By
Marilyn Baron
One of my favorite
authors is Daniel Silva, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The English Spy, his 18th novel and the 15th book of his
Gabriel Allon series. Apparently, I’m not the only Gabriel Allon fan. The
Philadelphia Inquirer calls his continuing character, Gabriel Allon, “one of
the most intriguing heroes of any thriller series.”
I recently went to an
author talk and book signing for The English Spy, and met Silva for the second
time. Silva says he came up with his character when he was walking down the
street in Georgetown with his wife, journalist Jamie Gangel, and she said,
“We’re going to have dinner with David Bull, one of the world’s finest art
restorers.” He asked Bull how he could turn an Israeli assassin into an Italian
art restorer. Later, Silva went to Bull’s lab. Fascinated by the restoration
work going on there, the more he learned about the craft of restoration, the
more he realized he could apply that to the craft of assassination. He used
that knowledge to structure Gabriel’s first novel and a character was born.
I was surprised to learn
that Gabriel was supposed to appear in one book only, as a second-tier
character, but it didn’t work out that way. “He took over that novel
and the story became his,” says Silva, adding, “He talked me into writing the
second book.” It turned out that in researching the professional provenance of
that character, he saw another side to Gabriel. The concept of restoration—of
situation, of historical wrongs and of people—plays a major role in all of
Silva’s plots.
As an author, I was
curious about Silva’s writing process. Like me, Silva tries to go to all the
places he writes about to bring his settings to life. He credits proper
technique and his character’s unique point of view with helping him convey
emotion and setting. Silva is a creature of habit. Unlike me, he writes every
day, seven days a week and finds days off and holidays “personally traumatic,”
when he’s on a tight deadline. He turns the temperature down, writes in the
same clothes every day—grey sweatpants, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a fleece
jacket. He writes in pencil on yellow legal pads and then types the novel into
the computer. In general, Silva doesn’t outline his books (and neither do I).
He knows enough to get started and then he “brings the book to life.” His first
draft is his outline. Sometimes he knows the plot twists and turns in advance.
Sometimes he doesn’t.
When I asked him to
reveal the most important advice he could give an author, he said, “When you’re
working on your first manuscript, you have no expectations, so enjoy the
writing experience.” The first time I met him, his advice was, “Finish the
book.” I took that advice to heart. In 2015, I’ve released four books and a
short story, including my latest book, Landlocked, from The Wild Rose Press.
_____________________________________________________________________
Marilyn Baron is a
corporate communications consultant in Atlanta. She’s a member of Romance
Writers of America and Georgia Romance Writers (GRW), recipient of the GRW 2009
Chapter Service Award and winner or finalist in writing awards in single title,
suspense romance, novel with strong romantic elements and paranormal romance. Marilyn
writes in a variety of genres, including: Humorous coming-of-middle age women’s
fiction (The Widows’ Gallery, Stones, Significant Others); a psychic suspense
series (Sixth Sense, Homecoming Homicides and Killer Cruise); romantic suspense
(her latest novel, Landlocked, is her 10th published by The Wild Rose Press);
historical romantic thrillers (Under the Moon Gate and the prequel, Destiny: A Bermuda Love Story); and fantasy (Someday My Prints Will Come) for The
Wild Rose Press; and humorous paranormal short stories for TWB Press (A Choir of Angels, Follow an Angel, The Stand-In Bridegroom, Dead Mix and her
latest, The Files Death Forgot). She also wrote two books with her sister Sharon
(The Edger, Murder at the Outlet Mall) and a new musical about Alzheimer’s
called Memory Lane. Marilyn is a member of the 2016 Roswell Reads Steering
Committee and belongs to two book clubs. A native of Miami, Florida, Marilyn
now lives in Roswell, Georgia, with her husband and they have two daughters and
a new son-in-law. She graduated from The University of Florida in Gainesville,
Florida, with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism [Public Relations sequence]
and a minor in Creative Writing. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading,
going to movies, eating Italian food, and traveling. She often sets her stories
in places she’s visited, including Bermuda, Australia and Italy, where she
spent six months studying Italian and Art History in Florence during her senior
year in college. Visit her Website to find out more about Marilyn’s books and
stories at www.marilynbaron.com.
Her latest release, Landlocked, is a romantic suspense. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marilyn-Baron/286807714666748 Blog: Marilyn
blogs with Savvy Authors on the 22nd of every month at http://savvyauthors.com/blog/?s=Marilyn+Baron Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarilynBaron Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4722647.Marilyn_Baron
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