I am bestselling author Lee Child, creator of the Jack Reacher novels. Ask Me Anything!

How did Tom Cruise fit your vision of Jack? I thought it was a really enjoyable role for him but I'm curious of your opinion.

Hi folks - thanks for your questions! For all those asking about Mr. Cruise ... certainly we all knew (and him, too) that he didn't match the physical description of Reacher in the books. But who would? In the end we wanted an actor good enough to do the internals, and the vibe, and the feel, and I thought Cruise nailed all that dead on.

Are there plans for a Jack Reacher sequel film?

Shooting in April 2015 I think.

Hi sir, you rule. I'm trying to write a novel but I'm kind of stuck.

Do you ever feel like giving up halfway? I know the story by heart, and how it's going to end and all, but I'm kind of just stuck on one page and I'm not sure how to continue. How would you suggest I overcome this? Thank you!

Skip that page and fill it in later.

OK folks, gotta go now ... thanks for your questions, and thanks for being here on Reddit!

Thanks for doing the AMA.

Two questions: One of Jack Reacher’s distinctive traits is he travels with only a folding toothbrush and the clothes on his back. Where it you come up with that idea, and have you ever tried to take a trip with only a toothbrush and the clothes you’re wearing?

Second: A common element in your stories, especially in some of your earlier books, is where Jack comes up with a theory of what is happening that turns out to be categorically wrong. He only finds out the truth toward the end of the book after he follows many false leads. Did you think you were taking a risk making your lead character so fallible?

The "traveling light" was a thought process of my own ... how would this guy deal with the practicalities of living? I don't travel exactly that light - but close!

The fallibility thing ... I think it makes him more human and realistic. We all make mistakes, and I like a guy big enough to admit it.

Do you have any tips that you live to give for aspiring authors?

Here's my tip - don't follow tips. A book needs to be organic - 110% the product of one mind only. If you follow advice, you'll end up with committee decisions.

Hi Lee,

Love the Reacher series! Do any parts of Reacher fit your personality?

He's mostly autobiographical.

He's mostly autobiographical.

He's mostly autobiographical.

Lee, thank you so much for doing this!

Can I ask whether you've ever talked to David Baldacci about Reacher vs. Puller and the similarities that his character had to yours? For what it's worth, I LOVED what did you in A Wanted Man with Officer Puller, and I know a lot of other fans did, too. It was a classy, funny way to address the whole thing.

I haven't - but I think David got the message I wasn't very pleased!

What's Jack Reacher's favorite color?

Yellow.

Jack knows about greasy diners and cheap motels - what do you know about them?

Plenty. I eat at diners all the time and have stayed in many, many $20 motels.

How do you feel about movies taking artistic liberties with the source material? Do you think that a movie should try it's best to match the source material perfectly, or is it okay for a director to change it up and add his own style?

Changes are inevitable - mostly because of length - and a movie is only a version or an interpretation. The words in the book don't magically change the day the movie is released. So I'm fine with changing it up. I mean, for example, which would you prefer to listen to - a clone of an old song, or an imaginative cover version?

What is your all-time favourite book, movie and TV show?

Book - Sophie's Choice by William Styron. Movie - Se7en TV show - right now, either Homeland, or The Americans. Or Yankees baseball. Or Premier League soccer from the UK, on NBC.

As a Yankee fan and a Reacher fan I fell you must feature Yankee Stadium in a future book...please?

You bet. I'll do it if I can. I'm there on 9/10, throwing out the first pitch.

My girlfriend is a huge fan (HUGE) of the Jack Reacher series (she is reading the book right now).

She has two questions for you:
Are all the places (the small towns, etc) in the series real? And do you travel to some of the places (ex Paris) when you are writing?

The small towns are real-ish ... often they're mash-ups of two or more different places. I don't travel for the purpose of taking notes, but you can be sure I've been there sometime previously.

I especially enjoyed reading the books about Jacks past in the military, do you have any plans to right more set during that (or earlier) time in his life?

I never make plans ahead - but I agree, another military prequel would be fun for me, too.

If you ran into someone that had never read your books, and didn't know your character at all, which book would you suggest to them first? Killing floor as the first in published order, or Second Son as the first chronologically?

I think follow the order as written ... start with Killing Floor. Second Son is only a short story, and I think you'll appreciate it more if you've met the adult Reacher first.

