Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with Seeley James

What inspired you to write “Lies”?

James: How many lies have we lived with that caused more trouble than the truth? I wanted to demonstrate the many ways we fool ourselves and in this story, every character lies to themselves about something until reality hits them like a rock.

How did you come up with the names of your main characters?

James: In a series, there are two kinds of “main characters”: the hero/heroine of the series and the specific characters for the book. In the case of the former, I sat down and worked out my two main characters’ names because I wanted them to have meaning. Pia Sabel had a Norwegian ancestry, so I used “Pia” because it’s Latin for pious and “sabel” because it’s Norwegian for saber or sword; thus making her the Pious Sword. She dispenses righteous justice (in a secular manner). Jacob Stearne was a different story. The definitive thriller hero is James Bond. A simple yet solid name with the implication that his actions and his word is … bond. But there have been many imitators and I was sick of Stone, Hammer, Steel … ick. So I came up with Stearne as an almost-parody, yet keeping it serious. And Jacob because he’s my favorite biblical character: he stole his brother’s inheritance, became successful, then went home to make up with his brother. He was a good/bad guy.

 As for the book-specific characters: After each book I write is released, I hold a drawing for my newsletter subscribers. Four or five of them get to name the significant characters in the next book. In this book, Marisa Redgrave and Symone Blackworthy are the grandchildren of regular readers, Joe Rouleau is an alternate spelling of a big fan, the young people in the group house are all children of readers, and two characters (who were not nice, so I’ll let you figure them out) were named after ex-spouses.

Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process or your book?

James: The less you know, the better. Seriously, I make a strict, comprehensive, and detailed chapter-by-chapter outline before I start. Then I have these great ideas that flip chapters on their heads, and deep anxieties about other chapters that might be boring, so I change everything. By the time I’m halfway through, the outline is meaningless. After my first draft I have to go back and delete characters and chapters, or change bad guys into good or vice versa. It’s like being schizophrenic.

When you encounter writer’s block, what do you do to break yourself out of it?

James: I don’t allow myself to think in those terms. There’s no such thing as bricklayer’s block or surgeon’s block. Could you imagine getting on an airliner and hearing the pilot announce, “I’m not feeling it today folks.” What I assume people are struggling with is a lack of satisfactory ideas. That I run into all the time, as mentioned in my “process.” When I look at my outline/plan, and feel it lacks something, I write test ideas. These might be bullet points, dialogue, or entire chapters. Sometimes I’ll put myself in the head of the character and write his/her rant about all he/she hates about his/her life in this story. This might go on for two minutes or an hour, but mostly five to ten minutes clarifies what needs to happen next.

In addition to this getting-unstuck process, there are times I am writing and realize it’s a difficult scene to write. I’ll have a great plan for a scene but executing it is painfully hard. When that happens, it usually means the scene will be equally difficult to read. We don’t want that. So, if I’m struggling sentence by sentence, I stop and use the above steps to rethink the whole thing.

Are there any tips that you would like to share with other aspiring authors?

James: The biggest tip: It ain’t easy. To be a writer who makes money, we must spin a story so fascinating strangers are willing to pay to hear it. To do that: Study books on writing (not by writers, they usually suck with the lone exception mentioned below). Focus on books by analysts like Joseph Campbell, Robert McKee, Donald Maas; these are people who are not great authors but stand back far enough to see what great authors do and don’t do, what they do well and do poorly, and can communicate the common threads in ways you can use as a writer.

The most important books on writing I’ve read are:

Dialogue by Robert McKee

Story Grid by Shawn Coyne

The Hero with A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell (1949, so brace yourself for some outdated Freudian theory and Patriarchy of the times)

The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers (also a video, which you can listen to like a podcast)

A video tutorial on BBC Maestro by Lee Child is a terrific illustration of specific skills although the first half is quite basic and moves very slowly.

And then read and DECONSTRUCT every best seller in your genre. Take notes and draw diagrams about how the story unfolded, on what page, and what are the mythological references, what are the dramatic scenes and what makes them dramatic, where was the comic relief, what appealed and what didn’t, and so on. I have a master file of my deconstructions including movies and limited release TV shows.

What is your favorite genre, book, and/or author?

James: There are many elements that I love about good stories. I love a good mystery with an incredible twist the most. Those are rare. And by “mystery” I don’t mean only Agatha Christie style murder mystery (although And Then There Were None captivated me beyond words when I was ten), but also those stories that have a mystery to them, a “how did that happen?” element. A good example is the indie series Wool (on Apple TV+ as Silo). When I got to the twist in that story, it blew me away. I love any story with a relentless narrative drive.  

What are you working on next?

James: Today, I’m working on the third in the Chaac Equation trilogy. This wraps up the relentless efforts of petrostates to destroy the plans for a quantum battery that could power a car for ten years or a home for an entire winter, making green energy sources viable. Whoever makes it happen will be the first trillionaire. That means, our hero is on a quest for the golden fleece.

Learn More About the Author and Lies here:

Direct store: http://shop.seeleyjames.com

Special deal!!! Six Books for Six Bucks: https://shop.seeleyjames.com/products/sabel-security-six-book-bundle-books-1-thru-6

 Instagram: Seeley (@seeleyjamesauthor) • Instagram photos and videos

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