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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781668026199 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date: | 09/12/2023 |
| Pages: | 336 |
| Sales rank: | 69,046 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d) |
About the Author
Hometown:
Saddle River, New Jersey and New York, New YorkDate of Birth:
December 24, 1929Place of Birth:
New York, New YorkEducation:
New York University; B.A., Fordham University, 1979Read an Excerpt
From Chapter 45 After she had given the manager at the Edina Health Club the completed registration forms and her check, Lacey went directly to the squash court and began hitting balls against the wall. She quickly realized that the combination of the previous sleepless night and an earlier long jog had left her exhausted. She kept missing easy returns, and then she fell, badly wrenching her ankle, all in an attempt to connect with a ball she had no chance of hitting. It was typical of her life right now. Disgusted with herself and close to tears, she limped off the court and collected her coat and tote bag from the locker. The door to the manager's office was partially open. Inside, a young couple was sitting at the manager's desk, and a grayhaired man was waiting to speak to her. Lacey could feel her ankle swelling already. For a moment she paused in front of the open door, debating whether to ask the manager if the club kept elastic bandages in its medical supply kit. Then she decided to go straight home and put ice on her ankle instead. As much as she had wanted to get out of her apartment this morning, Lacey realized that all she wanted now was to be back inside, with the door locked and bolted. Earlier that morning, when Lacey had gone out jogging, a smattering of clouds dotted the sky. Now they were filling it, moving so close together as to be seamless. Driving from Edina to Minneapolis, Lacey could tell that a heavy snowfall was imminent. She had a designated parking spot behind her apartment building. She pulled into the space and turned off the engine. She sat for a moment in the silence. Her life was a total mess. Here she was, hundreds of miles away from her family, living an existence that could not be called a life, alone and lonely. She was trapped in a lie, having to pretend to be someone other than herself -- and why? Why? Just because she had been a witness to a crime. Sometimes she wished the killer had seen her there in the closet. She had no desire to die, but it would have been easier than living this way, she thought desperately. I've got to do something about this. She opened the door and got out of the car, careful to favor her throbbing right ankle. As she turned to lock the door, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was the same emotion she experienced in the nightmare, life moving in slow motion as she tried to scream, but no sound would come. She lunged forward, trying to break away, then gasped and stumbled as a flash of pain like the sting of a hot branding iron seared her ankle. An arm went around her, steadying her. A familiar voice said contritely, "Alice, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you. Forgive me. It was Tom Lynch. Limp with relief, Lacey sagged against him. "Oh Tom...Oh God...I...I'm all right, I just...I guess you startled me." She started to cry. It was so good to feel herself firmly encircled and protected by his arm. She stood there for several moments, not moving, feeling a sense of relief wash over her. Then she straightened and turned to face him. She couldn't do this‹ not to him, not to herself. "I'm sorry you bothered to come, Tom. I'm going upstairs," she said, making herself breathe normally, wiping away the tears. "I'm coming with you," he told her. We have to talk." "We have nothing to talk about." "Oh but we do," he said. "Starting with the fact that your father is looking all over Minneapolis for you because your mother is dying and wants to make up with you." "What...are...you...talking...about?" Lacey's lips felt rubbery. Her throat constricted to the point where she could barely force the words out of her mouth. "I'm talking about the fact that Ruth Wilcox told me yesterday afternoon some guy had showed up at the gym with your picture, looking for you and claiming to be your father." He's in Minneapolis! Lacey thought. He's going to find me!! "Alice, look at me! Is it true? Was that your father looking for you?" She shook her head, desperate now to be free of him. "Tom, please. Go away." "I will not go away." He cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look up at him. Once again, Jack Farrell's voice echoed in Lacey's mind: You put my face in front of the one you want, he said. Admit it. I admit it, she thought, looking up at the firm line of Tom's jaw, the way his forehead was creased with concern for her -- the expression in his eyes. The look you give someone special. Well, I won't let anything happen to you because of it, she promised. If Isabelle Waring's murderer had been able to coax my address out of Ruth Wilcox at Twin Cities Gym, I probably wouldn't be alive right now she thought. So far, so good. But where else was he showing her picture? "Alice, I know you're in trouble, and no matter what it is, I'll stand by you. But I can't be in the dark anymore," Tom's voice urged. "Can't you understand that?" She looked at him. It was such a strange sensation, seeing this man