Click Here To Purchase Lords of Corruption

Today, Norm Goldman Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is honored to have as our guest New York Times bestselling author of nine books including his recent novel Lords of Corruption, Kyle Mills.

Good day Kyle and thanks for joining us on bookpleasures.com

Thanks for having me.

Norm:

What do you think over the years has driven you as a writer?

Kyle:

The world around me, really. There’s always something new to learn and daydream about. Novel writing gives me the opportunity to create an alternate universe where I can explore grandiose “what if” scenarios.

Norm:

Your recent novel, Lords of Corruption focuses on a corrupt charitable organization operating in Africa. Why don’t we see more investigative articles in the media pertaining to the millions of dollars that are plundered by heads of state in Africa and the Middle East?

Kyle:

It’s an interesting question. Partially, because it’s a problem so large, remote, and complicated that it doesn’t translate well into a short article or TV sound bite. The fact that it’s such a depressing subject is probably part of it, too. People want to believe what they’re doing is helping.

Norm:

How accurate is your depiction of some of the background material you have used in Lords of Corruption? As a follow up, where do you get your information or ideas for the book?

Kyle:

I wrote a lot of Lords of Corruption while living in South Africa, so the settings, the people, and the situations are as real as I could make them. The American organized crime angle is the product of my imagination but was directly inspired by the ineffectiveness of the aid industry. Over the last 50 years, more than two trillion dollars has been pumped into the continent and I could find hardly any of it.

It’s a situation that makes it impossible not to wonder about how you could get your hands on some the money that’s disappearing. Well, it’s impossible for me not to wonder…

Norm:

How did you go about creating the characters of Josh Hagarty and JB Flannary in Lords of Corruption?

Kyle:

To some extent, they’re composites of people I met in Africa. Josh is a bit autobiographical, too, in that he’s overwhelmed by the continent when he first arrives, just like I was. He wants to help the people there, but soon finds out it’s not as easy as it seems. There are a lot of barriers, a lot of hidden agendas, and a lot of unchecked power.

JB is based on a number of local whites I met on my travels, primarily the mayor of a remote town in South Africa and a former farmer. They both had a strong streak of political incorrectness and cynicism, but it was combined with a real love of the continent and a commitment to helping the poor. I found the contradiction fascinating.

Norm:

What do you want your work to do? Entertain people? Provoke thinking?

Kyle:

Well, like all thriller writers, I want to keep people up all night reading. But I also want to present things that they don’t normally think about. I’ve learned a lot with every book I’ve written and I’d like my readers to have the same experience.

Norm:

Do you have any suggestions to help our readers become better writers? If so, what are they? 

Kyle:

Read Self-Editing for Fiction Writers and Writing the Blockbuster Novel. Both of those books have helped me a lot over the years.

Also, study novels you love. What worked? Why? What didn’t work?

Norm:

Where can our readers find out more about you?

Kyle:

Go to kylemills.com. There’s a bunch of information on me and my books, as well as a sign up for my annual newsletter.

Norm:

What is next for Kyle Mills and is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered?

Kyle:

I’m finishing the first draft of a novel about a doctor trying to find a cure for his terminally ill daughter. Just as he’s forced to admit that he’s out of time, he discovers that there may already be a cure—but that it’s being kept from the public by a group no one knows exists.

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

Click Here To Read Norm's Review of Lords of Corruption