IndieView: Steve Anderson, author of, The Losing Role

In this interview Steve talks passionately about his book, his writing and the path he took to getting published. One of the nice things about posting these interviews is the really interesting and good people I’ve met along the way. What isn’t on display are the numerous emails and chats that go with putting a post up. Within those I get a sense of the passion of the authors – to date that has been an inspiration, none more so than in Steve’s case. Enjoy!

“I must have read an article about authors putting their books out for Kindle. That lead me to three or more articles and some googling, and by then I knew I had to do it because I had these manuscripts that had been vetted over the years but were sitting in a drawer.” – Steve Anderson 20 November 2010

The Back Flap

In the last winter of WWII a failed German actor, Max Kaspar, is forced to join an absurdly desperate secret mission in which he must impersonate an enemy American officer. So Max cooks up his own fanatical plan — he’ll use his false identity to escape tyranny and war and flee to the America he’d once abandoned.

Max the performer is hardly a soldier let alone a double-crossing commando, yet in the deadly Battle of the Bulge he has to fool battle-shocked American GIs as well as dodge discovery by his reckless German comrades. Belgium’s Ardennes forest becomes a snowbound hell and the magical America he’d loved is lost to him, replaced by a somber invading juggernaut. In the end, Max’s gambles will lead him to a grim but honest payoff.

Part espionage thriller, part expatriate noir and the first in a series, The Losing Role is based on an actual false flag operation that’s been made infamous in legend but in reality was a doomed farce. In all the tragic details and with some dark humor, this is the story of an aspiring talent who got in over his head and tried to break free.

About the book

What is the book about?

The Losing Role is about a German actor who felt he failed trying to make it in America so makes the tragic mistake of returning to Germany right as the war begins. Bad move. As the novel begins he’s been drafted and forced into a desperate secret mission the Germans attempted as part of the Battle of the Bulge, whereby English-speaking Germans impersonated American soldiers and tried to wreak havoc behind the American lines. It’s based on true events. The operation was a farce and had little chance. My main character is fictional but similar to those thrown into it for their often questionable English, which only made things worse.

I should mention that I have two other novels out as e-books, False Refuge and Besserwisser: A Novel.

When did you start writing the book?

I wrote the first version of The Losing Role about eight years ago, tried to get an agent for it for a few years, and then let it sit. There were agents who liked it but I don’t think they knew what to make of it.

How long did it take you to write it?

A few months for the first draft, and then I returned to it for revisions over the years.

Where did you get the idea from?

I ran across an article that blew apart the notion of this infamous, cunning false flag ploy that almost led to the assassination of Eisenhower. I’d seen it presented in movies and books as your clichéd evil Nazi mission with expert crack commandos all speaking perfect English. This launched me into more research, and I was hooked. I speak German and had studied history so this was a good fit for me.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

Presenting dialogue that sounded like American English but was just a little bit off, and making it read like it sounded like that. Also, integrating a broader backstory into a faster moving plotline.

What came easily?

The research. It’s fun and relaxing compared to rewriting, even though I love rewriting.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

I probably borrow from people I know or have observed, but I’m not really conscious of exactly who they might be. I just use what works to serve the drama.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

I like a direct but visual style. I’d say anyone from Graham Greene and John LeCarré to crime writers as diverse as Patricia Highsmith and Elmore Leonard. I could go on — there are so many. I try not to mimic, of course, and never read a writer I love while I’m writing something similar for fear I’ll start plundering their ways.

Do you have a target reader?

Anyone who’s willing to face some grim truths. Not all readers want to know that power can corrupt even the good or that the bad have their reasons. Or that the accepted lines might just include the big lie. Hopefully they appreciate learning weird bits of history or local color on the way. So, any reader of crime, espionage, mystery.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

I’m definitely a morning writer, getting most of my good stuff out before noon. But I will revise in the late afternoon. When I have a more involved day job, as I do know (I’m a contract freelancer), I write before work.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just Chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

I do rough outlines but I don’t stick to them. I let the characters do what they need to do. And that comes from my character outlines, which are a pain but I find necessary.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

I resist the urge to go back and edit rough draft material but don’t always succeed. That can consume your writing and you’ll never get anywhere.

Did you hire a professional editor?

No, simply because I also do writing and editing in my day job and have for years. I definitely don’t recommend this for everyone. Besides having the experience, you have to completely separate yourself from you the writer who created what you’re editing. You have to be a hit man — ready kill anything at any moment and accept it as your lot in life! Don’t do what I do. Do hire an editor.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

I figured out I can only listen to classical while writing, unfortunately, as much as I’d rather rock out or get down. I read somewhere that it stimulates the creative brain, and that seems to work for me.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to agents?

I’ve submitted multiple manuscripts to various agents for years and years. I got an agent fairly early on, but he ended up leaving the business soon after. I thought it would be easy getting another or at least a referral. Nothing doing. It took me another five or six years to find the agent I have now. I got tons of kind and encouraging declines from agents who simply didn’t know exactly what to do with my books, partly because they cross genres. That’s the way it looked to me. They have to know exactly what to do with you, or they move on. I don’t blame them. Their business is all about being efficient with their actions and decisions since their not getting paid a salary or by the hour.

What made you decide to go Indie? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

I must have read an article about authors putting their books out for Kindle. That lead me to three or more articles and some googling, and by then I knew I had to do it because I had these manuscripts that had been vetted over the years but were sitting in a drawer.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did it you do it yourself?

I’ve done both. I have three books out. One is done by an artist/designer. People can probably tell which one if they look closely!

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

I research and watch what others are doing and then go with my gut. Marketing myself or my books doesn’t come naturally to me. For e-books, there are only so many options. I try to keep it simple. I probably spend as much time weighing what strategies don’t really pay off for the time and effort. Readers want to wonder if you’re a good writer first rather than know you’re a good salesperson. It definitely feels more natural when I’m simply taking part in a conversation and not hawking my books too directly.

Plus, I think it depends on the genres you’re in — some lend themselves better to promotion than others. Since my books do cross genres — mystery, crime, historical, noir, espionage, war, humor — where the ideal readers are isn’t always clear, at least not to me. But that will come as more start e-reading.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming indie authors?

It’s been said often but there’s no way around it: Make your writing the best it can be. Don’t put it out there too soon. Wait and rewrite and wait twice as long as you think you should as you rewrite some more. It takes years of writing for most to become good at it. You have to love that hard slog. That’s where the best stuff comes out, where you get your Phd in this.

About You

Where did you grow up?

Portland, Oregon, in the suburbs.

Where do you live now?

Portland, Oregon, in the city.

What would you like readers to know about you?

I know that the reader means everything. They’re the true test of what I do. The rest is just there to trip you up if you’re not paying attention. Also, that I’m a huge soccer fan and always have been and am still playing, which has absolutely nothing to do with this interview!

What are you working on now?

I’m returning home, in a sense — I’m working on a novel set in Oregon, about a writer from Portland who gets a new start as an FBI informant investigating a militia movement in rural Oregon, but to finish the job he’ll have to betray his estranged friend who shares a grim secret from their past. It’s from a screenplay I wrote.

End of Interview:

You can find out more about Steve from his website. Or you can get the book here.