5 Questions with SILO & Beacon 23 creator Hugh Howey

1- Congrats on your rags to riches story. When you participated in 5 Questions back in 2012, you were just getting the news that your book, Wool, had made # 13 on the NY Times bestseller list and you were over the moon about that accomplishment. Thirteen years later, your series, Silo, based on your trilogy starting with Wool is one of the most watched shows on Apple TV. Which satellite are you jumping over now?

My professional career has been waking up from one dream only to find myself in an even better one. Pinching myself just seems to accelerate it! In most creative endeavors, luck plays a much more important role than we realize. Yes, you have to work hard. But so are many others, and not everyone has the same outcome. You really have to get lucky and be full of gratitude. 

I like to think of this process as walking along a ridgeline and feeling like every step puts you on the peak. You’ll probably start declining any day now. Look around and appreciate the view, because it could be your last. I’m grateful for the first readers who gave my book a chance, and every bit of fortune that’s followed. Because all I’ve ever done is sit down and write the stories I wish already existed, because they entertained me. Then let everything else sort itself out.

But now to answer your question honestly, because none of the professional goals are what have me leaping over the moon. Three years ago next month, I met the love of my life. We’ve been on an epic adventure ever since, seeing how deep the love between two people can truly go. We are about to move onto a boat together to sail around the world while I work on my next novels, and that’s what’s got me leaping over the moon. Literally. Our boat is named “Luna.”

2- Back in 2012 you were adamant about maintaining your e-book rights. This was when e-books were in their infancy. You were a self-published phenomenon and brought so much to the table for the publishers to acquire. How do you feel you navigated that landscape?

Every move I made back then, all I heard from industry experts was that I was making a mistake. Turns out, none of us knew what was going on, and listening to my gut paid huge dividends. Keeping my e-book, audio, and foreign rights ended up making me far more than I could have in any traditional book deal. But what’s even crazier is that my agent and I negotiated for all my book deals to expire on a set date, so I get every right back even after I sign a deal. Most of these deals, even with major US publishers, only last three to five years. I’ve sold the rights to the SILO series four times now. Each deal has been for a larger amount than the one before. That means over a decade after writing WOOL, I did a huge 7-figure deal that expires after a set amount of time.

These are unprecedented deals, and none of them would be possible without the best agent in the business, Kristin Nelson. Early on as WOOL was hitting bestseller lists, I heard from dozens of agents who wanted 15% of what I was making. And then I got an email from Kristin, who started off by congratulating me on my success, letting me know she first heard about my books because a colleague in her office was reading them on the Kindle and raving, and then said I probably didn’t need an agent, but that she could get me deals overseas and in Hollywood. She said I should keep self-publishing, keep that 15%, but use the success of the books as leverage to ask for impossible deals from publishers, making inroads for other authors.

It worked out just as she hoped. I think we recently did our 45^th deal in a foreign country, one she’s never sold rights into for any other client! And she’s helped me get numerous Hollywood deals, including two shows made (SILO and BEACON 23). Kristin and I are family now. Quite a few years ago, I sent her an email letting her know I’d like to start paying her 15% for my self-published sales as well. She never asked for that cut of the proceeds, but she very much earned it.

3- Your writing is so stream of consciousness, it’s so easy to get mesmerized into the story and lose track of time. When I read Wool all those years ago, I imagined the universe you created in my mind, which lent itself to a visual medium. Which writers inspired you to start this extraordinary journey?

I’m a reader, first and foremost. There’s nothing better than getting sucked into a great book and forgetting the world exists. You see what the page is describing. You hear the characters in their unique voices. The drama and tension become visceral. When I started writing, I wanted to capture that same feeling of immersion, so I started paying attention to the books that made me feel fully present in the make-believe.

Dozens of my favorite authors are fantastic at this, but a few that I highly recommend studying are David Mitchell, Zadie Smith, Colum McCann, and N.K. Jemisin. But I also try to balance breezy immersive prose with clear storytelling and solid plot. For that, look to the likes of Harlan Coben, Mary Higgins Clark, and John Green. All three have great prose, but they know how to tell stories that thrill wide audiences.

And I dip back into the classics all the time. John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee books, the Fletch books, anything by Twain or Margaret Atwood. Comfortable, familiar reads that you go over many times over the decades. Each one is like ringing a tuning fork.

4- Graham Yost is an acclaimed showrunner who, among many other things, including Silo, produced Justified for FX which is one of the best adaptations of an Elmore Leonard story I’ve ever seen. You are also a producer on Silo, so tell us how much input you have on the production and what is the dynamic between you two?

I’m very lucky to consider Graham a friend. We get along great and have from day one. We have similar tastes in story and character, and we both like to have fun while doing our best work. Graham really lifts up everyone around him, making sure anyone on his team gets a chance to outgrow his mentorship. You don’t see that enough in any profession, much less Hollywood.

My involvement as an executive producer is mostly to stay out of the way. I give notes on scripts, and I’ve seen places where it made the show better as a result. But that’s what everyone in the writer’s room and every producer is doing. Many hands make light work. A highlight for me was being in the first writer’s room as we broke out the seasons and the pilot and unlocked how to adapt these books for the screen. I’ve been working solo for many years. Getting a chance to be creative with a team was immensely rewarding.

5- Your dream back in 2012 was to write for the rest of your life without a day job. Mission accomplished. Now with Beacon 23, an MGM+ TV show based on your short stories, and the many other projects you have working, what does the future look like for you and your lovely wife, Shay. 

The future includes a lot of sailing from place to place while I work on the next projects! We move onto a catamaran in July and start getting it ready to sail across the Atlantic and then the Pacific. I did a similar trip ten years ago, but this time I won’t be sailing alone.

I’m working on the third and final SAND book right now, and that series is in pre-production for a TV series (these things rarely go all the way, but it’s fun to be noodling forward with a great team). I started a short story last week that I can’t stop thinking about. And I get to keep finding new great reads to whisk me away to someplace fantastical.

