Stuart Woods is a prolific and award-winning mystery writer who created several bestsellers while his memoirs formally described it as “luxury life” at his home in Washington on July 22nd. died. He was 84 years old.
Death was confirmed by his wife, Jean-Marie Woods, his only direct survivor. She did not identify the cause.
A swashbuckler-licensed private jet pilot and transatlantic sailor with homes in New York, Maine, and Florida, Woods undertook a somewhat unplanned career as a novelist.
However, when he became a writer, he spent $ 7,500 in advance on his first novel, Chiefs, into his award-winning career as a fiction factory, creating five thrillers a year. One of them became the basis for the 6-hour CBS miniseries in 1983.
Over 40 years, his work included dozens of New York Times bestsellers. Ed Eagle, the defense counsel for Santa Fe. William Henry Lee IV, a Georgia Senator and president.Holly Barker, Retired Army Major and Florida Police Chief Hired by the CIA; And Rick Baron, a police detective who became executive producer of Hollywood Studios in the 1930s.
Woods also wrote a travel book, “A Romantic Guide to Country Inns in Britain and Ireland” (1979).
“I have an enthusiastic imagination, and a rich fantasy life that helps the sex scene,” he told The New York Times in 1999.
He usually wrote two hours a day until around noon, which was the full chapter of that time. Before submitting the book, he said, “Complete the first half-dozen chapters and a brief overview of the rest and send it to my publisher.”
“When they accept it, I ignore the synopsis and do whatever I want to do,” he added.
His memoirs, “Luxury life” Published in June.
Times critic Janet Maslin referred to Woods’ work on “Clockwork” and called him “Mystery Bestseller Nora Roberts”, likening him to a popular and similarly hard-working romance novelist.
Woods and his character, Stone Barrington, both frequently visited Elaine’s, a literary hangout on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. To keep the saloon alive at some point, Woods tried to buy the saloon from its salty owner, Elaine Kaufman, when it was in financial distress.
Elaine was finally closed in 2011, but Woods’ muse was undisturbed.
“There is a theory that writers block is afraid that books aren’t as good as you’re telling all your friends,” he said. “To tackle it, we need to act in a coordinated will every day,” he added.
Stuart Chevalier Lee and church organist Dorothy (Callaway) Lee fled to another state on January 9, 1938, in the western central part of Manchester, Georgia, after robbing the bottle. Born to the owner, Stuart Franklin Lee. Plants when his son was 2 years old. When Stuart was six, his mother married Angel David Woods and the boy took the surname of his stepfather.
After earning a degree in sociology from the University of Georgia in 1959, Woods served in the Air National Guard. He moved to New York to become a journalist, where he worked for an advertising agency and then in London.
He later moved to Ireland, where he began writing his first novel. But when he got hooked on sailing and started racing, he was quickly diverted. In 1976, he finished in the middle of the field in a 45-day race from Plymouth, England to Newport, Rhode Island.
He then wrote a non-fiction account for racing, “Blue Water, Green Skipper,” and after returning to Georgia, sold his American rights to WW Norton and Company. He also agreed to publish the thriller “Chief,” which Woods started eight years ago.
He said the “chief” was inspired by the discovery of his grandfather’s police chief badge in the attic of his family at the age of nine. When his grandfather was killed in 1927 when he was misidentified by a malaria-infected shooter, he was bleeding with a shotgun pellet and wore a pierced badge. ..
The plan revolves around three generations of law enforcement officers, starting with a cotton farmer who was anointed by police chiefs in the 1920s and was tasked with resolving ritual murders of teenagers.
“Chiefs” won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for the first novel by the Mystery Writers of America and was featured in the CBS miniseries starring Charlton Heston, Danny Glover and Billy Dee Williams.
In 2010, Woods won the Grand Prix de Littre de France, the most prestigious crime and detective story award in France, for his novel “Imperfect Strangers”.
His first marriage ended with a divorce. He married Janmari Cooper in 2013.
Woods was deeply involved in the authors guild, a professional organization, and recalled the support he received as a fledgling writer. He thanked the readers, but his patience with them sometimes diminished.
In “Dark Harbor,” Woods writes in a mysterious way. “The person who killed Dick and his family were vacuuming when they left the house through the terrace door. A very decent companion. Very clever.” The passage embarrassed many readers. ..
However, in multiple interviews, Woods did not want reader Watson to play Holmes.
“Don’t ask about the vacuum cleaner,” he said. Written on his website“And before asking about other novel plots, remember. I’ll never explain! It’s all in the book, understand it!”
