What Informs My Writing Most

Write what you know! Isn't that the advice given to every writer?

From a "big picture" perspective, I've had the advantage of a very diverse career that began working with juvenile delinquents, evolved to larger aspects of working in criminal justice (police, courts, probation), teaching in a college setting, working as an arts advocate (which put me in contact with so many creative people), and administering a national human services association. I've had a lifetime of coming in contact with such diverse groups of people, that it has been a blessing for me in terms of creating characters to populate my books.

On a personal level, I've done lots of theatre, which as an actor involves taking an author's words and creating a character. As a writer, I'm coming up with the words a character might believably say. For TRANSPLANTED DEATH (pictured here) I developed the plot idea while spending lots of time in the hospital when my wife received a kidney transplant.

In UNFORGIVING SHADOWS, the opening chapter depicts an execution by lethal injection. I've never witnessed one of those, but have been to the prison in Pennsylvania where the death penalty is administered.

In BLOOD PORN a juvenile corrections facility is the scene for illicit pornography. The fact that I had worked in juvenile corrections permitted me to create realistic settings.

On a micro level, my books are filled with elements of interaction and stories I've heard over the years. When I go back and re-read my books, nearly every chapter reminds me of a small episode in my life - whether it occurred in my college years or since I've been retired.

Just the other evening I was having dinner with a friend. We were talking about my books and he shared a story. I confided in him that he might see it used in a future Brad Frame story.

Research is another critical element that informs my writing. Thanks to the Internet, it's possible to find out a wealth of information about nearly any topic. And to take a photographic or video journey to further learn about a particular topic. And I'm not afraid to reach out to experts, such as lawyers when I wrote FINAL JUROR, or a funeral director to help me with my upcoming novel EMBALMED.

Help continue the conversation... share what informs the things you write about.

What I'm Working On

As soon as I finished FINAL JUROR earlier this year I started work on my 6th Brad Frame mystery. It is called EMBALMED. Brad and Sharon are once again working on dual cases, this time as a joint effort.

For those familiar with the series, you'll recognize the name Nick Argostino. Nick is a Philadelphia police detective and a partner in Brad's detective agency. Nick is in trouble in this story, having been accused of assaulting a fellow officer. Nick is bummed and his life needs focus, which he is getting with Brad and Sharon's help.

At the same time, they've been contacted by a bank's trust department on behalf of a woman with Alzheimer's who used to work for Brad's father. Her brother is missing and Brad is charged with finding him.

Thanks to the help of my local writers' group, which keeps me on target by expecting a new chapter of the story to critique each week, I'm nearing the end of the 65,000 word novel and hope to have it published in the near future. Please don't pin me down on what I mean by "near future." :-)

While taking breaks from this writing project I've begun on a new "standalone" novel of suspense. The title of this newest book is COLD OATH. I suspect it will take me the better part of a year to finish it with publication before the end of 2016.

I love working with Brad and Sharon and finding new adventures for them, but I'm equally excited at the prospect of bringing a new story to life.

You can check out all of my books and short stories at www.rayflynt.com. Tell your friends. The first Brad Frame story is only 99 cents for Kindle or Nook.

Having a Business Plan

I read recently that writers should develop a business plan to set forth the goals for their writing. The article indicated that the plan needn't be fancy or long and made a few suggestions, such as the author's desire to improve his writing with each new book.

I take that as a given, since I'm always striving for ways to be a better writer. On one level, the more you write the easier it becomes, but I find myself being more critical and revising many more times - even in the early stages of writing.

Back to that plan. If I were honest, I'd say my goal is to sell more books than Stephen King and James Patterson combined, and to make J K Rowling's bank account look like chump change.

<sigh> Not going to happen, I know.

Perhaps my dream of having Oprah recommend my books isn't out of the question? Okay, you're right. That won't happen either.

My first Brad Frame Mystery was published by Five Star - a small press. I think it had a print run of 500, enough to enable them to pay off the advance they had given me. I was so excited to finally be published that I wasn't thinking about the marketing challenges. My publisher wasn't spending much money to market the book. They sent out review copies, but (I later learned) without enough lead time to attract reviews from the major book reviewers, so it didn't get that many reviews. Although I must add that the ones it did get were quite favorable.

Since that first book, all my other novels have been self-published. I've written six books so far, and working on my seventh.

Without ever adopting a formal business plan, my hope all along was that with each book I wrote more people would learn about my writing. It's been ten years since my first book was published. Within the past year, I've heard of three instances where people learned about my most recent book, loved it, and then bought (and read) all of the other ones. That part of my plan is working... just slowly... and Stephen King, James Patterson, and J K Rowling have nothing to worry about. Yet. :-)

I also read an article (see, we authors read in addition to writing) that writers should submit their work to contests as a way of getting noticed. I recently learned that LADY ON THE EDGE (pictured above) is a finalist for a Royal Palm Literary Award. Results will be announced in October. Stay tuned.

I hope your plan will include giving my books a try. You can read all of the opening chapters at www.rayflynt.com - just click on the tabs at the top of the home page for mysteries and suspense and then click the link for the openings.