The Genesis of a Character

A couple of my colleagues here have been talking about characters. They are the building blocks of a story. Tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes may make for excitement, but it's how people react to such phenomena that we enjoy reading about. I know some authors who tear pictures of people out of magazines and post them near the computer to model for their characters. Others base characteristics of their creations on people they know.

For the most part, I create my characters from scratch, giving them traits and history that blends in with their role in the story. I literally build them as I go, adding to the characters as the story develops (I don't outline or plot the book in advance). When I began writing what became my first published mystery, Secret of the Scroll, book one of five in the Greg McKenzie series, the tale I had in mind required a retiree with investigative experience. Since I had an Air Force background, I decided to make him a former Office of Special Investigations agent. And since I had gotten involved in the new Scottish Society of Middle Tennessee, I gave him a Scottish name and heritage.

As I said, that has been the case with most of the characters who people my books. However, there has been one striking departure. It involved the first novel I wrote when I turned to fiction in earnest back in 1989. That time, also, I needed a man with investigative experience. But in this case he would need a background that would allow him to have worked in the past with a CIA officer. As I thought about it, I had the perfect fit in a former FBI agent I had first met during my days as editor of Nashville Magazine.

I discussed the man whose background formed the basis for my character Burke Hill on this blog last April in The Story Behind the Story. I didn't use his physical characteristics for Hill, and I did a bit of tweaking with his backstory, shifting the timeline and fictionalizing his activities following the dismissal by J. Edgar Hoover. A tale about Burke working with his old CIA buddy in Mexico isn't part of the story related by my ex-FBI friend, but he did tell me about a wild concoction produced by a lab at Dugway Proving Grounds.

Hill is the central figure in my trilogy of Post Cold War political thrillers, which had different literary agents when written in the early nineties and wound up in the manuscript pile on my office floor. The first, Beware the Jabberwock, was finally published this year and is available on Amazon in ebook and paperback. The second, The Poksu Conspiracy, will be in the Kindle Store by the end of this month.

Burke Hill's character is further fictionalized in the second book with the revelation of a son by his first marriage. But the basic story of his FBI career, starting with his job of delivering documents to Hoover's home, follows the account the agent told me in interviews.

The other characters in both books are figments of my imagination. Incidentally, I haven't mentioned the former agent's name, but if you're curious, take a look at the dedication in the print version.

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Plotting from the News

By Chester Campbell

Many authors use newspapers to find ideas for plots. Mine come from a variety of sources, but I sometimes turn to the news for possibilities. The way it gets twisted during the writing process may depend on lots of factors.

The new Sid Chance mystery I just finished, The Good, The Bad and The Murderous, got its start from a segment I saw on CBS about FBI agents in Miami who chased down Medicare fraud. It showed storefront operations supposedly providing durable medical equipment that were in reality Medicare scams. They billed the government for such items as battery-powered wheel chairs that were neither ordered nor delivered. It costs Medicare millions and millions of dollars yearly.

That was my initial plot idea but, of course, it had to involve a murder. So I decided to kill off the crook who ran it. Then I saw a newspaper feature (actually several stories one Sunday) about kids who commit murder and are sent to prison. It told of Nashville's youngest murderer recently released from prison at age twenty-five. He had shot a man during a drug deal at age twelve.

I created a character based on him, having the newly-released prisoner falsely accused of murdering the medical equipment store owner. My PI and his sometimes partner, wealthy ex-cop Jaz LeMieux, are hired by the young man's grandmother to prove his innocence.

The child murderer in the newspaper story was black, and so was my character. To complicate matters for my PI's, I had Jaz facing false accusations of racial harassment in connection with her role as chairman of a chain of travel centers.

Adding another plot twist from the news, I brought in links to a Mexican drug gang. One advantage of using subjects currently in the news is the ability to promote the book as "ripped from the headlines." Okay, maybe not in those words, but you get the idea.

The novel, my second Sid Chance mystery, will be out in the fall.

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PLEASE WELCOME MY GUEST, THRILLER WRITER, KENSINGTON ROTH

Today, I'm happy to feature a recent interview of one of my Book Place members, thriller author, Kensington Roth, along with information on his current spy thriller, Able Danger.   Leave a comment in the comment section, along with your email address. One lucky winner will receive a free copy of Kensington's thriller, Able Danger. (Entry void where prohibited by law) Morgan Mandel

Author Interview

ABLE DANGER author Kensington Roth, recently sat down and answered a few questions about his novel, his inspiration, and more.

