Lee Child, the author and creator of Jack Reacher, just turned 71. That milestone is also marked by the release of Exit Strategy, the 30th novel in the blockbuster series, co-written with his brother, Andrew Child. Meanwhile, his creation is enjoying a new, massive life in the form of the mega-popular TV series Reacher, starring Alan Ritchson. Although semi-retired now, Child’s fame has never been bigger. Recently, he recorded a new audiobook called Reacher: The Stories Behind the Stories, in which he revisits older introductions he wrote to various limited editions of his books, and reveals what he was doing and what he was thinking about with each, from Killing Floor in 1997 to Blue Moon in 2019.
As the 30th Reacher book, Exit Strategy was about to be published, Men’s Journal caught up with Child to chat with him about his secret to a good life—and why success often comes down to being honest with what you really want.
Men’s Journal: You’ve said many times, and you say it in Reacher: The Stories Behind the Stories, that you always made up the Reacher books as you went along. But, surely, you’d have to go back and revise things later?
No, I don’t. Editors hate it. Well, there’s one thing. I have this kind of residual fear that the book is going to be too short, because the pace has got to be there. You can’t linger. And I feel like I’m burning through ideas at a fast pace, and so I’m always a little subliminally worried the book is going to be too short. So, there are usually a couple of paragraphs somewhere that are baggy, and at the time, I know it, but I’m reluctant to take them out, because I think: “Oh God, if I take it out, then the book will be even shorter!” So I leave those in, and then of course I get to the end of the book, and it’s fine. So then, I go back and take out those couple of baggy paragraphs. But that’s really the only revision I do.
But, truly, every Reacher book has been made up sentence-by-sentence with no plan?
Everything I do as a writer is based on how I felt when I was purely a reader. And when I’m reading a great book, then you sometimes get interrupted. Then, you get back to the book glee, with that feeling, wow, I cannot wait to see what happens next. I need that feeling as a writer, too, because I live for the story. And if I’d told myself the story in terms of a plan or an outline, then I would be done with it. I’d be ready for the next story. So I need to invent it as it goes along in order to keep me totally thrilled by it.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Go where the love is. It’s a short piece of advice that I got in terms of how to navigate your way through publishing books. If you’ve got a number of people interested in what you’re doing, how do you choose? You just don’t know. All you can do is go to somebody who wants you.
Jack Reacher’s stripped-down existence feels philosophical—no attachments, just forward momentum. Is that a worldview you identify with personally or one you admire from a distance?
[Writing him that way] was a deliberate choice on my part. It’s so appealing. Is it easier, better to live without anything? Well, that’s the fantasy. It’s very hard to do. I’ve tried living like Reacher once or twice—just a few weeks in a row—and it’s exhausting. If you don’t have a place to go back to and just chill and sleep, it’s just too much.Reacher rejects almost everything modern life tells men they need, like status and possessions. What’s the deeper appeal there?
Well, Reacher is very honest. That’s a given. But I think he represents something appealing because people are really sick of commitments and burdens. Initially, I thought it would be a male fantasy exclusively, that people just wanted to get away from responsibilities, and you could be anywhere tomorrow. But Reacher also isn’t very materialistic, which is good for men. Men don’t need very much stuff.
When you wrote Killing Floor, did you imagine you were launching a 30-book empire, or just hoping someone would read it?
The significant word here is, imagine. Yeah, I totally did. I imagined all kinds of scenarios. I imagined that the first book would be such a monster success that I would never have to work again. I imagined that out of a number of possibilities, one of which, of course, was abject failure. But the pertinent question is, did I expect it? No, you’re crazy if you do that. Anything in the world of entertainment is unpredictable and usually an accident. You can’t say to yourself, “I predict this is going to be a mega bestseller.” That’s delusional. Reading is such a personal and intimate thing. You can’t force it. You can’t manipulate it. You’ve just got to go out and do the best you can.
Has your understanding of what matters most in life changed as you’ve gotten older?
Life, in general, is not a dress rehearsal. You don’t get a second chance at it. You do know deep down somewhere what it is you want to do. And usually, most of us don’t do that for a huge number of reasons. But that would be my advice for life in general. You know what you want to do, and you have to do it.
