McGrath (reading from Lincoln Child's Utopia). During the
reading of the prologue to Utopia, the special guest arrived
and watched as Gene read the passages with verve and
élan (and was a good sport when we swapped him out for
the the author).
Lincoln Child was introduced with fanfare and excitement,
and immediately launched into a brief overview of his
credentials and background. He started as an editor with a
passion for the Museum of Natural History in New York City,
where he had an extensive private tour (including yucky
dermested beetles and amazing dinosaur bones in the
basement). He then approached Douglas Preston to write a
non-fiction book about the museum. Somehow that led to
the two intrepid fellows sitting on the porch and discussing
what would eventually become the New York Times
Bestselling book Relic. Linc did say that he really enjoyed
the movie and was happy with it (especially after he read all
of the clauses in his phonebook sized contract, lol).
The conversation then turned to the ins and outs of writing
with a partner (which Mr. Child prefers to writing alone) as
well as his loves and hates regarding writing, publishing,
and other such topics. He prefers to write without
distractions and collaborate with another person to get a
more coherent story (and yell when there is a
disagreement). Sandy Schlosser asked many great
questions about Riptide, a story about the Holly Island
treasure (and pirates), while John asked a number of
questions about several of the Pendergast books (especially
Cabinet of Curiosities and Still Life With Crows). Many
others asked questions about motivation, writing technique,
where to get ideas, and much more. The evening ended a
bit earlier than normal due to illness (our guest came all the
way out to speak to us even though he had strep throat!).
The group then adjourned to the Suburban Diner to talk
about Anime, Horror, Fruit Cups, and pose the question of
"What if Bill Cosby had been cast as Emperor Palpatine?"
Jell-O Jedi! The Vanilla and Chocolate sides of the force!
Stormtroopers say the Darnedest Things! (Todd)
Lincoln Child was awesome - even with strep throat. He
not only answered all of our questions (and there were a
lot) but also read from Relic! He was engaging,
good-natured and quite a trooper. He even offered to come
back when he was feeling better. Great guest, good
meeting. (Ann-Marie)
Greetings Friends and Fans! If you were not at the Borders
Garden State Plaza on Saturday 4/12 for the April edition of
our Face the Fiction event, then you missed a great one.
Not only did we premiere the all-new Whispers from
Beyond special event for before the event, but we also had
a great time with our special guest, Lincoln Child.
Unfortunately for me, Craig and I got stuck at the restaurant
before the event, and were a bit late for the Whispers from
Beyond portion of the event. Thankfully, our good and dear
friend, Kate Landis, was on hand to start the ball rolling and
get folks in the mood to read. The store had set up the
microphone, and during the time that I was there, we heard
from several cool folks including Chris Hasselkus (reading
from Richard Adams' classic Watership Down), myself (reading
from Naomi Novick's His Majesty's Dragon), and Eugene
McGrath (reading from Lincoln Child's Utopia). During the
reading of the prologue to Utopia, the special guest arrived
and watched as Gene read the passages with verve and
élan (and was a good sport when we swapped him out for
the the author).
Lincoln Child was introduced with fanfare and excitement,
and immediately launched into a brief overview of his
credentials and background. He started as an editor with a
passion for the Museum of Natural History in New York City,
where he had an extensive private tour (including yucky
dermested beetles and amazing dinosaur bones in the
basement). He then approached Douglas Preston to write a
non-fiction book about the museum. Somehow that led to
the two intrepid fellows sitting on the porch and discussing
what would eventually become the New York Times
Bestselling book Relic. Linc did say that he really enjoyed
the movie and was happy with it (especially after he read all
of the clauses in his phonebook sized contract, lol).
The conversation then turned to the ins and outs of writing
with a partner (which Mr. Child prefers to writing alone) as
well as his loves and hates regarding writing, publishing,
and other such topics. He prefers to write without
distractions and collaborate with another person to get a
more coherent story (and yell when there is a
disagreement). Sandy Schlosser asked many great
questions about Riptide, a story about the Holly Island
treasure (and pirates), while John asked a number of
questions about several of the Pendergast books (especially
Cabinet of Curiosities and Still Life With Crows). Many
others asked questions about motivation, writing technique,
where to get ideas, and much more. The evening ended a
bit earlier than normal due to illness (our guest came all the
way out to speak to us even though he had strep throat!).
The group then adjourned to the Suburban Diner to talk
about Anime, Horror, Fruit Cups, and pose the question of
"What if Bill Cosby had been cast as Emperor Palpatine?"
Jell-O Jedi! The Vanilla and Chocolate sides of the force!
Stormtroopers say the Darnedest Things! (Todd)
Lincoln Child was awesome - even with strep throat. He
not only answered all of our questions (and there were a
lot) but also read from Relic! He was engaging,
good-natured and quite a trooper. He even offered to come
back when he was feeling better. Great guest, good
meeting. (Ann-Marie)
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