Interview: NYT Bestselling Author Gregg Hurwitz

By Shelby Alverson on October 29, 2012

If you’re into books, television, film, or comics then Gregg Hurwitz has you covered. This New York Times bestselling author of twelve thriller novels has established his vast writing and producing career, simply by doing what he loves.  His crime and suspense filled stories will keep you on edge, just like the soldier suffering from PTSD on the eleventh story window seal in his most recent novel, The Survivor.

Getting to know Gregg Hurwitz is like watching your pipe-dream bucket list get polished off.  Study Shakespeare in England, write television show screenplays, be advertised on a billboard, attend a Comic Con event, get into Harvard, write a book, fall in love, and travel the world are simply snippets of the author’s biography. Although, technically, “write a book” should be checked off twelve times.

Gregg featured in a Russian cigar magazine
Source: http://gregghurwitz.net/pics/

Regardless of his super-human resume and visionary publications, Gregg is a down to earth, California family man, who brought his dreams to fruition and allowed me to interview him. The scholar shared his inspirations, wit, and guilty pleasures.

Describe Gregg Hurwitz as a high school freshman. When and how did you discover your talent?

Wow. That’s a rough assignment. I was small, first off. Five-foot-two and ninety-five pounds soaking wet. I thought I had a lot to prove and I think a lot of that went into my writing. I’d known I wanted to be a novelist since I was in third grade, so as a freshman in high school, I was already very oriented toward English. I had a wonderful teacher who I’m still in touch with this day, and he cultivated my creativity and writing.

Do you consider writing as a career? What are the perks of such a lifestyle?

Of course – it’s the only career I’ve ever had! The main perk is doing what I love all day every day.

What inspires the thriller thought process that makes your books so hard to put down? Are any of your real life relationships and experiences infiltrated?

I do draw from experiences and emotions in my real life to make my characters vulnerable and real. In a thriller, you meet ordinary people like you or me. Except you’re meeting them on the worst day of their life. So if the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that they’re up against are relatable to emotions we ourselves have felt, it makes the books more compelling.

As a Shakespearean studies graduate, do you consider yourself a romantic?

Ha! Well, I studied Shakespearean tragedy mostly, so I suppose that answers that. My thesis work was on Othello, but I promise you that I never smothered anyone with a pillow!

Of all your novels, if you had to choose, which protagonist’s eerie narrative would you be willing to live and why?

Gawd. None of them. I write thrillers to be able to encounter the violence, danger, and menace from a secondary perspective. But I don’t think I’d want anyone killing me or coming after my family, thank you very much.

Gregg at the San Diego Comic Con
Souce: http://gregghurwitz.net/pics/

What are your guilty pleasures? I’m confident readers would like to know, is it Netflix for days or finger in the Nutella jar guilty? We can handle it.

American Horror Story. How I love that campy, over-the-top show. And pizza. I could eat pizza every day of the week.

What is the most interesting or scary thing you have discovered while researching for your novels?

Cadavers are stored suspended by their heads in freezers from figure 8 scissor clamps to ensure that their bodies don’t distort before anatomy class.

Your book series starring Tim Rackley has been picked up by TNT and many of your creations have great production potential, how would you feel about playing one of your characters on screen, if the opportunity arose?

I hate being on the far side of the lens, so I’d take a pass. I don’t even like having my picture taken!

Lastly, I must selfishly ask, what advice do you have for aspiring writers? Is there hope?

There is always hope. Follow what you love and write the book you yourself would want to read. And most important—write. And write. And write. Only by practicing and failing will you learn.

Thank you Gregg!  Follow the author on twitter and learn more about his publications on his website.

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