But the news also brought back a painful memory from my high school years. What, all these years later, a high school wound can still hurt? Well, yes. In fact, things that wound us in high school may be the very injuries that last the longest, because those are the years when you are most vulnerable, most unsure of yourself.

Here’s what happened. I was told that I was “unworthy” of ever being my boyfriend’s wife.

I had dated him through my junior and senior year. And in a true moment of honesty, he told me why he could never marry me:

“My dad says that if I marry an Asian girl, it will destroy my business prospects.”

That’s when I learned that no matter what I achieved, or who I was beneath my Asian exterior, I would never be good enough. I would never be worthy of that boy, or his family, or those who believed the way he did.

Decades later, I still think about it. And in a strange way, I’m grateful for that snub. It’s made me work harder than most people. It’s taught me that I will forever have to prove myself.

Now I look at the Zuckerberg and Chan marriage and I wonder if, somewhere in this country, fathers are still telling their sons that marrying an Asian/Black/Hispanic/Martian girl will destroy their business prospects.

Girls, here’s my advice: make your own fortunes. Toss those boys to the curb. And never forget the old wounds. They may be the fuel that drives you to the top.

From “How dishing got dirty” by Joseph Epstein in The Week, January 20, 2012:

“Stendhal said that to write a book is to risk being shot at in public. But until the Internet, one didn’t know all the tender places in which one could be shot. And there is no redress, not really, not likely, not ever, not so long as the Internet remains the playground of the too often pathological and the Valhalla of the unvalorous.”

So we go onto IMDB, my online source for everything Hollywood, and holy cow. That ridiculous movie had BOTH Kate Winslet and Daniel Craig in the cast! The movie was made before either actor had made their marks as Major Movie Stars.

Do they look back on that film now and wince with embarrassment? Do they harbor fantasies of sneaking into the film vaults and burning every copy? Or do they, like every other Major Movie Star, just count those early duds as the dues they had to pay to make it to the top?

It made me think about writers, and how many of us now look back at our early work and wince. How many of us wish we could destroy every copy of our first novels? How many of us wrote porn to pay the bills? Or churned out articles for iffy magazines?

In my case, I started my career writing romantic thrillers. While I’m not embarrassed by any of those books (and they were not easy to write — no genre is easy!), there are times when I wish I could hide my early romance novels from my current thriller audience because of all the flak I get. Many mystery readers hate romance, any hint of romance, and they make damn sure I know it. But I look back on that period of my career as something I had to do to make it as a writer.

Are any of you embarrassed by something you wrote way back in the years when you were first trying to get a toehold in the industry? Share!

So now there’s a reader review of SILENT GIRL on Amazon accusing me of ripping off GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, and he says that Stieg Larsson’s estate should sue me. He says it’s exactly the same story. I’ve just seen the movie, so I’ll start off exploring this issue with plot summaries.

GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is about a sexually traumatized computer hacker who teams up with a disgraced journalist to solve the mystery of a missing girl. There’s also a lot about Swedish business corruption, Nazis, and men’s abuse of women in Swedish society.

THE SILENT GIRL is about a series of murders in Boston’s Chinatown that may be linked to a decades-old massacre in a Chinese restaurant. Rizzoli and Isles investigate. There’s stuff about a female Chinese martial arts master, the ancient legend of the Monkey King, and the Asian immigrant experience.

So far, these stories are really close, right? Except for their plots and characters.

Where, then, are the similarities between these books? They’re definitely there — in the form of mystery tropes that have been used by just about every mystery writer who’s ever lived. They’re part of every writer’s plot toolbox, and I’ve been using them for years. (Maybe I should be sued for copying from my own books). There are spoilers below, so I apologize in advance if I give away clues to books of mine that you haven’t yet read.

Literary tropes in mysteries:

Dead or missing female victim(s)
Yep, both DRAGON TATTOO and SILENT GIRL have them. Dead girls. The mystery genre loves dead girls. TV loves them too, especially if they’ve been sexually abused (anyone watch Law & Order SVU?) I’ve used this trope repeatedly in THE SURGEON (2001), THE APPRENTICE (2002), VANISH (2005), and THE KEEPSAKE (2008). I was writing about dead girls long before DRAGON TATTOO. And like DRAGON TATTOO, my victims were sometimes confined in basements (THE SURGEON.)

Killers who work as a team or as a family
I’ve used it already in THE APPRENTICE (2001) and THE KEEPSAKE (2008). And yep, I even had a book where the killers are part of the same family, in BODY DOUBLE (2004.) I also dealt with the theme of multi-generational evil in THE MEPHISTO CLUB (2006).