 

DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS FROM AN INDIE AUTHOR

 

Many of my longtime readers know me as an award-winning author of the Nick Bracco thriller series. They may even know about my two Pushcart Prize nominations. But very few know the real truth about me: For the past thirty-five years I’ve been a fulltime sales representative for a national medical supply company.

Yes, I’ve written seven Nick Bracco thrillers, one stand alone psychological thriller, one thriller which I co-authored with Jonas Saul, and numerous short stories, but the bulk of my income comes from my day job. And I’m not alone. It’s a little-known secret that many of your favorite Indy authors need another source of income to pay their bills. In my case, and maybe other authors as well, I’ve kept my day job somewhat of a secret in order to make my status as a writer seem more authentic somehow. Who wants to hear that Lee Child sells insurance on the side?

Here's the other side of the story—I never tell the nurses or doctors I work with that I’m a writer. Seems counterproductive right? But I don’t want them thinking I do anything but consider their needs 24/7. As a matter of fact, as I’m writing this post I’ve had to stop twice to answer phone calls from my customers, and I’m happy to do it.

I began this Indy journey after receiving an award for A Touch of Deceit from the Southwest Writers Contest for best thriller back in 2008. That attention got me a NY Agent who fancied himself the Literary Lion. (Those in the literary world know who I’m talking about.) Anyway, after 18 months of no news, I received an email from one of his assistants who told me that the Lion was no longer actively pursuing a home for my book. She had left his office and was working somewhere else now, but she convinced me that the work was too good to ignore and that I should publish it myself.

So I did. Creating my own LLC and naming it JK Publishing, after my two kid’s initials, Jessica and Kyle. And things went better than I could have imagined. The response for the book took me by surprise.

Back in December 2010 I sold 10,000 copies of my first book, A Touch of Deceit. In one month. Back when my book would show up on the front page of Amazon merely because it was popular. Back when Amazon was more agnostic about which authors sold books. Before the Big 5 publishers finally got onboard the E-book train and forced many Independents out of the picture. It was the was the wild west. Believe it or not I would outsell John Grisham on any given month. James Patterson and Stephen King too.

So here I am living a dual existence, keeping my day job hidden from my readers, and keeping my customers unaware of my writing career. It’s been hard to navigate both sides of my brain, but I can’t complain about the results. I’ve been able to maintain financial stability while preserving my core group of readers who are very loyal and email me all the time asking when the next book will be published.

Of course the real question is, why am I coming clean after all these years? Well, by the end of 2023 I will retire from my day job and become a fulltime writer. I’m excited what the future holds for me. I can now focus on trying to get my work in front of some movie executives like I’ve been planning. I can work on producing audiobooks for Nick Bracco thrillers 5-7. I can spend time promoting the French and German versions of A Touch of Deceit. All these are projects I’ve been putting on hold until I had the wherewithal to put all my chips into the writing pot.    

I want to leave you with these messages: First, to any newbie writer who is committed to becoming a published author, be careful. The publishing world is complex and ripe with con artists willing to take your money to help publish your book, for a fee. Then there are those who will help you get readers to buy your book, for a fee. At the same time there are reputable companies and individuals who can assist you with your journey with a reasonable financial investment. People who can help but are honest about their limitations. For those of you who are passionate about taking this arduous trek but don’t know where to turn, feel free to reach out to me. Please understand I can’t commit to reading anyone’s work or give blurbs for a book cover, but I’ll be glad to offer you advice on your decisions. I can also point you in the right direction should you need help with editing, book covers, or formatting your work for Amazon.

Secondly, to my readers. Thank you so much for your patience and support. I get emails weekly asking when my next book is being published and it only makes me more determined to start the next chapter of my career very soon. I have so many projects on my desk, including a new series which I am co-writing with a very well known ex-NBA star who reached out to me with a terrific idea for a series. You will be pleasantly surprised at the concept. It’s an underserved market that I know you will enjoy, especially since I will be doing the lion’s share of the writing and editing.  

I hope to have Nick Bracco # 8 published by the first of the year. Working title is A Touch of Regret. I’m excited for my writing career to flourish in 2023 and can’t wait for someone on the golf course to ask me what I do for a living.

All the best,

Gary  

UNDERRATED THRILLERS FROM 2020

 

These are the books I read during the pandemic and felt needed attention to my readers. All of these were enjoyable and more importantly, thrilling. I really like the surprise factor and these four authors did a stupendous job of weaving a tension-filled narrative that kept you turning the pages. 

“American Dirt,” Jeanine Cummins 

It’s hard to call this book underrated when it spent most of 2020 on the New York Times bestseller list, but this was the best book I’ve read in a long time. Jeanine Cummins grabs you by the throat from the very first page and then squeezes it until the very last one. She manipulates your mind to believe everyone is after the main characters as they attempt to escape a corrupt and dangerous cartel leader for the hopes of some American dirt. The writing is impeccable. Such a great experience.

“The Paradise Piracy,” Claude Bouchard

When it comes to revenge, Canadian author Claude Bouchard owns the landscape. His Vigilante series is a refreshing take on what happens when someone gets what they deserve. He does a masterful job of showing you what terrible things people can do, then summons up the revenge they deserve. Reading this book will offer you a cathartic release for a pandemic-riddled world. Book # 16 in the Vigilante series is definitely worth the read.

“Bone Canyon,” Lee Goldberg 

This is book #2 of the three-book Eve Ronan series. Eve is the youngest detective in the LA County Sheriff’s Department and constantly feels the need to prove herself. When a wildfire uncovers some dead bodies, Eve turns a cold case into a series of decisions which puts her life at risk. If you’ve never read Lee Goldberg’s work, you’re missing someone who wrote screenplays for shows like Diagnosis Murder, Spenser for Hire and Monk. Clearly a professional author and someone who knows how to create tension. Grab the popcorn and enjoy this thriller.

