By Ron Sandison
Having autism has helped me write books, they are very detailed, they got crazy plotlines, and I am able to keep it all straight in my head and I know it’s because I am autistic.
J.D. Barker
J.D. Barker is an awarding-winning New York Times and international bestselling thriller writer and was diagnosis with autism at age twenty-two. Since an early age, I loved reading thrillers and mystery novels. My grandmother Helen Olmsted produced 175 murder mystery plays for dinner theaters and trains. I remember at age seven attending a murder mystery play and want to be a writer. I enjoyed Barker’s insight for developing plotlines, twists, and cliffhangers to keep a reader’s attention and his personal challenges with autism and how he learned to navigating life.
1. How did your childhood experiences prepare you to be an author?
I grew up without a television so I was reading from a very early age. My mom would take us to the library all the time and I began to read by age three and by kindergarten I had read every Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries. I moved on to the classics like Charles Dickens and Twain, and I read my first adult book Dracula by age eight. I really feed my imagination by getting lost in books and stories.
Our house was in the middle of a forest which was a scary creepy location to begin with so that fueled the horror side of it. I had a sister who was fifteen months younger than me so we would write stories to each other. We created a little library in our house. She would check out my stories, she return it, if she didn’t I charged her a late fee. I think my sister still owes me money. My writing began basically by reading and creating stories of my own.
2. What jobs did you have before writing and how did you get your first agent? What was your major in college?
I loved to write my entire life but my parents said you cannot make a living from it. It’s a fun hobby and something you can do on the side. My parents wanted me to focus on a desk job so I went to college for finance. I got degrees in business, information technology, and finished halfway through a psychology degree. I focused mainly on finance. At night I would write to keep my sanity because that’s what I enjoyed doing. I ended up in the corporate world.
In college, I worked for RCA Records in Fort Lauderdale and Miami area. I was a glorified babysitter, when a recording artist came to town I would pick them up from the airport and drive them to their interviews, the radio stations, or concerts. Artist like Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, and bands like New Kids on the Block, Poison, and Guns and Roses. I realized that I had these very famous people captive in a car for four to five days so I started to interview them and sell those interviews to magazines like Seventeen and TeenBeat.
I learned that people who work in newspapers and magazines have a novel in their desk drawer which they have been working on forever and is 500,000 words and after a decade of writing they are almost finished. They would hand their novel off to me because I am very good at grammar and punctuation and I would get to the meat of the story and fine tune it and help them get it published. This turned into a side gig. During the day I worked finance and by night as an editor. As word spread, I received calls from agents to help their authors’ fine tune their manuscripts. I did this for twenty plus years and I ended up with six different books that hit the New York Times Bestsellers list, all which had other people’s name on the cover—this gets old after a while.
At one point, my wife took me aside and said, “I know you want to be a writer, let’s find a way to make this happen.” We were kind of stuck, we had a big house in Florida, a boat, and all the expenses. Our monthly bills were around 12,000 so I could not just walk away from the corporate job without making some drastic change. We sold everything and bought a tiny duplex in Pittsburgh, we rented out one side and lived in the other. This helped us get our expenses down to almost nothing and live off the saving until I finished my first book.
3. What are two qualities that make great a thriller or horror book?
In a great thriller, the readers needs to want to keep turning the page with a horror novel they have to be scared to turn the next page. My stories I like to think are primary suspense novels and I may include science fiction, horror, or some other element in it.
4. What format do you follow in writing a book?
My format has changed over the years, when I first started I would write up the scenario and run with it, and I did not know exactly where the story was headed this is how Stephen King writes. King’s famously says, “If you don’t know how the story will end your reader will never figure it out.” It’s a fun way to write a book but you have a lot of wasted words at the end of the process. I write a lot with James Patterson, the first book we co-wrote, we made it up as we went. At the end of the writing James showed me all the extra work we had done to reach the finish line. To contrast that method he sent me an outline to The Noise and we wrote that book together with the outline and I saw how quickly the process went and how much easier it was.
In today’s world, I write first the background blurb 200 words, describing what the story will be, I come up with the title, and I create my characters. And once I have that I create a detailed outline and write as much down on paper. By doing this I can write the book much faster and if I don’t know where the story is going I go for a five mile run and while running I think about what comes next. With the outline I know what comes next so I can use my running time to think how can, I make what comes next even better. I end up with a tighter, faster, and stronger story.
5. What challenges did you experience publishing your first novel?
My first book was Forsaken and when I wrote this book, I knew how to write a story because I had been doing it for a very long time. In the book I had to explain where the wife bought a journal so I had her walk into Needful Things and buy it there which is from a Stephen King’s novel and I got King’s permission to use it in the book. When I was seeking a literary agent I thought I had a slam dunk, I had a strong story, and Stephen King’s blessings to use characters from his writing. I made a big mistake I used a form letter for querying agents. I did not check the agent’s format for submitting a manuscript. I sent out 200 queries and did not get much of a response, I learned you need to follow agent’s format. I decided to self-publish and sold 250,000 copies. With my second book, I sent out 53 queries and received 14 offers. This time I followed the agent’s instructions for a query.
