OMN Welcomes Ray Flynt, Author of the Political Thriller Kisses of an Enemy

Omnimystery News is pleased to welcome Ray Flynt, author of the political thriller Kisses of an Enemy (May 2011 Trade Paperback, 978-0-615-48130-2), which earlier this week was featured on the Huffington Post as one of the five best summer indie beach reads.

Today Ray writes about plot and character development. And he's also providing our readers with an opportunity to win an autographed copy of his book. Visit Mystery Book Contests, click on the "Ray Flynt: Kisses of an Enemy" contest link, enter your name, e-mail address, and this code (6718) for a chance to win! (One entry per person; contest ends 07/28/2011.)

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Photo provided courtesy of
Ray Flynt

Every writer knows that, even in fiction, the action has to seem real. As I created the character of Dave O'Brien, the protagonist in Kisses of an Enemy, I was nervous about a few scenes. Dave is chief of staff to Congressman Noah Sebring. He hasn't had much success with anything else in his life (marriage, fatherhood, relationships) but he's at the top of his political game and driven to rise even higher. However, late at night—from the privacy of his bedroom—I had him trolling Internet chat rooms for sexual thrills. That was before the latest Washington DC sex scandal involving a Congressman tweeting images of his erect penis. Once more, real life has taken a bizarre turn that is two or three steps ahead of what any writer would feel comfortable fictionalizing. I had nothing to worry about.

Kisses of an Enemy is a tale of political suspense set on Capitol Hill, but at the heart of the story is a struggle for power. After all, isn't that what Washington, DC is all about; getting power, holding on to it, trying to take it away from the other guy? I developed my love of politics from my father during many kitchen table conversations. He also engendered a healthy cynicism about politicians, and which I've reinforced in my own observations over the last twenty-five years working in Washington, DC and Pennsylvania's state capital.

I've discovered that plotting and character development are the aspects of writing most important to me. I write the kind of story that I enjoy reading. Since mystery/suspense is my genre, developing a complex—at times intersecting—plot, while keeping the reader guessing with page-turning twists and turns is my goal. I figure my job is to entertain, and if the reader has fun, I've scored a hit.

You will recall the tragic case, a few years back, of the Congressional intern who was having an affair with a congressman, and her body was later discovered in Rock Creek Park. For the plot of Kisses of an Enemy I tried to re-imagine how a Congressional aide would deal with threats after an intern was kidnapped.

Another challenge of writing a DC-based story with a contemporary feel is that the average reader is familiar with the real Washington politicians. I refer to the President, Vice President, and Speaker only by their positions, believing that if the novel mentioned President Obama, it would lock the story in time. If I had referenced President James Whitfield (not a bad sounding name for a president) the reader might have a more difficult time suspending disbelief.

On the other hand, creating fictional members of Congress is less daunting. Surveys show that a majority of Americans can't name their own representative. Another deliberate choice was to not assign political parties to the politicians. Why? Our politics has become so polarizing that I feared sticking a party label on characters could alienate at least half the readers. Remember, this is a story about power, and neither party has a monopoly on grasping for power. Recently, a friend of mine, who has worked as a staffer and lobbyist on Capitol Hill on and off for the last fifty years read my book. In what I considered high praise, she said, “You certainly got the Hill right.”

While it has been a long time since “Mr. Smith” came to Washington, it's my belief that we all try to hold on to the notion that our elected representatives are there to accomplish the public good. Not giving away any of the plot, there is a scene late in the book in which a Congressman is eulogized. That scene was my effort at grasping for the too-often elusive “idealism” of politics.

If you like following the machinations of politicians in Washington, DC, I think you'll enjoy Kisses of an Enemy. You can read the first four chapters at www.rayflynt.com/kisses_of_an_enemy.

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Ray Flynt is the CEO of a Washington DC-based national social service association. He is the author of Kisses of an Enemy, a tale of political suspense. A native of Pennsylvania, Ray's first mystery novel, Unforgiving Shadows was published in 2005 by Five Star, featuring series detective Brad Frame. Transplanted Death, the next in the Brad Frame series, will be published in late 2011.

Ray is a member of Mystery Writers of America. He lives in Anne Arundel County, Maryland with his wife and their two cats. Learn more about the author and his books at RayFlynt.com.

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About Kisses of an Enemy: Congressional chief of staff Dave O'Brien is salivating at the prospects for advancement in the wake of a tragic plane crash that has opened the way for his boss, Congressman Noah Sebring, to take over the powerful chair of the House Appropriations Committee. But Dave has a problem: he's received a threatening e-mail accompanied by a photo of a young intern, bound and gagged.

The missing girl's father, unhappy with Dave's explanations about his daughter's whereabouts, hires a reporter, Nick DaPrato, to go to Washington and “shake things up.” DaPrato has his own credibility issues, since his newspaper fired him for making up sources on an exposé of local corruption. As the battle for the chairmanship heats up, Dave tries to protect his job, while Nick struggles to keep the search for the intern on the front burner in this epic tale of duplicity and deceit in the nation's capital.

Kisses of an Enemy is available in Trade Paperback and popular eBook formats (Kindle edition, Nook Book).

For a chance to win a signed copy of Kisses of an Enemy, courtesy of the author, visit Mystery Book Contests, click on the "Ray Flynt: Kisses of an Enemy" contest link, enter your name, e-mail address, and this code (6718) for a chance to win! (One entry per person; contest ends 07/28/2011.)