PHOTO: Douglas Pratt, best-selling author, draws inspiration from both his Southern roots and his maritime adventures.
Unlocking The Secrets Of Thrills, Tension, And Tropical Adventures
Douglas Pratt discusses his inspirations, his passion for creating authentic thrillers, and how his meticulously researched settings and vivid characters keep readers captivated from start to finish.
Douglas Pratt is a storyteller whose Southern roots and adventurous spirit intertwine seamlessly with his writing. A best-selling author, his works offer readers bold, gripping action set against the vibrant backdrops of tropical locales, rich with detail and atmosphere. Whether navigating the murky undercurrents of Florida’s crime scenes or exploring sunken shipwrecks, Pratt’s novels transport readers to worlds fraught with danger, moral complexity, and tantalising suspense.
From an early age, storytelling was a cornerstone of Pratt’s life. With a great-grandmother whose tales sparked his creative imagination, he began crafting his own short stories long before his first formal endeavour. That passion has carried through into his writing career, culminating in acclaimed series such as the Chase Gordon novels. Pratt’s commitment to authenticity and precision in his work is evident; he meticulously researches tactical practices, marine environments, and the landscapes that breathe life into his books, lending an uncanny realism to his thrilling narratives.
His tales are more than just thrillers—they are explorations of character, morality, and survival set against dynamic, often treacherous, settings. Pratt’s ability to pace his stories with exacting energy ensures that readers are held captive, with each chapter demanding more of their attention. From page-turning action to the craft of tension-building suspense, his stories embody the art of keeping an audience enthralled.
Balancing the discipline of daily writing with bursts of uncontainable creativity, Pratt has embraced the evolving challenges of a professional writing career. His dedication to both the craft and business of publishing has inspired him to guide aspiring authors, offering a helping hand through his podcast and teaching ventures. Douglas Pratt’s journey as a writer continues to reflect the adventurous and determined spirit found in his unforgettable protagonists.
Douglas Pratt masterfully blends action, suspense, and unforgettable settings, establishing himself as a standout voice in adventure and thriller fiction.
What inspired you to start writing at such a young age, and did you always know you wanted to become an author?
My earliest memories involved stories. My great grandmother, affectionately called Gran, was a seasoned storyteller. Every kid in the family climbed in her lap, saying “Gran, tell me a story.” Those were pivotal moments that guided me to becoming a young reader. At some point very young, I knew I wanted to be a writer. I would pen short stories, even compiling a collection together with a friend in the fifth grade. (I still have that staple-bound collection of pages on my bookshelf.)
How did your degree in Journalism from the University of Memphis influence your writing style and career?
Honestly, my only reason for studying journalism was that I thought it would allow me to write. As an aside, journalism might have offered me a chance to write, but with the pittance it paid, I couldn’t eat or feed my family. So I didn’t stay with that career.
“My great-grandmother’s stories were pivotal in me becoming a storyteller from a very young age.” – Douglas Pratt
Your protagonist Chase Gordon is a former Marine, what research did you undertake to ensure the accuracy of his character and experiences?
Unfortunately, I was never in the armed forces, but I did (and still do) lots of research. I have read several USMC manuals, talked with veteran Marines, and studied up on tactical practices. One of my best consultants was a retired Marine commander who helped me with some of the bits and nuances. It’s important not to offend the Marines, since even the old, retired ones might come for me.
The settings of your novels, such as South Florida, are vividly described, can you tell us about your experiences that helped shape these settings?
I like to think of setting as a character. It’s especially fun when it’s an area that most readers aren’t familiar with. I have read authors like Craig Johnson who develop the landscape on paper with such care that I feel like it’s as important as the story.