in front of her who clearly had special feelings for her -- love? Maybe And he was exactly the person she had hoped to meet someday. But not now! Not here! Not in this situation. I cannot do this to him, she thought. A car drove into the parking area. Lacey's instinct was to pull Tom down, to hide with him behind her car. I have to get away, she thought. And I have to get Tom away from me. As the approaching car came into full view she saw that the driver was a woman whom she recognized as living in the building. But who would be driving the next car to come into the parking lot? she wondered angrily. It could be him. The first flakes of snow were beginning to fall. "Tom, please go," she begged. "1 have to call home and talk to my mother." "Then that story is true." She nodded, careful not to look at him. "1 have to talk to her. I have to straighten some things out. Can I phone you later?" Finally she looked up. His eyes, troubled and questioning, lingered on her face. "Alice, you will call me?" "I swear I will." "If I can help you, you know --" "Not now, you can't," she said, interrupting him. "Will you honestly tell me just one thing?" "Of course.""Is there another man in your life?" She looked into his eyes. "No, there is not." He nodded. "That's all I need to know." Another car was driving into the parking area. Get away from me, her mind screamed. "Tom, I have to call home." "At least let me walk you to the door," he responded, taking her arm. After they had gone a few steps, he stopped. "You're limping." "It's nothing. I stumbled over my own feet." Lacey prayed her face wasn't showing the pain she felt when she walked. Tom opened the door to the lobby for her. 'When will I hear from you?" "In an hour or so." She looked at him again, forcing a smile. His lips touched her cheek. "1 m worried about you. I'm worried for you." He clasped her hands and looked intently into her eyes. "But I'll be waiting for your call. You've given me some great news. And a whole new hope." Lacey waited in the lobby until she saw his dark blue BMW drive away. Then she rushed to the elevator. She did not wait to take off her coat before she called the health club. The gratingly cheerful voice of the manager answered. "Edina Health Club. Hold on, please.' A minute, then a second minute went by. Damn her, Lacey thought, slamming her hand down to break the connection. It was Saturday. There was a chance her mother was home. For the first time in months Lacey dialed the familiar number directly. Her mother picked up on the first ring. Lacey knew she could not waste time. "Mom, who did you tell I was here?" "Lacey? I didn't tell a soul. Why? " Her mother's voice went up in alarm. Didn't deliberately tell a soul, Lacey thought. "Mom, that dinner last night. Who all was there?" "Alex and Kit and lay and Jimmy Landi and his partner, Steve Abbott, and I. Why?" "Did you say anything about me'" "Nothing significant. Only that you'd joined a new health club with a squash court. That was all right, wasn't it?" My God, Lacey thought. "Lacey, Mr. Landi wants very much to talk to you. He asked me to find out if you knew whether the last few pages of his daughter's journal were written on unlined paper." "Why does he want to know that? I gave him a complete copy." "Because he said that if they were, somebody stole those pages from the copy while it was at the police station, and they stole the whole original copy. Lacey, are you telling me that whoever tried to kill you knows you're in Minneapolis?" "Mom, I can't talk. I'll call you later." Lacey hung up. Once again she tried the health club. She did not give the manager a chance to put her on hold this time. "This is Alice Carroll," she interrupted. "Don't‹" "Oh, Alice." The manager's voice became solicitous. "Your dad came in looking for you. I took him to the squash court. I thought you were still there. I didn't see you leave. Someone told us you gave your ankle a nasty wrench. Your dad was so worried. I gave him your address. That was all right, wasn't it? He left just a couple of minutes ago." Lacey stopped only long enough to jam the copy of Heather Landi's journal into her tote bag before she half ran, half hopped to the car and headed for the airport. A sharp wind slapped snow against the windshield. Hopefully he won't figure out right away that I've left, she told herself. ['11 have a little time. There was a plane leaving for Chicago twelve minutes after she reached the ticket counter. She managed to get on it just before the gates closed. Then she sat in the plane for three hours on the runway, while they waited for clearance to take off. Copyright © 1997 by Mary Higgins Clark
Interviews
On Friday, May 23rd, barnesandnoble.com welcomed Mary Higgins Clark to discuss PRETEND YOU DON'T SEE HER.
Question: How do you go about writing your books? Do you start out with the end in mind, or does it all come as you write? Have you thought about writing a book set in this part of the world?
Mary Higgins Clark: I have just come back from India, and I actually use scenes from it in a novelette I'm writing. You're able to tell the plot in one sentence before I start writing. I always know who did it. And I'm aiming -- it's like shooting an arrow at a specific goal -- but things happen along the way that I didn't know when I started, but I always know where I'm going.
Question: Do you like the books your daughter likes? Do you have the same tastes when it comes to writing?
