We are very excited to sit and down and talk with Andrew Bourelle. Andrew Bourelle is the author of Heavy Metal, the winner of the 2016 Autumn House Press Fiction Prize, and 48 Hours to Kill. He also co-authored three novels with legendary writer James Paterson: Texas Ranger, Texas Outlaw, and The Texas Murders. A former newspaper reporter, Bourelle is now an associate professor of English at the University of New Mexico. Bourelle’s newest novel, Shot Clock, is releasing this year.
Shot Clock has received tremendous praise from early reviewers. New York Times Bestselling Author James Rollins called it “A slam dunk of a thriller” while author Michael Kardos described it as “electrifying!”
Thriller Magazine: Thank you for sitting down with us, Andrew. For our readers that may not be aware, in 2018 when we started Thriller Magazine, your story “Three Bullets” was the first story we published in our first issue! Over the past few years, you’ve received tremendous accolades, collaborated with some of the best authors in the business (including James Patterson), and have been described by Publisher’s Weekly as “a writer to watch.” Can you tell us a little about how your writing career started and how it evolved?
I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Thriller Magazine. Thanks for featuring me in that first issue.
I think my writing career has evolved like a lot of writers: one step at a time. I cut my teeth writing short stories, trying to get them published, having some success, taking a shot at a novel, facing rejection, persevering, and so on.
A big change happened for me when James Patterson was guest-editing The Best American Mystery Stories 2015, and he read a story of mine, a sort of modern-day western called “Cowboy Justice.” Being included in the anthology was my biggest accomplishment up to that point, but on top of it, Jim reached out and said, “Hey, do you want to work on something together?”
It’s a weird thing when you’re trying to break down doors in publishing and one day a door you didn’t even know was there suddenly opens up. Another big step was finding my agent, Amy Tannenbaum of the Jane Rotrosen Agency, who has been amazing helping me write and publish my own thrillers. I’ve now published six novels—three with James Patterson, three on my own—but, honestly, I feel like I’m just getting started.
TM: Many reviewers have likened your style to Harlan Coben and Lee Child. Who are your own literary influences, and how do they shape your approach to the thriller/suspense genre?
It’s a high compliment to be mentioned in the same sentence as Harlan Coben and Lee Child, and I certainly count both of them among my influences. Other influential thriller authors include—in no particular order—Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Meg Gardiner, Tana French, Don Winslow, S.A. Cosby, James Rollins, Michael Crichton, Elmore Leonard, and, of course, James Patterson. I grew up on a steady diet of Stephen King and Dean Koontz, and I still read many of their new releases.
Lately I’ve been reading a lot of Lisa Jewell and Ruth Ware. I’m a firm believer in reading the types of books you’re trying to write, but also reading outside of the genre as well. In the last twelve months or so, I’ve read books by Colson Whitehead, Stephen Graham Jones, Matt Haig, HG Wells, Jane Austen, and Alexandre Dumas, not to mention a bunch of children’s books with my kids: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The BFG, Bunnicula. I feel like you can learn something from just about any book you read.
TM: Your next novel set to be released is titled Shot Clock. This novel revolves around the premise of a fixed basketball game with innocent lives on the line. What inspired this idea?
Anyone who’s watched enough sports inevitably will find themselves watching a game where their team is playing like crap and the thought goes through their head, “Are they trying to lose?” After watching a few miserable games like this, the idea occurred to me—what if a player actually was trying to throw a game? What could compel them to do that? And then the seed of the idea blossomed into the concept of two people racing against the clock—one on the court and the other off. So I came up with Garrett Streeter, a basketball star whose brother is kidnapped, and Caitlin Glass, a one-time ball player who is now a police officer. I liked the idea that both had to be at the top of their game, so to speak, if they were going to rescue the missing person.
TM: Shot Clock is definitely a “ticking clock thriller.” You’ve used this same “ticking clock” style in your previous novel, 48 Hours to Kill. What factor does suspense play in your writing, and how do you find you best build suspense in your stories?
Giving characters a time constraint is a way of turning up the temperature on the tension in a story. It works because readers can relate. We all live our lives under the pressures of ticking clocks.
Every morning, as I’m trying to get my kids ready for school, I feel anxiety that we’re not going to make it. When I drive to work, if the traffic is backed up, I start to get nervous, thinking, “I’m the teacher. I can’t be late to class!”
Even with raising kids, I’ll think, “They’re growing up so fast. I wish they’d slow down!”
As a writer, when I’m on deadline, it stresses me out as well, but it’s also a great motivator. Sometimes I do my best writing under a tight deadline. Working under pressure can bring out the best in people—or make them crack!
TM: Your protagonist, Caitlin Glass, is a complex character—a former athlete with broken dreams who is now a police officer and mother. She also has a complicated past with Garrett Streeter, the basketball star at the center of this plot. You’ve always been a master at building characters. How did you build Caitlin’s character?
I like to create characters who are very capable but who are also very human. They can kick butt, but they’re not superheroes. Caitlin was an elite athlete in college, and now she’s as good a shot with her service pistol as she ever was with a basketball. But she still has insecurities and fears and struggles that most people can relate to. She’s undervalued at her job, she stresses about money, she’s pulled between her career and her family, and she’s not living the life she dreamed of. I think most people can relate to at least some of these. I think that helps make her relatable, even when she’s kicking butt and taking names.
TM: Your book touches on themes of ambition, sacrifice, and the price of success. What message, if any, do you hope readers take away from Garrett and Caitlin’s journey?
I wanted to write about two people who were once on similar paths, but whose lives turned out very differently. Caitlin’s dreams of being a professional athlete fell apart and she became a cop instead. But Garrett achieved everything Caitlin ever wanted and more. Yet he is the one asking her for help. I liked the idea of putting them through a gauntlet that would help them see what’s most important in their lives. If readers can take something from their journeys, all the better.