The “dead” character who turns out to be alive.
I love this trope. In fact, I used it in my very first romantic suspense novel, CALL AFTER MIDNIGHT (1987). I used it again in HARVEST (1996), THE MEPHISTO CLUB (2006), and THE KEEPSAKE (2008).

These are literary tropes because they are endlessly useful plot devices that writers have used since the beginning of storytelling. Throughout my writing career, I’ve fallen back on them to inject surprise, suspense, or that one last plot twist. Tropes are not copyrighted. They do not belong to Stieg Larsson. In fact, I’m willing to bet that Stieg Larsson borrowed them from someone else. (Hey Jo Nesbo, did Stieg take something of yours?)

DRAGON TATTOO has become stratospherically popular. Even readers who hardly ever read novels have picked this one up, or watched the movie, and they think this must be the first serial killer story ever written that has a duo of killers. They think that no one else has ever before written about survivors of sexual trauma (I did in THE SURGEON) or abusive fathers (I did in THE SINNER) or kick-ass heroines (um… Jane Rizzoli?) They think this because they haven’t been reading deeply in the genre. They think that anyone else who uses these tropes must be a plagiarist, because of course, Stieg Larsson invented them.

No, he didn’t. Neither did I.

But I’m a sucker for movies about writers. Writing is a strange career. We’re often misunderstood by spouses and family. Many of us struggle to pay the bills. And the creative mind isn’t always the most stable mind, leading to mental crack-ups, imaginary friends, and fatal desperation. In short: terrific fodder for a story!

Here are my favorite writer films. Not all of them earned critical acclaim, but each one gave a glimpse of what it’s really like to be a writer.

TAMARA DREWE

I watched this seldom-seen film during an airline flight and laughed my way halfway across the Atlantic. It’s billed as a romantic comedy about a young woman who returns to her hometown village, but there’s also a subplot about an obnoxiously successful thriller writer who hosts writing workshops at his English country estate. It’s the subplot that steals the film, with snarky dinner conversations about literary vs. commercial fiction, disastrous booksignings, and a cautionary tale about how commercial success can create monsters.

THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN

Billy Crystal plays Larry, a bitterly divorced novelist and writing instructor who’s suffering from terminal writer’s block. When one of his writing students, Owen, (Danny DeVito) offers to murder Larry’s ex-wife if Larry will, in turn, murder Owen’s obnoxious mother, Larry thinks it’s a joke. Or is it? A mad-cap comedy about how rage can destroy creativity — and how friendships can restore it.

THE GHOST WRITER

While this film isn’t about a novelist, it paints a realistic picture of how celebrity “autobiographies” are actually produced. A talented young ghost-writer (whose name, significantly enough, is never given) has been hired to write the autobiography of a former Prime Minister. The ghost uncovers unsavory secrets that were never meant to be revealed — and which may threaten his life.

ADAPTATION

A screenwriter (Nicholas Cage) struggles to write a film adaptation of the book THE ORCHID THIEF, which turns out to be unadaptable — unless he takes outrageous liberties with the plot. The result is a zany look at how far writers will go to deliver the goods.

THE SHINING

How could I not mention this creepy, crawly tale of a writer who slowly goes totally bonkers in a deserted hotel, as his family watches in horror?

And finally, my favorite:

SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE

Young Shakespeare writes “Romeo and Juliet”, falls in love, and tries to stay one step ahead of the Queen’s guard. The scene that had me laughing hardest? When a ferryman finds out that Shakespeare’s a writer and asks him, “Will you read my manuscript?”

But the requests kept coming.

Recently, I had some other fun stuff made (hats and coffee mugs) as prize giveaways for a recent contest. And the stuff was so cool that I began to think: “why not make these available for everyone? And why not throw in other fun gear like a Maura scrub top and Jane/Maura underwear? (Which was suggested by a Facebook friend.)

So today, ta dah! We’re launching our e-store where you can buy the first few items we’ve now got in stock: Rizzoli and Isles baseball caps, with your choice of “What Would Jane Do?” or “What Would Maura Do?” embroidered on the back, and coffee mugs. Hospital scrub tops and underwear will be coming, too.

We’re trying to keep the prices reasonable, because I’m not doing this to make money. It’s to give Jane and Maura fans what they’ve been asking for, and to spread the word about both the TV show and the books.

We’re new to this, so please be gentle with us. We have no idea how much will sell, and no idea if we’ll end up with 200 pairs of unsold underwear. It’s all an experiment, and it’s all in fun. Check back often, because new things will be popping up soon.

And yes, we do take international orders!

If I win, it just might be a fine time to throw a Rizzoli & Isles party in Scotland. In the morgue. If they’ll let me.