Mary Higgins Clark: I think pretty much in the same field we enjoy the same kind of books. I'm an eclectic reader, and so is Carol. I just finished ANGELA'S ASHES, and I thought it was wonderful. I enjoy Maeve Binchy and always look forward to reading her books. I'm reading Katherine Graham right now. I just finished Mario Puzo's THE LAST DON, which I loved. And that's four examples. I love Anne Tyler -- she's another one who's wonderful.
Question: Hi, Ms. Clark. Do you have a favorite book you've written? I got hooked on you when I read WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN? back in the mid-'80s.
Mary Higgins Clark: No, that's like asking who's your favorite child. They are all equally favored in my sight.
Question: Hi, Mary! It's wonderful to be able to tell you this -- I loved MOONLIGHT BECOMES YOU! Where did you find out about the tradition of attaching a funeral bell to someone's casket? That detail was quite interesting and creepy!
Mary Higgins Clark: Yes, I thought it was wonderfully creepy too. And I read an item about it and knew that was going to be part of a book. I don't know where I read it.
Question: Do you create full character profiles for your books prior to writing them? I can see doing it for a book that will be a series, but what about individual ones? Also, how long does it generally take to get to the point where you are ready to write? Thanks!
Mary Higgins Clark: About a month after I finish a book, I start getting itchy fingers. And I have to know my main characters very well. I do a biography on them, where they went to school, what they look like, what their family is or was -- and of course I have to know who the killer or murderer is and why -- and other characters spring from them in the plot.
Question: Why does "The Anastasia Syndrome" have an unhappy ending when all your other stories end happily? Where did you get your inspiration from for that short story?
Mary Higgins Clark: I didn't want it to have an unhappy ending. I didn't plan it that way, but it became inevitable, and I had always been so interested in whether the woman who called herself Anastasia was a real or a phony.
Question: Did you find it hard to find time to write and raise your children? I've always dreamed of writing, but I am having trouble really doing it while taking care of my kids. Any advice?
Mary Higgins Clark: Yes, the most deadly words for a potential writer are "as soon as." The writers who become professional are compelled to write. They will get up earlier and go to bed later, but they will find time to write without sacrificing the interests of the children.
Question: Once you pick a name, have you ever found halfway through or even well into the book that the name isn't right for your character?
Mary Higgins Clark: Never for the main character, but I'm sometimes shocked to realize the name for a minor character is one I used six books ago, and then I have to change it.
Question: Do you ever feel tempted to bring certain favorite characters back in other books?
Mary Higgins Clark: I do that with two sets of characters: Elvira and Willy and Henry and Sunday. But Elvira had been in WEEP NO MORE, MY LADY, and then I liked her so much I decided to continue to write about her. Henry and Sunday were created for a short story, and my publisher asked me to write a series of stories about them.
Question: What did you do before you started writing?
Mary Higgins Clark: I was a secretary, a Pan American stewardess, and then got married at 21. And then said, "I have to learn how to write," and I started to take writing courses. It's not enough to have the talent for writing; you have to understand the craft.
Question: Do you usually only write one draft of a book or do you have to go through several versions?
Mary Higgins Clark: I revise as I go along. I revise and revise and revise.
Question: As a woman, do you think it would be difficult to write about a male protagonist?
Mary Higgins Clark: No, many women do. P. D. James, for example. Ruth Rendell says that you should not be able to tell if a man or a woman has written a book, and you should be able to handle one sex as well as the other.
Question: Do you have any advice for writers just starting out? Did you have trouble shopping WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN? around?
Mary Higgins Clark: I had an agent by then because of the short stories I had sold. It's good if you can get an agent, because so many publishers will not accept unsolicited manuscripts.
Question: Did you teach Carol how to write? Do you feel competition from her?
Mary Higgins Clark: I'm delighted that Carol does so well. I'm always surprised that a mother and daughter would feel competitive. If a doctor's son decides to be a doctor, everyone thinks it's wonderful. You cannot teach anyone to write. You can teach from the craft, but the talents of writing have to be there.
Question: Did you do a lot of research on multiple personality disorder when you wrote ALL AROUND THE TOWN? How did you do the research?
Mary Higgins Clark: I read all the autobiographies I could find about multiple personality. I did a great deal of research. I researched the clinical end of it, and went to the MPD in Denver and consulted the art therapist, the journal therapist, and the head doctor.
Question: Do you mind that some people consider your books to be romance?
Mary Higgins Clark: I'm surprised that they're called romance. There's always a touch of romance in them, but they're suspense stories. They're not what I would call romance or even romantic suspense.
Question: How long does it take to write each book? Do you ever suffer from writer's block? What do you do to get past it?
