with R. Michael Phillips
We are delighted to welcome mystery author R. Michael Phillips to Omnimystery News today.
Michael's third mystery to feature reformed pickpocket Ernie Bisquets is Passage of Crime (R. M. Phillips; July 2013 hardcover, trade paperback, and ebook formats) and we recently had the opportunity to catch up with the author to talk about the book.
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Omnimystery News: How did the character of Ernie Bisquets come about?
Photo provided courtesy of
R. Michael Phillips
R. Michael Phillips: The idea to write a mystery series based on a London pickpocket came upon me in a very surprising way. It all started while I was painting a copy of Manet's Le Fifre. There I was essentially painting a forgery, when the notion of a storyline and a main character began to develop right along with the painting. My English ancestry and love of London established the location for the series, and who better to catch a criminal than someone else who walks in the same shadows. At this point, Ernie Bisquets, a recently reformed London pickpocket, was born.
As I started mapping the main character I realized his talents, struggles to go straight, and background (and the demons in his background that come back to haunt him) would make him perfect for a series main character. It also opened the floodgates for an assortment of colorful characters to interact with him on both sides of the law — including Lord Patterson Coates, who becomes his benefactor, and Detective Inspector Flannel, who believes once a criminal always a criminal. Ernie has come a long way in three books, but there are certain demons that just don't want to let him go.
OMN: Tell us a little more about how you created — and continue to introduce — Ernie's supporting cast of characters.
RMP: I'm always on the lookout for an interesting character for the next story. On a previous trip I spent an hour or so on a train platform outside of London one morning. In that period I observed a handful of people exhibiting an unusual assortment of traits — some amusing and some worthy of building an interesting antagonist around. From there it was easy to sketch up a few characters based on my observations. When I got back to the States I further refined their backstories. You can meet two of them in Passage of Crime. One of the others ended up so unique I've already introduced him into the outline for the next book in the series and adjusted part of the plot around him.
OMN: Into which mystery genre would you place the books?
RMP: If I had to categorize the series I would say Traditional English Mystery. It has the quirkiness of characters a cozy lover would enjoy, but the stories are a bit darker so they also appeal to the traditional mystery and whodunit lovers.
OMN: Give us a summary of Passage of Crime in a tweet.
RMP: Some character traits skip a generation, but evil eventually seeks its own level. Passage of Crime — An Ernie Bisquets Mystery.
OMN: As an author, what is the best advice you've received?
RMP: When I wrote the first book I was constantly going back to earlier chapters and editing. As a result I lost forward momentum and it took forever to finish the first draft. When I began the second book I happened to mention this to a fellow writer. Her advice was simple, put all the editing aside until the second draft and just finish the book. It was the best advice I received and the best advice I can pass along.
OMN: Complete this sentence: "If you are a mystery author, you are also …".
RMP: If you are a mystery author, you are also a student of crime. Research is the key here. Having a great story gets your reader's attention; getting all the details right keeps them coming back for more.
OMN: With that in mind, how do you research your plot points?
RMP: I check with a local forensic expert for all the medical details in the books. These details can first appear as just descriptive filler, not revealing their true importance until later chapters. Done correctly, they can lead to an "Aha!" moment. In the second book, Rook, Rhyme and Sinker, the opening chapter has the discovery of a body floating in the Regent's Canal. The description of the appearance of the body was a key factor later on when establishing time of death and whether the victim died before or after they entered the water. Without giving anything away I will say, it alibied one suspect, but incriminated a character that wasn't even considered a suspect.
OMN: And how about the setting? Are you true to the places mentioned int he books?
RMP: The Ernie Bisquets Series is set in contemporary London. I'll walk the streets I intend to detail in the stories because I believe it's important to get a true sense of place for this series. London is a unique city; one I believe everyone should visit at least once. Part of the character mapping I do reflects their local environments. It's important the subtle nuances associated with certain areas bubble up to the surface when presenting a character to the reader.
OMN: Tell us more about your writing process.
RMP: With the first book my writing process was haphazard at best. I was so excited about the story and getting it on paper I really made the process more difficult than it had to be. I lacked structure then, but I've learned a lot since. Now I start with a 5 or 6 page synopsis, including a very detailed ending. I'll write a brief (4 or 5 sentence) outline for the first 3 chapters, and then add additional chapter outlines as I move on. It works for me, and it keeps me moving forward. It also allows the characters to take the lead in the storyline — I reach a point where I'm following them. I also find it helpful to have two stories (two separate settings and sets of characters) going at the same time. When I get stuck at a point in one story I jump to the other until I think it through.
OMN: You chose to self-publish this third book in the series, which means you're responsible for all aspects of its production. How did you come up with the cover design?
