THE SECRETS OF THEIR SUCCESS

Fast Facts:

Pursuit: Best selling author

Definition of success: “Be a good person, obey the Golden Rule, and lead a happy life.”

We’re going back a few years, but I was probably in my early teens when I picked out a copy of Flight of the Intruder at my local book shop – selected, no doubt, because it had an enticingly enigmatic front cover: the helmeted face of a jet pilot, mirrored visor concealing the eyes and reflecting the red cockpit lights. I didn’t know it as I held the book in my hands, but that visage belonged to Jake Grafton, a Naval aviator who a few years later would find himself on the big screen and, in the expert hands of his creator Stephen Coonts, would go on to feature in more than a dozen novels. Other protagonists brought to life by the author would eventually impinge on Jake Grafton’s dominance but, worthy pursuers one and all, they would between them contribute to a collection of 20 works of fiction (and counting), 17 of which have found themselves on the New York Times bestseller list.

Pilot (complete with Distinguished Flying Cross), lawyer and bestselling author, Stephen Coonts possesses an enviable curriculum vitae, but where among that list of lofty achievements was the seed first sown?

“What inspired me to start writing? I thought while I was living it that the story of carrier pilots in combat in the jet age would be a hell of a story if only someone would write it. After the war, in 1973, while I was a flight instructor on A-6 airplanes, I tried writing evenings. Only problem was I didn’t have a plot and didn’t know what the heck I was doing. Piddled with it for years, wore out two typewriters, stopped for law school and finally, about 1984 I got a divorce and had plenty of time and no money. Decided to write the flying story. By then I had a plot, a tiny little one about a pilot who tried too hard. So writing nights and weekends, finally, I produced a manuscript. After a major rewrite and 32 rejections, it was picked up by the Naval Institute Press, and the rest, as they say, is history. The story became FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER, spent 28 weeks on the NYT list, so I quit practicing law and became a full-time professional liar.”

A full-time profession which he slots into a nice, succinct schedule: “When I’m in a story, I would guess four hours a day, five days a week,” Stephen replies when I ask how much time he devotes to his craft. “But when I’m nearing the end of a tale, it could be as much as eight hours a day.”

A rigid writing schedule doesn’t mean Stephen Coonts spends every day in the same mode though. “A typical day in the life. You gotta be kiddin’. Ain’t no such animal.” But – if there were such? “In this mythical day, I would awake before dawn, do emails until my wife wakes up, fix coffee and read the paper with her, then maybe go for a walk or bike ride. Then to the study and pound the computer.  In the late afternoon go flying for a while, or shooting. Read in the evening – someone else’s stuff – and finally go to bed.”

Able to conjure such an idyllic routine, isn’t Stephen just a tiny bit jealous of those who have it?

“Envy 9-5ers? Nope. I used to do that gig, and I was quite happy giving it up to live upon my wits and imagination. So far, so good.”

In fact the wits and imagination of Stephen Coonts have carried his name and reputation far and wide: 17 New York Times bestsellers, prose variably described in the international press as ‘gripping’ and his story lines ‘mesmeric’, a writer prominently displaying ‘the mark of a natural storyteller.’ And yet none of these accomplishments he cites among his most treasured. “My proudest achievement to date? Darn. A good, solid, happy marriage would be high on the list, probably right on top. After two bad ones, a happy one rates very high. Next might be getting my Navy wings and flying A-6s in combat. 306 carrier landings. An honorary doctorate from my alma mater.”

Stephen Coonts is, then, a man of equal parts education and action. I wonder if 8 years as a Navy flier, most of those engaged in the midst of the Vietnam war, have honed his priorities too. He is, at least, quick to apply the nautical metaphor when I ask of his guidelines for success. “My advice to someone about to jump aboard the ship of life? Remember that you must pay the bills. Honest work never hurt anyone. But try to keep your dreams in mind and go for them when opportunity offers. Still, never forget that happiness is a state of mind, not a goal or destination. The conductor will never tell you when you have arrived, so you had better enjoy the journey.”

For the latest news and releases from Stephen Coonts, go to his official website at www.coonts.com and for the latest social media you can find Stephen on Twitter at @stephencoonts and Facebook at facebook.com/StephenCoontsBestSellingAuthor.

Stephen’s latest novel, Saucer: Savage Planet  is available now: