Part 3: Lee Child, Not Who You Think He Is

Stir in a little French, add a slow cooking Texan, blend in your daughter Ruth, and voilà.

After his television producing career ended abruptly because of his labor organizing, Jim Grant began writing his first novel. He chose the author’s pseudonym Lee Child, which was an inside joke.

He overhead a Texan on a train one time talking about the Renault hatchback Le Car. The Texan mispronounced it Lee Car. It became a running gag between Grant and his wife Jane, who began prefacing everything in the household as “Lee.” There was Lee Table, Lee Door—everything was game for lighthearted ridicule. Even their daughter, Ruth, became “Lee Child.” So, when he was searching for a pen name for his first novel, the moniker Lee Child stuck to him instead of his daughter.

And why the need for a pen name?

“I really didn’t think of doing it any other way. I’d been in show business since I was 17. Everybody used endless different names. It seemed to me a no brainer. It’s the sixth or seventh name I’ve been paid under.”

Was it confusing to adopt a new name at age 40?

“Anybody who knew me prior still calls me Jim. People who know me through writing call me Lee. We all call each other in the business by our published names.”

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Former investigative reporter Rick Pullen is the author of the best selling thriller Naked Ambition, its sequel Naked Truth, and a stand-alone thriller The Apprentice. He’s also a magazine columnist and feature writer.

Thanks for reading Idol Talk! Subscribe for free or support my work with a paid subscription. —Rick Pullen