'Bourne' author praises Sharjah Book Fair

Eric Van Lustbader spoke of dreaming of being grateful Dr Shaikh Sultan's invitation to the emirate and about reading

Eric Van Lustbader, author of 10 of the Jason Bourne series and writer of several best-selling spy novels, told a packed audience at the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) of the inspirations, aspirations, dreams and demons that have made him one of the successful thriller story tellers in recent years.
Before he spoke of his work, he told the audience of a dream he had the night before. "I dreamt that I was having tea with His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah. We talked and I said how grateful I was to be invited to the emirate and he was very kind and said he was pleased I could come.
"We spoke for what seemed to be a long time and when it came to saying goodbye, he said, 'I have a gift for you'. He gave me that gift, but when I woke up I couldn't remember what it was. It was on my mind all day, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember. That was until today, when I walked in through the doors of the book fair and I remembered. It is the book fair that he gave me and it is an incredible gift. The way Sharjah is encouraging reading is phenomenal. I just wish there were the same effort being made in the United States."
Lustbader then began speaking at the SIBF session, being held at Expo Centre Sharjah, about his experience as a music producer and friend to some of the industry's greatest ever names, including Elton John and John Lennon.
Although his first best seller was turned down by the first 15 publishers, Van Lustbader had enormous confidence in his own ability.
"I was born to write. I remember I was very, very little, I was incredibly frustrated that I couldn't read the road signs, but by the time I was seven, I was writing poetry and by the time I was in my teens I was writing short stories."
One of his first, and best-loved books is Ninja. Despite its incredible popularity, many publishers believed it would not have mass appeal. "After about fifteen rejects, my agent told me there was one more publisher. We managed to put the manuscript in his hand and asked him to read it. By the time he got to Heathrow, he was half way through and called to say he would buy it. He offered a HUGE amount of money which was unthinkable at the time. But Ninja then stayed on the New York Best Seller list for 24 weeks."
At the same time, author Robert Ludlum, writer of the world-famous Bourne Trilogy - Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum - was also on the best-seller list as one of the great spy novelists of his time.
The author ended with some advice to the budding writers in the crowd: "Don't pick up a book read, enjoy it and think you can write something similar. Don't write for anyone else, write for yourself. What's inside of you is by far the most important thing."
- reporters@khaleejtimes.com

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