On Saturday, Feb. 21, New York Times best-selling author Lisa Gardner will join author and emcee Carter Wilson on stage at Mile Hi Church for a behind-the-scenes look at her writing career.
Ahead of Jefferson County Public Library's Signature Author Event: In Conversation with Lisa Gardner, JCPL caught up with the creator of Alone, Find Her and Hide to see how she crafts her stories and what she enjoys most about connecting with her readers. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
You're the author of several popular series: the D.D. Warren series, the Frankie Elkin series and the FBI Profiler novels. Can you talk a bit about the process behind launching a new series? Do you start with a story idea that demands a new character, or does a character come first and grow into a series?
I'm a non-series, series writer. As in, I always begin with an idea based on a character who's magically appeared in my mind (aka, by listening to the voices in my head). Next thing I know, I have a novel. Except now that character has grown on me, leading to another book after that and another book after that.
Now I have so many series with so many different characters, I hate to choose, which has led to several novels where I've included everyone! Think of it as a family reunion, heavy on the murder and mayhem.
Research plays a major role in your writing. What's the most challenging aspect of research for you as a novelist? Have libraries or librarians played a role in that process?
Hah! Here's my claim to fame: I sold before there was the internet. Pretty much chiseled the first book in stone and had dinosaurs deliver it to New York.
Well, maybe not that crazy. But being a 17-year-old aspiring writer who'd never met an author, agent or editor, I had to do a lot of research to even understand publishing. My primary source: my local library. In the early '90s, there were entire books on how to get published, from how to write a bestseller to the Writer's Market guide to publishers, etc. Thank heavens for my local librarian, who helped me identify research sources, next steps, etc. I started the process as an ignorant kid in Oregon and ended up a New York Times best-selling author. All hail librarians, they are the best!
Reality is often stranger than fiction. Have you ever come across a real-life case or event so bizarre that you struggled to make it feel believable on the page?
All the time! When I was at the Body Farm [the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility], half the things they did fell under the category of too incredible to be true.
A standardized expectation for any forensic anthropology student is to be able to reach into a box, randomly withdraw a single bone and from that selected part provide gender, age and/or possible occupation of the decedent. I can't tell that much from my still healthy and happily attached finger! Now, anytime I incorporate an element of research that's "too cool for words," I always include a designated skeptic — the proverbial no way, no how, character who serves as a proxy for the reader's disbelief. Then I can double down on, yes, yes, it's all true! I promise!
Your books have been translated into more than 30 languages. What's the most surprising or memorable feedback you've received from international readers? Did any of those responses change the way you see your work?
My favorite international market has been France. The French take language very seriously, meaning translations are considered high art. I've worked with the same French translator, Cécile Deniard, for most of my career, and when the book wins an award, we are both honored.
If you think about it, the novel remains my story, but it's now the translator's words. Listening to Cécile talk about the craft of translation, especially for contemporary novels that incorporate so many colloquialisms — Frenemies, anyone? That tortured her for a month! — has made me rethink my approach to language as well. As Cécile puts it, the first pass of any book is to establish the basics, what happened, why and how. But then you must delve into the spirit of the narrative. In thrillers, we are all (mostly) telling the same basic murderous story. But the feel of the novel, the mood and nuance, that is where writers set themselves apart. Always return to the spirit of your craft. That's where the magic happens.
You've lived in New England for more than a decade, and that regional setting is deeply woven into the D.D. Warren series. The Frankie Elkin books, however, span many different locations. How does your approach change when writing about places you know intimately versus states or countries you've had to research from afar?
I love hands-on research, particularly for setting, which I think is a sensory experience. Describing a town is flat. How does it feel? Let alone smell, sound, etc. That's where a place comes alive, which makes the Frankie Elkin books fascinating, as those boundaries far exceed my own.
For example, Frankie's latest, Kiss Her Goodbye, involves flashback sequences set in Kabul, Afghanistan. For obvious reasons, that's not a place I could visit. Instead, I relied heavily on interviews with Afghan refugees, as well as U.S. military personnel. As you can imagine, those two groups have very different perspectives. I loved the challenge of that, plus Frankie becomes a proxy for all of us. She's never been to Kabul, obviously, but hearing these people talk about their homeland with such love and longing — we can all empathize with that kind of grief.
Those interviews reminded me that home is less a geographical description than a deep-seated emotion.
What's the best book you've ever read, and why has it stayed with you over the years?
That's such a tough question! Does anyone have an all-time great? I think of books like ice cream — you always love ice cream, but the particular flavor might vary with time, space, day of the week, etc.
Stephen King is far and away my most influential author. From Cujo to Christine to The Stand, I've spent more time admiring and contemplating his craft than anyone else's, in terms of a singular novel.
I've probably read M. M. Kaye's The Far Pavilions a dozen times — all 1,200 pages of it, starting when I was 11. It was a juggernaut in its day, one of those sweeping historic epics turned into a three-part TV movie. I probably swiped my dog-eared paperback copy from my mother, and I will hold it till my dying day. That book — set in the final, bloody days of British colonialism in India — totally captured my imagination. The exotic locale, taboo romance, tragic massacres and then increasingly doomed military stands. It resonates as my high bar for fiction in its ability to fully and completely transport, both in terms of place and time, but also character. An entire cast of fictional people who only existed in Kaye's mind and now will always be part of mine. Plus, it's one of those books that has a bit of everything: action, romance, geopolitics, history, culture. Honestly, I remain in awe that one writer could execute so perfectly across so many fronts.
What do you enjoy most about connecting with readers during live events and author visits?
To this day, I'm convinced my mom secretly has a warehouse filled with millions of copies of my novels; that's the only way to explain my career. So, it's always a thrill to meet real, live people who love my characters as much as I do.
Also, I remain a book nerd at heart. Fellow readers? People who can swap must-read titles and tales of staggering TBR piles and favorite tricks for justifying purchasing just one more book. This is my village. Always incredibly grateful to join the party.
Suspense readers are famously savvy; they're always trying to solve the mystery ahead of the book. Do you enjoy trying to outsmart your readers, or do you see suspense as more of a collaboration, where you're guiding them toward the truth?
I'm going with option C: I'm as lost as my readers. No plotting here. When readers tell me they had no idea who did it, I totally agree — I had no idea either. Seriously, I just turned in my 2026 book, You'll Be Sorry, where I finally figured out the solution to the puzzle four days before deadline (FYI, don't do that — totally destroys the nerves and is possibly why most novelists appear twitchy).
I'm not trying to outsmart or brilliantly guide. Mostly, I'm wandering blindly through the woods, hoping to make it out the other side. The magic of the process is that, somehow, it does always work out. And, again, I have the uncontrollable muscle spasms to prove it.
For more on Gardner, her books and career, as well as a local authors panel hosted by Wilson, register for your seat at JCPL's Signature Author Event: In Conversation with Lisa Gardner.