How much of
yourself is hidden in the characters in your books?
Well I have to
say that there is a bit of me in Tom Kendall, my private detective. We both
have a sense of humour, and we are both a little bit stubborn. When we get a thought
in our heads it takes a lot of shifting, especially if we think we are right,
which, of course is most of the time. We are both methodical and think things
out. Act in haste, repent at .... you know. And neither of us are great
believers in co-incidence.
How much of a story do you have in mind
before you start writing?
That’s a difficult
one, and I don’t think there’s a “one size fits all” answer.
Certainly with my private detective stories I know three things to start with.
I know the villain, I know the victim, or victims, and I know that Kendall will
solve the crime, and it grows from there. With “Epidemic” I knew the whole story from start to
finish before I actually started to write. With my latest book “The Thackery
Journal” the first thing
I wrote was the final chapter. It was an exercise into how a hunted man felt as
his pursuers got closer and closer. Then I decided who the hunted man was, and
why he was being hunted. Generally, I might suddenly have an idea that might
work and I fit it into my outline. That might mean changing something that I
had already written, but so be it. Of course it might not fit at all, in which
case it will be discarded.
Can you tell us about the genres you
write?
The first novel
that I wrote, “The Kammersee Affair” is about hidden
nazi gold. But it is far more than that. It is a story of two men, an American
GI, and an SS Major. It is a story of murder, blackmail, and revenge. It is
classified as an Adventure story. My latest “The Thackery Journal” is Historical
Fiction. My main genre, however, is Crime, and I have written four novels
featuring Kendall.
How do you cope with writer's block?
I don’t have set
targets for my writing. I don’t sit down to write at a specific time of the day, and I don’t set myself any
targets as far as word count is concerned. I only sit down to write when I
actually have something that I want to write, so writer’s block doesn’t really occur. I might think of an
idea, or a whole section, while I’m out doing mundane things like shopping, or I might wake up in the
middle of the night with something in mind. I quickly scribble it down. The
next day I’ll type it up, in
the appropriate position in the manuscript. When I’ve finished I leave the writing, and
get on with some other activity – gardening, or helping with the housework, or doing the family
accounts. Or, of course, there is always publicising and promoting to be done.
How do you develop and differentiate
your characters?
Generally I only
have a handful of main characters in one of my novels. In the Kendall stories
there are three regulars – Tom Kendall, his business partner Mollie, and Detective Terrence
Devaney from the Miami Police Department. Featured in four novels now they are
fairly well developed, and I know them quite well. The only other main
characters are the villain, usually larger than life, powerful, ambitious, and
ruthless. And then there is the victim, or victims. Maybe an innocent bystander
who saw something they shouldn’t have, or a reporter asking too many questions, or, well I can’t divulge
everything can I.
Do you have specific techniques you use
to develop the plot and stay on track?
Although I might
start with a basic outline for a story, it is quite likely for that plot to
alter as things develop, or I get another idea which changes things I’ve already
written. “The Mackenzie
Dossier”, my second
novel, started out as a straight forward political corruption story. Then about
a third of the way through somebody gets murdered, followed soon after by a
second murder. I then needed somebody to solve the crime. I could not rely on
the police, because the Police Chief was involved in the corruption. So along
came Tom Kendall, private detective. He hasn’t gone away since.
How (or when) do you decide that you
are finished writing a story?
When I’ve said all I
need to say – the crime is
solved, the culprit in custody. All loose ends are tied up. All points fully
explained. Then, of course, comes the dreaded editing. That in itself might
result in some additional work being required, apart from typing errors. After
the third read through that’s it I’m happy with it,
the end.
Is there a message in your writing you
want readers to grasp?
Message? No.
There’s nothing
profound, no great meaningful revelation, or thought provoking statement. I
write for basically one reason only, for people to be entertained, and for my
works to be enjoyed. All right that’s two reasons I know.
What are you working on right now?
“The Thackery
Journal” has only just
been issued, so I’m spending a lot
of time trying to publicise and promote the book. I am also working on three
other novels at various stages of progress. Two are Tom Kendall novels, and the
third is another adventure story based loosely (very loosely) on a true story.
One of the Kendall’s, a prequel, is
about 50% complete; the second is about 25%; and the adventure story no more
than 10%. The “Thackery” novel was a ‘What If’ story. Although
a long way out of my comfort zone I really enjoyed writing it. I would now like
to do another ‘What If’, so trying
desperately to think of something suitable. Any suggestions anyone?
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Truthful answer
would be probably not. To want to be a writer suggests that you at least
thought that you were capable of writing something. I don’t think I ever
thought about it in that way. Of course we wrote lots of things at school which
were quite enjoyable. When i was a young teen I wrote a story about a small
town in Australia, and how it developed. I think I covered 100 years in about a
dozen pages of hand writing. In the early sixties I was very interested in
Blues, and I wrote several articles for a couple of blues magazines, both sadly
no longer around. Certainly I have wanted to write a novel for quite some time,
but could never think of an interesting, and original plot. I can’t say it was ever
a burning ambition, but just a nice idea, if only. Then whilst on holiday in
Austria in 2005 the idea for a story was presented to me.
At what age did you discover your love
of writing?
Let’s just say it was
very late in life. Whether I discovered a love of writing is not the issue. I
discovered a plot that was the important thing. We were staying at a lakeside
village, Grundle, in the Austrian Lake district. Grundlesee was the first of
three lakes. During the war the second lake, Toplitz, was used by the German
Navy to test torpedoes, and rockets. As the war came to an end documents,
weapons, and jewellery were hidden in the lake. There were rumours that gold
bullion was also hidden in the lake. Extensive searches after the war never
found anything. However in my book “The Kammersee Affair” gold bullion is discovered.