Mary Higgins Clark: Each book takes about a year now. The first one took three years. The next bunch took two years. Now it's a year. A writer once asked that said, "What's writer's block? Did you ever ask a plumber to fix a leaky sink and have him say, 'I have plumber's block'? You stay with it until you find out why it isn't working."
Question: Have you ever finished or almost finished a book and then decided you weren't happy with it? If so, how do you deal with it?
Mary Higgins Clark: No, I've never gone that far. The book that became REMEMBER ME I started twice in 20 years and put it aside early on because I didn't know how to tell the story. But I put it down after two chapters, not when it was almost finished.
Question: Has anyone ever told you that your writing reminds them of Phyllis Whitney? Though I think your plots are much more intricate and interesting. I anticipate each book you write. What is after PRETEND YOU DON'T SEE HER?
Mary Higgins Clark: Phyllis and I both write the same kind of suspense. And my next book is called YOU BELONG TO ME. Its theme is excessive jealousy.
Question: Which of your heroines would you most like to be friends with?
Mary Higgins Clark: I am friends with all of them, and while I'm working with them, they're my best friends.
Question: Are the mystery plots in your books ever based on true stories, or do you make them all up?
Mary Higgins Clark: I will often pick something out of the newspaper that intrigues me and turn the basis into fiction. For example, I read of three court cases where the defense was "I'm a multiple-personality case," and that's what started the book ALL AROUND THE TOWN.
Question: Which of your books would make the best movie? Have you been offered any deals from Hollywood?
Mary Higgins Clark: There have been two feature films and seven television movies made. There is one being shot starting May 25th of LET ME CALL YOU SWEETHEART. WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN? and A STRANGER IS WATCHING were feature films.
Question: For WHILE THE PRETTY ONE SLEEPS, where did you do most of your research for the fashion industry?
Mary Higgins Clark: My mother had been a bridal buyer before she was married. I grew up loving fashion.
Question: Did you always want to be a writer? Did you just decide one day to sit down and write a mystery novel, or were you writing before WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN?
Mary Higgins Clark: I always was a writer. I was writing poetry as soon as I could hold a pencil. And I had sold short stories and one biographical novel about George Washington, ASPIRE TO THE HEAVENS, that no one had read, before I did WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN?
Question: Do you find your characters wind up with some traits of friends and family? Or that because of the friend or family member an idea for a specific character is born?
Mary Higgins Clark: You always do a composite picture when you create a character. And in THE CRADLE WILL FALL, my daughter was a young prosecutor at the time. The book was entirely fiction, but I thought, How would she react in this circumstance, what would she say? Same thing in A CRY IN THE NIGHT, with my daughter: What would she say, what would she do in this circumstance?
Question: When you create a persona for characters, how heavily do you research the profession you are giving them? Is creating characters easy for you? Do you ever struggle? And, does writing novels get easier the longer you do it?
Mary Higgins Clark: Writing novels does not get easier. The first part is very difficult. Then the characters take over, and that's when writing is fun. Then when the deadline is approaching and you're working around the clock, you wonder why you didn't take up bird-watching. I don't struggle with writing characters. Once I get to know them, I know them very well, and I know what they're going to do and how they think.
Question: Who is your favorite movie villain?
Mary Higgins Clark: Maybe in "The Silence of the Lambs," Anthony Hopkins's portrayal of Hannibal Lecter.
Question: Do you let others read your work before it is finished? Do you rewrite based on others' opinions?
Mary Higgins Clark: I only rewrite for my editor's opinion. I have my daughter, and a couple of close friends are very good sounding boards for me. But it's the editor I work with as far as changes are concerned. And I used to be in a writer's workshop, which I found extremely helpful in the early days of writing.
Question: I have enjoyed your books for years now. Have you ever thought about writing other kinds of books, like science fiction or westerns?
Mary Higgins Clark: Not science fiction, not westerns. I might someday try a generational saga kind of book. I would do it under a different name, though. I would do that because everyone suspects suspense from me, and they would be disappointed to learn that it's about how to grow flowers. And I would love to see if a book I sent in totally cold under a different name would sell.
Question: How do you like these online chats? Would you rather visit a store or do a chat remotely? Which do you get more out of?
Mary Higgins Clark: It's apples and oranges. Through the online I can meet people from all over the world. It's very interesting to do in-store chats as well and meet people who are my readers. When I'm having a tough time writing a book, I remember their kind words, and that helps.
Question: Do you find it more difficult to write with two main characters like Henry and Sunday than with only one protagonist, like in most of your other books? Does it make a difference?
Mary Higgins Clark: Henry and Sunday and Elvira and Willie are fun to write. It's a different kind of writing. It's a bit of tongue in cheek -- it's not psychological suspense like the others are.
