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Bestselling Author Tess Gerritsen Tells Husson Students to Find Stories in Every Aspect of Life

Published on: October 15, 2025

A woman stands at a podium speaking to an audience.

At Husson University’s second Distinguished Business Speaker Series Event of the Fall 2025 semester, Camden novelist Dr. Tess Gerritsen urged students to pay attention to the world around them to find inspiration for writing.

​​A New York Times bestselling author, Gerritsen is best known for her suspense and medical thriller novels. Gerritsen’s first medical thriller, Harvest, was released in hardcover in 1996, and it marked her debut on the New York Times bestseller list. Her novels have hit bestseller lists ever since.  Her series of novels featuring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles inspired the hit TNT television series "Rizzoli & Isles," starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander. She is also a filmmaker.

A woman signs copies of books.
A woman signs copies of books.

Research is a big part of Gerritsen’s writing process. She encouraged students to read local newspapers and talk to people to find ideas, and use those ideas as a jumping-off point to build a story. She spoke at length about her deep dives into subjects like the Dugway Sheep Incident, CIA retirement plans, and the modern history of mummies. Each of these interests were worked into her books through writing similar themes and events.

“There’s a formula I use,” said Gerritsen. “I call it two plus two equals five. And what I mean by that is sometimes you take an idea from here and you take an idea from there, put them together, and you get something even better. So sometimes, when you’re looking for ideas, what you find is that you have half an idea. You just have to find the other half, and you have a whole story.”

Gerritsen, who was introduced by School of Legal Studies Director John Michaud, said she keeps a file of news clippings for inspiration. She has written everything from romance novels to thrillers.

A man stands at a podium speaking.
A woman stands at a podium speaking.

“I’ve also found that there’s no easy genre to write,” said Gerritsen. “I started off writing romance novels, and then I wrote medical thrillers, then crime novels, and now I’m writing spy novels. I’ve done historicals, I’ve done science fiction. They’re all difficult, so I never turn my nose up at an author.”

Above all, Gerritsen impressed upon students that their creativity and personal experience is what drives a good story. 

“There’s no wrong way to write a story,” said Gerritsen. “Every writer has their own technique. You may go to a writing course and think, ‘I’m going to learn how to write a book.’ Well, what they should teach you is that any way you do it is the right way.”

This is Gerritsen’s third time speaking at Husson. She was also featured in the seventh installment of the Distinguished Business Speakers Series in 2022, and spoke at Husson’s 2013 Commencement.

— Rin Gately