Renowned mystery author Dennis Lehane talks to iVillage about his characters, his fascination with lost innocence and more...

Starting out

iVillage: How did you first get published?

Dennis Lehane: When I wrote my first book, my professor read it. He said if I rewrote it, he would send it to an agent. I did, he sent it to an agent who accepted it, and two years later it was accepted by a publisher.

iVillage: Have you written in any other genre besides mystery?

Dennis Lehane: Yes, at first I was a short story writer; I began writing mysteries as a fluke. I wrote one of them during the summer, and it took hold; it was the best fluke of my life.

iVillage: Do you have first-hand knowledge of many of the events in your book?

Dennis Lehane: Well, I don't believe in autobiographical fiction. Nothing in any of my books has been inspired by a direct event. I think good writing is drawing on the flavour of your life or your world and turning the factual events of your life into some kind of myth.

Violence in mystery fiction

iVillage: Could you talk a little about the violence, depravity, sociopaths and psychos that populate your stories? Are they people you really knew from your childhood?

Dennis Lehane: That's a loaded question! Well, I grew up in a place where violence happened. It was usually very sudden and shocking. But violence is global; it's not unique to Boston. I'm attracted to the darkness in people.

iVillage: About the theme of child abuse in your work, is this your way of dealing with it, or are you trying to teach your readers something about it?

Dennis Lehane: Well, I was a therapeutic counsellor with abused children but I don't think it's my job to teach anyone anything. I think I'm fascinated with innocence lost. All writers have obsessions that manifest themselves in their work; I guess that's mine.

Setting as character

iVillage: Could you elaborate on the concept of setting as character in relation to Mystic River?

Dennis Lehane: It refers to a neighbourhood, the idea of the inner-city ethnic enclave that you find in Boston, New York or Chicago. It is a vanishing phenomenon, so I tried to capture its flavour before it's gone. That's the underlining character of the book: the idea of a vanishing area. Dave Boyle called it a vanishing tribe.

I think that safer streets come with progress and a rising economic base, which sacrifice its character and the individuality. I'm worried that progress will turn us into a nation of Starbucks and shopping malls. That would be a very depressing place to live - for me, at least.

Influences

iVillage: Who are some of your favourite mystery authors?

Dennis Lehane: I would say I was influenced by Donald Westlake writing as Richard Stark. I also like James Lee Burke and Crumley's book The Last Good Kiss : A NovelThe Last Good Kiss. That book really influenced me.

iVillage: Which has been more valuable to your success, real life experiences or writing classes?

Dennis Lehane: I'm not sure that you can separate the two. They have been of equal importance to me. Writing classes are wonderful if you check your ego at the door and show up to learn.

The art of writing

iVillage: How long does it typically take you to write a novel?

Dennis Lehane: I usually need a year-and-a-half to two years.

iVillage: Do you work from an extensive outline?

Dennis Lehane: No. I find outlines too constricting. I usually have a rough sense in my head of key events. Everything else is stitching things together, linking event A to event B and so on.

iVillage: How many rewrites do you usually have to do on your books?

Dennis Lehane: That depends. I write my work out in longhand first, and then I type it up on the same day. Every book goes through at least six rewrites.

iVillage: I read that former US President Bill Clinton is a fan of yours. Have you sent a copy of your latest book to President Bush?

Dennis Lehane: President Bush doesn't exactly strike me as the 'reading type'.

iVillage: Are you sometimes surprised by how your stories end - or do you always know what's coming?

Dennis Lehane: I'm surprised by 90 per cent of my books, but never by the ending! I always know the ending in advance.

Life as a writer

iVillage: There have to be some things about being an author that you don't like - right?

Dennis Lehane: Well, I can't think of any offhand. It beats selling shoes or working for a living when it comes right down to it!

iVillage: Do you write fiction only? Also, what other jobs did you hold when you were trying to get published?

Dennis Lehane: I write fiction only. Non-fiction involves facts, and I don't like facts. While I was writing, the only thing I was determined to do was not to take a job with a career track. I just wanted to write. So, I parked cars; I worked with abused children; I was a limo driver; I waited tables.

iVillage: What advice do you have for budding writers?

Dennis Lehane: My advice is, you've really got to love the work. You've got to love everything about writing. The messy drafts. The rejections. The rewriting. The years of trying to get published. If you don't love it, there are many other ways to make money. If you do love it, then treat it like a religion. Just pursue it as diligently as possible.

iVillage: Do you let your wife read your works-in-progress?

Dennis Lehane: Yes I do, especially when I'm struggling with the first 100 pages. Once the book unrolls, she doesn't read it until the very end - and then she's the first person to read it.

iVillage: How do you manage to keep up your writing schedule while you're out on promotional tours?

Dennis Lehane: You can write in a hotel. Have pen, will travel!

Looking to the future

iVillage: Are you going to write more Kenzie and Genarro books?

Dennis Lehane: Yes, but I decided to give them a two-book break. I have one more book to write before they return.

ivillage: Are there any plans for making a movie of Mystic River?

Dennis Lehane: I'm currently in talks with someone about that. Originally, I didn't want to make a movie - but someone who's a real legend wants to make it into a movie. But unless I get the right deal, there's no way in hell that I'm going to sell it.

iVillage: Of all your books, which is your favourite?

Dennis Lehane: My favourite is Mystic River, then Gone, Baby, Gone.

iVillage: What made you decide to write another stand-alone instead of a series book?

Dennis Lehane: Oftentimes, the story or the characters dictate what you choose to write. The characters for the next book are making a lot more noise, so to speak, than the characters from my series. I have to deal with that noise.

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