“The Last Hunter,” Luke Romyn 

So far I’ve mentioned traditional thrillers and vigilante thrillers, now it’s time to speak about a fantasy thriller. Luke Romyn is an Australian author with a penchant for seriously sinister villains. The Last Hunter is one of a long line of thrillers dating back to The Dark Path, which is where I first became aware of his writing skills. If you enjoy being scared, then you’ll want to check this out. True story, while reading A Dark Path on the couch a stray cat jumped onto my patio table outside and I nearly screamed. But since this post is about 2020 thrillers, you will not be disappointed in this recommendation. Luke Romyn will have you reading with the lights on. Promise.    

5 BOOKS YOU NEED TO READ

Yes, I've read each of these books and if you like thrillers, these are some of my favorites. And soon I believe they will be yours as well:  

Chase Baker and the Dutch of Diamonds, by Vincent Zandri

If you don’t know who Vincent Zandri is, you’re missing some great work. He’s a NY Times bestselling author who’s written dozens of books with tons of praise from writers like Don Winslow, Harlan Coban and many more. I chose this book out of his collection because I read it a couple of years ago and loved the whole Indiana Jones feel to it. Oh, and if you didn’t know, Vincent literally travels the globe to these locations for research. It pays off. 

Zeb Carter: A Covert-Ops Suspense Action Novel, by Ty Patterson

If you like edge-of-your-seat thrillers with a protagonist who plays the game with a guilt-fueled recklessness, then Zeb Carter is your guy. Carter is a former Special Forces operative with a conscious. The series is full of action-packed scenes that are both innovative and satisfying. Just read the first page of Book 1 and you’ll be hooked right away.

Before the Fall, by Noah Hawley

Yes, he’s won and Emmy, PEN, and Golden Globe, but Noah Hawley is one terrific writer. Before the Fall is about a survivor of a plane crash and the consequences and coincidences that occur before and after his fall into the ocean. It’s tense, dramatic and beautifully written. He also created the Fargo series for TV which is also one of my favorite shows.

Unknown Remains, by Peter Leonard

Yes, he’s Elmore Leonard’s son, which, full disclosure, is my favorite author, but don’t let that taint your opinion of his skills. This book has that casual feel of a guy telling you a story with a cigar and a beer and a glint of fun in his eyes. This book is about a Wall Street broker who owes a debt to the mob. That’s really all you need to know, right? Great premise with great execution.

The Lion’s Game, by Nelson Demille

One of my favorite books. It was 700 pages long and I was left wanting more. John Corey is a wise-guy ex-NYPD cop who joins an FBI task force to track down a Libyan terrorist. A 747 is heading toward JFK airport with the terrorist on board and Corey is there to take him into custody. The problem is—there’s no communication from the pilot or anyone on board. Want to know what happened? Read it, then want more, just like me.

5 QUESTIONS FOR THRILLER AUTHOR MIKE RYAN

To be honest, author Mike Ryan is a monster when it comes to producing thrillers.  He’s effective, efficient, and the most prolific writer I have ever known.  He’s married with four kids, three dogs and still manages to publish thrillers practically on a monthly basis.  You think I’m exaggerating, but I’m not.  I might even be underselling him.  His reviews on Amazon are incredible, so the volume does not diminish the quality of the work.  Some writers agonize over every word, but obviously for Ryan the words flow easily from his mind.  If you haven’t read his work, make it a point to check it out.  You won’t be disappointed.   

  Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems that you’ve written at least 6 different series and at least 3 standalone novels.  I can’t possible count how many books you’ve written over the past decade.  Tell me about that very first book and what your original goals were.

 

Well my first books were written under a pen name, and I was basically all over the place. I wrote, I

think, five or six books in, like, four genres. It wasn’t until about 2012 when I really got serious about things and I wrote The Cain Conspiracy. I started writing under my own name and focused on one genre, which is crime fiction/thrillers, which is what I love. I had a full-time job at that point, so my goal was basically just to make some extra money to make car payments, things like that. Obviously I’ve had some success since then, and now I’m a full-time author, but my original goal was just to write some things people would like and hopefully pay a bill or two every month.

 

2-     Obviously, you’re extremely prolific.  What is your writing schedule like?  With kids and pets and everyday distractions, how does it work?

 

We have four kids between 14 and 2, and three dogs, so we have a really busy house. Fortunately, my wife is a stay-at-home mom who takes care of a lot of things during the day, allowing me to get in a few hours of writing time. Some days are more challenging than others, and some days the kids are constantly barging into my office, but generally I get 3-4,000 words done every day, six days a week. It takes some time to get into a rhythm and figure out what schedule works best, but generally working in the middle of the day works best for me and is most productive.

 

3-     At what point during the Silencer series did you decide you would move on to the Eliminator?

 

I think it first was to just avoid burning out on the Silencer Series. I didn’t want to just write one series over and over and over, and then get so tired with the story and characters that I didn’t want to write them anymore. So I’ve found a good way to mix it up is to switch books. So I’ll usually write two books at once, so I’ll write the Silencer and Eliminator at once, then when I’m done with those, I’ll switch over to the Extractor and Brandon Hall books. I’ve found that’s a good way for me to stay fresh and not get tired of the characters, because I’m taking time away from them while I’m working on other things.

 

And another reason for switching up series is because I have so many ideas that if I waited until one series was done, I’d never get to everything I want to do. And I probably still won’t, because I have ideas for stories that I probably won’t get to for years because other things are ahead of them.

 

4-     What are the challenges with having so many protagonists swirling around in your head?  Are there similarities between Brett Jacobs and Mike Recker, or Luke Bridge etc? Do you make an effort to adjust their dialogue or any of their mannerisms?

 

I think they’re all pretty similar characters, but they do have differences. Bridge is more of the wise-ass, can make a joke at any point, where Jacobs is more straight-laced, with a dry sense of humor. Recker’s kind of the mix between the two. I do adjust their dialogue based on the situation and who they’re talking to. The biggest challenge with doing so many series at once is trying to remember, when you’re working on book 14, what you did back in book 2 so you don’t repeat it.

