Chapter 34 postscript
Of all the genres I've written over the years—film, play, television, fiction—my favorite is fiction.A novel is a very different world, a world of mind and heart.You can develop characters as much as you like in the novel.The transition from playwright to screenwriter to novelist was easier than I expected.The benefits are self-evident!
Novelists travel the world doing research, meeting interesting people and visiting interesting places.If there is something about what you write that touches others, they will be happy to share it with you.I sometimes get some really touching emails.
I once had a letter from a woman who had a serious heart attack and wouldn't let her parents and boyfriend see her in the hospital.She told me that although she was only twenty-one years old, she had already thought about dying.Someone had placed a copy by her bedside.She flipped through it casually at first, and the plot inside attracted her deeply, so she read the whole book again from the beginning.Fascinated by the characters and their problems, she forgot her own plight, and now she is ready to face life bravely.
Another woman wrote to me that her daughter had a dying wish that every book I had written be spread out on her hospital bed, and the daughter passed away happily.
The death of a young boy in the family has drawn many letters of protest.A lady in the East wrote me, gave me her phone number, and said, "Call me. I can't sleep. Why let him die?"
Letters like that were overwhelming, so I brought the boy back to life when it was adapted for TV.
Many women have told me that they became lawyers to emulate Jennifer Parker.
My novels are available in 108 countries and translated into 51 languages. In 1997, I was included in the "Guinness Book of World Records" as the author whose works have been translated into the most languages in the world.My works have sold 300 million copies.
When it comes to the success of my work, I believe it is because the characters I create are very real to me and therefore real to the reader.Foreign readers can also find resonance in my book, because love, hatred, and jealousy are universal emotions that everyone can feel.
When I became a novelist, one of the things that struck me is that people have far more respect for novelists than for Hollywood screenwriters.Jack Warner once said: "Aren't screenwriters just a bunch of idiots sitting in front of a typewriter?" This is the consensus of most film company executives.
When I was working on A Thousand Flowers, I went to Arthur Fried's office one day, and his insurance agent happened to be there too.We were chatting, and the secretary came in and told him to watch the sample.Fried said to his insurance agent, "Let's go see the swatches."
They both got up and went out, leaving me alone.The demo they were going to see was made up by me.
No respect at all.
I love to travel around and do research for my novels, I really enjoy doing it.In order to write, I went to Athens, and Joya was with me.We passed a police station and I said, "Let's go in." We went in.There was a policeman behind the desk, asking us, "Need help?" I said, "Yes. Can someone tell me how to blow up a car?" Thirty seconds later, we were locked into a room.Joya was startled and frightened, "Tell them your identity." "Don't worry. There's plenty of time." Four police officers with guns came in, "You want to blow up the car? Why?" "I'm Sidney Sheldon, and I'm doing research." Luckily they knew me, and they showed me how to blow up a car.
While writing a book about diamonds, I went to South Africa to do research.I contacted De Beers and asked if I could visit one of their diamond mines.They agreed to my request, and I won the honor of going to the diamond mine to find out. A De Beers executive told me about one of their mines, a beach with diamonds on the ground, protected by the ocean on one side and a heavily guarded gate on the other.I thought it was a challenge, so I figured out that one of my characters would infiltrate the mine and steal the diamonds.
To write, I visited the security system at the Prado Museum in Madrid.The system is said to be indestructible, but one of my characters managed to steal a priceless painting out of it.
Before writing, I went to Romania, because some scenes in the book took place here.This was Ceausescu's reign, and the regime's paranoia was felt everywhere.I went to the American embassy, and in the ambassador's office, I said to the ambassador, "I want to ask you a question." The ambassador stood up. "Follow me, please." He led me across the hall to a room surrounded by Marines patrolling the area 24 hours a day, and said, "What do you want to ask?" I asked, "Do you think my room was bugged?" "It's not just your hotel room being bugged, they're bugging you too if you go to a nightclub." One night three days later, Joya and I went to a nightclub.The head waiter seated us.The air conditioner was facing us, so we got up to change seats.The foreman hurried over and greeted us to sit back in our original seats.Apparently that table was bugged. The next day, I went to the ambassador's house for dinner.I said, "I want to ask you a question." He got up, "Let's go for a walk in the garden." In Romania, even if you are an ambassador, your home is bugged.
