In this episode of Elena Meets the Author, I speak with critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Amazon bestselling author Robert Dugoni, whose books have sold more than 12 million copies worldwide, primarily across his police, espionage, and legal thriller series.
Today we focus on Robert’s standalone literary novel, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, published in 2018. The book has sold over a million copies and has become a word-of-mouth favourite among readers.
Newsweek once called it “the best book of all time.” I must admit, I felt as if I’d been sleeping under a rock, because I hadn’t heard of Sam Hell until a few months ago when I was interviewing Lisa Scully, the owner of Locust Valley Bookstore in Long Island.
Lisa told me that the store sells about 15,000 books a year, and The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell is the only book they sell with a money-back guarantee.
If you don’t like it, you get your $14.95 back.
She said to me, “We tell people: trust me on this one.” According to Lisa, readers have gone “Bonko nuts” for the book. Men and women love it equally.
I absolutely adored it. It grabs you right away and doesn’t let go of your heartstrings until the tearful and hopeful final page.
The novel tells the story of a man looking back on his life. It’s a coming-of-age story about a boy who was different from everyone else, and how that shapes his relationships with his family, other people, and most importantly with himself.
Maternal love, bullying, resilience, deep friendship, romance, humour, forgiveness, and faith all feature in this poignant, page-turning story.
In our conversation, Robert shares the journey behind the book, how the story developed over many years, and why the novel explores faith rather than religion. We also talk about his writing process, character creation, and the long path that led him from journalism and law into a full-time writing career.
Topics we cover in this episode
00:00 Welcome to the Podcast
00:16 Why The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell Matters
00:34 Why Sam Hell Stands Out
02:18 Moving from Series Thrillers to a Standalone Novel
02:24 Early Reading and Classic Influences
03:34 From Journalism to Law School
04:27 Leaving Law to Pursue Writing
05:04 The Breakthrough of The Cyanide Canary
05:35 Writing Sam Hell: Five Weeks to Draft
07:22 Finding Sam’s Emotional Throughline
09:19 Publishing the Book and Its Slow-Burn Success
10:54 Religion Versus Faith in the Story
13:24 Accepting Imperfection in Writing
14:15 Where Great Lines Come From
16:19 An Organic Writing Process and Character Development
19:39 Thrillers Versus Literary Craft
22:21 Using Humour as Relief in Difficult Stories
23:36 Humour in War Stories
25:00 Teaching the Craft of Writing
25:19 Avoiding the Information Dump
26:41 Writing with All Five Senses
27:42 Ambiguity Versus Tension in Storytelling
29:29 Finding the Right Agent, Editor, and Publishing Team
32:23 From Rejection to Amazon Publishing
36:04 Ideas for the Next Literary Novel
40:18 Wrap Up and Outro
