Tell us about your latest book.
Death in a Family Business is a cosy mystery. A mystery
because there is a body, a cosy because all the violence happens offstage. It’s
1986 and 29-year-old Tommy Lovell, who tells the story, is at loose ends
after the collapse of his restaurant and his marriage. He goes to western
Massachusetts with Tom, his father, to help Otto Jonker, a family friend.
Otto—like Tom—is an appliance/TV retailer, but his business is failing and he’s
called for help. Before Tommy and his father can begin to help turn Otto’s
business around, a motorcycle accident puts Otto in a coma and he dies. The
police regard it as an accident, but was it? When Tommy’s suspicions are raised
he begins investigating, putting himself and his father in danger.
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| http://amzn.to/1X6OEGZ |
Those
readers who enjoy a mystery will find the interlocking puzzles in the book
intriguing—what has gone wrong in the business and what happened to Otto? Anyone
who has ever bought an appliance in an independent appliance/TV store will
enjoy this look behind the scenes. Many readers will be interested in the
relationship between Tommy and his father and the effects of a death on this
family and their business.
Who designed the cover?
A good friend
of mine, Susan Brier, who heads a graphic design company, has designed the
covers for all three of my novels. She invests serious time in the project; she
read the manuscript, suggests editorial changes, and produces alternate cover
ideas. And has even given me a title.
I called my second novel Mt. Koya, a
place in Japan important the story. But I came to realize it was not a title
many people would pick up. In the book, adult siblings find a memoir their
father had written his tour in Japan as an Army surgeon during the Korean war, his
affair with a Japanese woman, a letter, and a picture. Susan found a picture of
a young Japanese woman of the time to use as a cover element. As we talked about
the story and Mt. Koya as a title, she suggested The Girl in the
Photo. Infinitely better.
Did you learn anything from writing
your book that was unexpected?
Death in a Family Business provided fewer surprises
than my first two novels. Because it is a mystery, I had to know the victim,
the villain, the motivation, and the killing’s mechanics before I started
writing. If you start with the crime, criminal, and motivation, you can drop
clues and red herrings into the narrative along the road to the denouement.
Nevertheless, I was surprised by one act of violence I had not planned, but is
entirely plausible given the characters, situation, and context.
What advice do you
have for other writers?
Write every day. Write something: a letter,
a poem, a journal, an idea for an essay, story, book. Write when you don’t feel
like writing. I tell writing students, “If you don’t feel like writing, write
about that; describe what that feels like. Write for the pleasure of writing
not because it is going to make you a living (it probably won’t).
Read the best stuff you can get your hands
on, classical and contemporary, fiction and nonfiction, essays and poetry. Read
on two levels, the surface (the story, the message, the lesson) and deeper. What
is the author doing and how does he/she do it?
What is your work in progress? Tell us
about it.
I have three
works in progress. I’m in the early stages of a second Tommy Lovell mystery. I
now have a place, a setting, and a group of characters, so I don’t have to
invent everything. The challenge, of course, is to take what I have and make it
both fresh and familiar.
I’m working on
a book set in Harlem low income New York City housing project that begins on
the day JFK is assassinated (11/23/63) and ends the day Malcolm X is murdered
(2/21/65). My wife, children, and I lived in a project at that time, so I’m
writing from the inside.
I am also
translating a book of contemporary Japanese short stories as a way to improve
my ability to read the language.
What are your thoughts on
self-publishing verses traditional publishing?
I have self-published
three novels and, as a ghostwriter, traditionally published 21 business books.
Both offer a writer positives and negatives. A traditional publisher assumes
all the book production chores: copy editing, proofreading, layout, cover
design. Publishers Weekly and the
shrinking number of traditional book reviewers will consider a review.
Bookstores will stock the book. On the other hand, if the book doesn’t sell,
the publisher pulps the returns and the book vanishes. Royalties, particularly
for ebooks, are limited, and publishers may demand rights that can be valuable.
The
self-publishing author is responsible for all the production chores. Few traditional
reviewers will look at a self-published book. Bookstores do not stock
self-published books, not because of their quality (necessarily) or because
they resent Amazon’s competition, but because ordering, tracking, and returning
unsold books is too much trouble. On the positive: the author has full control
over the book, retains all the rights, and can earn more per book than through
a commercial publisher. In both cases, the author is primarily responsible for
publicizing and promoting the book.
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| Wally Wood |
Yes. My
wife is also a writer, although in a different arena entirely. She writes
marketing textbooks. Nevertheless, she reads mysteries and is able to look at
my work with professional eyes and to see things I cannot. We have been
married long enough to be able to see a manuscript as a work, rather than as a
piece of ourselves. If something is not working in the manuscript, the issue is
with the work and not with me (or her). I don’t always agree with her
suggestions, and I do not always accept them with good grace, but she has made
my books far stronger than they would have been without her. Every
self-published writer needs a skillful developmental editor, a careful copy
editor, and a sharp-eyed proofreader.
When you’re not writing, how
do you spend your time?
I
meet with a Japanese conversation partner one morning a week to improve my
Japanese. I participate in an Italian conversation class one morning a week to
improve my Italian. I am a volunteer SCORE business advisor and several hours a
month (it varies) I counsel clients who want to start a business or improve
their existing business. I participate in a writer’s group, which is
invaluable, and a writer’s workshop. I read about two books a week, most of
which I review. I watch DVD and streaming movies (thank you, Netflix).
Where can people find
out more about you and your writing?
I maintain two blogs: The posts on http://mysteriesofwriting.blogspot.com
focus on—what else?—mysteries and writing.
The posts on http://gettingorientednove.blogspot.com cover things
Japanese and reviews of books that are not mysteries.
My Amazon author page (http://amzn.to/1X6Ouj2)
has a number of pictures, links to my blogs, to my books, and more.