For me, most of the time I try to visit the locales. When I first created Chase Gordon and planned to do a tropical thriller, I wanted to find an easy location to research. Following in the great John D. MacDonald’s footsteps, I chose South Florida. However, in other books like my Corsair Novels, I visited the cities where the books take place. I have a chase scene in my novel La Playa De Los Muertos that carried the main character through the city of Puerto Vallarta. I spent hours walking the route and recording pictures and videos for research. I repeated this in Cartagena for book two, Midnight Dance. I love covering the detail and experience in these locales.
“Every chapter ends with a sort of cliffhanger – enough to keep readers turning pages.” – Douglas Pratt
How do you balance action and adventure in your thrillers to keep readers engaged?
I’ve learned over the years how important pacing is. My first few books had good stories that just didn’t move along fast enough. As I shifted into action and adventure more than mystery, I recognised the importance of page-turning action. The goal of every novelist should be to keep the attention of the reader throughout the book. I never want a chapter to slow down enough that the reader thinks it’s okay to put the book down and go to bed. To that end, every chapter ends with a sort of cliffhanger. For me, it’s often a precursor to an action scene, but it could be a reveal of a secret, a lead-up to a mission, or an unanswered question. No reader wants to see the protagonist come home, change into pyjamas, and catch up on the latest episode on Netflix.
Your characters, such as Max Sawyer, often find themselves in perilous situations, how do you create tension and suspense in your writing?
For me, I come up with a scene, and I ask “What could happen now that would make it worse?” That question is followed with, “How do I get my character out of it, and still move the story forward?”
Much like balancing the pacing of action, suspense and tension are vital to a story. Every question raised in a book, from a will-they-won’t-they romance scenario to a whodunnit cosy mystery, is an opportunity to build suspense. Our job as writers is to decide when is the most effective time to answer that question for the reader.
“I think of settings as characters, especially when they offer readers something unfamiliar or unexpected.” – Douglas Pratt
For my Chase Gordon series, I bring Chase to the page in first person. That drives the story differently than a third-person narrative. The reader knows what Chase knows—which can sometimes be nothing. He’s what I like to think of as an intelligent blunt object. And he recognises that from his days in the service. He’ll work to deduce what’s going on, but overall, Chase is reactive to the situation. Because he’s guided by his own moral compass, he will dive into a perilous situation if he believes he needs to, either to protect himself or someone else.
What is your writing process like, do you have a daily routine or do you write in bursts of creativity?
Writing is my career, so I try to write daily. There are other aspects of this business that are not nearly as fun as writing, but they are a necessity. Those sometimes take precedence, but if I’m in the midst of a book, I work to stay focused on those words.
I’m not a big believer in writer’s block. For me, I recognise it as procrastination, but on occasion, it’s a problem with the story. Either way, the cure is usually the next word. I never like staring at a blinking cursor with no words, so I’ll add something. Once I’m a paragraph or two in, something clicks and that story reshapes itself.
I do get those bursts of creativity, but I have to rein them in. Those are usually the other “great” ideas I have that don’t involve my current cast of characters. I will often jot down the ideas for when I finish my current book.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors who are looking to publish their first novel, and what lessons have you learnt throughout your own writing career that you would pass on to others?
When I decided to make writing a full-time career, I pasted Robert Heinlein’s Rules of writing on my wall, determined to follow them.
You must write.
You must finish what you write.
You must refrain from rewriting (except for editorial order).
You must put it on the market.
You must leave it on the market until it’s sold.
I started following those, and they are the most important. However, over the years I’ve learned a few more things. If I wanted to make writing a career, I had to treat it like a business. That meant understanding the ins-and-outs of publishing, marketing, and general bookkeeping.
I made a ton of mistakes, and one of my passions is helping emerging authors. I try to teach a few classes to people wanting to publish, and three years ago, I joined forces with another author, Nicholas Harvey, to create The Two Authors’ Podcast, where we chat with successful authors and industry people about publishing. Our goal was to help new authors avoid the pitfalls and traps that we encountered. Every time a new author emails us to tell us they are launching their first book, we feel a sense of pride.
My biggest advice is don’t stop writing and don’t stop evaluating what you are doing.
