Tell us a little about your book.
It’s a humorous mystery novel in which wealthy patriarch James Boyle is murdered in a bizarre fashion, and his relatives gather for the reading of his will. One by one, they start to die. A pair of amateur detectives, namely long-lost Boyle relative Bradley Smith, and a friend of his, reporter Eric Maxwell, take it upon themselves to solve the puzzle. What inspired you to write this book? An overdose of true crime books inspired me, and I developed an interest in narcissistic personality disorder and sociopaths. I went out and dug through some of the psychological research about the subject and decided to write a novel containing what I hope is an accurate description of the disorder. How are readers/reviewers reacting to your book? I’m getting pretty positive responses so far. Most people seem to like it. What was the biggest challenge you faced writing this book and how did you overcome it? Everything has to fit together perfectly. I’ve got scenes with a dozen characters all interacting at once, and they require a lot of coordination and thinking about probable outcomes. In a way, it’s like watching subatomic particles bouncing off each other according to their own internal logic. Mysteries also have to be clever enough to fool the other characters—and the reader—long enough to sustain suspense until the end. You also have to come up with good explanations for why the characters are deceived for so long. What is your next project? Though fiction comes naturally to me, and I really enjoy producing it, eventually I’d like to tackle some nonfiction. I love well-written essays, and I read a lot of history. My next book requires historical research, since it’s going to be set in the 1820s. Any advice for other writers/indie authors out there? You need to learn how to be meticulous and detail-oriented, and this will be tough if it’s not a natural part of your personality. Target each one of your writing weaknesses, and rewrite your book focusing on improving those particular areas. Be willing to rethink your writing. If a book/chapter/passage/sentence doesn’t work, rethink it until it does. Can you blend, reposition, cut, summarize, or change narrators to make your writing work? Being flexible and thinking outside your mental box are absolute gold in writing. Many authors are wedded to their rough drafts. Edit the heck out of your work. I often write my essay on my book to see what I need to improve. Have your computer read your story aloud to you, because it makes your mistakes much more obvious.
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