Mary Higgins Clark would be forgiven if she decided to rest for a while. After all, she is 90.
Instead, the doyenne of suspense recently turned out "I've Got My Eyes on You," (Simon & Schuster, 246 pp, $26.99), a terrific story set in Saddle River, where Clark lives. This takes readers inside a suburban girl's murder and shines the light on a guileless young man who has Fragile X syndrome, as does one of Clark's grandsons.
Clark is finishing a book now and has her next one planned. The numbers she generates are staggering: She has sold over 100 million books. The author of 53 standalone novels, she also writes series with her daughter, Carol Higgins Clark, and with Alafair Burke. Clark has also written a memoir and is considering another. Her books and stories have been turned into movies and TV adaptations.
It's no mystery why Clark is as popular as she is. Her books are addictive, filled with credible characters, excellent plots and typically eloquent lines, such as this from her latest: "The promise of future beauty was in her face."
Her latest mystery focuses on the death of a popular girl, who just after her high school graduation, is found dead in her Saddle River home pool.
Like anyone who has vanquished tough times - Clark's father died when she was young, a brother died shortly after enlisting, her husband died, leaving her with five young children - Clark has worked incredibly hard. She acknowledges she always knew she would be successful, she simply didn't realize how successful.
Clark shares some of her story with New Jersey Authors in this interview, edited for space.
How do you approach the plot of a suspense novel?
I just know what the plot is about. I have to know this happened. And then I backtrack. Who are the people in this book? How old are they? What do they look like? Where do they go to school? How do they dress? I rewrite the first 50 pages so many times before I feel that's the right name for her. Then, 'Oh yes, this is OK. This is good. I like these characters.' Then I am ready to start running.
Do you outline?
I certainly know where I am going. To me it would be impossible to start a book and not know where I am going with it and how it will end.
Mary Higgins Clark always knows where the plot is headed and rewrites the first 50 pages repeatedly.
How do you work? When we redid this house 20 years ago, I put in a beautiful upstairs office for myself. Since then my fingers have arthritis and I can never hit the right key now. I write longhand or dictate. I like a good, old-fashioned three-ring binder. And I write in that and David (her son) is my right-hand man. He will be with me as I am writing and then type it all out and then I can easily do editing on it.
You had a number of jobs before becoming a successful novelist. Can you tell us about working as a hotel phone operator?
It was one of those old-fashioned boards and you tapped to see if the line was busy. If the board was fairly quiet and you pulled out the plug a little you could listen in on conversation. One lady, Maggie, had all these boyfriends, and she said, 'Don't say another word. That damn operator is listening!' All right, Maggie.
What was your connection to Tennessee Williams?
It was after I sold 'Where are the Children?' and it was a manuscript, and hadn't been published yet. Around the corner from where I worked, four of us would go have a glass of wine. Everyone fled for their carpools, and the bartender said, 'I heard somebody bought your book. Tennessee Williams is often sitting at the bar. Why don't I show him a copy of your book?' Two weeks later he gave me back the manuscript and he said, 'I know a lot of writers who can write better than that!' I laughed. I had sold the book. It was just funny.
When you worked at Remington-Rand, you had some famous co-workers. Who were they?
Joseph Heller worked there and Grace Kelly did some modeling.
Didn't you do some modeling?
I did one commercial. It showed on 'I Love Lucy.' The Fab commercial. I thought it was a joke when I interviewed. I said, 'The only reason I use Fab is because it gets clothes whitey white. And I did a commercial and I was getting these wonderful, glorious checks coming in. I took my family to Europe on those commercials.
Mary Higgins Clark worked as a Pan Am stewardess (as they were known then) for one year before marrying Warren Clark, pictured here.
You have talked about always knowing you were a writer, but how did you make that jump from being a scribbler to being a writer?
When I was married, and I knew I have to take writing courses. I have to learn how to tell a story. I took my first writing course and learned everything I needed to know about writing. I finally sold my first story for $100, then I became fairly successful writing short stories. I was one of the Ten Best in 'The Saturday Evening Post.'
Among those other jobs was writing radio scripts. Did that force you to become the succinct writer you are?
It helped. In a 4-minute program, you had to tell the story. There is a cadence of words. I can't sing a note but I do have a cadence of words. It has to flow, have a certain resonance to it. I think about that, I really do.
What advice do you give to aspiring writers?
I tell people who say, 'I want to be a writer and say, 'I will write as soon as ....' As soon as will never happen. You have to get up early in the morning if you are a morning person or stay up late at night but get something down. I suggest they take classes.
Which of your books were set in New Jersey? (This answer submitted via email.)
"The Cradle Will Fall" (1980), Saddle River. "While My Pretty One Sleeps" (1987),
Ridgewood. "All Around the Town" (1992), Ridgewood. "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" (1995), Ho-Ho-Kus, Hackensack, Old Tappan, Englewood Cliffs and Oradell.
"My Gal Sunday" (1996), Bernardsville. "On the Street Where You Live" (2001) Spring Lake. "Deck the Halls" (2002) Edgewater. "Kitchen Privileges" (memoir) Washington Township.
"No Place Like Home " (2005), Mendham. "I Heard That Song Before" (2007), Englewood. "Just Take My Heart" (2009), Glen Rock and Closter. "The Lost Years" (2012), Mahwah.
"The Melody Lingers On" (2015), Montclair. "As Time Goes By" (2016), Alpine. "I've Got My Eyes on You," (2018) Saddle River.
How do the Bronx and New Jersey inform your work?
I was born and raised in the Bronx and I (later) lived in Stuyvesant Town. I love New York. I really do. I was on a cruise once and the cruise director said, 'Who is from California? Yay! And, who is from New Jersey?' (She says this part with derision in her voice. She wanted to tell him:) You don't know how lovely New Jersey is with the shoreline and the mountains. It has so many horses. I want to show you the good parts of New Jersey.