with Robert Lane
We are delighted to welcome mystery author Robert Lane to Omnimystery News today.
Robert's new mystery, The Second Letter (Mason Alley Publishing; February 2014 trade paperback and ebook formats) introduces ex-Army Special Forces Jake Travis, and we recently had the opportunity to catch up with the author to talk about his book.
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Omnimystery News: What prompted you to create a recurring character for your mysteries?
Photo provided courtesy of
Robert Lane
Robert Lane: I like reading about recurring characters and I write what I like to read. That's a good thing as I probably do north of twenty readings as I re-write. Seeing how the same characters react to different situations keeps it interesting and yes, they do develop. I want my protagonist, Jake Travis, to face conflicts. Those conflicts will challenge and rearrange his perception about himself and his understanding of the world. Oftentimes, he may need to learn the same lesson more than once, but I suspect he is not alone with that.
OMN: Into which genre would you place your books?
RL: Mystery literary crime-noir. And humor.
OMN: Give us a synopsis of The Second Letter in a tweet.
RL: Boy risks his life to save others and dances on the fine line between good and evil. He nearly loses the girl he loves due to his actions. Those actions ironically lead him to words penned long ago that salvage his relationship.
OMN: How much of your own personal or professional experience have you included in your books?
RL: I was work-shopping this book a couple years ago and the group unanimously agreed that a certain passage just had to happen to me; it had not. Other passages are direct experiences that I have gone through. It's a melting pot. Some of the characters might have had a seed in someone I know, but they quickly took off on their own and developed into their own skin.
OMN: Complete this sentence for us: "I am a mystery author and thus I am also …".
RL: … like any other writer; constantly observing, taking notes and never shutting down for writing is not an act but a way of life.
OMN: Describe your writing process for us.
RL: Character driven. I start with a rough mental draft and feel of what I want the story to be. I limit that to a one-page diagram. That diagram contains key points; what will occur at the end of act two — the point of maximum pessimism — what are Jake's goals and what conflicts will he face? I write the first draft at an obsessive pace, as I'm eager to see who the characters are, what they'll do, and how it ends. They generally create their own story arc. As a writer, I am both a follower and a leader.
And by story, I mean the story, not the plot. Too often, especially in my genre, plot gets in the way of the story. The underlying story is the substance of the book. It is what the characters take with them from one book to another. The story creates a vested interested between the reader and the series.
OMN: And where do you usually write?
RL: Hemingway said that he didn't know if some places where good to write at or if he just wrote well at some places. I mix it up. I have two homes and write at each one (second floor, I like being high). When traveling, I'm fond of outdoor hotel bars in the early morning. You need a semi-tropical location to make this work.
My immediate environment — like what's on my desk? It does not matter. Dancing elephants couldn't take my attention away from the words. When the distractions finally make themselves known, I fold for the day or at least for five hours. By then, my concentration battery is re-charged.
The fisherman also said to write drunk and edit sober. I lay down some pretty good prose after a glass of wine. Halfway through the second glass, it turns to junior-high junk so fast it bedazzles me. This transition occurs with astonishing speed.
OMN: How do you go about researching the plot points of your books?
RL: How did our forefathers write before Google? The key is not to let Google interfere with the creative process. Items of question are placed in caps and I go back later in the day, accompanied by that second glass of wine, and do the grunge work. I never interfere the creative process to check the exact time of the sunrise on June 29th, on the 37th parallel, north. But in the end, it will be right.
OMN: What's the best advice — and harshest criticism — you've received as an author? And what advice might you offer aspiring writers?
RL: Best advice? It's your work. Your words. Write what you like to read.
Harshest criticism? The first I ever heard. After that, I learned that taking body blows comes with the job.
Advice for fellow writers? When you get criticism, let it sit for a few days, then decide how to address it. Don't go into full bore panic mode and think that your critic is correct and that you need to instantly implement his/her suggestion. Writing is like wine; much of it is a matter of personal taste. But make no mistake, like wine, there is good writing and there is bad writing, it's just that a subjective universe separates the two. Above all, don't let anyone take you out of your game.
OMN: Tell us more about the title and cover of The Second Letter.