 

5-     You have a way of using dialogue to keep the reader informed and interested without getting overly descriptive.  It’s a very appealing recipe and your readers are extremely loyal.  How do you compartmentalize your time when it comes to corresponding with readers, marketing and writing?   

 

Yeah, I use dialogue a lot, mostly because it’s what interests me the most. So I hope that  other people will like it too. I’m not a big description writer, and a lot of that is because when I read a lot of description in other books, I tend to skip it. Unless it’s crucial to a story, I tend not to describe what a desk or a window looks like. It just bores me. So I’m all about dialogue, story, moving things along, keeping things rolling at a good pace. That’s what interests me as a reader, so that’s what I try to provide as a writer too.

 

Before I start writing for the day, I’ll check my email, I’ll check my Facebook page, and I’ll  answer emails or respond to comments. And I respond to every single thing I get, no matter what it is. I answer. I let my readers and fans know I care about their comments, their opinions, their feelings, all of it. I don’t respond to trolls or hate mail or things like that, but everyone else, I respond to everything. Once that’s done, then I get my writing done.

 

When my writing’s done, then I focus on marketing, lining up book promotions, sales, ads, things like that. Or making sure other things are getting done, books formatted, audiobooks, all of that stuff. Then I’ll go back and check email or Facebook again, respond to any other readers comments and questions. I’ve had readers tell me they love how I interact with them and I don’t just post things and then never respond to anything. I’ll respond to everything.

 

Thanks for the questions! I enjoyed them.

5 QUESTIONS FOR MYSTERY WRITER BILL NOEL

Apparently there are over 1000 books released each day on Amazon, so when you’re scrolling through the list of mysteries, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle.  I think we’ve all stumbled on writers we weren’t familiar with, yet became fans of their work once they were discovered.  By the look of the reviews of author Bill Noel’s 17 Folly Beach mysteries, his readers are loyal and ardent supporters of his stories.  Don’t believe me?  Just read a sample of his first Folly Beach mystery, Folly, like I did, and tell me you weren’t impressed with his skills.

Bill was kind enough to play 5 questions with me, “As long as the questions weren’t too hard,” he quipped, in his dry witty way.  I hope you enjoy his journey to publishing and discover a new talent with this post.  

You decided to keep your readers in suspense until you were 59 when you finally decided to release your first book. Why?

I could attribute it to forty or so years of writer’s block, but that would imply I’d started writing the book years ago. To be honest, I’d never given thought to writing fiction until I was in my late fifties. In the academic world where I’d hung my hat for several decades as a college and university administrator, I had to write tons of nonfiction, but as most fiction writers know, writing nonfiction is as similar to writing fiction as an aardvark is to an anvil. Then, during my first trip to Folly Beach in 2004, my wife and I came across a body that had washed ashore. (True story.) The police had arrived along with a few curious bystanders. That sparked the idea that eventually became Folly, the first book in the Folly Beach Mystery series. I wrote Folly simply to see if I could. I was then amazed by how many letters, notes, even phone calls I received from readers who wanted to tell me how much they enjoyed the book. I never expected that kind of reaction. Now I write for those readers.

 

There is a rhythm to writing that is hard to explain but easy to recognize. You obviously have that rhythm in the cadence of your narrative. Since you were never an English major in school, where did that come from? And do you believe it’s partly innate?

 

My writing style is simple. I write what I like reading. I’m also aware many readers skip over sections they don’t find interesting, but they don’t skip over dialog. I try to follow Elmore Leonard’s rules of good writing, especially rule number ten: Try to leave out the part readers tend to skip. My books are heavy on dialog, heavy on short paragraphs, and heavy on short chapters. I want readers to reach the end of a chapter and know the next one won’t be too long. That way they’ll continue reading. I have fun writing the books and want readers to do the same.

In addition to being a novelist, I’m a photographer and have been for way more years than I’ve been a novelist. Many of the principals of composition I learned and practiced in photography—balance, perspective, framing, angle of view, repetition—can be applied to writing. In other words, I had a head start in writing fiction without even knowing it.      

 

Your mysteries take place in a very real location of Folly Beach, South Carolina. Now that you’re approaching twenty books, are you somewhat of a celebrity when you visit there?

The books fall under the genre of amateur detective which means the protagonist has no formal law enforcement training or experience in solving crimes. That also means the amateur detective solves crimes police are unable to solve. Folly Beach is a small, barrier island with a relatively small police force, so I was wary about how residents and especially the police would feel about me choosing it as the location of the books. As you know, I live in Louisville, Kentucky, located 626 miles from Folly, and didn’t know anyone on the island when I wrote the first book. After it was published, I visited the mayor’s office to introduce myself and give him a copy of the book. I was relieved and shocked when the mayor told me he often met with the police chief to discuss the characters in the book and associated them with Folly’s residents. The following day, I had lunch with the police chief who gave me a badge and made me an honorary member of his force. Several restaurants and stores ask me to do signings at their location when I make my semi-annual visit to their island and numerous residents claim me as a resident of their small bohemian island. By the most liberal definition of celebrity, I suppose I could be considered one on the three-square miles of Folly Beach. But to me, I’m honored and privileged to be considered a friend of so many of its residents. They’re the true celebrities.

 

Have you ever been interested in writing a book in a different genre? And what books do you like to read?

I admire writers who can produce successful novels in more than one genre, but I’ll never be accused of being one of those writers. I have enough trouble writing in one genre. Those who teach writing tell their students to write what they know. I suspect (hope) they don’t mean it literally. I’ve never killed anyone, never caught a murderer, never even had friends who’ve encouraged me to catch killers, but over the years, I’ve been a fan of mystery novels so I’m more familiar with that genre than any other. Mysteries fill up most of my bookshelves, including books by Robert B. Parker, John Sandford, Janet Evanovich, Dick Francis, Carl Hiaasen, and Lawrence Sanders. I don’t have any interest in changing genres, but then again, if you’d told me at age 58 that I’d write a mystery novel, I’d have laughed in your face—figuratively, of course.

