Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Series Versus Standalone

For this week's blog I thought we'd discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a series versus a standalone book.

I've written both types, though the series has been the most prominent.

We all enjoy "hanging out" with good friends. People that we see on a regular basis, and whose company we enjoy. But we also appreciate the opportunity to meet new people. I think that sums up my feeling about writing a series versus a stand alone.

With my Brad Frame series, I enjoy putting Brad and Sharon (and to a lesser degree Nick Argostino) into new and challenging situations. I can then allow the reader to "learn" more about the characters, to see them grow as people. In that process, I hope that readers will want to return to future adventures. They will feel - as they read - that they're spending time with old friends.

However, I also appreciate the exhilaration of creating brand new characters for a stand alone novel. In KISSES OF AN ENEMY, I used three viewpoint characters to tell the story. Dave was a Congressional Chief of Staff with a problem: an intern had gone missing in his office. Nick had a problem too. He'd been fired from his job, but had now been asked by the missing intern's father to go to Washington to find out what he could about the missing intern. Vivian was a police detective in the jurisdiction where the intern lived, and had a direct hand in the investigation. That story, and the intersection of the lives of those characters was unique. I don't think it would be possible for me to bring them back in a new (and plausible) story. Though it might be possible to bring back one of those characters. Hmmm... my mind is buzzing at the thought.

I am itching to write another stand alone. I think the process expands a writer's mind, so that when he/she returns to those series characters they can be seen with a renewed vision.

You can check out all of my novels at www.rayflynt.com. And let me know if you prefer to read a series or a stand alone mystery.


Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Guest Blog - Thomas John, Author of THE HEALING OF REVEREND JAMES

WRITING MY FIRST BOOK

My book began life in 1991 as an idea for a screenplay. At that time, I was struggling to understand the reason my uncle died from cancer at a much too early age. I was working as an actor at Universal Studios, Florida, and I had long breaks between performances, so I found a quiet spot and started typing on my very advanced (for the year 1991) word processor. You could read four lines on the little window of a screen it had, (roughly the size of an iPhone 4). There was no Microsoft Word: no fonts, no word wrap; nothing. I chose African-American characters for a number of reasons, the most prevalent being the many conversations I had had with my African-American friends about the total lack of quality roles available to black actors. I was going to solve that problem--with my screenplay. Or not.

No one wanted a screenplay about a fourth-generation black Baptist preacher who was struggling with the loss of his wife and son. My writing languished in that form for more than twenty-one years while I gave up on acting and returned to Erie, Pennsylvania and followed in my father’s footsteps as a union sheet metal worker. Then I contracted a rare infection wrapped around my spinal cord. It was called an epidural abscess, and I required life-saving surgery to clean it out. The top third of five of my vertebrae had to be removed so the doctors could get at the infection. That ended my career in sheet metal. I spent five months flat on my back, except for bathroom trips, and another six would pass while I watched every television show I ever wanted to see. I read books. All the while, the story I had written so long ago was on my mind.

I was constantly talking about writing my first novel, and one day my wife said to me, ‘If you want to be a writer, don’t you think you should write something?” I began writing my novel the very next day. I was nervous and struggled with confidence. Then I saw a Facebook post from a friend I had not talked to in years. Ray Flynt (this is his blog space), had posted about his fourth book coming out soon. I ordered, read, and was completely impressed with his writing, so I reached out to him through an e-mail. To my surprise, Ray enthusiastically agreed to help me any way he could. I sent him the prologue and the first two chapters of my first draft. Ray was kind and his criticism constructive. He relayed that he thought I was a good story-teller, but my writing mechanics needed some work. 

Ray and I sent my work back and forth for the next month, and I learned that writing a book was even more difficult than I feared it would be. I had to re-learn high-school grammar and punctuation? Sheesh!  I had a lot of help along the way to produce the novel I am proud of today. Six of my own edits (my wife helping), Beta-reader comments which led to more rewrites, wrestling with Grammarly (a subscription grammar program that piggybacks with Word), collaborating with a cover art designer, hiring a line editor Mary Jeddore Blakley (maryjeddoreblakley.com), and finally formatting the finished manuscript with Smashwords.com, CreateSpace.com, and Kindle. It has been one hell of a ride.

Now that you know the story of how “The Healing of Reverend James” came to be—I’d love to hear your story. Please leave a comment and share your pain and pleasure. Go ahead, throw down a few words. Who knows? It could be the beginning of a new book! May the words be with you.

Thomas John

A few words from Ray: Now that you've learned about Thomas' process in bringing his first book to life, go read it. THE HEALING OF REVEREND JAMES is an inspiring tale that you'll find yourself thinking about long after you've finished the book.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

What People Are Saying

FINAL JUROR, the latest book in the Brad Frame series, has been out for only a few weeks.

You can read the opening chapter here.

We've already seen a few positive reviews posted on Amazon, and here are those reviews:

- Ray Flynt’s new Final Juror is a very enjoyable read. It’s the fifth in the Brad Frame series, and mystery readers who haven’t discovered the series should start reading it now. Brad and his associate Sharon Porter are private investigators in main line suburbs of Philadelphia. In Final Juror they are working separately, Brad serving on a jury in a murder case, and Sharon handling an investigation into the death of a member of a different jury years ago. The parallels between the cases develop throughout the novel, which has elements of a classic mystery, a procedural, and a courtroom thriller. The recurring characters are nice enough to like, complex enough to be worth thinking about. The details are dead-on without overwhelming the story, and the characters are vividly portrayed, even those making the briefest of cameos. Don’t be reluctant to read the book because there are previous books in the series. At no point did Final Juror assume knowledge of past books. Cryptic references to past events may lead you to choose to read the earlier books, and they certainly won’t detract from your enjoyment when you do.

- Simply put, a great book. I have read all of Ray Flynt's books, and this may be his best. Heartily recommended!

- I've read all of the Brad Frame mysteries and this was my favorite. It was obvious the author did his research regarding the jury selection and trial process, and in that sense it was enlightening and believable. Brad Frame's assistant Sharon had her own story thread which resulted in two mysteries in one. I got a sense that perhaps Mr. Flynt is preparing to send Sharon off to her own series of mystery novels. It's another great summer read, arriving just in time for the beach or the vacation hammock!

- Fans of mystery and adventure should give serious attention to this author. Mr. Flynt offers the fifth installment in his Brad Frame mystery series and it's an absolute winner. If you haven't tried this series before, now is the time to start!

- And finally, feedback I received via an e-mail: WOW! That was a great book! I couldn't put it down.

I certainly appreciate the positive feedback. FINAL JUROR is here just in time for your summer vacation!