We chat with #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg about Malibu Burning, which follows a professional criminal and a relentless arson investigator.
Hi Lee! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m an ex-Navy SEAL, nuclear physicist, and a professional Daniel Craig impersonator…who also writes police procedurals and thrillers when I am not flying my private jet worldwide to deliver vital organs to Doctors Without Borders for life-saving transplant surgeries for orphans.
Okay, that’s not true. But I want to be as exciting as my forty books, including five novels co-authored with Janet Evanovich and the acclaimed Eve Ronin series of police procedurals. I’m also a former journalist and a recovering TV writer/producer with dozens of credits, including SeaQuest, Diagnosis Murder, and Monk. I also co-created the Hallmark series Mystery 101.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Probably in second grade. I’ve been writing stories since I learned how to write. I was selling xeroxed copies of my stories to the neighbors in my cul-de-sac for a dime each. My first novel, written when I was ten or twelve, was about a time-traveling spy from the future who was born in an underwater sperm bank. I don’t know why it was underwater, or how deposits were made, but I thought it was futuristic and cool. I soon wrote another novel, a Saint rip-off called The Perfect Sinner, and then many, many more. I still have them in boxes in my garage.
What was the first book you read that made you want to be an author?
I’ve always wanted to be an author, but the novel that convinced me I could actually do it as a profession was Gregory MacDonald’s Fletch. The novel was almost entirely driven by clever dialogue that was not only smart, entertaining, and funny, but revealed character and moved the story forward. The book was a revelation for me.
If you could only describe Malibu Burning in five words, what would they be?
Individual words? Relentless. Hot. Funny. Thrilling. Surprising. You might want to throw in erotic, too. There’s no sex in the book, but the word might help sales.
What can readers expect from Malibu Burning?
I hope a day or two of escapist entertainment. It’s a big, ambitious, heist novel combined with a hard-charging, police procedural to create what I hope is a non-stop thriller.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I learned a lot about arson investigation – because I didn’t know anything about it before I started. I’ve got a library now of big, fat, expensive fire investigation textbooks. That stuff is fascinating. I also interviewed several arson investigators, which was pretty cool, too.
Character-wise, it was fun exploring Danny Cole, the con man/thief, who is setting the biggest wildfire in California history to pull off a monumental heist. He’s not just about the scheme, he’s a full-rounded character that you can root for while also hoping he’s caught. I also enjoyed the dynamic between veteran arson investigator Walter Sharpe, the Sherlock Holmes of fire, and his younger, new partner, ex-U.S. Marshal Andrew Walker, an expert manhunter who is trying to play it safe now that he’s married with a kid on the way.
Do you have any favorite lines from the book?
Are you kidding? Every line is pure gold.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
You have to grab Gangsters Don’t Die by Tod Goldberg, the end of his acclaimed trilogy about a hitman hiding out as a rabbi in Las Vegas.
Absolutely! Lee is one of my most favourite authors of all time!