6. How has autism helped you write your books? At what age were you diagnosed and what lead to your diagnosis?
Having autism has helped me write books, they are very detailed, they got crazy plotlines, and I am able to keep it all straight in my head and I know it’s because I am autistic.
I was born in 1971 so they did not really diagnosis autism much back then. I was the quiet little problem kid in the corner. I went my entire young adult life with autism, not knowing that I had it but I knew that I was different and did not understand why. When I was in the corporate world I had a lot of trouble getting along with the people I worked with. I was extremely good at my job which is why they kept me. So the company sent me to anger management classes. I was in one of those classes with a therapist and thirty minutes in, she asked me, “Have you been assessed for autism?” She gave me a couple of tests and explained to me what autism was and everything began to click. Once I had the diagnosis and worked with people who specialized in autism that’s when things really began to change for me. I was able to get a handle on my life, my career, and more forward with focus.
7. Do you have any writing rituals or favorite place to write your books? My ritual is having my cat Frishma or dog Rudy next to me on the floor as I write my manuscript on my laptop.
For me, I started to write while in the corporate world and I worked 60-80 hours a week and I tried to write in between. I would listen to a thunderstorm sound track and this would prepare my mind for writing. The sound track would kick my brain into writer’s mold. When I was working corporate, I would put on the headphone play the thunderstorm and quickly pound out 200 to 300 words in a few minutes.
Now that I write fulltime, after I get my coffee early in the morning, and turnoff the internet, I write at the same time and place each day. I write about 2,000 to 3,000 words a day, once I hit the number I turn the internet back on and do the business side of being an author. My books are in 150 plus countries so I have emails coming from everywhere and a lot of interviews.
8. What tips would you give to a young adult with autism who desires to write a thriller or horror novel?
Defiantly read a lot. I had no formal training in writing, I learned how to tell a good story because I read a lot of good stories. There’s a structure in the story and as a person with autism you will pick up on that structure, you will see the pacing elements, a twist happens here, and this is where we go into the climax of the story. My mind grabbed all that. If you read a lot that structure will get stuck in your head.
You have to practice writing and do it every day. It’s no different than exercising at the gym.—I feel that there’s a writer’s muscle and if you work it every single day you get better and better, if you tackle it once or twice a week you won’t get the results you’re looking for.
9. What advice would you share with a writer who is struggling with finding an agent or publisher?
You gotta keep at it, definitely listen to literary agents or publishers’ advice. If somebody tells you no see if you can get the reason they said no this can be tricky because a lot of agents will just ghost you and not respond. I read every one my reviews and especially the bad ones because they point out, what’s wrong with the story, and if something is worthwhile I want to make the corrections and work it into my next book.
10. How does your wife encourage your writings?
If my wife would not have pushed me to make the financial changes, I probably still be working the corporate job that I hated because that was safe. Autistic people love patterns so changing my pattern was very scary to me because I was making decent money. So having someone in my corner pushing was huge. She has a real estate business and we work together and bounce ideas off each other. Sometimes, I have an idea for a book and write a few chapters, and she is the first person to read it. If she likes it I keep going, if not if goes in the trash, and I try something else.
11. What are some unique methods you use to market your books?
Wow, that is a tricky, it changes all the time that’s one of things I love working with James Patterson, he comes from a marking background, he was in advertising before writing books, one of his early marketing strategy for a book was using a Toys R Us theme song. He comes up with crazy ideas and that’s what I also do.
I interviewed Madonna and asked her what she does to market her products and she said, “I make a list of what everyone else is doing and once I composed that list, I create a list of what no one else is doing and that’s what I do to promote my albums and books.” I look at what everyone is doing and I come up with something no one else is doing. I find in today’s world one of the best ways to promote your book is through social influencers with blogs and videos on TikTok or Facebook. You give them a copy of your book, they will write a review and share it on their platform in videos and it generates clicks. I’ve seen a blogger sell more books with a review then the New Times.
12. What did you enjoy most with writing The Noise with James Patterson? And how did you build that connection and make your different writing styles synchronize?
It was fun for me and was the first book I wrote off an outline which he gave me. The Noise is such a fast paced, crazy, story, Patterson told me, “I’ve come up with an idea for a horror novel that no one has done yet.” I didn’t believe him until I saw the outline. We wrote six different endings and voted to decide the ending.
13. Your latest thriller Behind a Closed Door, what are some twists in this book and why did your publisher use puzzle pieces for the cover?
