A Conversation with Thriller Writer André K. Baby

with André K. Baby

We are delighted to welcome author André K. Baby to Omnimystery News today.

André's second thriller to feature Interpol inspector Thierry Dulac is The Chimera Sanction (Robert Hale; October 2014 hardcover and ebook formats), in which a Pope is kidnapped and Dulac must take charge of the disorganized case.

We recently had the opportunity to spend some time with André to talk a little more about the series.

— ♦ —

Omnimystery News: Tell us a little more about The Chimera Sanction.

Photo provided courtesy of
André K. Baby

André K. Baby: It kicks off with the kidnapping of Pope Clement the XXIst from his papal apartments in a daring and bloodless coup. Interpol is called in to help the local police and veteran inspector Thierry Dulac gets the nod. He arrives at the Vatican only to find the local authorities disorganized and overwhelmed. Critical decisions must be made, so Dulac bends Interpol's support-only protocol and takes charge.

Dulac knows time is running out when the kidnappers, upon receiving only part of the ransom, send to the Vatican's Secretary of State the Pope's severed left ear.

OMN: How did you come up with the character of Thierry Dulac?

AKB: Inspector Thierry Dulac grew out of the story's plot, which involves a series of crimes committed in different countries. I needed a policeman with cross-border authority and investigative powers in many jurisdictions, unimpeded by the geographical limitations of local police. Enter Interpol's Dulac, with his baggage of faults, bad habits and sometimes questionable methods, but who gets results.

OMN: While researching this book, did you come across any particularly interesting topics?

AKB: I would say the discovery of the Cathars, one of the early branches of Christianity which thrived in southern France between 800 and 1250 AD. It had an extremely simple and democratic structure, with a minimum of hierarchy. Unfortunately, that simplicity led to its eventual downfall and near annihilation by the royalty-backed Catholic Church.

I thought this bit of history might make an interesting premise for my story, set in modern times.

OMN: How has your own experience as a prosecutor and lawyer helped you in your writing?

AKB: At ThrillerFest a couple of summers ago in New York City, I happened to attend a conference given by Steve Berry, world-renowned author and "reformed lawyer", as he calls himself. As an introductory remark, he asked: "all right, how many lawyers out there?" A forest of hands shot up in the air, to the amusement of all. I was surprised to see the large number of lawyers-turned-crime writers. Natural affinity? Perhaps, but I think a lawyer has advantages and disadvantages when it comes to writing a good thriller. Training in logical thinking, especially when piecing together the various aspects of the story, is certainly a plus. Also we lawyers are taught to be concise, and that every word counts. Authors should emulate this. On the negative side, the conveying of emotions to the characters is rendered more difficult, as lawyers tend to suppress their emotions. I took me awhile to think about and put down on paper what my novel's characters actually felt.

OMN: What makes The Chimera Sanction different from other thrillers in the genre?

AKB: I think the plot, if it doesn't break entirely new ground, harbors within it the potential of being read on more than one plane. At least that is what I've tried to convey. At some point in our lives we come face to face with moral issues and dilemmas, the consequences of which we must live with for the rest of our lives. Such is the case of Dulac and others in The Chimera Sanction.

OMN: Tell us a little more about your writing process.

AKB: I'd like to think my writing habits are slowly improving with experience and time. I'm currently writing "Hijacked", my third novel, but I still find it difficult to write every day. Life manages to invariably get in the way.

When undertaking a new project, at first I try to take a synoptic view of what I'll be writing about: choice of protagonist, type of crime, location(s), and primary antagonist. At this moment, I have nothing more than a vague idea of the ending. Initially, I tried making outlines, but they changed so much during the course of writing that finally I gave up. At best, I'll draft a few lines and bits of dialogue to give direction to the next few chapters.

My first draft is invariably a skeleton, usually in the form of dialogue. My only goal at this time is to get the story down on paper: a bare minimum of setting and description holds the skeleton together. During the next five or six revisions, I'll have fleshed out my characters, added narration, descriptions of settings, made my dialogues more vivid, punchy and credible. I'll have cut out extraneous bits, rendered the story more fluid, and connected the scenes. With any luck, my manuscript can then be submitted to the publisher.

OMN: What are your thoughts on the latest developments in publishing?

AKB: I am both traditionally published and self-published. I self-pubbed Dead Bishops Don't Lie with CreateSpace, and The Chimera Sanction is published by Robert Hale Books. The French versions of both thrillers are traditionally published.

Although I enjoyed the process of self-publishing with Amazon's CreateSpace, I, as author, marketer and distributor, rapidly found myself facing the biggest hurdle of self-publishing, namely a limited scope of distribution to bookstores. Due to the problem of returns, one can only hope to place one's novel within a small geographical circle from one's home. To market the book outside that circle quickly becomes economically unjustifiable. In contrast, a traditional publisher usually enjoys the benefits of a country-wide distribution network.

OMN: What's next for you?

AKB: I'm writing Hijacked, about terrorists hijacking a cruise ship in the mid-Atlantic.

— ♦ —

André K. Baby is a Montreal-born lawyer and author. A former Crown prosecutor and international business lawyer, André has mined the wealth of his rich and varied legal experience to develop the characters and intrigues of his thrillers. His other passions include sailing, either on soft or hard water, depending on the season.

For more information about the author, please visit his website at AndreKBaby.com and his author page on Goodreads, or find him on Facebook.

— ♦ —

The Chimera Sanction
André K. Baby
A Suspense Thriller

Pope Clement XXI is kidnapped, and the Curia, the Swiss Guard, and the Italian police are overwhelmed. Thierry Dulac from Interpol is called in, but he, too, is thwarted at every turn. His investigations hint at secrets held for centuries, revenge, and omerta in the arcane, twisting corridors of the Vatican itself. It seems the pontiff too has been less than open.

From the shadowy world of the Vatican to the bustling Parisian boulevards, from the charms of the Florentine piazzas, to the searing bleakness of Libya's Great Sand Sea Desert, Dulac fights to prise open the plot which could cause havoc and disbelief among the billions of Catholics across the globe and bring the pontiff back to safety.