Author cracks his whip, takes on Indiana Jones

Author James Rollins poses in this undated handout released June 2008. Taking on the persona of Indiana Jones to write the novel of the adventurer's latest Hollywood movie was a dream job for writer James Rollins. Having written nine action-packed adventure thrillers, with his 10th, ''The Last Oracle,'' out in June, he was hired by Lucasarts last year to write the novelisation of the script for ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull''.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Taking on the persona of Indiana Jones to write the novel of the adventurer's latest Hollywood movie was a dream job for writer James Rollins.

Having written nine action-packed adventure thrillers, with his 10th, "The Last Oracle," out in June, he was hired by Lucasarts last year to write the novelization of the script for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

For Rollins, adventures really came from the heart. A keen adventurer, the novelist is an amateur spelunker or cave explorer and a certified scuba diver.

Rollins is a pen name for Jim Czajkowski who was a veterinarian in Sacramento, California, until he quit his practice about six years ago. He also writes fantasy novels under the pen name James Clemens.

Rollins, 46, spoke to Reuters about his various identities and keeping writing adventurous:

Q: Why do you write under different names?

A: "This wasn't my choice by the publishing house. I sold my first fantasy and first thriller within about a week of each other and to different publishing houses so they decided to come out with two distinct names. Rollins is my dad's first name and Clemens because I am a bit of a Mark Twain fan and Clemens was his last name."

Q: Why not use your own name?

A: "Mostly because word of mouth sells books and my last name is so hard to pronounce. You don't want to be walking into a book store saying you are looking for a book by some Polish author."

Q: Does it get confusing?

A: "It does occasionally. I've signed the wrong name in the wrong book before. But the two are distinct writing styles. I tried writing two books simultaneously once but it did not work. If I break out of that voice I find it hard to get it back."

Q: You are big on adventure sports. Had that fed into your writing?

A: "I try to incorporate what I love in my writing. At first people were always asking why I was not writing the next James Herriot books but I am not that guy in those novels. I wanted to go on these wild adventures. My early books did not even have animals apart from some wild creature but as I have retreated from being a vet, I've found animals have started creeping in.

Q: How did the Indiana Jones link come about?

A: "It was out of the blue. A lot of my books have been compared to Indiana Jones in the past and they just approached me. It was a blast. I read the script almost a year ago and security was major issue. I wasn't allowed to take it home. But they gave me a relatively free hand to adds scenes and extract others in the book. I was a bit intimidated when I first read the script as there were such high expectations for this character who was coming back after 19 years but when I began working on it I found myself getting lost in the character, cracking the whip and crawling through caves myself."

Q: Had you always wanted to write?

A: "I had always wanted to be a vet, since I was in third grade. I never thought writing was going to be a career. I thought you had to have literary pedigree to be a successful author so I never really considered it but I loved to read."

Q: So when did you turn to writing?

A: "When I turned 30 I decided I would at least try writing. I stopped practicing as a vet full-time about six years ago, having practiced for almost 20 years. I still do some volunteer vet work, working once a month with a group that traps stray cats."

Q: Is it right you got 49 rejections for your first adventure book "Subterranean" before it was finally published in 1999?

A: "My 50th agent agreed to represent that book. I still am shocked that I am at this stage and one of the reasons that I still practice as a vet once a month is that when people realize

I can't write I have my old profession to fall back on!"

Q: Any advice for aspiring writers?

A: "There is that old adage to write every day to be successful. I also believe it is important to read every night. By writing every day and reading every night my writing got stronger and stronger."

Reuters/Nielsen