Hi, Mr Child. I wanted to know about your process of writing. When do you write? Tell us something about your schedule. What kind of environments do you prefer? And, how do you find the motivation to keep going? Thanks in advance!

I write in the afternoons. (I have a personal motto: nothing of value is ever created in the morning.) I do 5 or 6 hours a day, for 80 or 90 days. I have a nice office at home. My motivation is you ... the people on this board right now. You pay me the enormous compliment of wanting more books, so naturally I want to make sure you get them.

Hi Lee! How did you deal with the rejection of being fired from your job in television? What things inspired and motivated you following that?

The actual process of being replaced took two long years, so I had plenty of warning, and was totally over any bad feelings by the time the ax actually fell. After that, there was the urgent business of keeping a roof over my family's head ... plus the old saying: living well is the best revenge.

What are some of the best books you've recently read?

Yesterday I read an advance copy of a book called "400 Things Cops Know" - and loved it. Out in October - check it out!

Do you see an end to the Jack Reacher series in the near future? Mostly, have you changed your mind about stopping at 21 novels as past interviews suggest?

That's up to you - you keep reading, I'll keep writing.

What's your preferred medium for reading? Paperback, hardback, ebook, something else?

What's your favorite reading environment? I personally must have some place that is very very quiet. Clocks even drive me nuts.

Hardcovers or paperbacks, about equal for me. I don't need quiet. Fortunately, living in New York.

Hi Lee, thanks for doing this.

As a fellow Law graduate from the University of Sheffield, I'm inclined to ask; what were your motivations in getting a law degree, and was it always the plan to follow an alternative career to law?

Hey, fellow alumnus! I loved all kinds of subjects - history, politics, language, sociology, economics - and I suddenly realized the law is a snapshot of all those things at one particular time. So the law degree felt like flavors of all my favorite things rolled up together. I never wanted or intended to be a lawyer - which was great: no pressure!

Hi! I was introduced to your books last year and read them all in a few weeks. I am halfway through Personal now.

How long do you spend on research and what types of research do you do? Have you travelled extensively in the areas you've placed Reacher?

Research for me is all accidental - I will be somewhere, for some reason, and later it might crop up as a cool location for a book.

How do you come up with the titles for your books?

It's a mysterious process - some of them pop up spontaneously, others get decided late, after a lot of searching.

Hi, how do you manage to write so many novels? Do you have a sort of set structure and then just fill in details , plot and characters?

It's only one a year, which isn't so bad. Each one is invented anew - no pattern, no formula.

What's your favorite candy bar and why?

Snickers - quick cheap lunch. What an author on the road depends on.

What do you eat for breakfast?

This morning I had Rice Krispies plus a slice of Entenmann's Raspberry Danish Twist, plus a pot of coffee.

What is your favorite dinosaur?

Also, what is Jack Reacher's favorite dinosaur?

I guess we both like T Rexes.

You've answered questions about favorite book, movie etc. How about what is your favorite book series?

Either Travis McGee by John D MacDonald, or Martin Beck by Maj Stowall and Per Wahloo.

Do you have an overarching character arc planned for Reacher - however subtle - or are you planning to keep his character in perpetual stasis, as it were, the archetypal 'drifter'?

No plan at all - I keep it spontaneous. But I agree I'm bucking the Eng Lit demand for growth and change. Sometimes I think people prefer to know what they're getting.

What is your favorite part about writing?

The act of pure creation ... being alone in the zone, and having a great scene come to life.

Hi Mr. Child! I read (on the back of one of your books, I think) that you came up with Jack Reacher's name while browsing the grocery store. It is such a powerful name, but have you ever had second thoughts about Jack Reacher's name?

Side note: For some reason I always picture Jeff Bridges as Jack when I read your novels. I have no idea why.

I still ike Reacher's name.

Hello!

I am going to ask you something different. If you had to express it in only a few sentences, what would you say is your "key to success"?

Thank you :)

As a writer? My team - agent, editor, assistant, and publicist. They're so good sometimes I feel they could make anyone a success.

Of the lean meats fish and chicken - which do you eat the most of?

Chicken, for sure.

Would you rather fight one horse sized duck, or 1000 duck sized horses?

1000 duck-size horses - horses are timid and probably wouldn't fight. Remember, a dog will leave safety for food, but a horse will leave food for safety.

I love your books; do you have a particular favorite among them?

The next one ... maybe it will be the perfect book!