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MI6 investigates the life and works of American novelist Jeffery Deaver, author of the upcoming Bond novel, Project X...
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Jeffery Deaver Biography
11th June 2010
Jeffery Deaver was born in Glen Ellyn, Illinois on May 6th, 1950. Best known as the creator of the American detective Lincoln Rhyme, Deaver in the past has held jobs as a lawyer and a journalist.
At the young age of 8, Deaver read his first Ian Fleming Bond novel, "Casino Royale" and has been hooked ever since. "Being a kid on an allowance of $1 a week, I couldn't afford the hardcovers when they came out," says Deaver, "but my parents used to slip me some extra money so I could get them." He proudly told the UK presses that he read every Fleming novel the week it came out.
The entrepreneurial author first published in 1988. The novel was "Manhattan Is My Beat", and introduced the street-smart New Yorker, Rune. In 1990, the author made the decision to quit his job and write novels full time. He followed up his debut with "Death of a Blue Movie Star" (1990) and "Hard News" (1991) which completed the Rune trilogy.
Following on from this trilogy, Deaver penned a number of stand alone works, before creating a new series of novels, of which the lead character was John Pellam - a location scout. The most recent and memorable of these was "Hell's Kitchen" (2001).
Deaver's work first hit the screen in 1997 when his novel, "A Maiden's Grave" (1995) was adapted in the form of a made-for-TV movie: "Dead Silence". |
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Datastream
Name: Jeffery Deaver
Date of Birth: 6th May 1950
Bond Novels: 1
Famous For: Accaimed thriller writer of Lincoln Rhyme novels. |
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By 1997 Deaver was making a steady living from his fiction writing and began to pride himself on fast-paced story telling, in-depth research and various twists and turns in the plot. "The Bone Collector" was the introduction of Jeffry's most famous character, Lincoln Rhyme, a quadriplegic criminalist. The book was met with marked success and two years later made into a film (of the same name), starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.
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To date, Deaver has penned nine novels featuring Rhyme, the latest, The Burning Wire was released earlier this year. Of the most recent book Jeffery says "the point is to - if I may borrow from Stephen King - throw all my characters in a pressure cooker and turn the heat up as high as it will go."
Deaver is particularly proud of the villains, and the shady nemesis, The Watchmaker, is such a character. In a recent interview the author noted, "I can't tell you how much fan mail I get about [The Watchmaker]. Everybody wants to know if Lincoln's finally going to get him, or the other way around! I think every Sherlock Holmes needs a Professor Moriarty, James Bond needs his Blofeld."
Today, Jeffery Deaver's novels are translated into 25 languages and sold in over 150 countries.
He has written award winning short stories, appearing in the anthologies "Twisted" and "More Twisted". He has even been awarded the Steel Dagger and Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association. |
The newest character in his repertoire is Kathryn Dance, an agent for the California Bureau of Investigation, who made her debut in "The Sleeping Doll" (2007). Deaver has since stated that he will be alternating Rhyme and Dance novels yearly.
Regardless of if he ever thinks his books will be made into films, Deaver says that he aims to craft each novel so that it feels as filmic as possible. Jeffery prides himself on his specificity, detail and realism.
On May 28th 2010 it was announced by Ian Fleming Publications that Jeffery Deaver would take on the mantle of Ian Fleming and those continuation novelists that have come before him. Deaver has already begun writing the newest James Bond novel - currently dubbed Project X - for release on Fleming's birthday in 2011, published by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK and by Simon & Schuster in the US. Deaver described being selected as 007's continuation author as an "incredible honour". Corinne Turner, Managing Director of Ian Fleming Publications was inspired to hire Deaver based on his novel, "Garden of Beasts", in part because of its European setting.
Deaver, like 007, professes to enjoy the thrill of a fast car - when at home the author drives a BMW M3 or Infiniti G37. He has experienced and enjoyed skiing and scuba diving and so should be well-placed to put James Bond into some fantastic locations and scenarios with this experience behind him.
Deaver is currently writing a stand alone novel. The thriller is entitled "Edge" and will be released in the USA and UK in November 2010.
