Last week, Fort Collins resident and international author (Lee Child aka, Jim Grant) joined us for what turned out to be a Q&A session at our noon meeting. The presentation was billed as From Three Blank Legal Pads to a $3 Billion Franchise – My Life with Reacher. Expressing his preference for this format our speaker began with the two questions he is most asked (at least when in the Fort)
- “Why do you live in Fort Collins”? and
- “When did you know you wanted to be writer”?
Well, the first answer wasn’t short. His journey from his home in Britain to Colorado began when he and his family moved to NYC. In time, they tired of big city life and international travel seeking a “rural” place. That place was Tie Siding on the Wy-CO border. His daughter also relocated to the “lovely town” of Fort Collins. In New York she worked as a “dog trainer to the stars” and hoped to continue that occupation here and bought a house. Next came COVID (and the absence of clients in Northern Colorado). In the meantime, her parents discovered the reality of winter weather on the border and decided to move south for our “banana belt climate” and the rest is (short) history. To summarize, Lee Childs aka, Jim Grant got here “by accident”.
The answer to the second question was short – “never” but, with a bit of explanation. Author Lee Child always wanted to be an “entertainer”. At age 9 all he wanted was to be able to join the Beatles. Some in the audience might recall, that didn’t work out. In 1959 Jim entered primary school in England. His head mistress at the time was strict in school but loved American musicals and provided an opportunity to connect with the theatre. The future author became addicted and now knew he was destined to be an “entertainer”. Further opportunities presented in secondary school. Next, belatedly seeking a place in college he called the University of Sheffield and was accepted in the law program, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in law. Thus, he became what he described as a “street lawyer for life”.
We are still on the answer to his second question. Next, in Manchester he got a job in TV, creating several specials. At age 33, he got fired (with 7 months of severance pay)! What next? He realized he had been providing creative content to TV viewers while reading a lot of books.
So, why not write one? He would give it a year (remember, 7 months before debtor’s prison). While doing “Quiz Masters” in a local pub the phone rang – “is Lee Childs here? “ His agent reported the excellent reception his first book was receiving and relayed the offer of $100,000 for the next 2 in the Jack Reacher series. Twenty-six books later the enterprise is valued at $3billion. The torch is slowly (4 books to be cowritten) passing to his younger brother, already a thriller writer.
So, now it’s time for a few questions from the members.
- Q - How did you come up with the Jack Reacher character?” A – The character needed to be American, footloose, mysterious, ex-military and a wanderer of “uncharted” geography. People need a savior and someone to “execute” their secret desires to set things right (which may involve killing people).
- Q - How did you come up with the name, Jack Reacher? A- Something about being asked to reach for things in the grocery store by short little old ladies.
- Q - And the pen name Lee Child? A - a passenger on a train in NYC started a conversation about the French compact car, “Le Car”, miss pronouncing it as “Lee”. It’s also important to be in the “C” row in bookstores (eye level). Childs works very well there.
- Tell us more about your baby brother. A - After 24 books it feels like I may “run out of gas”. Four books will be cowritten with his younger brother before he takes over.
We are happy to have a celebrity in the neighborhood and can look forward to more editions in this great series.