Today, Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest, Ned Lord author of An Opportunity for Revenge and All the Guys are Bad Guys.

Good day Ned and thanks once again for participating in our interview.

Ned:

It's always a pleasure to speak with you.

Norm:

I believe An Opportunity for Revenge is your second novel. How would you compare the writing of this second novel to All the Guys are Bad Guys? Was it easier or more difficult?

Ned:

I think it was a little easier. In An Opportunity for Revenge, Andy Bowers, the protagonist and several of the other characters have established personalities that were created in the first novel All the Guys are Bad Guys. So now they are my friends; I like them and know what they will do in most situations. That gives me more time to think about the plot and to research the areas where the novel is set.

Norm:

How did you decide you were ready to write your second novel?

Ned:

I started writing the second novel before the first was published. My plan always was to write a series of novels using Andy Bowers as the protagonist. He is a private detective who morphed from a semiconductor salesman in California to a private investigator in two novels. He will continue to learn and evolve and grow with his adventures and as he ages.

Norm:

Can you tell our readers the difference between a “mystery” and a “thriller?” Is there really any difference?

Ned:

To me Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a thriller, and Agatha Christy's novels are mysteries. The difference being that the reader of Jekyll and Hyde always knew who the criminal was, while on the other hand, Miss Marple had to find clues to solve the crime.  The two genres have come closer together in later years, but I look at All the Guys are Bad Guys as more of a thriller, and An Opportunity for Revenge as a mystery, yet they have most of the same characters, and I hope are both thrilling and mysterious.

Norm:

How does the mystery novel differ from other genres?

Ned:

Wow, that's a tough one. The simple answer is that the mystery novel has a mystery, the adventure novel has an adventure and the thriller makes the hair stand on the back of your neck All the Guys are Bad Guys is about an adventure that Andy Bowers attempts. It is also a mystery because the reader knows that someone is going to be the real bad guy, but doesn't find out whom until the end. So, if asked I would call All the Guys are Bad Guys an adventure/mystery novel and An Opportunity for Revenge a detective/mystery novel.

Norm:

What in your opinion are the most essential elements in creating and crafting a successful mystery novel? As a follow up, what tools do you feel are must-haves for mystery writers?

Ned:

Imagination is number one for me. I am just finishing a novella under the pseudonym Edmund Bleek called, "The Man Who Was Cremated Twice. I think it is a very funny story and I got the idea from a dream that I have no recollection of except someone in the dream said, "He is the man who was cremated twice." I thought about that line and wrote a story. Second, is writing skills. I think crafting sentences takes a talent that either some have and some don't, or some develop and some don't. Two other elements are perseverance and a tough shell. The writer keeps writing in spite of the rejection, and learns to accept criticism and uses it to build his skills.

Norm:

How important are the secondary characters in a mystery novel?

Ned:

I think every character is the most important character when I am developing him or her. The second most prominent character in An Opportunity for Revenge was almost a throw-in character in All the Guys. I liked the way he turned out so he will be in the next book and may even get a book of his own if he keeps his nose clean.

Norm:

Do you believe a mystery plot can be too complicated? As a follow up, how do you go about developing your plots? Do you follow a set formula?

Ned:

Heavens yes. I think the reader can get lost in a very complicated mystery. Especially if he sets it down. On the other hand he will get bored if the plot is too simple.  I use a loose formula for developing plots. First when I'm writing I think about how I want the book to start and how I want it to end. Once I have that, I spend most of my time thinking about the story. I keep capacious notes and sometimes I think of a scene or a plot twist that I like I write it. Later I decide if it makes sense and I want it in the book.

Norm:

Where did you get your information and ideas for An Opportunity for Revenge?

Ned:

Mostly from "what if's." When I watch the news or read the papers, I think, "What if that happened to Andy? How would he handle it, or what other events could have been triggered if Andy had intervened in that situation.  I visit every scene in the book. The book is fiction but the scenes are real. I may change the locations or add people and buildings and hill, but most of my stuff comes from the real world. For example in All the Guys are Bad Guys the deep dive scene takes place in a fictional location near Truk Lagoon, the scene of a major naval battle in WWII. To create it, I read everything I could about deep scuba diving, then went to Cabo Puma, Mexico and did some deep diving on their reefs.

Norm:

Do you ever suffer from writer's block? If so, what do you do about it?

Ned:

I don’t think I have suffered from writer's block exactly. Sometimes I just don't want to write and stop writing and go out and get some background material. It's a tough business when background collecting includes skydiving, scuba, sailing boat racing, golf, desert exploring, etc., but as they say, "Someone has to do it."

Norm:

What's the most difficult thing for you about being a writer?

Ned:

There doesn’t seem to be enough time to write all of the things I want to write.

Norm:

What do you think of the new Internet market for writers?

Ned:

The Internet market is changing the world for writers and publishers. The print on demand or POD process is opening the market for lots of new writers, and that technology will certainly impact the way we buy books. Also e-books seem to be catching on. My publisher, Sneakaboard Press, is testing e-books as we speak. My editor assures me that they will still use standard printing for soft cover books as long as feasible but even they may go off-shore to the POD printers for short runs.

Norm:

Are you working on any more books/projects that you would like to share with us? (We would love to hear all about them!)

Ned:

Well I'm just starting the next Andy Bowers novel with the working title, "An Opportunity for Gunfighters. My other self, Edmund Bleek has "The Man Who Was Cremated Twice," coming out in a month. And I'm working on a short story to try out the Amazon 49-cent short story program, which is another example of the Internet market.

Norm:

How can our readers find out more about you and your novels and is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered?

Ned:

They can look on Sneakaboardpress.com or on my website, nedlord.com. There is probably more there that they want to know.

Norm:

Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors.

 Click Here To Read Norm's Review of An Opportunity For Revenge

Ned:

Thank you Norm. It's been fun.