Biography
Douglas Preston was born in 1956 in Cambridge, MA, was raised in nearby Wellesley (where, by his own admission, he and his brothers were the scourge of the neighborhood!), and graduated from Pomona College in California with a degree in English literature.
Preston's first job was as a writer for the American Museum of Natural History in New York -- an eight year stint that led to the publication of his first book, Dinosaurs in the Attic and introduced him to his future writing partner, Lincoln Child, then working as an editor at St. Martin's Press. The two men bonded, as they worked closely together on the book. As the project neared completion, Preston treated Child to a private midnight tour of the museum, an excursion that proved fateful. As Preston tells it, "...in the darkened Hall of Late Dinosaurs, under a looming T. Rex, Child turned to [me] and said: 'This would make the perfect setting for a thriller!'" Their first collaborative effort, Relic, would not be published until 1995, by which time Preston had picked up stakes and moved to Santa Fe to pursue a full-time writing career.
In addition to writing novels (The Codex, Tyrannosaur Canyon) and nonfiction books on the American Southwest (Cities of Gold, Ribbons of Time), Preston has collaborated with Lincoln Child on several post-Relic thrillers. While not strictly a series, the books share characters and events, and the stories all take place in the same universe. The authors refer to this phenomenon as "The Preston-Child Pangea."
Preston divides his time between New Mexico and Maine, while Child lives in New Jersey -- a situation that necessitates a lot of long-distance communication. But their partnership (facilitated by phone, fax, and email) is remarkably productive and thoroughly egalitarian: They shape their plots through a series of discussions; Child sends an outline of a set of chapters; Preston writes the first draft of those chapters, which is subsequently rewritten by Child; and in this way the novel is edited back and forth until both authors are happy. They attribute the relatively seamless surface of their books to the fact that "[a]ll four hands have found their way into practically every sentence, at one time or another."
In between, Preston remains busy. He is a regular contributor to magazines like National Geographic, The New Yorker, Natural History, Smithsonian, Harper's, and Travel & Leisure, and he continues with varied solo literary projects. Which is not to say his partnership with Lincoln Child is over. Fans of the bestselling Preston-Child thrillers can be assured there are bigger and better adventures to come.
Good to Know
Douglas Preston counts among his ancestors the poet Emily Dickinson, the newspaperman Horace Greeley, and the infamous murderer and opium addict Amasa Greenough.
His brother is Richard Preston, the bestselling author of The Hot Zone, The Cobra Event, The Wild Trees, and other novels and nonfiction narratives.
Preston is an expert horseman and a member of the Long Riders Guild.
He is also a National Geographic Society Fellow, has traveled extensively around the world, and contributes archaeological articles to many magazines.
In our interview, Preston shared some fun and fascinating personal anecdotes.
"My first job was washing dishes in the basement of a nursing home for $2.10 an hour, and I learned as much about the value of hard work there as I ever did later."
"I need to write in a small room -- the smaller the better. I can't write in a big room where someone might sneak up behind my back."
"My hobbies are mountain biking, horseback riding and packing, canoeing and kayaking, hiking, camping, cooking, and skiing."
Feature Interview
In the summer of 2005, Douglas Preston took some time out to talk with us about favorite books, authors, and interests. What was the book that most influenced your life or your career as a writer?
I would have to say the novel War and Peace influenced me more than any other book. This greatest of novels demonstrated to me the enormous power of literature and fired me up with a desire to become a writer, to participate in what I considered then to be the greatest of all endeavors.
What are your favorite books, and what makes them special to you?
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins -- This vast and haunting novel, published in the 19th century, is one of the greatest mystery novels ever written. The character of Count Fosco was so marvelously drawn by Collins that we stole it for our novel Brimstone.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy -- This is a novel that has everything in it, everything. It creates a world so real, with people so vivid and alive, that anyone who reads this novel will never, ever forget the experience.
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway -- This is one of the greatest war novels ever written, by a writer who influenced American prose more than any other American writer. A beautiful and sad novel.
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton -- This was the first and still the best technothriller ever written. Crichton is a master storyteller.
The Odysseyby Homer -- I hope I'm not starting to sound like a dusty old English professor here, but The Odyssey (I recommend the Fagles translation) was the first novel and the first thriller. It has everything a good thriller requires: love, hatred, monsters, magic, revenge, graphic violence, bloodshed, mystery, and a wily, unforgettable hero.
The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov -- These three novels form the greatest science fiction opus ever written, in my humble opinion. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card comes in a close second, along with Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, Vonnegut's Sirens of Titan, and Dune by Frank Herbert. You read these science fiction novels and everything else seems tepid by comparison.
The Hot Zone by my brother, Richard Preston -- I read this book when I was recovering from the flu, and it damn near gave me a relapse. This is one of the most frightening books I've ever read.
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov -- Getting past the sex business, this is an extraordinary American novel, a strange and haunting portrait of our country.
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger -- Once a classic, always a classic. This story of the painful coming-of-age of Holden Caulfield will speak to every new young generation for a long, long time. What are some of your favorite films?
The Wizard of Oz -- A story of almost mythic power and delight.
Back to the Future -- A quintessential American story.
The Empire of the Sun -- Spielberg's most extraordinary film, utterly mesmerizing.
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
Little Big Man
Dances with Wolves
North by Northwest
The Third Man
Star Wars
The Man in the White Suit and any movie with Alec Guinness What types of music do you like? Is there any particular kind you like to listen to when you're writing?
I can't write and listen to music. I have eclectic tastes -- classical, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Celtic, Italian popular music, among others.
What are your favorite kinds of books to give -- and get -- as gifts?
Blank books and poetry books. From those whose taste I respect, I like to get novels from authors I've never heard of.
Do you have any special writing rituals? For example, what do you have on your desk when you're writing?
No. I work nine to five, just like any good bank clerk.
Many writers are hardly "overnight success" stories. How long did it take for you to get where you are today? Any rejection-slip horror stories or inspirational anecdotes?
I've been writing for 25 years. Sure, I've got plenty of rejection slip horror stories. No so much from book publishers, but from magazines. Magazines in general treat writers horribly, despicably -- although there are exceptions, like The New Yorker, National Geographic, and a few other top magazines. Most (especially men's fashion magazines like GQ) generally treat writers like dirt.
What tips or advice do you have for writers still looking to be discovered?
Keep working. It's a career, not a book. If your first manuscript doesn't sell, quit messing with it and move on quickly to the next novel.
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