Q&A With Douglas Corleone 

Douglas Corleone is the author of contemporary crime novels and international thrillers. Some of his many books are Gone Cold, Payoff, Good As Gone, The Last Lawyer Standing, & Night On Fire. I have the honor of doing this Q&A with him!

Q: Douglas, what is it about contemporary crime and international thriller novels that you enjoy writing in the genre so much?

A: As a former criminal defense attorney, I’ve always been interested in crime, both the motivations behind it and the impact on its victims. My first three novels are about a young lawyer who moves from New York to Honolulu to escape a catastrophic professional mistake that he nearly repeats in the islands. 

Following that series are the four Simon Fisk international thrillers in which a former U.S. Marshal travels abroad to retrieve snatched children for devastated parents. The international aspect allowed me to explore exotic settings and their respective justice systems while also motivating me to travel more. 

On the strength of those books I was invited to write ROBERT LUDLUM’S THE JANSON EQUATION by the estate of the late worldwide bestselling author and creator of Jason Bourne.  

These days, my novels are more intimate and introspective. THE ROUGH CUT is a legal drama about a young true crime documentary filmmaker who loses an old friend to violence. 

My next novel, which will be released in 2025 is a psychological thriller set on Maui. Tentatively titled FALLS TO PIECES, the new novel examines the extent of parental devotion, the consequences of family secrets, and the lengths some of us will go to in order to escape the past.

Q: Do you use bits and pieces of real people and events to create the stories within your books? 

A: Everything I write is colored by my experiences. My first anti-hero Kevin Corvelli possessed many of the same traits I did as a young attorney – and experienced the same culture shock moving from New York to the Hawaiian Islands. 

GOOD AS GONE was inspired by a single-page article about a Tampa private investigator who travels abroad to retrieve children stolen by noncustodial parents. A real-world hero. 

Most characters are completely original or composites of people I know or knew in the past. 

Q: If you are writing your upcoming novel now, can you reveal any details? 

A: I am actually working on a number of projects right now. I’m collaborating with a talented young artist on a graphic novel in the Western Horror subgenre. I’m also collaborating with a psychologist (and old college buddy) on a nonfiction book about overcoming alcoholism and addiction in the Twenty-First Century, when an increasing number of people reject the notion of a Higher Power. And finally, I’m working on my next psychological thriller, which is set at a small liberal arts college in rural Pennsylvania.   

Q: Hollywood is long overdue for new material. Does Hollywood have the rights to your work?

A: Producers may contact my literary agency, InkWell Management, to inquire about the availability of any and all film and television rights to my published novels as well as my upcoming works.  

Q: Where is your favorite spot or spots where you sit down and plot, write and edit your work?

A: As much as I’d like to have a cool answer to this question, I do the great majority of my work on a laptop on my couch.

Q: If you were to explore writing in other genres, which genres would they be and why?

A: Horror is one of my great passions. The Western Horror graphic novel I’m collaborating on is set in 1872 Kansas. It was originally an award-winning screenplay and as I began to adapt it into a novel, I realized that it could still be visually spectacular on the page. Although it’s my first graphic novel, I don’t expect it to be my last.