Hard to Speak Ill of this Dead and The Last Part of the Randy Wayne White Interview.

Dick Francis died today at the age of 89.

Thriller Guy's email has been flooded by messages from his writer pals, most with variations on the theme, “I thought he died five years ago?” No, it only seems like it because his wife Mary died in 2000 and she was the one who wrote all his books. Oh, you didn't know that? Well, that's what Graham Lord said in his 1999 Francis bio, A Racing Life, and the evidence is pretty strong that it 's the truth. After all, she was actually a writer and a publishing person and he was, well, a jockey, a great jockey mayhaps, but one with a limited education. He knew the business, but it was the racing business; she was the writer in the family. If you'd like to read an interesting article about the subject this 1999 piece in The Independent tells all.

TG has read a ton of the Dick Francis books, and is pretty sure that most thriller writers worth their salt have delved deeply into this particular canon. TG must admit, he grew a bit weary of them after about twenty five or so, and then began to fall behind. TG reviewed one of the later books, written with Francis' son Felix (taking over where Mary left off) and it was OK, but, well, kind of lame, if truth be told. TG would have liked to have given it a fabulous review out of respect for Mr. Francis, but that's not the way it works in TG's ethical world: a book must stand on its merits alone, no extra author points for being a good guy or a legend.

So raise a glass to Dick Francis, or maybe to his wife, Mary. The books were terrific and they had a hell of a run. Cheers!

And now to finish up the fabulous Randy Wayne White Interview.

Here's RWW on where he does his writing, his writing day and that all important writer's topic: drinking. One of these days TG is going to go into drinking in depth (Mrs. Thriller Guy thinks he's already there) as it pertains the the Writing Life. Look for that future entry under the title: Gin, the Writer's Best Friend?

RWW:

You spent 13 years working as a fishing guide. How and why did you make the leap to writing fiction? I was a full time guide, did almost 3,000 charters, and was on the water 300 days a year. Since childhood, however, I always wanted to write books, perhaps believing that, if I wrote a book, I might become a part of the magic I found in books. I worked very hard at writing in my spare time and, in 1978, got a big break with Rolling Stone founded Outside Magazine, and published a piece by me. While guiding, I began to publish regularly in some of the country’s premier magazines. In 1987, Tarpon Bay Marina was closed to powerboat traffic, and I was out of a job. As much as I miss the marina – Mack, Nick, Jeth, Alex, Graeme, Carlene plus all the fishing guides – it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I had to make my living as a writer, I had two young sons, and failure wasn’t an option.

Where do you do your actual writing? It’s hard for people to believe, but I don’t have what most would consider an office or a set writing space. It’s hard for me to believe, at times but writing, for many years, was a secondary part of family life, so a decent office was always way down the list of personal requirements. At my home on Pine Island, I have a tiny (8’ by 8’) shed where I write; on Sanibel a tiny little loft that’s way too hot in summer. Sometimes, I write at the restaurants early in the morning, or at a stilt house on Captiva (it’s the photo on the jacket of DEEP SHADOW.) I carry my Mac laptop everywhere I go, and I write anywhere I can.

Can you give a description of your writing day? I write daily. As I near the end of a book, I write around the clock, working, then dozing, breaking only to workout, then have a beer at sunset, but only one or two. I can’t write and drink alcohol – thank god.

Randy Wayne White: The Perfect Thriller

Well, damn near perfect.

Randy Wayne White's new thriller, the 17^th in the Doc Ford series, Deep Shadow, goes on sale March 8. Mark your calendars, thriller writers, Thriller Guy thinks this is the book to read and study if you're interested in structure, pace and a general how-to example for writing in the genre.

If you're not familiar with this excellent series, Doc Ford is a marine biologist who lives on Florid'a Mangrove Coast where he spends his time studying marine creatures and solving crimes. He's a tough guy, but fairly sensitive when he needs to be. Deep Shadow finds Doc, his hippie boat pal Tomlinson and crotchety old friend Arlis Futch in central Florida, diving a hidden pond where Arlis is sure a treasure awaits them. Along for the fun is teen Will Chaser, who was first seen in White's last book, Dead Silence. What the fellows don't know is that hiding out at the lake are two really bad guys who are on the lam after killing a family of five in a burglary. That's enough for most thriller writers right there, but White shows how it's done when he tosses in a near mythic creature who inhabits the pond and is stalking all of the above. You just know that this thing is going to eat someone, probably more than just one someone, before the ride is over. White cranks this baby up on the first page and doesn't let up until the last.

Buy it, read it and learn.

TG was so impressed he contacted RWW and interviewed him. Parts of this interview will be spread out over these pages for the next few entries. Every answer includes tips on how he writes, tips that TG knows will interest readers of this blog. White's website is also well worth a look. Besides interesting info about himself and the books, he has a series of writing exercises that will be useful for any of us who are either already writing or want to write. Check them out.

Let's get to it. Here's RWW.

This is the 17^th Doc Ford book since 1990. How do you keep the character fresh?

