A Quick One on The Side - Jeff Abbott

A warm Texas welcome to guest author Jeff Abbott.

Jeff is the award-winning author of 13 mystery and suspense novels. A graduate of Rice University, he has a degree in History and English. His early novels were very much in the tradition of detective fiction. In more recent novels, Jeff has written more thriller fiction. Jeff is noted for writing novels that are 'exciting, shrewd, and beautifully crafted'.
Jeff is a three-time nominee for the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Allan Poe Award and a two-time nominee for the Anthony Award. His novels 'Panic' and 'Collision' have both been optioned for film. 'Collision' is titled 'Run' in the UK. Jeff resides in Austin, Texas.

So here we go, settle down y'all, Jeff answers some quickies...

Who is your favourite author?
"Charles Dickens probably for favourite of all time. Modern authors I always read are Harlan Coben, Laura Lippman, Kate Atkinson, Lee Child, and many more."

What would be your favourite book read?
"I'll say Madeleine L'Engle's 'A Wrinkle In Time' because it was the first book that made me want to be a writer. I re-read it with my son not long ago and it's still a wonderful book."

Who is your favourite band/group?
"Depending on my mood: Miles Davis, The Beatles, Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Patsy Cline, New Order."

What is your most listened to album?
"Miles Davis' 'Sketches of Spain'. But when I'm writing I listen to a lot of film soundtracks, so probably the three Bourne soundtracks by John Powell are currently the most played because I'm trying to finish a book."

What has been the best gig/concert you have attended?
"Bruce Springsteen in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas back in the 80s; Radiohead just this month in Austin."

What is your favourite food?
"Mexican."

What would be your favourite holiday destination?
"Hawaii."

What would be the most autographs you've ever signed in one session?
"My publisher flew me up to their warehouse in Indianapolis to sign 3,000 copies of 'Adrenaline' before it went on sale last summer. I thought my hand would get sore but they said 'No, it'll be your shoulder that'll ache' and they were right."

Have you ever been mistaken for someone else?
"Once a very sweet but momentarily confused lady at a library thought I was mega-selling YA author Rick Riordan. We don't look that much alike but she didn't have her glasses on."

Can you tell 'em apart?


How often do you get recognised?
"Not that often. I got recogised while on my second date with my wife-to-be, and that never happens, so my wife later joked that I'd staged it, but I hadn't. Once I was standing in line at a Rick Riordan signing with my kids (along with 3,000 other people) and another parent recognised me because she had one of my books in her purse and asked me to sign it."

Many thanks go to Jeff for being my guest, all the way from Texas.
As ever, thanks for reading.....