Conversing with New York Times Bestselling author Stuart Woods is like reading one of his novels: thrilling, down-to-earth and full of intrigue. No grandstanding or arrogance, just the man who says that each book's success surprises him just like the first. His literary debut to the world was CHIEFS---the book that was the first of two that were later turned into movies (The second was Grass Roots.).
On Thursday, January 24, 2008 members of Conversations Book Club and Chapter One Book Club gathered at the Pearl Public Library for the live discussion with Woods, an exclusive interview to discuss his newest book BEVERLY HILLS DEAD that was released on Tuesday, January 15, 2008.
Woods told the group that with each release and the growth from every novel he is becoming the person he wants to be in life. Readers of his novels will be out of luck if they are trying to figure out who in the author's life inspired the characters that have made him famous. He explained that the characters are pretty different from people that he knows, but he has found comfort writing about the time period that he knows the most about: the 1940s.
Stuart Woods will be releasing three novels in 2008, which BEVERLY HILLS DEAD is his first. Starting the reader off where PRINCE OF BEVERLY HILLS left us, BEVERLY HILLS DEAD lives up to expectactions as a page-turning novel of murder, suspicions, political intrigue and betrayals set in 1940s Hollywood. We're back with Rick Barron--- former Beverly Hills police officer---who is now the head of production of Centurion Studios. The book has all the traditions of a Woods' bestseller, and after 30-plus bestselling titles, it has been hailed as his best novel to date
I told the group that though Woods writes about the lives of the rich and famous, he doesn't try to overly glamorize the lives that they live. In fact, he brought up a point that many may have overlooked in light of the current Writers Strike that is going on today. "We are all interested in hollywood," he told the group. "If you think about it, Entertainment Tonight began during a writer's strike some 25 years ago, focusing on movie stars and producers and look at it today. It is still watched all over the world because we like to get to know the celebrities." Woods pointed out that not much has changed today. The world is still fascinated by the lives of those considered to be the rich and powerful.
In rapping up the discussion, I cited the fact that once again Mississippi (where Conversations Book Club began) had the highest illiteracy rate in 2007. I then asked Woods what he would suggest those who enjoyed reading do to stimulate nonreaders. "My readership spreads through word of mouth," he told us. He even did research to see where the majority of his sales came from and the results were for me somewhat surprising: 25% comes from Sams and other popular retailers, only about 8% comes from Barnes and Noble and similar chains, but a surprising 25% of his sales come from libraries across the country.
Woods says the key to getting people into reading is this: You can't just try to get them to read Dickens and Steinbeck. You have to find something that catches their attention. When it comes to getting men to read, one woman related this story to Woods: "My husband hasn't read a book since high school. He is now in his 50s and I was able to get him to read your (Woods') books because they were about things that he were already interested in."
In the future, Woods says that he would like his novels featuring Stone Barrington made into mini series for television. For now, though, he is looking forward to revisiting his next Will Lee novel which hits stores in January 2009 that will once again deal with the White House.
Before ending the discussion, Woods told our group that on Sunday, January 27, 2008 his book, BEVERLY HILLS DEAD, will be #4 on the New York Times Bestsellers List. An accomplishment that is no surprise from someone who seems to have the golden touch when it comes writing books with substance.