What was the first story that you wrote?
“The Kammersee
Affair”
When were you first published?
When I wrote “The Kammersee
Affair” I thought I was
bound to be published, I would make a lot of money and ... Well, I very quickly
realised that there weren’t that many traditional publishers seeking submissions; many agents
already had more than enough clients; and because I wasn’t an A-lister, or
a celebrity chef, the chances of getting published were slim to say the least.
Then I discovered the Vanity publishers, the ones you pay for the privilege of
getting published. Not the same as a mainstream publisher, but at least it
would get your work in front of the public. After some investigation I found
Raider Publishing International, in New York. They still charged a fee but they
were considerably cheaper than many others. They published “The Kammersee
Affair” in 2006.
How were you discovered?
I’ll tell you as
soon as it happens. You’ll be the first to know.
What is the most difficult part of the
whole writing process?
Well assuming you
have thought of that elusive, original, interesting plot, and you have spent
about a year of your life writing it all down, and you’ve completed the endless editing, where
you constantly miss that same typing error over and over again, it’s time to get it
published. With self publishing being so easy these days this part of the
process is simplicity itself. So it’s written, edited, published, and available to purchase. Now what?
Oh no, publicising and promoting it, endless postings to Facebook, tweeting,
blogs. Yes I think I can safely say that promoting is the most difficult part,
but it has to be done.
What do you like to read?
As an Indie
author I like to support Independent authors. Being a crime writer I tend to
read crime novels. Authors like Babs Morton, and Alfie Robins. I have recently
read “Parallax View” by Allan Leverone, a cold
war spy thriller. Currently reading “Angel in
Belfast” by Gerry McCullough.
What writer influences you the most?
Authors that I
used to read include Alistair Maclean, Hammond Innes, and Wilbur Smith. All
from the fifties, sixties or seventies, which must date me. I also enjoy Agatha
Christie, the crime writer of all time. I was actually reared on Enid Blyton – The Secret
Seven, and the Famous Five – sadly no longer fashionable. My all time favourite book is “The Tale of Two
Cities” by Charles
Dickens. But did any of these diverse authors influence me? Maybe indirectly,
but certainly not directly, I like to think that I have my own style, and I don’t copy anyone.
If your books were made into a TV
series or Movie, which actors would you like to see playing your characters?
That’s a difficult one
for me. I’m not a great fan
of many of the modern TV series – I can’t stand the
endless zombie, and vampire programmes. Modern films tend to have too much
swearing, and too much graphic content, and to find one that I like is quite
rare. I tend to prefer movies from earlier times. Stars who were around in the
50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Stars like
Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck.
As for Kendall
and Mollie, I actually see them more from another cinematic time, particularly
as their relationship is platonic, although Mollie does hold a bit of torch for
Kendall, rather like Miss Moneypenny does for Bond. Kendall is aged in his late
thirties, Mollie is a bit younger. And, of course, they are American. So, maybe
David Duchovny (Agent Fox Mulder), and Gillian Anderson (Agent Dr. Dana
Scully), from the X Files from the 1990/s might fit nicely. They have a
platonic relationship, and Scully constantly keeps Mulder on the right track,
and between the two of them they solve cases.
Where can people learn more about you
and your books?
My Amazon Author
page – the link is http://www.amazon.co.uk/John-Holt/e/B003ERI7SI/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
I do have a web
page although I don’t really use it
that much – but the link is http://johnholt1943.blogspot.co.uk/
I have several
pages on Facebook:
The first
chapters of some of my books can be read on Wattpad – the link is http://www.wattpad.com/user/JohnHolt1943
Is there anything else you would like
to tell us about yourself and your books?
Last August I
decided to go down the Self Publishing route. I formed a company, PHOENIX. It
was easy and very informal. I now have six novels available.
John Holt Biography
I was born in 1943 in Bishops
Stortford, Hertfordshire. I currently live in Essex with my wife, Margaret, and
my daughter Elizabeth. And not forgetting Missy, the cat who adopted us, and
considered that we were worthy enough to live with her. For many years I was a
Chartered Surveyor in local government. I was a Senior Project Manager with the
Greater London Council from 1971 until it was closed down in 1986. I then set
up my own surveying practice, retiring in 2008.
I suppose like many others I had
always thought how good it would be to write a novel, but I could never think
of a good enough plot. My first novel, “The Kammersee Affair”, published in
2006, was inspired by a holiday in the Austrian lake district. We were staying
in Grundlsee. The next lake, Toplitzsee, was used by the German Navy during the
war to test rockets, and torpedoes. As the war came to an end many items were
hidden in the lake – millions of UK pounds, and US dollars, in counterfeit
currency; jewellery stolen from the holocaust victims; and weapons. There were
also rumours of gold bullion being hidden in that lake. Despite extensive
searches the gold was never found. In my book, however, it is found, only in
the next lake, Kammersee.
The books that followed, The
Mackenzie File, The Marinski Affair, and Epidemic, all feature Tom Kendall, a
down to earth private detective, and were originally published by Raider
Publishing in New York. My fifth book, A Killing In The City, another featuring
Tom Kendall, was originally published by Night Publishing. In August 2012 I
decided to go down the self published route, and formed my own publishing brand
PHOENIX. All five novels have now been published on PHOENIX. A sixth novel “The
Thackery Journal” was published on 8 August 2013.
I am currently working on two other
novels featuring Tom Kendall, and I have made a tentative start on an Adventure
novel.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts. :-)