LEE CHILDBestselling author of the 'Jack Reacher' series talks Tom Cruise, ballroom dancing and suspending disbelief

Before we start, you'll notice that I selected a table with a view of the bar's main entrance. There are no other exits and I am satisfied that you have arrived unarmed.Very good, Jack Reacher would be impressed.

I've just spent the last 24 hours speed-reading his latest adventure A Wanted Man. At this point, I'm starting to think I am Jack Reacher.That can certainly happen. It's easy to become immersed in that world.

Reacher, basically, is a hobo crime fighter. What is his motivation?For me, Reacher falls into the same tradition as the Mysterious Stranger in the Old West. Or the medieval knight-errant, who is forced to wander the land but, because of his courtly nature, is compelled to do good.

It seems a rather haphazard way to fight crime. Why not rent an office, buy a laptop and place an ad in the Golden Pages?He wants to be left alone. But because of his noble nature, he cannot resist helping people. He won't advertise his services. But when something comes along, he'll deal with it.

I do have some sympathy for the bad guys in this book.Really? Why?

Because they construct a fantastic plan but, by sheer dumb luck, it comes unstuck when they pick up a hitchhiker who knows how to break a man's neck with one hand.They were making a getaway from a major crime. They needed another person in the car with them because the cops were on the lookout for a car with two men in it.

The people who kidnapped Liam Neeson's daughter in Taken can probably sympathise. Look, the suspension of disbelief is a liberty you grant yourself once per book. It's a bargain you make with the reader. You say, give me one implausible break per book and I'll make the rest entirely plausible.

What other rules are there when you're writing a character like Jack Reacher, or Jason Bourne, or James Bond? Is there anything you know your hero can never do?There are rules, but they're not codified. Reacher has no problem lying, cheating or stealing if the situation warrants it. Bad guys are bad guys. He doesn't observe conventional rules when he's up against them.

No. I meant, like, he couldn't possibly take ballroom dancing lessons . .. Well, ballroom dancing is an example of something Reacher probably wouldn't do. But he is entitled to some eccentricities. You could engineer a situation where a guy like Reacher could enjoy ballroom dancing and it would seem perfectly natural.

Fans of the series were very upset at the casting of Tom Cruise in the upcoming film. They feel a sense of ownership towards the character, but should they just get out of the road?That's a very astute observation. But in fact, I think you could stop at "Fans were upset at the casting . . ." Some of them have been following this character for a long time. They feel it's their secret and theirs alone. So that reaction is not a reflection on Tom Cruise. Fans would have been upset whoever was cast.

You've seen the film. Did you like it?Yes, I loved it. If you go to a theatre and see the movie, I guarantee two things will happen. First, you will believe you have seen Jack Reacher walk and talk. Second, you will turn around and buy another ticket. It's that good.

There are hopes that Jack Reacher will become a blockbuster movie franchise. So there's a lot riding on the success of the first film.Of course.

While promoting War of the Worlds in 2005, Tom Cruise's erratic behaviour hurt that film at the box office. Right now, there's a huge Vanity Fair cover story...Look, whatever else Tom Cruise is, he's an enormously talented actor. When you've got a talented actor and a very strong character, the actor becomes the character. He loses himself. This is not Tom Cruise on the screen. This is Jack Reacher.

Sure, but War of the Worlds was also a very well known book. . . You can't transfer the comparison. War of the Worlds was never a book. It was a radio play.

I think the film and the radio play were both based on a book by H G Wells. Well, I hear what you're saying. But in my gut, I don't feel there's any comparison between the two films.

Finally, you didn't start writing until you were 40. How different would your approach have been if you had started at a younger age?When you're young, you don't have yourself in proportion. People who start out when they're 25, it tends to be all about them. "Hey, I'm a writer. I'm cool. I'm wearing a black polo neck and a leather jacket." As you get older, you realise that it's all about the audience. It's about satisfying the audience. Nothing else.

A Wanted Man is published by Bantam Books