It was originally sold as 50 Shades meets David Fincher’s The Game and both of those have puzzle pieces. This story has a lot of different elements coming together that most people would not expect. It’s about a husband and wife who are having marital problems and they see a therapist and during the therapy session the therapist recommends they download an app. It’s essentially truth or dare for adults, so they download this app, and the app gives tasks, the first few are pretty tame but the tasks keep getting more taboo as things go on. Ultimately, the wife gets one that says would you kill a stranger to save someone you love. Her friend clicks yes because he thinks it’s a joke, and a map comes up with a pen and a timer from there things really escalade and get out of control.
14. What was the inspiration for Behind a Closed Doors, how did you develop the characters in the book?
What actually spawn the story, I had the characters in mind Abby and Brandon for a really long time but one night as my wife and I were talking over dinner about a house she just bought in Georgia with seven bathrooms, I remarked, “You should use the company Bath Fitter. They come in and give a face lift to a bathroom.” I just mentioned it casually at dinner that night and later my wife and I both noticed advertisements for Bath Fitter on our phones and social media feeds. We did not type it into anything, we only spoke it out loud.
I researched and discovered in our phone contracts we give providers permission to listen and use the information they gleam for advertising. That’s creepy as hell!!! Your entire life is on your phone, where you go, where you’ve been, what you’ve viewed, every conversation, your phone knows more information about you then you know. The idea of the book is what happens if that information falls into the wrong hands.
15. What are some characteristics that make an amazing author?
In the thriller world, you have to keep the reader turning the pages. I have a cliffhanger in every chapter, and if it does not have a cliffhanger I turn it around and make sure it does. You have to be a prolific writer and put out a lot of books, you cannot write one book every five or six years. You need to be in front of people on a regular basic. Beside from being a good writer you need to get your name out there.
16. How have you been able not to get box into one genre but bounce between thriller, suspense, and horror?
I knew I wanted to do that from the beginning. I know quite a few well-known writers and I asked them about this and Dean Koontz gave me spectacular advice, “If you want to use multiple genre as a writer you’ve to do it from the beginning and find a common thread.” My first book was a horror, my second was a thriller, my third one was a horror, and then I went back to thriller, by bouncing back and forth my audience comes with me so Dean was right. Patterson gave me the same advice his first book was the Thomas Berryman Number which nobody has a copy but his second book Along Came a Spider which was one of the top selling books ever, he followed that with a book about a serial killer, followed by another serial killer, and he kept following that formula because that’s what everybody wanted but he got burnt out and decide to write a book When the Wind Blows about a girl with wings, and his fans completely turned on him because it was so different and they didn’t expect it.
17. Who are some authors you had on your podcast Writers Ink? What have you learned from those authors that enhanced your writing?
I pick everybody’s brain we had Dean Koontz, James Patterson, Karin Slaughter, Lisa Gardner, and just about everyone you could possibly think of on Writers Ink. One of my books A Caller’s Game was picked up for a movie and I was asked if I could write a screen play so I booked Gillian Flynn to understand how she wrote the screen play for Gone Girl. I wanted to hear Gillian’s entire experience with writing a screen play to understand the process.
18. What is something you wish everybody knew about Autism?
For me eye contact has been a big thing, for me to follow a conversation I cannot look a person in their eyes. I have to look off to the side and focus on something else. If I do look someone in the eyes, I have to say to myself repeatedly, “Keep eye contact. Keep eye contact.” And because of this I am not paying attention to the actual conversation which is the opposite of what typical people do. People think because I am not looking at them or my eyes are jumping around, I am not paying attention to them, I wish people would realize that is not the case. If I am not looking at you in a conversation that means I am paying attention.
Video of my interview with J.D. Barker
J.D. Barker Biography
J.D. Barker is the New York Times and international best-selling author of numerous novels, including Dracula, The Fourth Monkey, and his latest, Behind a Closed Door. He is currently collaborating with James Patterson. His books have been translated into two dozen languages, sold in more than 150 countries, and optioned for both film and television. Barker resides in coastal New Hampshire with his wife, Dayna, and their daughter, Ember.
Website: https://jdbarker.com/aboutjd
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therealjdbarker
Ron Sandison works full time in the medical field and is a professor of theology at Destiny School of Ministry. He is an advisory board member of Autism Society Faith Initiative of Autism Society of America. Sandison has a Master of Divinity from Oral Roberts University and is the author of A Parent’s Guide to Autism: Practical Advice. Biblical Wisdom, published by Charisma House and Thought, Choice, Action. Ron has memorized over 10,000 Scriptures including 22 complete books of the New Testament and over 5,000 quotes. Ron’s third book Views from the Spectrum was released in May 2021.
Ron frequently guest speaks at colleges, conferences, autism centers, and churches. Ron and his wife, Kristen, reside in Rochester Hills, MI, with a baby daughter, Makayla Marie born on March 20, 2016.
You can contact Ron at his website www.spectruminclusion.com or email him at sandison456@hotmail.com