 

You’ve had to postpone many of your upcoming appearances. Have you developed an appetite for online alternatives? Or are you still exploring options?

 

I’ve not done a good job of exploring online options. The main reason I love doing signings and making appearances is they give me a chance to meet and talk with potential readers and those who have already discovered the series. My signing opportunities on Folly, numbering approximately a dozen a year, are the highlight of my writing experiences. I assure you, I miss talking to those wonderful people more than they miss talking to me. I’ve been able to maintain some of those contacts through Facebook. There’s even a Bill Noel Fan Club on Facebook, hard to believe I know. This has been an excellent way to share stories with the members and for them to share stories, photos, kind words, and what’s happening in their lives. Beyond that, when it comes to an online presence, I’m a perfect example of you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

 

 

Bill Noel

August 2, 2020

HOW THE MAFIA INFLUENCED MY YOUTH, AND HELPED CREATE NICK BRACCO

In the early 70’s, the Mafia was a prevalent part of New York society.  The Mafia understood that people enjoyed to gamble and they became the conduit for all those who needed an outlet for their gambling habit.  If I’m making it sound like they were performing a service to society, it’s the Sicilian in me that’s talking.  Anyway, my father owned a Candy Store/Luncheonette in Brooklyn an hour and a half away from our home on Long Island.  We had an apartment in the back of the store, so my father would stay there all week and drive home on weekends.  When I was sixteen, I would meet him halfway to the city on Friday afternoons and he’d give me the keys to the store and our German Shepherd dog for protection.  Think about it, I was sixteen years old and running a business by myself each weekend.  But, as you will soon find out, I was never alone.

Now, my dad’s Sicilian friends knew that I was working there all weekend and they would be frequent guests in the store.  At the same time, they would take their daily bets from our customers for the football game or play the numbers (This was basically a lottery before the government took over the business.)  These gentlemen would linger around and talk sports with me, or school, or family matters, with great interest.  Of course their sense of loyalty and honor among friends became instrumental in my upbringing.  In particular, a gentleman named Max would spend hours telling me about his family and how he was raising his kids to be better than him.  A trait all parents can relate to.  “Do as I say, not as I do.” 

Anyway, when it came time for me to write a novel, for some reason I gravitated to a Sicilian FBI Agent whose cousin was in the Mafia.  Nick Bracco and Tommy are direct reflections of my experiences with these fine gentlemen.  I could actually hear Max’s voice coming out of Tommy’s mouth when I sat down to write a scene.  There’s no doubt these formative years had molded me to the person I am today.

I will leave you with one true story that will reflect the serious nature in which these men took my status among their tutelage:  There was a neon Dreyer’s Ice Cream sign that hung in the front window of our store, something that I could reach from behind the counter.  That sign was always to remain lit 24 hours a day.  The reason?  Across the street was a popular hangout for some of the Sicilian boys called Young’s Tavern.  It was known that if I ever sensed trouble, I was to turn off the sign.  Well, at 10:55 one Friday night, just five minutes before we closed, a teenager came in to buy a fountain drink. (Yes, I would mix coke syrup in a glass with seltzer water to create Coca Cola.)  He sat at the counter and glanced around the store for a couple of minutes, then asked where my help was.  He also asked how much cash I would collect in a day.  Now I was just sixteen, but I wasn’t stupid.  This was when I decided to turn off the Dreyer’s Ice Cream sign.

After an excruciatingly long two minutes, the front door opened and three very drunk and large Sicilian men came lumbering into the store and circled the kid sitting at the counter.  One guy placed his arm around the teenager and picked up his drink and drank the remainder of the Coke.  The kid looked like he was going to puke.  Then the guy said, “I don’t think you should ever come back into this store again.”  The teenager was a blur running out the door.  As my Sicilian friends left, one of them said to me, "Hey, kid, turn the light back on.”

No one ever spoke about the incident.  There was no need.

Now, we live in a different world and Tommy’s character has been modified to represent the world we’re living in.  However, the essence of his loyalty and respect for the underprivileged shows through in every scene.  My Sicilian friends probably did some unseemly things back in the day, but their sense of honor was the only side they showed to me.  And as an author, I’m grateful for their stories.             

WHY THRILLERS ARE SO POPULAR IN TODAY'S POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT

According to the Pew Research center, 26% of those who had read a book in the past 12 months said that what they enjoyed most was learning, gaining knowledge, and discovering information, while 12% said they liked the entertainment value of reading, the drama of good stories, the suspense of watching a good plot unfold.  That was back in 2012 when the world was a simpler place to live.  I suspect that 99% of people buying Jeanine Pirro’s book, “Liars, Leakers and Liberals,” are conservatives who want reinforcement on their conservative philosophy.  Just as 99% of people who bought Michelle Obama’s book, “Becoming,” were political progressives.  Unfortunately, people don’t buy books to discover another political point of view.  They want comfort in knowing their point of view is the right one. 

This brings me to people who read thrillers.  I truly believe (without research to back me) that people read thrillers because they want to see justice prevail.  This is true of conservatives and liberals alike.  Everyone wants to see the hero overcome obstacles to save the day.  Why?  Because our lives have become so stressful and so unfair and so partisan that we can’t see justice ourselves.  That bully at school or work is not going away and there seems to be no consequences anymore.  That’s where fiction comes in to play.  A good writer has the ability to get you invested in the protagonist and watch him or her face challenges, just like you.  They face obstacles and bullies and sinister villains who antagonize them and cause pain.  We can sympathize, even empathize with their challenges.  But all the while we are convinced the protagonist will get his/her revenge.  It may be as simple as overcoming these obstacles without ever causing harm to the villain, but more times than not, the bully gets theirs. 