Question: I know this is off the subject, but you always have interesting settings, so I was wondering...where to you is the most romantic or intriguing place to travel?
Mary Higgins Clark: I love to travel. I used to be a Pan American stewardess. There's no one best place to go. The world is filled with marvelous places to visit. In October my husband and I are going on an around-the-world trip on the Concorde. We'll be on a safari in Africa and at the Taj Mahal and at the Pyramids. What's not to like?
Question: I thought LOVES MUSIC, LOVES TO DANCE was a visually suspenseful book. Is there any talk of a movie being made from it?
Mary Higgins Clark: It's going to be a television movie on the Family Channel, but it hasn't been started yet.
Question: Do you prefer writing short stories to novels? Are they easier to write because they are shorter, or is it difficult to pack a lot in less space?
Mary Higgins Clark: It's not a case of preference, it's that there are some plots that simply do not require 500 pages to write. By writing short stories I'm able to tell those stories, whereas they simply wouldn't work in a novel.
Question: Do you have a favorite character that you have created? And if so, why? And have you always had a vivid imagination?
Mary Higgins Clark: I think the imagination comes with the territory of a writer. My repeat characters are being repeated because they're such fun.
Question: Is there someone whose opinion of your writing will sway you in another direction in terms of plot ... or do you trust your own instincts all the time?
Mary Higgins Clark: It's my own instincts, and Michael Korda and Chuck Adams, my editors at Simon & Schuster -- we discuss the plot carefully, and they're essential in helping to make the most of the plot and bring out the best of the story.
Question: I noticed in your bio that you majored in philosophy. Does this come into play when you are writing? Or is real-life experience more helpful?
Mary Higgins Clark: I think philosophy trains the mind. And in all sorts of philosophy studies there's a great deal of psychology, which is certainly very helpful for me. Getting a philosophy degree entails a fair amount of psychology courses. Real-life experience of course comes into play as well. Which is why the new writer, the beginning writer, is better off working in a real job, because you're having new experiences and are in the mainstream and in constant touch with people and reality, rather than being up in a cottage somewhere.
Question: I can't remember which book it was, but how much research went into using Grand Central Station as a hideout for a kidnapper?
Mary Higgins Clark: A great deal of research. I used to prowl around underneath Grand Central Station. I saw the room that I described in which the kidnapper kept the child and the young woman. That room does exist. The only thing I added was bathroom facilities. Only in Louisa May Alcott does no one use the facilities. And I also had the blueprints of Grand Central Station, which I hope today you would not be able to get. That story line occurs in A STRANGER IS WATCHING.
Question: How many hours a day do you write?
Mary Higgins Clark: I like to write from about eight in the morning to about three or four in the afternoon when I'm working on a book. Toward the end of the book, when the deadline is looming, I may be working 22 hours a day, literally.
Question: Hi, Mary. After so much rejection before your short story was accepted, how did you go on writing? I think I would have felt so discouraged I would have stopped. What made you continue?
Mary Higgins Clark: Because I knew I was going to make it. And the trick is to keep writing. I had 11 short stories in the mail before the first one sold. You've got to have faith in yourself and at the same time be willing to accept criticism. For years I got nothing but printed rejection letters before they would start to write at the bottom of it, "Not for us, but try us again."
Question: Were you influenced by Agatha Christie in your earlier works?
Mary Higgins Clark: Very much so. I liked her writing. And admired her plotting. And also, the fact that her violence is off-camera, which is the way I have always written. THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD, that was one of the great ones. I liked SPARKLING CYANIDE as well...MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, the Miss Marple books.
Question: What are some things you like to do outside of writing? I'm such a fan.... I just wondered if your lifestyle is reflected in your writing at all?
Mary Higgins Clark: Yes, right now we're at the Cape Cod house, and it's such a joy to be right on the water. I love the ocean. I enjoy the theater tremendously. My family is always in and out of the house. Last February, 19 of us went to Hawaii together.
Question: I can't believe they let you into the bowels of Grand Central. Did "they" also let you into the bowels of the other Central, the CIA, for that other book that takes place out West?
Mary Higgins Clark: No, in those days, you could just walk down a flight of stairs in Grand Central. Today there are actually people living there. No one stopped me. No one let me do it. You could just walk down a flight of stairs. And today I wouldn't go down there alone. And no, I've certainly never been in the bowels of the CIA.
Moderator: Thank you for joining us, Mary Higgins Clark! Any final thoughts?
Mary Higgins Clark: Goodnight. I love being a storyteller. I think that's what writing is all about. And books should in essence begin with the words "Once upon a time..."