While writing, I traveled to Spain to investigate the Basque independence movement.I asked the driver to take me the two roads that the nuns in the book take.We ended up back in San Sebastian.After the driver dropped me off at the hotel gate, he said, "I have to go." I said, "You can't go. We're only halfway through the research." "You don't understand," he said, "this is the Basque headquarters. They blow up the car if they see a Madrid plate." I met some Basques and heard another version of the story told by them.They feel they have been driven out of their land and they want their land back, their language and their autonomy revived.
The above is part of my experience.I am so grateful for this experience.I love to write, and I'm lucky enough to be doing something that interests me.I believe that talent, whether it is painting, music, or writing, is a gift of innate talent, and we should be grateful for the talent we have been given and strive to make use of it. What I enjoy the most is the writing process itself.On my birthday, my manager gave me tennis lessons worth five hundred dollars, and the tennis coach came to my house once a week to teach me how to practice tennis. One day he said, "The money is gone. Do you want to continue studying?" I like playing tennis very much.At first I said yes, but after thinking about it, I don't want to stay here forever.I would much rather go to the office and write. I haven't been on a tennis court since.The last time I played tennis was twenty years ago. Four years into the filming of Cary Grant's final film, Spring Dreams, he called me to tell me that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was honoring him with a Lifetime Achievement Oscar in New York, and he asked me if I'd like to be there.Of course I'd be happy to go.This award is long overdue for Gary. I've also been very pleased to see that Bob Russell and Ben Roberts have had great success in their careers over the years. My brother Richard ended up divorced, and in 1972 he surprised everyone by meeting and marrying the charismatic businessman Betty Lane. In 1985, my beloved Joia died of a heart attack.This is unacceptable news for me, and there is a void in my life that I feel will never be filled. A little over three years later, the gap was filled.I met Alexandra Kostov and my life changed.She had all the qualities of the women I write about—intelligence, charm, amazing talent—and I fell in love with her at first sight.We had a secret wedding in Las Vegas with only family members in attendance. To my surprise, old friend Marty Allen and his wife Caron were also at the wedding.The versatile Caron played a wedding march of her own composition on the piano.Accompanied by the sound of beautiful music, we held a wedding. Alexandra and I have now spent sixteen wonderful years together. Much to my relief, my daughter Mary is also a writer.Up to now, she has published ten novels.My granddaughter Lizzie had already published a novel when she was sixteen.I hope ten-year-old Rebecca will follow in the footsteps of her mother and sister. I've been sluggish for the past four years because of my manic-depressive disorder, now commonly known as bipolar disorder, but with the help of lithium carbonate, it's largely under control.I'm planning a new novel, a non-fiction book, and a Broadway musical.I just celebrated my eighty-eighth birthday. My life has been a roller coaster, full of ups and downs and thrills, and I cherish that experience, it's been an exciting and exciting ride.I am grateful to Otto for convincing me to keep turning the page, and to Natalie for her faith in me that has never wavered. My career has also experienced ups and downs, with great successes and unspeakable failures.I want to share my story with you and show you my gratitude. The elevator keeps going up. (End of the book)
I love to travel around and do research for my novels, I really enjoy doing it.In order to write, I went to Athens, and Joya was with me.We passed a police station and I said, "Let's go in." We went in.There was a policeman behind the desk, asking us, "Need help?" I said, "Yes. Can someone tell me how to blow up a car?" Thirty seconds later, we were locked into a room.Joya was startled and frightened, "Tell them your identity." "Don't worry. There's plenty of time." Four police officers with guns came in, "You want to blow up the car? Why?" "I'm Sidney Sheldon, and I'm doing research." Luckily they knew me, and they showed me how to blow up a car.
While writing a book about diamonds, I went to South Africa to do research.I contacted De Beers and asked if I could visit one of their diamond mines.They agreed to my request, and I won the honor of going to the diamond mine to find out. A De Beers executive told me about one of their mines, a beach with diamonds on the ground, protected by the ocean on one side and a heavily guarded gate on the other.I thought it was a challenge, so I figured out that one of my characters would infiltrate the mine and steal the diamonds.
