Best-selling author finds home base in Olivenhain

By Jim Trageser
Staff Writer | Wednesday, August 20, 2008 5:18 PM PDT ∞

Today, Christopher Reich is a best-selling novelist, living in Olivenhain with his wife and two children.

Fifteen years ago, Reich was a very successful investment banker living in Switzerland.

In between is a story that, if not as racy or heart-pounding as those in one of his popular thrillers (like the just-published "Rules of Deception"), still revolves around a pretty daring decision and a bit of a blind jump.

"I'd been doing investment banking, full steam ahead, and I just decided after doing it for eight years that it was just not my cup of tea," Reich said last week by cell phone while running some errands.

"I had always kept in the back of my mind to be a novelist. That just stems from growing up reading a tremendous amount of books. Frederick Forsyth, John Grisham, Tom Clancy, James Clavell.

"When this whole thing started back in 1994, when I decided I was finished with the whole finance thing, I went to my wife and said I wanted to be a novelist. She said, 'Now hold on, do you have any short stories stashed away I don't know about? Did you take even a single English class in college?' "

Even though the answers were no and no, Reich said his wife supported him the whole way. They started saving a nest egg, and when they had enough to live off for two years, he left his job in Switzerland and they moved to Austin, Texas.

"I wanted hot weather, inexpensive living and at least 2,000 miles from my parents," he said, laughing, of their decision.

Still, he said there was some nervousness about giving up a very succcessful career in banking.

"It was a total leap of faith," he said. "I was really going to make my best effort to make this thing go."

And go it did.

Reich began working on his first novel, "Numbered Accounts," in 1995, and managed to use some connections to get the first 100 pages of his draft into the hands of author James Patterson, who was still working a day job as head of an advertising agency at the time, Reich said.

Shortly after, Patterson's agent agreed to represent Reich.

But while having an established agent can be crucial to getting a foot in the door of the large publishing houses, it's not a victory in and of itself, Reich said.

"I thought representation meant we'd be selling that book soon," he said. "In January in 1997, we still hadn't sold that book."

But, Reich said, with good reason: His agent had him rewriting and rewriting "Numbered Accounts."

By January 1998, the agent had eight publishing houses in a bidding war for the rights to the book.

With his sixth book, "Rules of Deception," published last month and on the hardcover best-seller lists now, Reich said he's found that the real secret to staying successful is to not get a swelled head.

"You have to always be humble."

Discipline helps, too, he said.

"There's only one way to be a successful, steady writer: You go to work every single day. I apply the discipline I learned as an investment banker: I get to my desk at 6 a.m. and work until 5 p.m.

"You can't wait for inspiration to come to you, because inspiration comes after four hours of slogging through stuff."

In writing thrillers, Reich said he has the beginning and ending in mind before he starts a new book, but that the middle can be as much of a surprise to him as it is for his readers.

"I always know where I'm going to start, and the eventual setup. I can envision where it has to end, and the crazy part is getting from Point A to Point B.

"What surprises me is how the characters come into a life of their own and they really do demand that you follow their instincts, if you're true to your character. That's what makes writing so fun ---- you're kind of living inside this story.

"Once you get into their world, it really comes alive. These people are really alive for me, and they kind of tell me where it has to go."

The latest book is set in Switzerland, and even though he lived there for years, Reich said he went back to make sure he got the settings right.

After finding success writing from Texas, Reich said he and his wife decided to move when they tired of the summer humidity.

His parents, who live in Los Angeles, recommended Reich spend his new riches on digs in Rancho Santa Fe, so he and his wife came out the day after Christmas in 2000 to check out life in the Ranch. But before they got to Rancho Santa Fe, they were sidetracked by the charm of Olivenhain ---- and settled there instead.

Reich said his life revolves around his writing and his family.

"My work stops dead at 5:30," he said, leaving him free for family life in the evening: "The whole dinner, homework, going to bed routine. Every night."

And getting to and from work each day?

"I converted one of my garage bays to my office. I have a very difficult 10-step commute from my garden to my office."

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