RL: I originally titled the book In the Shadow of Good. I had paid another writer to do a beta read. (Gotta respect a paid opinion, right?) He hated the title. I had a lunch scheduled with yet another writer who I had retained (I got a thing for spending money to have others tear into my work) to critique the first twenty-five. Seeking his approval and wishing to avoid embarrassment, before we even sat down I blurted out, "Don't worry. I'm not going with that title." (The copy he had was titled In the Shadow of Good) He exclaimed, "Why not? I think it's a great name!" There you have it, diametrically opposed opinions — expensive ones at that. I went with The Second Letter as it encapsulates the story
As for the cover, I wanted something that conveyed the feel of the west coast of Florida, but with a tint of foreboding darkness.
OMN: How true are you to the setting of the west coast of Florida?
RL: I take very few liberties with my settings, but it is a work of fiction. If I need to bend a road for a better sentence, the road will bend. Setting is important to the story and the characters. It's Florida. It's hot. But I won't say that. I try to show how the heat, the wind, the humidity, wears on them; it drenches Jake's shirt, billows the sails of a passing boat, presses down like a weight through an overhead canopy.
We've been drilled that it's a sin to acknowledge weather. Bullshit. The weather affects everybody. I recently read an otherwise very good book in which it never rained, the characters never experienced the wind, the sun, or had any sense of their environment being part of their lives. Didn't work for me — the weather was conspicuous by its absence. Don't want to write about the rain? Fine. Have your character step over a puddle. Heat? Loosen a collar. Cloudy day? You wonder why she keeps her Ray-Bans on.
Don't pretend it doesn't exist and do not be afraid of it.
OMN: What kind of feedback have you received from your readers?
RL: They liked it. It was entertaining. The usual ego boosting stuff. Outside of that, if someone told me that they saw themselves in the characters, if the book in some manner served as a mirror and created a better understanding of what they already know, or at the least, validated a hidden, or ill-expressed belief of their take on the world; a belief that now codified, makes them more comfortable with themselves, and that such a breakthrough was brought about in an enlightening, page-turning, and humorous way — well, I would just roll up and die.
As far as feedback, I'm always interested in credibility issues. Nothing takes you out of book (TV show, movie) faster than a credibility issue with a character. That is different from saying characters change and grow. Would they really say that? Why does a character do what he or she does?
OMN: Create a Top 5 list on any subject.
RL: Here's a Top 5 Wish List:
1) The Cleveland Browns have a winning season.
2) I'm the richest man in the world (maybe make that number 1).
3) No more starving children (probably should move that up to number 2, you know, in case mom reads this).
4) All writers bow to me. (Okay, make that number 1, the hell I care about the Browns anyways?)
5) My hair grows back. (Anyone paying attention 'cause I'm kickin ass now. You can stuff those other four.)
OMN: What's next for you?
RL: The Cardinal's Sin, my third Jake Travis book. I'll keep it my head as long as possible. Once I start writing, the curtain is pulled.
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Robert Lane resides on the west coast of Florida. His second stand-alone Jake Travis novel, Cooler Than Blood, will be released in the fall of 2014.
For more information about the author and his work, please visit his website at RobertLaneBooks.com.
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The Second Letter
Robert Lane
A Jake Travis Mystery
1961. Dorothy Harrison and her husband had recently escaped Washington D.C. for the tranquil west coast of Florida. In the nation's capitol she was the center of social circles while her husband, Jim, was a CIA agent long before the world knew that such men existed. His final mission ends in his death and is shrouded in mystery.
Over fifty years later, Jake Travis is contracted by his ex-Army colonel to retrieve a stolen Cold War letter delivered to Dorothy Harrison. It is in the possession of Raydel Escobar, who owns a respected carpet business as well as three Tampa Bay gentlemen's clubs. Jake, and his girlfriend Kathleen, attend a fundraiser at Escobar's house for a local congressman. Kathleen and Escobar's wife, Sophia, form a quick relationship. Jake and Escobar spar over a chess game, and Escobar is suspicious that his guest masks ulterior motives. As Jake and his partner, Garrett Demarcus, pursue the inscrutable Escobar, Jake soon discovers that Escobar is involved in more than brokering a deal with the IRS in exchange for the letter.
Jake's motivation, however, is rooted in more than simply executing a command. He needs to settle a debt with the colonel. Kathleen's husband was murdered and his mob affiliated business partners were starting to question her knowledge of their affairs. The colonel was instrumental in arranging a new identity for her. Jake believes that by securing the letter, he can erase his personal debt to the colonel.
In his reckless pursuit, Jake nearly loses Kathleen, unveils the fate of those who first touched the letter, and comes to grip — much like the man did who over fifty years ago penned the letter — with the core of his life.
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