Jack Lawrence | Former Family Therapist Turned Mystery/Thriller Novelist

The author of the David Thorne series and his latest, "I've Been Waiting," talks about his journey to achieving his childhood dream.

After selling his family therapy practice, Indianapolis native Jack Lawrence was able to put his focus into a childhood dream of his to become a published author. Lawrence said that he had an idea for his first book, “Blood Thorn,” circling his head for a few years. But it wasn’t until after he stepped away from the therapy field that he was able to put his focus on fully developing the story and getting the book published.

“It ended up being a lot different than what I had been thinking about over the previous years. But it turned out to be the best possible version of the story it could have been.”

“Blood Thorn” is the first of the David Thorne series, which follows an Indianapolis-based therapist as he tries to uncover the mystery behind the disappearance of one of his clients. Lawrence noted that the character and story was inspired by his time in therapy, and his goal was to bring a more realistic approach to the character.

“I noticed in the mystery genre, but really any type of genre, that when there’s a therapist in a story, either they’re very unrealistic or they work for the police or they’re psychiatrists – things like that. I wanted to make a character who was a true talk therapist who really had no idea when it comes to criminology or anything like that. He is just a guy who has the ability to connect with people to gain information from talking to them and to build rapport with anybody he comes across.”

Lawrence added that it was better for him to have that life experience as a therapist, rather than not have it and interview someone about it. This way, he can bring more authenticity to the character of David Thorne.

“I’ve worked a lot with addiction, depression, anxiety, and clients who are suicidal. You can interview them and talk to them. But when you’re a therapist working with them, there’s a part of you that takes on a little bit of that, and you have to carry that for them throughout the session, and you have to build a rapport and some sort of deep connection with that client so they’re comfortable being that vulnerable. I don’t think that vulnerability is as organic if you’re trying to interview somebody, compared to if you’re in a room doing therapy. When you do that, you can really pick up on their emotions and get them to describe it in ways that maybe you couldn’t understand yourself.”

When Lawrence left the therapy field, his method of decompression was to begin writing. He said it gave him the opportunity to reflect on his career and to be able to use that reflection to put it into the David Thorne character.

“When you retire, whether you’re 30 or 60 or whatever, this is something that you’ve done a lot of, and it becomes a part of your identity. When I left, it was one of those things where it’s like, ‘OK, I can do anything right now, or I could go work somewhere else, just not for myself.’ So it allowed me the chance to explore what being a therapist meant to me by exploring what it meant for David in a lot of ways. It also allowed me the opportunity to explore and do some soul searching in my own life through that character.”

“Blood Thorn” is just one of two books in the David Thorne series that Lawrence has released this year – with the second titled “Bed of Thorns.” In addition to the David Thorne series, Lawrence has also written a psychological thriller called “I’ve Been Waiting,” which is a standalone story that hit bookshelves on December 12. Lawrence noted that he was in the middle of working on a separate book when the idea for “I’ve Been Waiting” came to his mind.

“I don’t remember if it was a dream or a daydream, where I saw the first scene play out, and I instantly went to my computer and wrote the prologue before I finished ‘Bed of Thorns.’ Once I wrote it, I shared it on my Facebook page and had a lot of good reactions, so I decided to run with that one rather than the one I had been planning to write.”

Lawrence added that he doesn’t have immediate plans to bring that other story to fruition, as he already has in mind what three books he plans on publishing next year. One, for sure, is the third book in the David Thorne series, while another will be a standalone. Lawrence noted that he’s undecided if his third book to be released next year will be another David Thorne book or a standalone novel. But it is his intention to follow that plan in his new career, even though there are challenges with writing a series and standalone stories in the same year.

“Standalones are, at this point, a little bit easier, because it’s fresh and it can be whatever I want it to be. With David Thorne, it’s kind of a challenge because I don’t want it to necessarily follow one path to where what happens in the next book picks up after the previous one. The biggest challenge, I feel, is keeping things straight. I go back to the other books a lot to make sure I got names correct and to see how situations played out. It’s a lot more fact-checking, but it’s also to keep the characters growing and evolving with each event that happens without it going too wonky.”

Like the David Thorne series, “I’ve Been Waiting” is also set in Indiana. It tells the story of a woman named Amari Richards, who returns to her hometown following the sudden death of her father. Years prior, she had escaped the area following an attack that left her traumatized. Her attacker, Samael Skinner, has been presumed dead, but upon Amari’s return, she comes across a note that simply says, “I’ve been waiting,” which forces Amari to confront the fears from her past.

For now, Lawrence mentioned that he is going to stay down the route of writing mysteries and thrillers. He has dabbled on another genre prior.

“I wrote horror years and years ago, but never published anything under horror. The stories didn’t get a whole lot of feedback from people, so I don’t know if I’m just really bad at horror. But mystery and suspense thrillers are a lot of fun for me. I don’t sit down and stress about it. I know, as soon as I sit down, it’s going to be rolling.”

Lawrence also added that the suspense thriller genre does allow him the opportunity to incorporate other genres, and writing mystery allows him to play with different types as well.

“There’s so much you can do with it as far as that plot twist. You can throw in some romance or a little bit of a horror vibe. You can make it spiritual if you want. There’s a lot of room to play with within that one genre. And there are so many different types of mystery, from cozy mysteries to psychological thrillers and procedurals. There’s a lot that can be done within that genre that I don’t think I’ll ever get bored or feel I’m missing out on writing something.”

Now that he’s accomplished his childhood dream, he credits his success to the experiences he’s had as a therapist and how that has molded him and set the course for the David Thorne character and other characters he writes. Lawrence said he would also tell his younger self to just keep going when it comes to wanting to become a published author.

“A lot of times, I think I gave up on writing too soon and if I had done the things I’m doing now that has made these first three books so successful and grow as rapidly as I have and they have, I would be in a completely different place. I’d be much further along in the journey, but there’s the realization that, at that point in time, I didn’t have the life experience to be able to do that or the career experience to be able to create a character like David. But I would certainly tell myself, ‘Don’t give up on it. Keep practicing, write short stories, do something that when the time is right for you, it’s not just you’re going all in and hoping for the best.’”

And for those looking to take that next step into becoming an author, Lawrence said the number one thing they should do is to know their goals.

“I remember, in therapy, a client would come and say, ‘I want to be happy.’ A couple might come in and say, ‘We want to communicate better.’ Those are extremely broad goals, and they’re very subjective. If somebody says, ‘My goal is to be a successful writer,’ what does that look like? I can say, for my, I’m successful. I’ve had three bestsellers, and I’ve won an award, but I’m not a ‘New York Times’ bestseller. I don’t have a major award that somebody like Stephen King would win. But, to me, those are huge accomplishments.”

Lawrence added that, if you plan on obtaining the same success that someone like King has, surrounding yourself with those on the same level as you and attending the same seminars and classes as them is beneficial in achieving that success.

“If your goal is to write a book and say you’ve been able to publish something then sit down and write completely uninhibited. Edit to the best of your ability and whatever you can financially afford as far as editors go. But unless you know exactly what the goal is, it’s really easy to get lost. Something like success, without narrowing that down to know exactly what that looks like for you, you could be chasing that to infinity and never find it, because you don’t really know what that means for you.”

To learn more about Jack Lawrence and to purchase his books or other merchandise, you can visit his official website. Lawrence can also be found on Facebook and Instagram, and his books are also available for sale on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

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