Ask the Author: Martin Dugard
Answered Questions (22)
Martin Dugard
Don --
I have a mortgage. Hope that helps,
Martin
I have a mortgage. Hope that helps,
Martin
Martin Dugard
The time I got arrested in Africa.
Martin Dugard
Zachariah --
Thanks for reading. Taking London was the third book in the series. Taking Midway is the fourth and will be in stores May 2025.
Martin
Thanks for reading. Taking London was the third book in the series. Taking Midway is the fourth and will be in stores May 2025.
Martin
Martin Dugard
Rachel --
Alas, the Killing series has come to an end. We also killed Marilyn in Killing Kennedy.
- Martin
Alas, the Killing series has come to an end. We also killed Marilyn in Killing Kennedy.
- Martin
Martin Dugard
I went into the book with a loose idea of the narrative arc but no specifics. To be honest, every chapter had a moment when I learned something completely new. Research brought them to life. Those moments became the dramatic pivot for every character or event to move the story forward.
Martin Dugard
A few have already been made into TV movies: Killing Lincoln, Kennedy, and Jesus.
Martin Dugard
Thanks for asking Jordynn. I choose my book topics based on things that interest me, places I want to travel, and subjects that others might like to read about. Then I do the deep dive on the research and begin writing.
Martin Dugard
Killing Jesus was easily the most intensely researched project I ever worked on. So much to learn and so difficult to go down the rabbit hole to find the facts to complement the history. But right now Taking Paris is my favorite book. The work was joyful and the research was immersive.
Martin Dugard
I listen to a lot of loud music, watch television every night and go to the movies as often as I can. I learn from all three, whether it be the placement of details in a Springsteen ballad, a well-delivered (meaning: well-written) line from a film, or the nuanced structure of a Ted Lasso episode. So I absorb those things, I stay in my lane. I work hard to keep my voice unique and my technique as spare as I can.
Martin Dugard
I read mostly fiction. And I have a theory that the act of reading helps an individual subconsciously absorb story structure. So while there is no fiction idea in my head right now, I might give it a go one of these days.
Martin Dugard
I'm about to start writing the second book in the Taking series. The topic is still classified, but it's going to be even bigger and more iconic than Taking Paris (due in stores September 7). I can't comment on the future of the Killing series.
Martin Dugard
I have a deep sense of gratitude that I've been blessed to spend my career as a writer. I love the daily discipline and the time alone fussing over the written word. But this is also a business. So while I really don't like writing book proposals, I accept that they are a part of the bargain.
Martin Dugard
I keep one or two going at the same time. I read for research all day long, so I don't count those. But I read for pleasure every afternoon, hitting one or two books a week.
Martin Dugard
Simone -- Thanks for this very tough question. First off, I would hope I would be allowed more than five! The most obvious book to lead off would be Michael Herr's Dispatches. I read and re-read that book all the time. So well written. Number two would be A Gentleman in Moscow, which I consider one of the greatest recent pieces of fiction. I'm a big fan of Anne Lamott's Traveling Mercies, so that would make the cut to give my time on the island a spiritual take. Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence is another book I read and re-read, and it would also remind me of great food and wine. The fifth book would be John le Carre's Smiley's People, which I can read over and over without understanding the many nuances.
Martin Dugard
I wanted to write a big World War II book. Taking Paris started as a very narrow project about August 1944 and grew into a sprawling epic with a cast of characters who came to life for me as I got to know them. I didn't want the writing process to end. Due in stores on September 7.
Martin Dugard
I get up, read the paper, drink a pot of coffee, maybe edit a few pages from the previous day, then I go into my office and procrastinate for an hour (as I'm doing now) and then close the door and write.
Martin Dugard
Wrapping up the new Killing book. Then I'm going to take a few months of quiet time to research my next solo project.
Martin Dugard
Writing is a blue collar profession. Get up every morning and go to work each day. Writing a book is like training for a marathon: consistency is the key.
Martin Dugard
Independence. Travel. Fussing with a sentence or a paragraph for a morning, just to get it write. Sweatpants.
Martin Dugard
I sit at my desk and screw around with my blog or some other nonsense having nothing to do with the book I'm writing. Sometimes I go for a run. But for the most part I'm aware that sometimes a good day of writing is 1,000 words and sometimes it's a single sentence.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more