“Me. I’m a thriller reader, and I want to be entertained as I write the blasted thing. I prefer a side of humor served with all my tragedies. The term target reader makes me see a bull’s eye on someone’s forehead. No wonder I didn’t get an agent.”
Helen Hanson 15 March 2011
The Back Flap
At CIA headquarters, a young officer discovers that terrorists may have commandeered their computer systems to launch an unauthorized mission. Elsewhere, conspirators abduct nine people to manipulate the rules of their game. Two disparate ambitions — Clint Masters becomes the reluctant link in the chain of danger.
Ever since Clint’s almost ex-wife dumped him, he bobs along the Massachusetts coast in a sailboat with his black lab for company. He avoids all forms of technology, a counterintuitive effort for the burned-out founder of CatSat Laboratories. Tired of clutching the brass ring, he needed to untether, step off the corporate treadmill, and smell a flower. Fortunately, he met one, a beautiful, unspoiled woman who doesn’t treat him like a commodity. His relationship with Beth offers more promise than his marriage ever did, even if she is on dialysis for her recovering kidneys, until she disappears.
In spite of the evidence, her family refuses to admit she’s in danger. Without routine dialysis, she won’t survive. As Clint realizes that he loves Beth, damn-near ex-wife Paige sashays back into his life with disturbing news.
While the CIA young gun tracks his quarry, Clint enlists the help of two men to find Beth, a blithe Brit named Merlin, and Todd, his playboy partner-in-tech. But Clint must find Beth before her kidneys fail. And before someone unloads a bullet in his head.
About the Book
What is the book about?
Beyond the eflap copy, it’s about a man taking stock of his life and reinventing himself. Personally, I’ve done this a few times.
When did you start writing the book?
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away –At least it seems that way now. I started this book late in 2008, when I thought I wanted an agent. And it was tied up with an agent for almost a year. My unfulfilling prophecy. Sigh.
How long did it take you to write it?
About a year. 3 LIES was hard for me to write, because I was gaining confidence during the process. I’d written two other novels, but these will forever stay locked in my hard drive. The world is safer for it. These earlier novels helped me find my voice and strengths as a writer, but it’s mostly self-indulgent piffle.
Where did you get the idea from?
3 LIES sprang from the idea of deception. Our expectations often filter reality. In this case, I started with a character. His situation became a springboard for the story.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
No. Just. Every. Page.
What came easily?
The sitting on my butt in front of the computer part was easy, until it started to go numb. I felt the wind at my back on the second draft.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
I lift traits, descriptions, speech habits, and wallets, as needed. One character came close to being someone I know, but it’s a different life for the person in my world. In my book, she’s nice.
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?
There’s a huge risk in naming the authors that influenced me, because these guys are at the pinnacle of the profession. I’m the only one likely to notice the influence: John le Carré for his world-weary characters and heroes that aren’t unstoppable, John Grisham for his measured pacing and narrative charm, Dr. Suess for making me fall in love with words
Do you have a target reader?
Me. I’m a thriller reader, and I want to be entertained as I write the blasted thing. I prefer a side of humor served with all my tragedies. The term target reader makes me see a bull’s eye on someone’s forehead. No wonder I didn’t get an agent.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
Whenever I can, I sit and write. When I can’t, I mull. For me, the mulling is almost as important as the writing. I need to have the next few chapters laid out before I can write.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just Chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
Copiously, but my outline is a spreadsheet. I keep detailed notes on the action and characters within each chapter. I need a bread crumb trail of where I’d been and a map of where I’m headed. Once I write a chapter, I document what really happened, as it doesn’t always play out as planned. When I submitted to agents, it was easy to create a synopsis from my notes.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I line edit anything I notice, but I use my spreadsheet to document plot issues that need to be addressed, later. Sometimes I can’t stand it and have to fix a point, but usually I edit in my second draft.
Did you hire a professional editor?
One of my writing homies is a professional editor. She’s given me editorial feedback throughout the work, and she gave the final draft a literary kiss.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
I hear my dialogue and the next lines, so outside sounds are distracting. I can’t use the voice to text software for the same reason. Even I distract me.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
Yes, for too long. While an agent said he *loved* my writing, we ultimately never got hitched. I met him at a conference, which was a blast. The query process, however, was a beating. I’d rather be rejected by someone who doesn’t do it professionally.
What made you decide to go Indie? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
3 LIES was in the hands of an agent, when Amazon offered 70% royalties. I set a date of 11/1/10 to go rogue. The closer the date came, the more excited I was about the possibilities. I’ve gone rogue most of my life, anyway. It was a natural step.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did it you do it yourself?
Ha, ha! Have you seen me draw a straight line? No. No one has. That was the best money I’ve spent in a long time. Really. I gave my artist a list of elements that were in the book, and he came back with my cover. I didn’t change a pixel.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
Prayer and winging it. A plan sounds so formal, as if the great minds came together to come up with The Plan. I’m learning as I go. Maybe I’ll have a plan for my next novel. I do appreciate opportunities, such as this one, to let people know about my novel. Thank you, Simon!
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
It’s trite, but true: write the best novel you can. Enlist writers you trust to vet your work. Then listen to them when they agree. When they don’t, listen to your own voice.
About You
Where did you grow up?
I still haven’t grown up. No plans for the near future. I’ve lived all over the States–from sea to shining sea, at various locations across the fruited plain, and on both borders.
Where do you live now?
I call it: amid the bricks of Dallas. All the houses are brick and look alike. My husband says: Two drinks and you don’t know which one is yours.
What would you like readers to know about you?
I did not serve time for that thing in Reno. I know the security camera photo looked like me. But I swear, it wasn’t me.
What are you working on now?
DARK POOL –
At 22, Maggie Fender is legal guardian of her felony-hacker step-brother and her father, another Alzheimer’s victim. While she waits tables to keep their family afloat, Russian mobsters and an investigator think her family may know something about the forty billion dollars of hedge fund money that disappeared – Due Spring 2011.
End of Interview
You can buy 3 Lies at: iBooks, Amazon US, Amazon UK and Barnes & Noble.
You can visit Helen at her website: www.HelenHanson.com
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