The writing life

Some background, and an update, on "Depth Charge"

It was on a long dreamed about vacation at Goldeneye in Jamaica that the idea to embark on a novel crystallized. It may come as no surprise that I was inspired there. Goldeneye is the historical tropical estate of James Bond creator, Ian Fleming. It is a magical place, where you can see the inspiration for many of Fleming’s stories, sit at the desk where the author pecked out all 14 of his 007 books, and snorkel the same reef where he took his midday breaks from writing to go spearfishing. But it wasn’t entirely Goldeneye that kicked off this quixotic notion. 

The fact is, I’d started a novel a decade ago, got about 50 pages in, and abandoned it. I wasn’t ready for the discipline required back then and just started in from page 1 with no clue where the story was going. Then I let it go dormant, moving with earnest, into my new freelance career, writing about wristwatches and outdoor gear. But after a morning swim in the Caribbean last October, as the day’s heat built and we were settling in with books on the shady verandah of our cottage, I checked my email, missives from back in the real world, and got some disappointing news about a possible business venture. Maybe it was the tropical sun, or the romantic notion of sitting down at a typewriter after a cup of Blue Mountain coffee and a dip in the sea, but I decided then and there I wanted to give being a novelist another try.

Gishani and I spent the rest of that morning brainstorming plot ideas. I had one in mind from a recent news item I’d seen. It was to be a thriller, the old fashioned kind with bold plots, larger than life villains, and evocative and exotic locales. I was inspired, of course, by Fleming’s novels, but also by those of Alistair McLean and Clive Cussler. But I wanted my hero to be more relatable than a James Bond or Dirk Pitt, not some hyper-masculine superman. I never liked heroes who were always right, always got the girl, and were always the smartest guys in the room. I also wanted a story that spanned time, incorporating a strong historical element without being purely historical fiction. I quickly settled on the name for my novel: Depth Charge.

I was an English Literature major in college and thus, most of what I read was the classic canon: Hemingway, Austen, the Romantic poets, Shakespeare. A good base for sure, but it led to a bit of burnout with fiction, since every book was read with a critical eye, looking for themes and metaphors and historical context. After university, I read mostly nonfiction and periodicals with an almost insatiable appetite. That has continued, with some exceptions, through today. But somewhere along the way, I found the guilty pleasure of the thriller. The way my lit profs in college talked, thrillers were barely above pornography as far as their level of refinement and “seriousness” went. And admittedly, most of the ones that have “New York Times Bestseller” emblazoned across their covers are poorly written and barely tolerable. But then you have authors like McLean, Graham Greene, Fleming, and of course, John Le Carré, who are masters of detail, language and evocative description. These are my inspiration. Books you can escape into, without wincing over awkward phrases and cliché scenarios. 

I sent an excerpt of my manuscript for Depth Charge to a literary agent in London for some feedback. After over two months (fast turnaround for agents, I hear), I got an email back. He liked my writing, but recommended I go lighter on the detail and move the plot along with more pace. I thanked him and have considered his advice. But I like detail in thrillers. I like how Fleming describes the nuances of a card game or the specific brand names and characteristics of Bond’s equipment. I like when a book takes me down a rabbit hole of some new area, where I put down the book to Google a speargun brand or a lightship in the English Channel. And so Depth Charge is heavy on detail, for better or worse.

Of course, much of that detail concerns diving. All kinds of diving. If you know me, you know much of the action will take place underwater. I guess the novel’s title is a bit of a giveaway too.  Some of the detail here has come from my own experience as a diver but there is also that which required research and consulting with experts. I want the book to be entertaining, but also retain some semblance of credibility and details help with that. Nothing sinks my opinion of a book more than a fact gotten dead wrong. And that has led me to a lot of research. 

So where does the novel stand now? When I put it out to the world that I was writing a book, I set up a website to collect signups of people interested in news about Depth Charge. I also committed to a publication date of “end of 2020”. This was in the innocent, optimistic days of early spring, before the world was largely shuttered due to a pandemic. I had plans to travel to a couple of locations from the novel to do “on the ground” research. Since this is my first novel, I wanted to get it right and from what I’ve gleaned from far more accomplished (i.e., published) thriller authors than me, it helps to see the exact places you’re writing about, to pace out the action, verify that it takes 40 seconds to run across the town square, not 10, for example. Well, it became clear that it wouldn’t be possible this year to do that. I decided to postpone my publication commitment to “sometime in 2021”. 

I’ve found that the long summer days are not ideal for my writing mindset. I’m too much of an outdoor creature to sit inside and write while the sun is out until 9pm. There’s a Land Rover to fix, a garden to weed, a bike to ride. Now that winter is approaching, I’ve dived back into Depth Charge with renewed purpose and fervor. And I’ve also been able to do a lot more research “virtually”. Google Earth is a wonderful asset. So I’m leaving the publication date more fluid now. I actually have a nearly completed draft of over 250 pages. I need to strengthen my ending, tie up some loose ends, flesh out some characters and relationships, and check more facts before I can call it done. But I’d love to have a “final” draft done by Christmas. Then it’s time to copy edit and go about publishing.

How to publish? From the start, I decided I wanted to self publish Depth Charge. I decided this not so much out of a desire to maintain full control and make the maximum pennies on the dollar, but because I feel that marketing the book will be half the fun. Designing the cover, teasing on Instagram, setting up a mailing list, it’s all part of the challenge. Are there limitations? Sure, many. Going the traditional publishing route, assuming a publisher was interested in my book, would give me way more reach and exposure. And maybe I’ll regret going my own way one day but this was never about making a ton of money anyway. If I sell a few hundred copies to friends and followers, and can have a copy of my own on my bookshelf, I’ll be a happy man. 

Of course, this is my first go round at any of this so all bets are off. I like to think I’m a decent writer, but fiction is uncharted territory for me. The novel might be awful—the story thin, the characters unappealing, the plot confusing. Too much detail. I hope not. I actually think it’s pretty good. But then, I’m up to my neck in it. I also might find self publishing a soul crushing slog. I am considering a print on demand scenario, where I market Depth Charge and people buy it via a printer’s website, from which I take my cut. Or I’ll just order a few cartons of paperbacks to pile in the basement and do the fulfillment myself. These details remain to be seen. I want to focus now on finishing the story.

So that is where I stand in my transformation into a novelist. That, and my beard is getting longer and I haven’t cut my hair since March so am looking like a properly mad author. Everything helps, right? I’d ask any of you still reading, if you have any experience or advice on writing a novel or the publishing game, to please reach out to me, either in the comments or simply reply to this newsletter email. I appreciate any input, no matter how small. And, if you’re interested in email updates about Depth Charge, including ordering info when the book finally sees the light of day, feel free to sign up for my mailing list at https://www.depthchargenovel.com/ . Of course, I’ll also send out updates in this newsletter in the coming months. 

For paying subscribers to this newsletter, I’ve promised an early excerpt of the novel, which I plan to send out in a few weeks. If you’re not yet a subscriber and interested, you know what to do.

Thanks for reading. — JH