My friends at the University of Dundee in Scotland asked me to keep their “Million for a Morgue” campaign rolling. Here’s their press release:

Ten of the world’s best crime writers are competing to have a state-of-the-art morgue named after them – and you can vote for me!

The morgue is going to be a centre for scientific research and training, helping the next generation of scientists, doctors and dentists to become better at saving lives and at developing cures for a huge range of illnesses. The morgue will also be instrumental for Prof Sue Black’s work with the police in the UK; in smashing paedophile networks, in understanding how crimes were committed, as well as her endeavours overseas – she’s travelled the world, helping identify bodies that are decomposed, burned, mutilated or otherwise unrecognisable, including the victims of natural disasters, such as the 2004 tsunami. Sue’s highest profile project was identifying the bodies of Slobodan Milosevic’s victims in mass graves in the Balkans – both for public record, and for burial. The new morgue will help Sue and her team be at the forefront of new technology as well as being the training ground for a new generation, people who can carry on Sue’s work across the globe.

To vote for Tess online, go to http://www.millionforamorgue.com/the-authors/Tess-Gerritsen

It was an invitation I couldn’t resist. When writer and editor Bob Gleason asked if I wanted to join some science fiction authors for an exclusive tour of NASA’s Goddard campus in Maryland, of course I said yes! The tour was arranged by Tor/Forge Books, a publisher I don’t write for, but Bob had enjoyed my novel GRAVITY and he generously asked me to join their Tor/Forge authors in a behind-the-scenes look that the public seldom gets to see. In return, NASA hopes more novels will be written — accurately — about the space program.

Among our group were writers lready well-known in the SF and thriller genres including Thomas Allen, Larry Bond, Chris Carlson, Jim DeFelice, Bill Forstchen, David Hagberg, Jim Born, and Heather Graham. I was particularly happy that Heather was along — otherwise the testosterone in the air would have been overwhelming!

We started off with a peek at the James Webb Telescope, due to be launched in 2018. Once in space, this infrared space telescope will give us a look at the very beginnings of the universe.

Next it was on to a tour of the Integration and Test Facilities, where they see if their equipment is up to the rigors of launch. In this chamber, they subject instruments to ear-splittingly loud noise — so loud that even though the chamber’s encased in concrete, workers can still hear it through the thick door.

Our tour of the test facilities included an enormous centrifuge and vibration and vacuum chambers. Then it was on to Earth Science Mission Control Centers, Satellite Servicing, and — my favorite place — the Detector Development Lab, where we suited up in bunny suits to see where they build micro-shutter array chips for the Webb Telescope.

After a visit to the propulsion facility, where we chatted with rocket scientists who love their jobs “because we get to blow things up!”, it was on to a special reception where 150 folks from NASA came just to meet… us! Many people we met there were inspired to go into the space program because of their love of science fiction. So while we writers were thrilled to meet real space scientists, the scientists seemed just as happy to meet writers.

The next day’s tour included lectures about how they develop instruments and a visit to the Integrated Design Center. Here I learned the amazing fact that anyone can submit a scientific proposal to NASA. You don’t have to work for NASA. If you’re some twelve-year-old genius tinkering in your garage and you come up with a brilliant idea, you can submit a proposal whenever NASA sends out its “Announcement of Opportunity” bulletin. If NASA’s screening panel thinks your idea has merit, it might be used for a future mission. (They’ve even received proposals written by kids in crayon.)
Here I am in the Mission Services Evolution Center where they develop some of those proposals into real engineering hardware. I’m seated at the team leader’s work station where I was warned “not to touch anything!” (As if I dared.)

That afternoon, we got to spend an amazing hour at the IRAD Poster Session, where scientists presented their emerging technology innovations.

A sample poster:

I have to admit, I had no idea what many of these people were talking about. But I tried to keep up my end of the conversation anyway.

Finally, we ended up with the highlight of our visit: a panel discussion on extraterrestrial life. It was a lively exchange between writers and scientists as we discussed what life on other planets might look like, whether it was necessarily carbon-based, and would we recognize it. The most thought-provoking question of all was asked by one of the writers: “If E.T. called earth looking for inhabitants, would you pick up the phone and answer?” It sounds like a simple question, as most scientists would immediately say “Hell, yes!” Until you stop and wonder what E.T. wants with us. Is E.T. hostile or benign? Would we endanger mankind by letting aliens know we exist?

I’m not so sure what my own answer would be.

It was two exhausting but mind-boggling days, and I loved every minute of it. All I can say is THANKS to Tor/Forge and to Tom Doherty for allowing me to tag along!

(with Jim Born and Tom Doherty)

RizzlesCon website
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