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Authors get asked all
the time about where we get our ideas. How do we create something so memorable
from all the flotsam and jetsam of random brain neuron firings?
My Zack Taylor Mystery
Series is now five books strong, with #6 on the way later this summer. Many
readers enjoy the setting of Portland Maine, and the protagonist, a troubled
ex-con who lives a life of violence, anger, and regret, but who tries to be a
better person by helping others.
When writing the first
one, I heeded the saying, “The average book doesn’t get read, but the average
mystery does”. Also: you should write the kind of book you like to read. My
favorite series is John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGe, so I wanted that flavor. A
thinking person’s action series.
Having spent a lot of
time in the wonderful city of Portland, the setting was so different from the
mysteries set in NY, LA, or Chicago. It would be a fish-out-of-water story: how
would a person from away fare in a place where everything is changed, but familiar
enough to get by?
The protagonist would
be a man with a dark past who looks into the death of a close friend. He would
encounter danger, talk to people and investigate, and deal with the law. He’d
be an amateur, a non-professional civilian just doing what he can.
In much of mystery
fiction, unlike real life, guns solve most everything dangerous. When the
protagonist whips out a gun, the threat magically diminishes or goes away
completely. I’ve never been in a situation where a gun solved a problem, so
what if the protagonist didn’t use a gun? That would make the story more
interesting by upping the threat level to the max. And more believable as well.
But what kind of
person would put himself in so much danger? How about a man who had a past
gunshot tragedy, who blamed himself, felt rage and grief, and hated the effect
of guns? He tried to drink himself to death, but was saved by a friend. He’d
need something, though, so I turned to the martial arts. It’s a perfect way to
show Zack’s character, and how he tries to channel all his destructive
tendencies into a better way. It also helps when he goes up against the bad
guys.
So we had a badly
flawed, struggling character with darkness surrounding him and barely in
control. Nice. To add to his problems, he had a criminal record, from a long
time before when he lost control and paid the price. So he and law enforcement
are always at odds. Zack’s past would cut him off from most people, make him
shun the nine-to-five life of family and regular job. He became a
bodyguard/bouncer, a man who lived in the night, who could work out his control
issues and read people before violence erupted. As a wanderer, with few social
ties and no involvement in his locale, he could pack up and move elsewhere for
a mission, a thing that would finally give his life purpose, even if it killed
him.
I like names that have
echoes of other things, so we have Zack Taylor, named for the past President.
He’s a smartass who does not suffer fools, pomposity, or pretension, and has no
fear of social standing or speaking truth to power. He’s also a bit of a
pirate, and loves finding (and keeping) stashes of cash, which often accompany
the illicit dealings he’s looking into.
Zack finds that
discovering the truth is difficult, but the search for it helps him deal with
his self-destructive tendencies. So he learns to help others, and continue
finding new adventures.
Travis had a friend,
Meyer, who added much to the character of Travis himself. So Zack would
befriend J.C. Reed, an older journalist and somewhat mentor. Maybe Zack would
find love, and some friends. And enemies. Lots of enemies. Boy, are they fun to
write!
Lastly, a title was
needed. I chose a relevant quote about grief from a translation of The Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest recorded
story we know. It fit the theme of the book perfectly, so I used similar items
in subsequent titles, which represent the theme of each book. Titles now cover
The Bible, the work of Plato and Carl Jung, Emily Dickinson, and the final
words of Sir Walter Raleigh, with Nathaniel Hawthorne coming up next.
A Sharp Medicine
A Zack Taylor Mystery, Book 5
Zack Taylor's life is
once again in shambles. Having narrowly escaped death, guilty over the pain
he's caused a loved one, he's hurting and angry. When looking into the
disappearance of a reporter, Zack's death wish may be his cure for his troubles
as he uncovers corruption and evil in a world of politics, passion, and power.
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