For me, intellectually and emotionally, Ford and Tomlinson are living entities, so there is never a need to effect a sense of “freshness”, because they evolve naturally, on their own, each man (along with the characters at Dinkin’s Bay Marina) following his path, sometimes slowed or goaded along by his personal flaws or strengths. If this sounds like schizophrenia, so be it (although it makes me a tad uneasy to remember the same was said about Son of Sam). The characters are real in my mind not only because of our long association, but also because, prior to writing the first novel, Sanibel Flats, I spent months writing very lengthy bios and personality profiles of four main characters. When I say long, I mean more than thirty or forty pages on each person; profiles so detailed that they contained information that has yet to be made known to readers, even after seventeen books. I knew from the beginning that, if I was lucky enough to publish more books, Ford and Tomlinson were to be involved in a complex death dance that would pit two very basic human elements against the other: intellectual versus spiritual. I can only speak for myself, but those two cerebral forces are forever at odds in me: the wistful, romantic right side of the brain battling the no-nonsense, existential left hemisphere. I hoped that if I created one character who was purely spiritual, another purely linear, that I could address just about any topic, say anything I wanted, and get away with it.

I wrote such detailed bios because, from the beginning, I approached my writing hoping to achieve what I thought of as an “Iceberg effect” and I still use the same approach to the research required of all my books. Simply put, the Iceberg effect is this: If a writer carefully weaves together a mountain of details, he will become so comfortable with his subject that he can portray that subject authentically with only a few vital strokes. If a writer is secure in his knowledge of a subject, readers need see only the iceberg’s tip to be convinced a mountain floats beneath. My pal Peter Matthiessen told me long ago that good writing is the careful elimination of details, and I still believe that omission, when done with a sure hand, is among the most powerful techniques in the writing craft.

As importantly, I created characters who I like and respect personally. Fun, independent men and women who (like most people I know) live quiet, brave lives despite the painful, pain-in-the-ass hurdles life throws in front of all of us. I am always dubious of so-called artists and pundits who write from an everyone’s-an-idiot-but-me platform. Hate-mongering is the easiest way to draw an audience, it provides a greasy conduit to the cheapest, easiest brand of humor. In high school, we all knew some untalented goof who got attention by screaming “The principal’s an idiot!” I don’t find the Michael Moore-Glenn Beck types interesting, or admirable as people, nor very important in the universal scheme of things, and so I avoid them as characters in fiction (although, villains occasionally demonstrate Moore-Beck gifts for manipulation, particularly in DEEP SHADOW).

The Holidays and Books To Come

Quite a few readers have written to ask Thriller Guy to expand on the teaser in the last entry about the glittering holiday parties in the hallowed halls of publishing. TG would love to, but no can do. Here's why. TG exists in a peculiar and precarious position. He must remain anonymous in his reviews; this is paramount. Otherwise, all manner of enticements would crop up in his email box, to say nothing of late-night knocks at his hotel door. Eager publishers, agents and even authors themselves are sometimes willing to go to inappropriate lengths to secure a career changing review from TG. Because of his strict impartiality and professional ethics, TG must remain strong, his reputation unblemished. If the holiday parties were described in any detail, connections would be made and TG's mask of anonymity would be ripped away, his true identity revealed. No, TG learned his lessons years ago in the mountains of Afghanistan: blend in, become just one more member of the crowd, a threat to none, just an ordinary man doing his job, whether that job is blowing up Russian tanks or reviewing tomorrow's best sellers. Sorry. And thanks to those of you who sent gifts, they have been returned via regular mail. The cash was a nice gesture, but, really, TG cannot except anything for the reasons explained above.

Other blog readers have asked for a few tips on special books coming up soon in the new year. TG is happy to oblige these requests. Here are just a few to look forward to.

In January look for Daniel Suarez's Freedom, the excellent sequel to his debut cyber-novel Daemon, which came out last year. Daemon was one of those magical internet stories you read about: he sent the book to agents who all rejected it, so he self published it and set up a web site. Slate wrote an article about the book and Stewart Brand of Whole Earth Catalogue fame read it and recommended the book to friends The next thing you know, Suarez has a much-deserved two book contract. The novels concern a cyber scientist who, from the grave, wages war on those elements of society he deplores, with fascinating results. Readers are advised to hunt up a copy of Daemon and then pick up Freedom at the bookstore. Interestingly, Suarez originally published the book under the name Leinad Zeraus, which is his name spelled backwards, because, in his words, “That was the pen name I used for the self-published edition, chosen primarily for its Google search potential. There are hundreds of Daniel Suarez’s on the Web, but by reversing the letters I was able to own the first ten pages of my novel’s Google search results. It made a big difference.” So take note, all you self publishers out there.

In March, William Peter Blatty has Dimiter, a really nicely written non-horror tale that's a complicated thriller and at the same time, a love story. Blatty has turned out a lot of good books over the years, all of them, unfortunately, have been overshadowed by the immense success of his 1971 megahit, The Exorcist. Dimiter is very hard to characterize in a short, or even long, space, so TG is just going to say it an unusual book and worth a read. Several of Blatty's earlier books are also being reissued in new editions.

So, 2010 is already looking quite promising for thriller readers. Stay tuned for a review of Randy Wayne White's terrific new Doc Ford novel, Deep Shadow. TG had a long conversation with Randy about this book and writing in general. He'll blog on the book and the conversation when the publication date arives.

As always, thanks to all the commenters. Keep 'em coming.