In today’s political climate, everyone has been affected by the barrage of media outlets inundating us about the White House and Washington’s behavior.  The Trump supporter will relate their hero’s retribution as if the villain is a liberal.  The resister will see this as an affront to the Trump presidency. Either way, thrillers allow us resolution where the real world will not.

The reason why movie theaters are stacked with superheroes is because we know who will win and yet we still show up to see how it happens.  If you already know Ironman will succeed, why bother going?  Yet we do, don’t we?  It’s the same with books.  Readers want the challenge.  They want our protagonist to face an uphill battle because it makes the win so much more enjoyable, doesn’t it?  It gives you a sense of justice prevailing.  Something you rarely find on the cable news, or in newspapers or social media.  It’s cathartic. 

One of the reasons I’ve never given my Nick Bracco character a political persuasion is because I don’t want my readers to choose sides.  We’re all on the same team.  Right versus wrong.  It should be as simple as that.  Why reminder us of our differences when we could team up against the challenges we face together. 

Bottom line, people read thrillers for entertainment and to escape the real world.  Because right about now, that’s a really good place to be.    

5 QUESTIONS FOR AUTHOR PETER LEONARD

Peter Leonard is a stellar writer.  I know, I’ve read five of his books and have never been disappointed.  His work is taut and tense and humorous, sometimes all at once.  He takes you on a ride and you don’t really care where it’s going as long as he’s at the helm.  It’s the main reason I contacted him for a quick interview.  His latest thriller is titled, “Raylan Goes to Detroit,” where he breathes new life into U.S. Marshall, Raylan Givens, a character who his father Elmore Leonard created back in the early ‘90’s.  It’s the same Raylan Givens who was the main character of the FX hit series, “Justified.”

I mention his famous father with apprehension, because Peter’s writing acumen is phenomenal all by itself and he deserves more recognition for his body of work.  If you like gritty thrillers with realistic characters who speak like real people, then you need to get one of his books.  Start anywhere, they all stand alone by themselves.  Now here’s Peter:      

1-Raylan Goes to Detroit was so satisfying because Raylan reacts exactly how you would imagine.  Did you feel any pressure to keep his voice and actions within the framework of his past experiences?

I felt very comfortable stepping into Raylan’s boots. He was like an old friend. And yes, I thought it was important to keep Raylan's sound and attitude from Elmore's previous novels: Pronto and Riding the Rap and his short story: Fire in the Hole.

2- Forgive me if this is too personal, but your novels are so proficient, your father must’ve been very proud of your accomplishments.  Was there ever a time that you wished your last name was Shlotsky?     

Being Elmore’s son was a blessing and a curse. Probably more of a curse.  Every review I received early on compared my first couple books to his forty-five. It was frustrating and unfair but that’s the way it is. However, that kind of negativism motivated me to get better. And now I’m often favorably compared to my father.

3-No matter what the plotline, your readers are led through your stories by interesting characters doing interesting things.  These are true page-turners.  Do you have to know where you’re going?  Or is it all by feel?

I start with a character in a situation and build from there. I know how the book begins and often where it’s going to end. But I don’t know how I’m going to get from point A to point B. I try to keep the reader off balance. I try to create a plot/story that isn’t obvious. If I’m not surprised the reader won’t be.

4-I suspect that you would write thrillers even if you never were paid a dime for them.  Is that a helpful criteria for an effective novelist? 

I might have written a couple books without being paid. But I’ve always worked for money.

And writing a book, although satisfying and entertaining, takes a lot of time and effort.

5- What future projects do you have lined up?

I’ve just finished a novel called Sweet Dreams. The main character, Kate McGraw is a US marshal and the lone female on the alpha male fugitive task force in Detroit.  The character is based on a female marshal I rode with for a few days. I think it’s my best work to date.

BEST THRILLER SCENES- PART 2

This is the end of one of my favorite books, "The Lion's Game," by Nelson Demille, so if you have any intention of reading it, stop right now.  Basically it just confirms that the good guys survive.  So, anyway, after 900 pages of thrilling drama, the protagonists John Cory and Kate Mayfield finally escape a harrowing encounter with a viscous Libyan assassin, nicknamed the Lion.  Here is the final scene where they set up the sequel very well:   

Gene pointed to the distant treeline and said, “We found fifty-two shell casings on the ground.  I’ve never heard of so many shots fired by a sniper at two people.  That guys really wanted what he couldn’t have.”

I think he was telling us that the game wasn’t over.

The treeline was making me a little nervous, so we moved on. Gene showed us where Ted Nash had been found on a riding trail, less that a hundred meters from the VORTAC, with a single round through his forehead.  I have no idea where Ted was going, or what he was doing there in the first place, and we’d never know.

Considering we were on our honeymoon, I’d suggested we’d seen enough, and we went back to the ranch house, had a Coke, ate a few jelly beans, and moved on to points north.

We had left Kate’s cell phone back in New York, not wanting any calls from friends or assassins on our honeymoon.  But just as a precaution, we both brought our guns along.

You never know.

BEST THRILLER SCENES--PART 1

I'm going to update this blog regularly with classic thriller scenes.  These are scenes that are either tense, funny, or in the case below, both.  I may even begin a poll with my readers voting on their favorites.  You can leave comments with suggestions and I'll definitely add them to the mix.

Below is a scene from the opening chapter of Elmore Leonard's Freaky Deaky.  Chris and Jerry are bomb technicians who were called to the house of a known mobster who's sitting on a chair with a bomb underneath.  Chris and Jerry left the mobster alone inside, screaming at them to fix his problem.  They're walking to get their equipment to diffuse the bomb, when they strike up a conversation about Chris's wife.  Enjoy:  

“What it is,” Chris said, “Phyllis says things even some guys would like to but don’t have the nerve.”

“Yeah, ‘cause she’s a woman,” Jerry said, “she doesn’t have to worry about getting hit in the mouth.”