What inspired you to write Able Danger? Is this your first book?

Able Danger was born after my trip to mainland China and following the 9/11 attacks. I pondered for some time about a what-if scenario of China attacking the U.S. with a weapon more powerful then a nuclear weapon and just how the White House might react.

Because my story has many dimensions of action, intrigue, and romance I felt it could be best portrayed on the silver screen. After I wrote the screenplay I adapted the story to the novel format for all spy-thriller fans to read and my first book was published.

How did you come up with the idea for Able Danger?

After watching all the movies that have been made about the U.S. and Russia fighting over nuclear weapons, I thought they’re much too busy haggling over nukes when there is something with far greater destructive power that they should be be worrying about. In the novel Gravvox is discovered, not by the Americans, but by another superpower — China.

I understand you did a lot of research in the Library of Congress to prepare for this book?

Yes I did and I discovered many “behind the curtain” facts about the 9/11 attacks and also a lot about China’s global ambitions.

What is the origin of the title Able Danger?

After I finished writing the story, I realized that the U.S. government’s overly confident attitude about war has made them think they are able to encounter and overcome any danger. So, the title Able Danger stuck.

Your main character Harrison Court-006, has been called the American James Bond. Are you an avid James Bond fan?

Yes, ever since I was 7 years old when my father took me to see my first Bond movie Goldfinger, I was intrigued by the many elements the characters delivered to the story. I didn’t know that I wrote an American Bond-like novel until the novel was finished.

Who are your biggest fans?

It seems most Bond fans have taken a liking to my American version of the Bond-like story theme and most are eager to read the novel and see the movie on the big screen. They have the same thirst for spy-action intrigue, coupled with romantic interludes portraying beautiful women, as I do.

What was the most frustrating aspect about writing and publishing this book? What has been the most rewarding?

I thoroughly enjoyed writing the story so everyone can share in the Harrison Court-006 saga. Self-publishing the novel has been the only challenge to overcome. The most rewarding factor is that I discovered the many, many people who simply adore spy-thriller action stories about intriguing spies and gorgeous ladies found in exotic locations.

Do you plan to write another novel? Have you begun?

I plan on writing the sequel to Able Danger which will be called Danger for 2. I have already started my other genre of action-adventure-fantasy which will feature the first of a series showcasing the first female action hero for all audiences to enjoy. It will be published in early 2010.

When you Google Able Danger, you pull up the Able Danger movie. Does it relate to your novel?

The movie from 2008 has nothing to do with Able Danger the novel. It’s a question asked often and the public will discover this after reading the novel.

Do you have plans to make your own movie of Able Danger?

I planned on making the movie as I wrote the screenplay which is currently in the early stages of development. Two accomplished actresses are slated to play China doll “MISSONG” and the voluptuous “VOLACE.” Several amazing theme tracks and songs from the soundtrack have been sent to me for review. A choice director is joining the ensemble to entice two famous known actors to play the lead role of Harrison Court-006 and his nemesis DaSage.

Can you tell us why you choose the Virtual Book Tour to promote your book?

The virtual book tour is for the general public to be made aware of my new explosive spy-thriller that has a Bond-like appeal.

Are you promoting Able Danger by any other means? Website? Blog? Twitter? Facebook?

Able Danger the novel can be viewed at my website. http://www.able-danger.net/ for the full synopsis and for ordering information. My profile is displayed on Facebook, along with The Kensington Roth Fan Club so everyone can get plugged-in with the latest events taking shape about Able Danger the movie adapted from the novel.

Do you have any final words?

I hope audiences around the world will welcome the Able Danger series of spy-thrillers and Harrison Court-006 in his perilous exploits that take him across the globe to fight the evils of the world, while never getting his tuxedo dirty.

Thank you for this interview, Kensington. Good luck on your tour!