To write, I visited the security system at the Prado Museum in Madrid.The system is said to be indestructible, but one of my characters managed to steal a priceless painting out of it.
Before writing, I went to Romania, because some scenes in the book took place here.This was Ceausescu's reign, and the regime's paranoia was felt everywhere.I went to the American embassy, and in the ambassador's office, I said to the ambassador, "I want to ask you a question." The ambassador stood up. "Follow me, please." He led me across the hall to a room surrounded by Marines patrolling the area 24 hours a day, and said, "What do you want to ask?" I asked, "Do you think my room was bugged?" "It's not just your hotel room being bugged, they're bugging you too if you go to a nightclub." One night three days later, Joya and I went to a nightclub.The head waiter seated us.The air conditioner was facing us, so we got up to change seats.The foreman hurried over and greeted us to sit back in our original seats.Apparently that table was bugged. The next day, I went to the ambassador's house for dinner.I said, "I want to ask you a question." He got up, "Let's go for a walk in the garden." In Romania, even if you are an ambassador, your home is bugged.
While writing, I traveled to Spain to investigate the Basque independence movement.I asked the driver to take me the two roads that the nuns in the book take.We ended up back in San Sebastian.After the driver dropped me off at the hotel gate, he said, "I have to go." I said, "You can't go. We're only halfway through the research." "You don't understand," he said, "this is the Basque headquarters. They blow up the car if they see a Madrid plate." I met some Basques and heard another version of the story told by them.They feel they have been driven out of their land and they want their land back, their language and their autonomy revived.
The above is part of my experience.I am so grateful for this experience.I love to write, and I'm lucky enough to be doing something that interests me.I believe that talent, whether it is painting, music, or writing, is a gift of innate talent, and we should be grateful for the talent we have been given and strive to make use of it. What I enjoy the most is the writing process itself.On my birthday, my manager gave me tennis lessons worth five hundred dollars, and the tennis coach came to my house once a week to teach me how to practice tennis. One day he said, "The money is gone. Do you want to continue studying?" I like playing tennis very much.At first I said yes, but after thinking about it, I don't want to stay here forever.I would much rather go to the office and write. I haven't been on a tennis court since.The last time I played tennis was twenty years ago. Four years into the filming of Cary Grant's final film, Spring Dreams, he called me to tell me that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was honoring him with a Lifetime Achievement Oscar in New York, and he asked me if I'd like to be there.Of course I'd be happy to go.This award is long overdue for Gary. I've also been very pleased to see that Bob Russell and Ben Roberts have had great success in their careers over the years. My brother Richard ended up divorced, and in 1972 he surprised everyone by meeting and marrying the charismatic businessman Betty Lane. In 1985, my beloved Joia died of a heart attack.This is unacceptable news for me, and there is a void in my life that I feel will never be filled. A little over three years later, the gap was filled.I met Alexandra Kostov and my life changed.She had all the qualities of the women I write about—intelligence, charm, amazing talent—and I fell in love with her at first sight.We had a secret wedding in Las Vegas with only family members in attendance. To my surprise, old friend Marty Allen and his wife Caron were also at the wedding.The versatile Caron played a wedding march of her own composition on the piano.Accompanied by the sound of beautiful music, we held a wedding. Alexandra and I have now spent sixteen wonderful years together. Much to my relief, my daughter Mary is also a writer.Up to now, she has published ten novels.My granddaughter Lizzie had already published a novel when she was sixteen.I hope ten-year-old Rebecca will follow in the footsteps of her mother and sister. I've been sluggish for the past four years because of my manic-depressive disorder, now commonly known as bipolar disorder, but with the help of lithium carbonate, it's largely under control.I'm planning a new novel, a non-fiction book, and a Broadway musical.I just celebrated my eighty-eighth birthday. My life has been a roller coaster, full of ups and downs and thrills, and I cherish that experience, it's been an exciting and exciting ride.I am grateful to Otto for convincing me to keep turning the page, and to Natalie for her faith in me that has never wavered. My career has also experienced ups and downs, with great successes and unspeakable failures.I want to share my story with you and show you my gratitude. The elevator keeps going up. (End of the book)