James Rollins talks about murder, the Beatles and Grave-Robbing

Sometimes the mystery is in the writer himself. Those dark scenes of murder and mayhem, clever villains and the heroes we love, all come from the same place. Inside the author's imagination.
We caught up with bestselling author James Rollins and put him to the test! We wanted to know how online-savvy he was and just how much he'd let us get away with asking.
So please join us in meeting James Rollins with this unique interview done by Reader's Entertainment TV.


Question: We’re going to test your online skills by asking you to
give us a Twitter answer (140 characters or less) to tell us why you’re an
author.

James: I’ve always been the storyteller in my family (or “the liar”
according to my Mom). So to keep track of the lies, I began writing stuff down.....

Question: You kill a lot of
people off in your books, which we love of course! Tell us how you would kill someone if you had the following-

1. A rope 6 feet long.

2. A dull butcher knife.

3. An attack dog.

4. No witnesses.

5. The entire crew of CSI Miami is going to be on your case.

6. Must escape the scene on foot.

7. You’re in an elevator and must do the deed there.

And you can only write one paragraph

James: The victim, let’s call him Phil, enters the elevator of the Empire State
Building. I’ve secretly replaced the cable with six feet of rope. Once Phil presses the button, the door locks and a dull butcher knife slowly begins sawing the rope
securing the elevator cage while ABBA plays over the Muzak sound system to
torture him during his final minutes before Phil plummets to his death. I don’t worry about witnesses, as I’ve already left the scene, shed the body condom I was wearing to hide any trace evidence, and I’m now at home with the attack dog feeding it Snausages, teaching it to be a loving and sweet pet (hey, what do you expect from a veterinarian).

Question: What do you surround yourself with when you write? Does it differ according to what you are writing?

James: A computer, a stack of books and notes, a dog laying on my feet, and a can of Rockstar energy drink at my elbow. Dead Can Dance is also playing on the stereo—really, really loudly.

Question: No book is made up of one element. Of the following what
percentage would you assign to what your books are made up of?


James:

1.Romance 11%

2.Action/Adventure 29%

3.Thriller/Suspense 22%

4. Research/Facts 15%

5. Totaland complete BS 23%

(Okay there’s a lot more BS, as I do write fiction, but
what’s a guy to do?)....

Question: Using the Twitter method (140 characters or less) what
is your next book about?

James: Doomsday Key deals with the REAL prophecy of a dead
saint that says the world will end in our lifetime. So read this book if U want
to live.

Question: Name three hobbies associated with your next book.

James: Murder, arson, and grave-robbing. (Surely those are someone’s hobbies).

Question: How did it feel to be chosen to write the Indiana Jones book?

James: C’mon, it’s Indy! How do you think I feel? All my books have
been compared to Indiana Jones in the past. My book, Map of Bones, was described by one reviewer as a cross between The Da Vinci Code and Indiana Jones. To this day, I’m not sure if they were complimenting me or insulting me. Still, I’ll personally take any comparison to Indiana Jones as a compliment.




Question: Are you on MySpace or Facebook and if so what are you doing there and how do we find you?

James: I’m on both sites. Why? Because I really do like tokeep in touch with everyone. Plus it keeps me from having to answer the same questions over and over again (of course, not like THESE questions which are unique and different). If you’d like to find me:

Facebook (personal)

Facebook (Fan Page)

*note: another way to find me on facebook is to search using
my email address: authorjamesrollins@mac.com.

I am also on these sites too:

MySpace

Twitter

Question: What is your favorite YouTube video?

James: The Soup’s take on “Stain, the cupcake-craving dog”. Here’s the address:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUbsc_a-e3g&feature=related

Question: Rolling Stones or Beetles?

James: Ahem, first of all, it’s the Beatles…not Beetles. Sigh. The youth of today and their lack of respect for rock’s true icons. I can’t even answer this question as I’ve now sunk into a deep depression.


RECTV- My bad. I really knew how to spell Beatles the right way, but I'd had a hard day's night, so you'll have to forgive me.

Thank you James for answering our questions and spending time with us!