In the Mind of 'Dexter' Novelist Jeff Lindsay

HOLLYWOOD - The hit Showtime series Dexter, starring Michael C. Hall, starts its third season Sept. 30, while Dexter: Season 2 has just been released on DVD, but where did Dexter come from? Ask novelist Jeff Lindsay.

His offbeat first novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter was the basis of the series. In it, Lindsay created the character of Dexter Morgan, the lovable forensic expert from Miami, who also happens to be a serial killer, going after the bad guys who get away. There have been three subsequent Dexter books, but I wondered just how the genesis of such a story got started.

“I was asked to give a talk to a civic businessmen’s group on the importance of the arts. You know, if you don’t read one book in your life, your head will turn into a pumpkin, that kind of thing,” Linsday tells me. “As I waiting for my turn at the podium, I looked into the crowd, and they were all smiling and shaking hands, patting each other on the back. Talking with food in their mouths. And the just looking at them, the idea popped into my head: Serial murders aren’t necessarily a bad thing. I started writing notes on napkins and by the time I got home, I pretty much had an outline for the first book [Darkly Dreaming Dexter].”

What kind of research do you think Lindsay had do to bring some authenticity to the story? “I did do research, but here’s the scary part,” Lindsay says. “At some point, my instincts took over, and I started writing what felt right. I would check it with this psychologist--she was a family member--and she would ‘Yeah, right on the money,’ and I realized for whatever disturbing reasons, I was kinda tuned into it. And unfortunately for him, I think Michael Hall is, too.”

One of the reasons I didn’t tune into Dexter at first was because I was such a huge fan of Hall in Six Feet Under, and I didn’t think I could see past that. But once I got a hold the first season of Dexter on DVD, I devoured the whole thing in a weekend. I was completely hooked. Lindsay tells me he’s heard that more than a few times.

“A lot of people said they did that, watched the whole first season on DVD--and it made me afraid to go out. I’ve been staying home lately.”

Lindsay also had some reservations when he was told Hall would be playing his lead character. “The gay brother from Six Feet Under, are you out of your mind? I thought this was going to be another one of those Hollywood loop jobs. The first day on the set, I walked right past him, I didn’t recognize him because he’s a shape shifter, you know. But the first line I heard him do as Dexter, it was like bam! I knew he was it. He’s great.”

Lindsay wrote several of the episodes from the first season, but the second season veered off from his novels and followed its own original storyline. The third season is up for grabs--but Lindsay has some theories on how it might go:

“From what I understand, Dexter is kidnapped by a UFO and dropped off in the middle of Washington D.C. to solve a lot of political problems.”

OK, OK, I get it. I’ll just have to wait and see for myself.