Dexter Matthews says:

December 16, 2009 at 2:59 pm

Outstanding interview. I took an interest in the book “ABLE DANGER” after be-friending Kensington Roth on facebook. The more I read the synopsis the more I wanted to read the book. However, after reading just the first two chapters I was “HOOKED” I’ve always loved the spy thrillers since I was a kid. “JAMES BOND,” “OUR MAN FLINT,” “THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E,” and the “AVENGERS” to name a few. Harrison Court AGENT 006, brings back the excitement, intrigue, adventure and romanticism of the genre. As a reader you’ll love the twist of this novel and the depth of each character. As a fan of spy movies ,you’ll anxiously await the release of “ABLE DANGER” the film. It is safe to say you will not be disappointed with the saga of agent Harrison Court and his sexy spy-girl Missong.

ABLE DANGER

http://www.abledangerbooktour.com/

Synopsis

Agent Harrison Court-006 a black ops-spy discovers China’s secret attack planned for the U. S. taking him on a new mission across Asia and Europe against time to stop a rogue ex-CIA agent DaSage. Court uncovers China’s deadly super weapon from a known terrorist leader hiding in the caves of Tora Bora. OO6 must find out what American cities the silent gravity weapon will destroy by defeating the phantom of reverse gravity before history is altered forever.

Excerpt from Chapter 1

From outer space the satellite disengages its laser on this American suburban household, as the TEST of Gravvox’s destructive firepower has concluded. The laser’s disengagement creates a sensitizing, bursting, spherical-shaped flash traveling almost forever in space. The effects of the laser burning out causes a phenomenal, geomagnetic interference with Earth’s ATMOSPHERE.

How Able Danger, the Novel, was born

Kensington returned from his trip to the Orient in March 2004. Being his assistant, I noticed for some months he was distracted and always jotting down illegible notes. The months went by and the office was filled with small pieces of paper everywhere. He was truly fixated with some big story. What did he see in Hong Kong? Was it main land China that moved him? The people? The culture?

As the next year turned the corner, he began transferring his ideas in no apparent order onto the computer. He struggled in the last months of that year to grasp some sort of flow which didn't come out about until the fall of 2006, and that's when he started writing Able Danger for the silver screen. In the spring of 2008 the novel was written and subsequently published by his company Kensington Roth Media, Inc. - Karina

BIO for Author, KENSINGTON ROTH

Known for his spy thrillers set in exotic locations across the globe, Kensington Roth is the author of this highly acclaimed explosive, action spy-thriller. “Able Danger” fits the international espionage spectrum of sequels for avid readers and has been adapted to film by the author for moviegoers to view agent Harrison Court-006 on the silver screen. The sequel ”Danger for 2” will be featured in paperback and theaters in 2011.

http://www.able-danger.net/

Please leave a comment or question for our guest,
Kensington Roth. Make sure to include your email
address to be eligible for the contest drawing for
a free copy of Able Danger.

Photo--a Key Piece of Evidence by Chester Campbell

Lee Lofland has a fascinating puzzle on his Graveyard Shift blog today. He has a photo of two keys found on a “person of interest” in the case of a half-billion dollars worth of paintings stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The theft occurred March 18, 1990. We’re talking Obama bailout cash here, folks. Half a billion bucks.

The museum’s director of security brought the photo to Lee and asked that he see if any of his blog readers recognized the type of key. In 19 years, neither the FBI nor the Boston police have come up with evidence proving who did the deed.

I reminds me somewhat of Morgan Mandel’s post the other day about looking at a picture and trying to tell where you are. Photos can play a vital role in solving mysteries. Maybe Lee’s “key piece of evidence” will lead investigators to the fate of the expensive paintings by such artists as Rembrandt and Manet.

I featured photos for evidence in one of my mysteries when my PI Greg McKenzie used his miniature camera to photograph guest checks in a restaurant where he and Jill were investigating the theft of cash by waiters and waitresses. They used the photos the next morning to compare what the patrons received with what the waiters turned in.

Probably the most frequent use of photos in criminal cases today are those that come from tapes in surveillance cameras. Mystery writers find them handy for identifying suspects and capturing the bad guys doing bad things. Candid shots are sometimes used to show a person was in a place where he claimed not to have been.

Photos found on mantels and other places around a home provide clues to family members and friends of a deceased. Have you ever used photos as a key piece of evidence in a mystery? Can you think of a book where a picture sealed a suspect’s fate?

