Welcome to an Interview with Thriller Author Timothy
Desmond....
SJ) Interesting beginning, Tim. You’ve written a love and
war story, For thou Art with Me, and now a suspense thriller, The Doc. What was your inspiration for each one? Can you tell us a little bit of how the idea
came about for each one? Do you prefer one genre over another?
Front Cover of The Doc
SJ) What do you love most about being a writer? Least?
SJ) What one writer inspired you most and how?
SJ) If you could give just one piece of important writing
advice to an aspiring writer, what would it be?
SJ) Well said, Tim. What is a favorite book you enjoyed
reading and would recommend without hesitation? Why?
Back Cover of The Doc
In the meantime, enjoy an excerpt from The Doc followed by purchase links where you can buy a copy of The Doc by Timothy Desmond:
Hello all-Hello and how are you today? I'm back again and
hope everyone is doing well and happy! Welcome back to my new blog page where I
try to share whatever I think may interest you. Today I interview a fellow
author. And with me this time is Thriller Author Timothy Desmond...
SJ) From high school
science teacher to author: How did you make the transition to author? Did you
always have an interest in writing, Tim or was it something you fell into?
Tim) Writing was
something I was always interested in. A short story was praised in a college
freshmen English class, which had me liking the idea of doing more. But, I
didn’t change majors or anything like that. Then on attempting more fiction
during later years, I discovered how vacuous my experience at anything was.
That, plus life getting in the way, well, a lot of years seemed to go by.
Later, after taking a “creative writing” course I drafted a first novel, titled
World War IV, a post-apocalyptic survivalist thing. It wasn’t so bad, as a
story, but never sold, and was back in the paper M/S submission days. I am
embarrassed by it now, and it has many flaws, but it is what it is.
After changing
teaching locations it was like starting a career all over again, and I tabled
any large projects. I became a local association president and edited a
newsletter for two or three years. When that was done, I took up a serious
short story effort and submitted to regional journals on the west coast. I
began learning the craft better, while getting rejections and comments from
editors at Amelia and Glimmer Train Stories. All that was in the 1990s. A 1999
unsold screenplay was written. Then a novel in 2004, became the first book in
print. Still teaching then, I was up often at 4:00 o’clock or 5:00 AM, putting
words down before catching the car pool.
Tim) For Thou Art with Me was a novel idea kicking around my
thoughts probably for ten years. There were air shows that I attended since in
the early 1970s. A major air show for years in our area was “Gathering of War
Birds.” Those shows were never as huge as the famous “Oshkosh Air Show” fly-in,
but it was inspirational to me, as I am on the leading edge of the baby boomers
of 1946. I had blended real stories I’d heard with my fictional characters’
lives.
The Doc novel
was the novelized 1999 unsold screenplay title Control Theory. That whole story
came because of an article I read, Write Your Screenplay in 90 Days. It was a
“why not” moment, but also a good lesson. During that time, there were a lot of
urban legends and conspiracy stuff on the early internet. While using some of
that with my interests, plus following the steps of the article, I got a
finished screenplay. The good thing for me, as a writer, was learning the
format, and the rules. Later I heard the term “genres have rules.” But, the
thing that got that story into a novel was that another author I met when the
WW II first novel came out. He told me, “Get started on another one right now.”
I hadn’t thought of another novel at that time, but I had the screenplay, which
was a 120 page story. I used it as the outline for what became The Doc.
Front Cover of The Doc
SJ) Of the two books you’ve written, which one was your
favorite to write and why?
Tim) The Doc novel because of the problems I had to learn to
solve. The characters were more my inventions, not just models of real people.
Too, the problems of filling in the details of the scenes, the back stories,
and the fiction which became a believable story, were difficult. As in many
endeavors, it was a huge learning experience different from the first
book.
Tim) The first drafts
are inspirational. Writing to me has always been another art form. While I know
that few people will write in a way that is comparable to “abstract
expressionism,” I do lean toward wanting to write, create something new and
different as in the visual arts. Yet, as in design, there are design rules,
there are writing rules too. It’s a puzzle and a playing with the words, that
can affect the senses, many senses, is what can be the joy of sorts.
