JOURNAL

Stories, interviews and reflections

Interview

The Story Behind Do Not Come

An interview with R. B. Claymore
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1. Where did the idea for Do Not Come come from?

The idea came from a Spring Break trip I took with some friends through Mexico in the early 1990s. Some of the events in the novel were inspired by that trip.

After staying at a pretty run-down hotel, we ended up at a kind of resort in the middle of nowhere. It was almost entirely filled with women attending a convention, and we were practically the only foreigners there. The night got pretty wild.

But because we were isolated and surrounded by Mexican staff who seemed somewhat wary of us, I started feeling that the looks we were getting weren't exactly friendly. Maybe it was the tequila talking, but I remember that feeling very clearly.

“We're on our own. We'll get out of here because they want us to. But what if they decide they don't?”

That feeling of vulnerability was the real starting point for the novel. That sense of danger was the first thing I wrote, almost without stopping. Reality gave me the starting point. Fiction took it from there.

2. Did anything from that trip actually make it into the novel?

Yes. There were a few uncomfortable and tense moments, although fortunately we all made it home safe and sound.

What's interesting is that, over time, some of those memories became mixed up with my imagination and eventually found their way into the novel. Reality was the starting point, but fiction took it from there.

3. The novel revolves around three friends. Why three?

Because, in a way, those three friends grew out of that trip. The people I was traveling with were friends of mine, and we'd been college classmates.

A lot of crazy things happened on that trip, but fortunately we made it home. Years later, I started thinking about what might happen if I put three friends in a much more extreme situation.

4. You have lived and worked in different parts of the world. How did that influence the novel?

It mainly influenced the setting and the way I approached the different countries and characters. Living in different places gives you a firsthand sense of different ways of thinking and behaving.

I wanted the settings to feel believable and for the characters from different countries to have a certain authenticity as well.

5. Why did you choose Mexico as one of the main settings?

Mexico is a fascinating country, and sharing a border with the United States made it a natural fit for the story. It had many of the ingredients I needed.

There was also a personal connection, since Mexico was tied to the very origins of the novel.

6. The novel touches on intelligence and international operations. What interests you about that world?

I've always been interested in what goes on between the United States and the rest of the Americas. Some operations work out. Others don't. And there are often consequences for people who had nothing to do with the decisions being made.

I'm particularly interested in that less visible side of things—the consequences and collateral damage that can remain outside the official story.

7. Which writers have influenced you?

There are always influences, even when you're not necessarily aware of them. Among European writers, I particularly like Pierre Lemaitre and the way he approaches stories and characters.

I've also read many of the classic espionage writers. I suppose everything you read becomes part of what you write in one way or another.

8. How do you approach plotting?

I usually start with the main plot roughly mapped out, but then the side stories start to take on a life of their own. They intersect with the main story and sometimes take the characters in directions I hadn't planned.

That's something I enjoy. I think readers appreciate it too, when a story opens up and takes unexpected turns.

9. How did you develop the three main characters?

I liked the idea of three very different people who were still very close friends.

I started with a few small personality traits, and as the story developed, those traits grew. In a way, the events themselves helped me discover who the characters really were.

10. What was the most difficult part of researching the novel?

Probably the medical material. I had to do a lot of research to make those parts believable.

When you're writing about technical subjects, you can't simply imagine how things work. You have to do the research and make sure what you're describing actually makes sense.

11. Was there a particular part of the book you especially enjoyed writing?

The New York section was probably the most fun to write.

There are places and scenes that simply have an atmosphere that makes writing them more enjoyable. New York was one of them.

12. How much research did you do into intelligence and geopolitics?

I've always been interested in geopolitics and how intelligence services operate, so I was already curious about those subjects.

For this book, I spent almost a year doing intensive research. It was important to understand certain aspects before bringing them into the story.

13. Your characters are often placed under extreme pressure. Why?

When you put someone under extreme pressure, outside their comfort zone, you find out who they really are. That's when their values, their limits, and the decisions they're willing to make begin to emerge.

I'm particularly interested in what happens when someone is forced to confront situations they never imagined they'd have to face.

14. What made you interested in characters driven by survival instinct?

The first time I really saw the appeal of that kind of character was when I watched Black Hawk Down.

That's when I realized how powerful it can be to put people in situations where they have to improvise and act on pure survival instinct. When someone is under constant pressure, their decisions can reveal a great deal about who they really are.

15. What do you hope readers take away from Do Not Come?

Above all, I want readers to feel that their time was well spent and that they got something in return: a story that entertained them, but also left them with something to think about.

I'd like them to feel like they've been on a journey. And if they finish the book thinking, “Wow,” even better.

16. When did you first start writing?

Interestingly enough, I think it started at school.

Sometimes we'd get punished by having to write stories about saints. The good part, as far as I was concerned, was simple: the sooner I finished, the sooner I could go out and play.

Whenever we could choose the subject, I usually wrote fiction. I could usually write a story in five minutes. I think that's probably where I first started writing.

17. You have a strong cinematic quality in your writing. Does cinema influence you?

I love movies, but movies are expensive to make, and eventually the budget starts making decisions for you.

Writing is the closest thing to being God: there's no budget and no limit to what you can imagine. You can create a character, take them anywhere, and make almost anything happen.

18. What have you learned about your own writing process?

I've learned that I don't have many rules.

I can build characters and situations without following the usual rules of a particular genre, and the story can still work. What matters to me is that the characters feel alive and have personalities of their own.

When that happens, they sometimes start doing things that surprise even me.

19. What is the most rewarding part of being a writer?

The best part is knowing your characters can stay with someone for a while and, in some cases, even for the rest of their lives.

That's probably the most rewarding thing that can happen to a writer. With Do Not Come, Fred is one of the characters who tends to generate the most debate and the one readers often want to talk about.

To me, that's a good sign. It means the character has made it off the page and into the reader's mind.

20. Is Do Not Come simply a thriller, or is there something more underneath?

I think there's always something more. In Do Not Come, there's also social criticism, black humor, and characters who aren't necessarily what they seem.

The thriller is the vehicle, but underneath it there's also a look at people, their ambitions, their decisions, and the consequences those decisions can have. I'm particularly interested in characters when they're under pressure and forced to confront things they never thought they were capable of doing.

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