ALL THE PRESIDENT'S FRIEND...
Washington intrigue, global espionage – no wonder four US presidents count themselves as David Baldacci superfans. But, the thriller writer tells More, even he never expected to bump into Barack Obama in a bookshop...
D AVID Baldacci vividly remembers the day his life changed forever. A jobbing Washington lawyer whose first book, Absolute Power, had become a surprise hit, he found himself negotiating the film rights – directed by and starring Clint Eastwood – from a public phone box in New York’s Penn Station.
‘I had three different studios bidding on the line, and ten people behind me waiting to use the pay phone,’ he recalls. ‘I lost myself. I was shouting, “We should get more than 5% of the back end!”, and “Is Clint really going to direct?” The people behind me thought I was totally mad. We closed the deal in that phone call. I hung up and everyone was staring at me. I said, “Yeah, it’s been a pretty good day!” It was very surreal.’
Twenty years and 110million book sales later, the 56-year-old is one of the most successful writers on the planet. His taut thrillers and tightly plotted crime novels have been translated into 45 languages in 80 countries. Baldacci’s meticulously researched forays into the world of political intrigue, obsessive vengeance and global espionage are so convincing, even presidents have been known to become starstruck.
When Baldacci bumped into Barack Obama in a Washington DC book store in December 2014, it was hard to tell who was the more impressed. ‘When I saw the bomb-sniffing dogs come in, I was like, “Woah, what’s going on here?”’ he says. ‘Obama was with his two daughters doing some shopping for Christmas. He found out I was there and he stopped in the middle of the store, whirled around, and said, “Baldacci? He’s famous!” I started laughing. Here was arguably the most famous person in the world commenting on my fame.
‘We had a nice conversation. He’s the real deal. I recommended a book to him, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten. He laughed and said, “That’s right, in politics you have to learn to play nice in the sandbox.”’
Former US president Bill Clinton, meanwhile, named Baldacci’s crime novel The Simple Truth his favourite book of 1999. When they eventually met at a fundraiser four years ago, Clinton was halfway through another Baldacci thriller. ‘People always told me that, when you’re talking to Bill Clinton, you’re the only person in the world. That’s totally true. I went to a fundraiser and took my son, who was 15 years old. We were introduced, and for the next 15 minutes Clinton didn’t talk to me.
‘He put his arm around my son and talked to him: “What do you want to do with your life? What do you think about these issues?” My son was beaming, having this very candid conversation, and I thought, “That is very cool.”’
While enjoying the professional respect of Clinton and Obama, Baldacci regards former Republican US president George Bush Sr as a close friend. They met in the late Nineties, when Mr Bush’s wife Barbara invited Baldacci to speak at a literacy event. Since then, his family have been regular guests at the Bushes’ home in Kennebunkport, Maine.
‘Once, my son locked himself in their bathroom, but they were very relaxed!’ he laughs. ‘Our friendship has always been about books, literacy and helping people. He’s a great guy, though I suspect – and he’d probably agree – that if he ran now he probably wouldn’t get elected. He’s not conservative enough any more! I can’t say enough good things about him and Barbara. They’ve walked the walk and done a lot of good in the world.’
He first got to know Bush’s eldest son, the much-derided Dubya, when Bush Jr was Governor of Texas. ‘There’s a lot more to George W Bush than you would see in the media,’ he says. ‘Everybody gets caricatured, but he has a core set of principles that have carried him through his life. Whether you agree with them or not, you have to respect that.’
He has yet to meet Donald Trump. I suspect he’s not holding his breath. ‘It’s devastating,’ he says of the new regime. ‘On a personal level, I hate that this is happening because it’s undermining who we are as a country. But as a novelist, I almost have this guilt complex that I feel energised. These days I feel I can write about anything.’
It’s little wonder a succession of White House occupants love Baldacci’s work. Born in Richmond, Virginia in 1960, he worked as a lawyer in Washington DC for ten years before committing to writing, and remains fascinated by the capital’s classified underbelly.
His Maxwell & King books feature a duo of former Secret Service agents who team up, having previously failed in their duties to protect two prominent politicians. The hero of the hard-hitting Will Robie series is a hitman employed by the US government to eliminate enemies even the FBI can’t reach, while his new thriller, The Fix, features Amos Decker, a former American footballer-turned-FBI agent who has spectacular powers of memory.
They all belong to a world Baldacci has always loved. ‘At school and college I’d go out by myself and just watch people,’ he says. ‘If I wasn’t writing, I would probably be doing something in the FBI or Secret Service. The clandestine aspect of it, how high the stakes are, is very appealing to me.’
He didn’t end up living that life, but writing about it is the next best thing – not least because he can call on Washington’s real-life spooks for research. ‘I always bring my trench coat with the collar turned up,’ he laughs. ‘No,
we’ll meet somewhere quiet. It’s not like we’re discussing classified information, but it’s stuff that you wouldn’t want other people to overhear, necessarily. I do have a stamp of credibility in that world. I hustle around trying to find out facts, knocking on doors.
‘There are ground rules. I’ve been in conversations with people who say, “I’m going to tell you this, but it can never end up in a book” – and it never does, because I play fair and I’d never do anything that would harm anybody. I get some really cool stories that I’d love to be able to put in the books but I can’t!’
The Fix is Baldacci’s 34th blockbuster in 21 years. While some of his peers have become brands, employing entire teams, he sweats over every syllable himself. ‘If other people want to write 50 books a year and have a factory-type thing, if that floats your boat, fine, but that’s not me,’ he says. ‘I’d much rather do it myself. To think of an idea, then pass it on to someone else to write up… What’s fun about that?’
He says he is ‘addicted’ to writing. ‘Oh yes! My wife will tell you I zone out a lot. We’ll be at parties and suddenly I’m over in the corner with a blank expression on my face. People ask, “Has he had a stroke or what?” She’ll say, “Oh, he’s just finishing a chapter, give him ten minutes.” I never turn it off.’ Baldacci need never write another word, but he insists it’s not about the big numbers and even bigger rewards. Baldacci still lives in Virginia. His two children work and the extent of his extravagance is a winter home in Florida. ‘My wife and I both grew up very blue collar, so we’ve never been crazy about all that stuff,’ he says. ‘We have a very nice lifestyle, but we don’t jet off to Paris for lunch.’ Baldacci sounds suddenly amazed at his good fortune since that pay day in Penn Station. ‘I like to write, what can I say? I’m so prolific because I’ve never seen it as a job.’ The Fix is published by Macmillan, priced €23.79, easons.com.