Least is the
editing, which is needed, but difficult to do all on one’s own.
Tim) Ernest Hemingway: Because of my first reading his fiction in
art school English assignments, I understood the meaning of story. While I had
read Henry Miller, Irving Stone, Dickens, and Bantam War II series paperbacks,
Hemingway’s pages drooled the art of the wordsmith. One reason comes to mind:
He wasn’t wordy. Hemingway was raised in the Midwest, whether Kansas or
Illinois and I believe he always had this quasi-rural background that came
through. I feel I had a similar beginning in a small town, a farming
community.
Tim) Delete
anything that doesn’t propel the plot.
Tim) West With The
Night by Beryl Markham, a 1930’s British aviatrix, reared on a farm in Kenya,
Africa. It as an autobiography which has been reprinted and available on
Amazon. Though it isn’t fiction, it is inspirational for its language and her
story. Remarkable.
Tim) Wow. You saved the toughest for last. I am ready
to submit a new novel to my publisher which is not a sequel to THE DOC. It’s a
completely different story from the other. It has suspense, hopefully in the
same genre as of Michael Crichton. A physics teacher is frustrated with not
getting his theory published. So, the science element is there, and the
problems he has with his employer, a disgruntled coworker, and his failing
marriage. It is also about the university professor’s he meets, and what
happens with all of it.
Back Cover of The Doc
Thank you, Tim for your time and allowing me to take some
time out of your busy schedule and interview you about your writing and your
art. Readers, thank you for visiting. Please forward this onto others and don't
be shy about leaving a comment. I'm sure Tim will love to hear from you. You
can learn more about Tim and his writing projects and news on his website:
Writing at: http://timothydesmond.wordpress.com/
Hank just wouldn’t seem to die—so
this time they were going to make sure…
The hospital hallway was quiet,
with the exception of the echo of a patient chart being tossed on a desk and
crash cart draws being opened and closed. A night nurse checked the current
supplies. The cop at the doorway watched as a well-dressed man approach Hank’s
room.
“I’m Doctor Terry Graf. I’d like to
check on Henry Houston
The cop motioned for him to go into
the room.
Hank had just closed his eyes and
drifted off to sleep again. He remained asleep as Terry entered the room and
removed a syringe from his pocket. The sterile snap of breaking plastic did not
disturb Hank, as Terry prepared to inject him. He and Hank had been friends at
one time, but this was a necessity. Hank had to go. There could be no loose
ends.
This method was so clean. Hank’s
nervous system would just go out and, with that, everything would shut down.
There would be no pain, just total lights out, like a switch.
Terry kept the syringe pointed up,
but hidden from the door, as he picked up Hank’s IV line. He followed the line
looking for the piggy-back injection site. But he did not find it. The line led
back to a pump on a stand.
He looked at the top of Hank’s
hand. Damn. I could inject into the line. No, the pressure increase there will
set off the alarm on the pump. Will have to risk waking him and go right into
the vein.
Terry saw a shadow move on the wall
and turned his head toward the door. A nurse stood there, watching him.
THE DOC ~ Revised Edition
Copyright © 2014 by Tim Desmond
Cover Design by Jackson Cover Design
All cover art copyright © 2014
All Rights Reserved
Print ISBN: 978-1-626941-44-1
You can purchase The Doc at any of the below retailers:
Black Opal Books at: http://www.blackopalbooks.com
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com
Barnes & Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
All Romance:
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/
Until next
month...every one please stay safe. Smile. Be happy. Show compassion. Be nice
to others. Put a little love into your heart. Please speak up for those without
a voice, whether it be a dog, cat, elephant or monkey. One person, one voice can make a difference.
Regards,
S. J. Francis
Advocate
for the underdog, and cat, et al.
In Shattered Lies: "It's All About Family." Coming in 2015 from Black Opal Books.
My Black Opal Books Author Page:
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And now for some legal stuff: Copyright 2015 by S.J. Francis.
Opinions expressed here are solely those of the author, S. J. Francis and the guest author and are meant to entertain, inform and enlighten, and intend to offend no one.