Chris shook his head. “I don’t mean putting anybody down or being insulting.  Like, we’re at a restaurant, one of those trendy places the waiter introduces himself?  This twinkie comes up to the table, he goes, ‘Hi, I’m Wally. I’m going to be your waitperson this evening.  Can I get you a cocktail?’ Phyllis goes, ‘Wally, when we’ve finished dinner, you gonna take us out and introduce us to the dishwasher?’  She goes, ‘We really don’t care what your name is as long as you’re here when we want something.’”

Jerry grinned, adjusting his Tiger baseball cap.  “That’s good, I can appreciate that.  Those guys kill me.”

They drew on their cigarettes.  Chris looked at his, about to say something, working the butt between his thumb and second finger to flick it away, and the French Doors and some of the windows on this side of the house exploded out in a billow of gray smoke tinged yellow.  They stood looking at the shattered doorway, at the smoke and dust thinning, settling over glass and wood fragments, shreds of blackened green-and-white debris on the patio, silence ringing in their ears now.  After a few moments they started down the drive, let the people waiting in front know they were okay.

Chris said, “Yeah, the twink comes up to the table, says he’s gonna be our waitperson.  But you have to understand, Phyllis wasn’t trying to be funny, she was serious. That’s the way she is.”

A TOUCH OF TERROR--CHAPTER 1

                                                                      

                                                                  A Touch of Terror

                                                                        Chapter 1 

            Every time the bomb rattled in Dane Kanter’s trunk, icy neurons fired through his bloodstream. 

            With each sharp turn in the road, his heart stuttered with anticipation.  He winced at every creak from the back of his Honda Accord.  He’d been gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his arms ached. 

             It was pure greed that had put him in this situation, driving up the Pacific Coast Highway at five in the morning, heading toward Los Angeles.  A college dorm prank that turned into the scariest drive of his life.

            Why had he ever considered taking the envelope from that stranger in Tijuana?

            Traffic was light on this portion of the winding road, but his brain throbbed with every  turn.  The ocean waves peeked out of the morning fog to his left as the sun seeped through the tree line to his right. 

            A fine mist was spitting on his windshield as he manually engaged his wipers every thirty or forty seconds.  The road glistened and he felt his tires hydroplane on the sharp turns.  Everything seemed to conspire against him.  Even the city planning wouldn’t cooperate.  His gas gauge had been on empty for twenty miles, but this stretch of quiet road lacked a gas station. 

Just trees and asphalt and the continuous threat of an explosion to keep him company.

            Dane kept imagining ways to rectify the situation  .  He couldn’t abandon the car, the Mexican had made sure of that.  A detonation device was strapped to his chest and the bomb would explode should he move even thirty feet from the driver’s seat.  A code-locked keypad secured the chest strap and only one person knew the proper code to detach the strap.  One wrong sequence of numbers and Dane’s worries would disintegrate.  Along with Dane.

            The ”low gas” warning light blinked on and he almost    puked at the sight.  He was being monitored with a GPS device and a miniature camera was attached to his dashboard for surveillance.  A gas stop might be tolerated, but a prolonged stoppage like running out of gas on the side of the road would only expedite the explosion.

            Plus there was the deadline.  He’d been given eight hours to get to his destination.  At eight hours and one minute he became extinct.  There had to be a way of getting rid of this device without exploring the next world, but nerves and rain and wet roads kept him focused on just one thing.  Get to the drop and have the detonator removed safely. 

            He wiped a patch of sweat from his forehead, then squinted as the road curved around a sharp bend and he saw flashing lights swirl against the trees to his right.

            “Shit,” he muttered.  Less than a mile ahead was a road block, with white and green SUV’s parked on each side of a single-lane bottleneck of cars.  He thought about turning, but saw it was Border Patrol vehicles.  It was rare to see a road block this far north.  But Dane was a pasty white teenager with blond surfer hair.  He should be of no interest to them.  Unless he acted suspicious. 

            He tried to control his breathing as he approached the line of cars waiting for inspection.  Even in the morning chill, his hands were clammy around the steering wheel.  There were three cars ahead of him; the first was waved through by the green-uniformed Border Patrol Officer after he bent to inspect the contents of the small sedan.  The line crept forward as each car received a quick glance and a wave of an arm. 

            Finally, it was Dane’s turn.

            With his window open, he rolled the car forward, expecting the officer to wave him through without stopping. But the guy held up a hand and Dane nearly dropped a load in his pants.  That’s when he looked at his side view mirror and spotted the German Shepherd sniffing at the back of his car.  Another officer was pulling on the leash to restrain the dog.

            “Are you carrying any weapons with you?” the officer asked.

            The question surprised Dane and he stammered.  “N-no, of course not.”

            The dog was sniffing so hard Dane could hear him puffing at the base of his car.

            “Would you please pull the car over to the side of the road?” the officer asked.

            That was it.  There was no chance he could survive an inspection.  And the Mexican was hearing everything.  Seeing everything.  He could detonate the bomb remotely at any moment. 

Dane’s heart pounded like a jackhammer. 

            There was no choice.

            He slammed on the accelerator.  

DAVID BALDACCI IS AHEAD OF HIS TIME

David Baldacci is a tireless advocate for adult literacy.  He and his wife Michelle have raised millions for the cause.  It’s hard to imagine anyone so devoted, but it makes sense.  His Amos Decker and Will Robie series are the epitome of literature.  Sure, he’s a thriller writer, but the cadence in which he writes is very rhythmic.  You can get lost in his stories and almost forget there’s a plot to pay attention to.

 

Baldacci was also way ahead of his time.  His 2009 thriller, The Whole Truth, foreshadows the fact that the Internet has made it possible for disinformation to sound so convincing and to spread so fast that facts become irrelevant.  This was a decade ago.

“It's ironic,” Baldacci told Bookpage Magazine. “I think we have less truth today than we had 50 years ago," he says, adding, "You can go onto social media and throw out percentages and figures and they can be a total lie, but people believe them."