An open letter to President-elect Obama from Mark Troy

Dear President-elect Obama,

Congratulations on your victory. While most people wait for your list of appointments to various cabinet and government posts, some of us are waiting for your presidential reading list. What books you will be reading while in the White House?


Presidential reading lists tend to be heavy on history, philosophy and biographies of famous people, fitting subjects for the president of the United States. But not all presidential choices need to have such gravitas. What do you read on the long flights aboard Air Force One? What books will be in the seat pouch?

President Kennedy was a huge fan of Ian Fleming. His list of favorite books included From Russia With Love. Did it in influence the policies of the leader of the free world at the height of the Cold War? I don’t think anyone knows, but it did spark a reading frenzy in my circle of friends. So you see, Mr. President, your choice of reading matter has power.

President Clinton made a point of reading for enjoyment at least thirty minutes every day, a good habit for any president to encourage. A self-proclaimed mystery addict, his favorite authors were Walter Mosley, Sue Grafton, and Jonathon Kellerman. All of them, great choices.

Mysteries are the most contemporary of genre fiction. They tend, more than any other genre, to reflect the attitudes and mores of the times in which they were written. If you want insights into attitudes of Americans, it would be worth your while to acquaint yourself with some mysteries.

If you are a mystery fan, Mr. Obama, you undoubtedly have your own favorites, but if you are not, I would like to suggest a few that I think you would like.

Washington D.C. is a city you won’t learn about from the windows in the oval office, nor from the people around you, most of whom don’t live in D.C. For that, I recommend Hard Revolution by George Pelecanos. Pelecanos has been called the poet laureate of the D.C. crime world. Hard Revolution tells the story of two D.C. cops struggling to do their jobs in a city short on hope. Derek Strange is a young black cop trying to hold his family together and protect his older brother from the bottom-feeders he hangs with. Frank Vaughan is an older white cop investigating the vicious hit and run of a young black man. Their paths collide on the eve of the assassination of Martin Luther King, an event that set off a chain of events that left Washington D.C. burned, divided, and the dreams of many thousands of people destroyed. I don’t need to say that you represent the revitalization of those dreams

Mystic River, Dennis Lehane’s tour de force, is set in a neighborhood of Boston, a city you may have gotten to know while at Harvard. The novel is about a community and how the lives of the people are shaped by their surroundings. This is not one of the communities you
organized in Chicago, but the people are probably not unlike the people you worked with. Jimmy Marcus is a small business owner, a family man, and an ex-con. When his daughter is murdered, he sets out to solve the crime and administer his own justice. On the way, he becomes a community organizer in his own right. It’s not the path you took, Mr. President, and Jimmy Marcus would never make it to the White House, but his story belongs there for its honesty and emotion.

As president, you will have responsibility for the Department of Justice and the FBI so here’s a twofer for you. The Poet and its sequel, The Narrows by Michael Connelly introduce FBI agent Rachel Walling in pursuit of a serial killer. Walling is one of the best women crime-solvers in a crowded field. She is courageous, competent, smart and sexy. Memo to President: The FBI should be staffed with agents like her. Maybe even director? After The Poet, we had to wait a long time for her return in The Narrows, but it was worth it.
This time she teams up with the inimitable Harry Bosch, LAPD’s maverick detective, now working as a private eye. Don’t be put off by the “maverick” label. Bosch is competent, though he doesn’t always follow the rules, a trait that puts him in conflict with Walling.

The list would not be complete without a mystery set in the state of your birth, Hawaii. Delicious by Mark Haskell Smith gives you the Hawaii that the Visitor’s Bureau hopes you don’t see.
This is not the seven-day, six-night, mai-tais at sunset trip to paradise. This is a dark, uproarious, over-sexed romp. Smith has the comic sensibilities of Carl Hiaasen and the weird world-view of Joe Lansdale. Delicious tells the story of a young Hawaiian chef, Joseph, whose family business comes under attack from a Las Vegas catering company that tries to muscle into it. Joseph’s father considers this an invasion equaled only by that of Captain Cook and this time the outsiders must be stopped at all costs. This is a laugh out loud book. You will wake up everybody else on Air Force One when you read it.

These are my suggestions, Mr. President, but there are many more, equally good books in the genre. I’m sure that readers of this blog will have their own suggestions for you and I hope they contribute them here.

Happy reading.