Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 2, 1990 TAG: 9003014347
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPDEN-SYDNEY LENGTH: Long
"After several million books, the only things I count are the checks that come in," Clancy said recently at Hampden-Sydney College, where he spoke to a packed auditorium about his remarkable transition from insurance man to writer.
In the firmament of best-selling authors, Clancy is up there with Danielle Steele and Stephen King. He is the undisputed king of the techno-thriller, a newly dubbed genre of suspense novel heavy on hardware and technical detail.
Today, the movie version of his first book, "The Hunt for Red October," is being released nationwide. Months ago, trade journals were predicting that it would be one of the monster money-makers of 1990. The Paramount picture boasts a first-string cast: Sean Connery, James Earl Jones, Scott Glenn and Alec Baldwin. John McTiernan, director of the hit action-thriller "Die Hard," is at the helm.
Clancy, a tall man in his mid-40s, has a crisp delivery worthy of a stand-up comic and a sharp and engaging sense of humor. He dresses in well-tailored suits appropriate to the insurance business - except that his wife now runs the Maryland insurance office. Clancy is busy at the writer's trade, which has made him a major celebrity.
He came to Hampden-Sydney through the invitation of Gen. Sam Wilson, a retired U.S. intelligence official who teaches a course in political science at this small, private men's college near Farmville. Wilson invited Clancy to speak because Clancy is one of the few fiction writers Wilson incorporates into his course.
That would lead one to believe that Clancy at one time toiled deep in the heart of the intelligence business, much like espionage writer John Le Carre.
Not so, Clancy maintains.
"Technically, `Hunt for Red October' was an easy book to write," Clancy said. "Harpoon, a $15 war game, gave me $5,000 worth of information. That was my research for naval warfare."
In fact, although Clancy had youthful ambitions of driving Army tanks, he was turned down by the military because of his eyesight. He has satisfied his interest in military matters through his books.
Seeds were sown for Clancy's' writing career in 1980. "My life took a couple of important turns," he said. "My wife and I purchased an insurance business, and I joined the Naval Institute."
The U.S. Naval Institute is a private Annapolis organization of civilians and military personnel interested in maritime matters. Clancy wrote a letter and an article that the institute paid for and published. And he also made some important contacts.
A naval officer who checked Clancy's articles for accuracy was chatting with him about possible British strategies for regaining the Falklands after the Argentine takeover. Then the officer launched into some sea stories about his submarine experiences.
"What sort of person goes to sea in a ship that's supposed to sink?" Clancy asked himself. "They must wake up every morning and adjust their halos. I thought, "If that's what they're like, I'll write a book about them.' "
Clancy remembered a true incident about a maverick Russian officer on an anti-submarine ship who made a run for Sweden but was captured, tried and sentenced to death by the Russians. With that as inspiration, he set to work in 1982 on "The Hunt for Red October."
"There was a football players' strike and my wife was pregnant, so my nights and weekends were relatively free," Clancy joked.
The Naval Institute Press offered Clancy a $3,000 advance for the book, but he talked them up to $5,000 and it went to press.
Clancy thought if "Red October" sold 25,000 copies, he would be elated. But the book wound up under the Christmas tree of Ronald Reagan, who then told Time magazine how much he enjoyed it.
"Kaboom! Tom Clancy is a best-seller," the author recalled.
The Naval Institute reports that "Red October" sold 400,000 hard-back copies before the organization sold the paperback rights. All told, more than 5 million copies of the book have been sold.
Since then, Clancy has written four other books - "Red Storm Rising," "Cardinal of the Kremlin," "Patriot Games" and "A Clear and Present Danger."
Of the five, three have dealt with the cold war between the U.S. and the Russians. But Clancy's not lamenting the stunning historical developments in Eastern Europe that may take the Russians out of thriller writers' bad-guy stockpile.
"I have four children, and it's my hope that Gorbachev can pull it off. I can handle peace breaking out. If I said anything else I'd be an idiot and should be shot. I don't want to be the Grinch who stole detente," Clancy declared.
"A Clear and Present Danger" involves an American assault on the South American drug trade. "Patriot Games" is set amid the troubles of Northern Ireland. It's Clancy's favorite book.
Why?
"Why is your favorite girl your favorite girl?" Clancy responded.
Perhaps, he went on, one reason was that he worked harder on it. Also, "there's so little action in it. Any idiot can write action stuff."
Maybe so, but not as successfully as Clancy.
All of Clancy's books probably will become movies. But unlike Stephen King, Clancy doesn't intend to use his popularity as a writer to leverage himself into the movie-making business. He says has no plans to become a director, producer or actor.
"I write books. I don't make movies. They're two different art forms, and I can live with that."
He's at work on a sixth book but won't divulge the plot.
"It's classified. It's about 23 pages long, and with luck it will be the best thing I've done if I can bring it off."
Despite his successes, Clancy genuinely worries about bringing the next book off. He said writing novels is one of the hardest things he has had to do.
"My daughter wanted to know what I did. I told her it was like writing a term paper every day - and you had to get an A on it."
Clancy clearly relishes the job of writing. Never in his "wildest nightmares" did he expect to make so much money at it, he says.
He claims he's committed to the fast-paced escapist entertainment that has become his trademark. He has no interest in proselytizing through his books.
"If you want to send a message, go to Western Union. I'm in the entertainment business and having a hell of a lot of fun, so why change?"
by CNB