Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with Seeley James

What inspired you to write “Chasm of Exiles”?

James: The rise of super-hero and comic book heroes over the last twenty years got me thinking: Are these guys really perfect? What about the massive collateral damage they leave in their wake? Were all the dead bodies truly villains? Have they ever gotten bad intelligence? Have they ever acted on orders only to regret it later? And that kept a concept in the back of my mind: are our literary and cinematic heroes truly heroes — or are they serial killers?

In Chasm of Exiles, our hero Jacob Stearne grapples with his conscience and begins to have doubts. That casts a pall over his mission and causes him to question his loyalties.

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

James: Good question! When I created Jacob Stearne, lo these many years ago, I jotted down the names of many fictional heroes: James Bond, Jack Reacher, Mitch Rapp, Pierce Hunt, Evan Smoak, etc. They all had specific points to them, sometimes penetrating like Pierce or solid like Bond, others are more evocative like Reacher or Smoak. I spent three days playing with names that had some similar value without going to the obvious Steel or Stone. That's where Stearne came from, he's serious. The Jacob part was Biblical. The man who stole from his brother, became successful, and returned home to find he was forgiven. The kind of character my hero was, flawed but redeemed.

Since then, I've held drawings for character names. The names of fifty fans go into a hat and three to five are pulled out and asked to name a character. The fans all want to name one of the bad guys and often choose the name of an ex-spouse or a reviled boss. It's been great fun. 

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

James: This book was very different from any other I've written. A month after picking up my pen, my sister was diagnosed with aggressive leukemia and died in less than two months. Since we were very close, I took time off to grieve and to help settle her estate. After I got back on track and writing, and the day after I sent a solid draft to my editor, my wife died unexpectedly. Like anyone my age (68), I've lost relatives, parents, and friends, but losing my wife was harder than all the others combined.

When starting the book, I worked on a typical hero-based story: good guy is sent on a quest, encounters deadly odds stacked against him, overcomes terrifying bad guys, grabs the Golden Fleece, and returns home (with or without a beautiful damsel). Originally, I wanted to write a modernized version of Argonautica (commonly known as Jason and the Argonauts).

After the tragedies, I considered a “Dark Jacob,” something of a haunted hero. But, since Jacob had always been an accidental, perhaps even hapless, hero, the change to a brooding and uncertain character filled me with concerns for my fans. So I sent them a poll with a sample chapter. They overwhelmingly approved.

Armed with that new confidence, and having gained some great advice from my editor, Lance Charnes, the book flowed more freely. Symone, a new character from the previous book, developed into someone I really liked from the writer’s perspective. As a former stripper, she has to learn espionage and covert operations while trying desperately to fit in with the battle-hardened veterans. She gave me an opportunity to unveil some techniques and concepts of espionage that are misrepresented to an egregious degree in modern fiction (shocker: James Bond is not realistic).

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

James: I don't get writer's block. There are times I'm uncertain about what I want to say, and there are times I encounter a plot or character twist that feels too cliche to continue, but that doesn't stop me! I write and write, and then read it the next day. After sleeping on certain passages, I might think, "Whoa! Who's the genius writing this?" And other times I've deleted as much as ten thousand words, crying, "It's crap! It's all crap! I'm useless! Why bother?" Not writing is something I just can't do. I wish I could.

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

James: Anyone can write a book. Conning legions of people into paying to read it is a whole different ball game. It's harder than it looks. Here's the trick: 1) develop characters people connect with on an emotional level; 2) have really bad things happen to them that piss off the reader; 3) have your character figure out a clever way to solve his/her problems; 4) Make sure everything ends happily (unless you're writing for the French market, in which case, everyone dies). Sounds simple but step one is the key and it's really frickin' hard. Readers are cynical AF.

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

James: All of them. What I read most often is non-fiction about espionage, macroeconomics, and geo-politics. In fiction, I loved Agatha Christie stories ever since I read And Then There Were None when I was ten. These days, I'm reading Mick Heron's Slow Horses series like it was going out of style; anything written by Lucy Foley, Richard Osman, and SA Cosby. Over the summer, I binged on Riley Sager, Tana French, Shirley Jackson, John le Carre, and Attica Locke. Through it all, I keep a few books handy just to dip into for story ideas: The Holy Bible; Meditations by Marcus Aurelius; and Mythology by Edith Hamilton.

What are you working on next?

James: As mentioned earlier, I've always thought Ms. Christie's work to be great fun. Not the deepest characters, or keenest social commentary, but great brain teasers with terrific twists. Plain old fun to read. I'm planning to write a mystery in the spirit of her manor mysteries, famous for Hercule Poirot's insightful (and often magical) solutions.

Mine will be set in an exclusive resort high in the Alps where American billionaires have assembled to plot turning the USA into an Oligarchy. But an avalanche cuts them off from their sycophants and assistants, forcing the herd of narcissistic megalomaniacs to solve a murder among them. Personality clashes force true characters to emerge from marketing mythology. They have to work together or die alone. No, I'm not going after the And Then... method. I'm only planning on two dead bodies ... At the moment.

Learn More About the Author and Chasm of Exiles here:

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

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

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