Reese Witherspoon talks fear of pitching book to Harlan Coben

Reese Witherspoon hesitated before asking Harlan Coben to collaborate on writing a book with her.

Debuting on October 9, Gone Before Goodbye was co-written by Witherspoon and Coben. However, the actress and the thriller novelist were poles apart in style and background, something both of them admitted while speaking on Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club.

Despite their differences, the co-authors became increasingly invested in the project as it progressed. Still, Witherspoon revealed that she was “scared” to ask Coben to collaborate with her at first.

“I was asking him basically to let me into his secret thriller-writing world. And that’s really private for a lot of authors and artists,” Witherspoon recalled.

Then came the phase where she had to “pitch [her] heart out to him,” Witherspoon said, a process she described as another level of fear. Yet, the experience turned out to be exceptionally rewarding for both of them.

“He was so receptive and so open to it,” she added. “He immediately started scribbling notes, and I was like, ‘What’s he doing? Does that mean he likes it or doesn’t like it?’”

The Morning Show actress admitted she thought Coben was simply going to give her a few notes and say, “Okay, well, here are some great thoughts, and good luck.”

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