In The Whole Truth, Nicholas Creel is the head of the world's largest defense contractor and he hires a "perception management" company—the so-called PMers don't just spin facts, they make stuff up—to re-ignite Cold War fears about the Red Menace, driving nations toward the edge of WWIII.  Ten years ago this could’ve been considered farcical had a master writer like Baldacci not delivered the story with a deft touch.

The disinformation campaign that propels The Whole Truth begins with the release of a grainy amateur video showing a Russian man recounting the horrors that he and his countrymen are suffering at the hands of the Secret Russian Federation police. By the way, that man is an actor. The entire world buy it—and nations buy trillions of dollars worth of Creel's weapons. The scenario is not far-fetched, insists Baldacci, who says he got the idea for the book by talking to real people in the perception management business.

Politically, Baldacci considers himself an Independent, but he pays attention to the news and decides to use his fiction to mold his thoughts into place.  It’s amazing just how much he got right a decade ago.  We can only hope that his 2017 release, The End Game is not nearly as accurate as The Whole Truth was, otherwise I’m staying under my bed at least until the Midterms.  

WHY INDIE AUTHORS ARE THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE

Different is bad. 

Have you seen the new models of cars that came out for 2018?  Look similar to last year’s models?  Of course.  Have you noticed the plethora of sequels in your local movie theater? Of course.  The reason is partly capitalism at it’s finest.  Feed the masses a familiar theme and they will flock to the store for it.  It’s why there’s a Starbucks on every corner of the globe.  Think about it, when you’re traveling and there’s a coffee shop nearby, do you opt for Benny’s Cafe, or Starbucks?  My guess, you’re going to Starbucks.  Why?  Familiarity.  You know exactly what you’re going to get and who knows what’s available at Benny’s.

This theme can easily be transferred to books.  You want a thriller, James Patterson.  You want a legal thriller, John Grisham.  But increasingly the most creative stories are being told by independent authors with independent thoughts and no Big 5 Publisher to tell them how to change their story to make it more appealing.  That’s code for more cliché.  More familiar to readers.

Now that may seem like a huge generalization, but not so fast.  If you’ve heard the accomplishments of people like Hugh Howey, Andy Weir, EL James, Amanda Hocking, or John Locke, you’ll realize publishers weren’t knocking down their door for their novels.  Their stories were different, edgy, in EL James’s case, pushing the envelope between romantic thriller and pornography.  But it was different.  And when different becomes popular, it becomes mainstream and it changes the landscape in good way.

Back in the early ‘80’s I was living in Seattle when a friend of mine invited me to go see this band called REM.  They were playing in a bar in front of 300 people.  I loved it.  I’d never heard this type of music before.  It was hard to characterize.  It was different.  Outside of the fact that Michael Stipe spent the entire concert with his back to the audience, it was great.  And maybe REM had a record contract, but it was with a small record company that left them alone to do whatever they wanted.  The results were magnificent.  There are dozens of bands who’ve gone on to imitate Peter Buck’s jangly guitar from Gin Blossoms to Nirvana.  It changed everything.

All of these examples come from creative people who were unbridled to do whatever their hearts desired.  Hugh Howey imagined a post-apocalyptic society living one-hundred and forty stories below the surface of the earth.  Creative.  John Locke created an anti-hero in Donovan Creed.  A quirky Ex-CIA hitman who straddles both sides of the law to accomplish his goals.

Where is the future of creative fiction coming from?  I don’t know, but I’ll bet an Indie author is working on it as we speak.      

5 QUESTIONS FOR AUTHOR ROBERT BIDINOTTO

      1- Would you still write if you were never paid for your work?

      Shhhh! Please don’t tell my readers, agent, or foreign and audio publishers:  I’d continue to write even if I weren’t compensated. Not only would I; in many years, I have. Writing has been my life since I was a kid. It’s not something I do; it’s what I am.

       2- How much of your day is spent writing, or on the business of writing?

       When I’m in the planning stages, probably 4-6 hours. However, once I’m really “in the zone” and writing the story, the clock and calendar disappear. I often go 9 to 12 hours. During the final stages, racing to complete a book, my marathon sessions regularly become all-nighters. I once worked two-and-a-half days straight while writing my just-published thriller WINNER TAKES ALL. (Yeah, I know: I need a shrink.)

        3- Tell us about your latest Hunter thriller?

       

        WINNER TAKES ALL is the third book in my opening Dylan Hunter thriller trilogy. It’s a big, fast-paced, deviously complex political thriller that touches on just about everything in today’s headlines.

     Dylan Hunter is a journalist with a hidden past. Secretly, he’s also a justice-seeking vigilante who targets corrupt, untouchable elites.

  

     In this one, Hunter has promised Annie Woods, his fiancée, he’ll stop his violent activities. But an investigative reporter probing the source of illegal campaign funds is murdered. A visionary presidential candidate is targeted for personal destruction. Then, unspeakable terrorism rocks Washington, D.C.

     On the trail of the culprits, Hunter finds himself the target of a treasonous, power-hungry billionaire and his hired assassin. He faces an agonizing choice: a future with the woman he loves—or waging a one-man war against a deadly conspiracy poised to install its puppet in the White House.

       4- In your writing world, what would you consider success?

       a. Making enough money each year to continue to write full-time. b. Having readers continue to tell me the ways my books have enriched their lives. That never gets old.

        5- What made you decide to get involved with Thriller Firsts? And what do you hope to accomplish?

      How could I possibly turn down an invitation to have HUNTER share space, within a single volume, with debut thrillers by iconic authors whom I revere? I hope its place in this collection introduces many more thriller fans to my bestselling Dylan Hunter vigilante-justice thrillers. With the opening trilogy in the series—HUNTER, BAD DEEDS, and now WINNER TAKES ALL—finally complete, I’d be delighted if thousands of readers who love action, suspense, mystery, and nail-biting thrills will find a new hero to love, and a new author to follow.