RMP: Though it's against an old adage, we do judge a book by its cover. For this reason careful attention should be given to cover design. Being an artist affords me a great advantage here. I'll sketch out a few ideas as I'm writing, same way with the title, and then some time near the end of the first draft I'll start getting serious about the final title and cover design. I like to start the marketing process long before the book is released, so to have a final title and cover design early affords me the opportunity to do this. For the Passage of Crime cover I used a photograph from a young photographer in Belgium. With her permission I did extensive image manipulations in Photoshop to arrive at the final cover image. It was a wonderful photo to start with, so adapting it for the cover was easy.
OMN: When we read the first book in the series, we thought it had a terrific visual quality to it, a strong sense of time and place. Has anyone contacted you about adapting the book into a screenplay?
RMP: Funny you should mention screenwriting. I have been working with a screenwriter for about a year now adapting the first book, Along Came a Fifer, into a 2-hour movie. I'm amazed at how different the structure is. In a book the story is presented to the reader using tens of thousands of words, mostly in dialog. Every detail is explained or alluded to in some fashion. It's the complete opposite with a movie script. You're using the least amount of dialog possible, allowing the set dressing and action to fill in most of the details. Taking this project on has been like learning to write all over again.
OMN: What kinds of books did you read when you were young?
RMP: I've always been a mystery buff. Like many, I enjoyed getting lost in Victorian London, following the adventurers of Holmes and Watson. When not on the coattails of Holmes, there was Chesterton, Mason, Christie, the Inspector Elk series by Wallace, and the list goes on. To some extent I've never left the gas lit streets of Victorian London, despite my stories being set in contemporary London. I have, through description and pacing, tried to transpose the feel of this era into the background of the stories. It's this aspect that allows the setting to also become a character in my stories.
OMN: And what do you read now for pleasure?
RMP: When not reading the classics of the past, or combing the used bookstores to find one I missed along the way, most of the books I read now are encyclopedic. I'm always looking for new ways to construct a crime. I also look to the headlines. To paraphrase an observation Holmes casually mentioned one morning to Watson, the local newspaper has a wealth of crime within its pages, more so than any fiction writer could possibly imagine.
OMN: Do you have any favorite series characters?
RMP: It's hard to pinpoint one character as being my favorite. I believe characters, like cities of the world, have their own uniqueness. I hold a fondness for all of them for different reasons.
OMN: What kind of feedback have you received from readers?
RMP: I appreciate all feedback, good or bad, from readers. Praise is always a favorite, but as a writer I also need to know when I've missed the mark. Sometimes it stings, but for the most part I view it has constructive, using what I can to make the next story better.
OMN: Where might we find you when you're not writing?
RMP: As I mentioned earlier, I'm a trained artist, so painting is something I enjoy. It fulfills two objectives — one, creating a work of art, and two, affording me a quiet time to think through plot lines or future adventures for my characters. The whole idea for the series came about while painting, so I like to return there often for inspiration for the next book.
OMN: Create a Top 5 list for us on any topic.
RMP: There are five authors I believe everyone should experience at least once, each unique in their own right.
• Guy de Maupassant for his irony;
• Charles Dickens for his social commentary;
• George Bernard Shaw for his views on modernism;
• G. K. Chesterton for his delivery of a detective story; and
• Edmund Cherilew Bentley for Trent's Last Case, an oft times forgotten mystery every mystery buff should read.
OMN: What's next for you?
RMP: I'm excited about the next two books in the Bisquets series. While traveling I wrote up a synopsis for two new mysteries, one of which I have started already. I also have a standalone thriller I'm looking to complete in the next few months.
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Michael is a classically trained artist who has been painting for over 30 years. By combining his creative talents with a passion for art and antiquities he conceived the fictional world of the East London Adventurers Club, home to The Ernie Bisquets Mystery Series and the new Inspector Flannel Series.
For more information about the author and his work, please visit his website at EastLondonAdventurersClub.com or find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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Passage of Crime
R. Michael Phillips
An Ernie Bisquets Mystery (3rd in series)
London's East End, once known for poor boroughs and a derelict rail yard, is enjoying an optimistic resurgence. Despite this sweeping out of old rubbish, a cautious step is still advised when passing by a few remaining dark alleys. If only Mary Walsh had listened.
Prophet Brown called Detective Inspector Flannel after stumbling upon the body of a young woman in one such alley. Flannel quickly realizes she is not the random victim she appears. Add to that, the crime scene is hauntingly reminiscent of an old unsolved case — a case that almost ended an otherwise brilliant career eight years ago.
For the moment, Prophet Brown is the only solid link between the two cases. He has been in the employ of a charismatic and well-connected Member of Parliament for 17 years; the very man Flannel unsuccessfully accused of the murders in the previous case.
Flannel finds himself navigating a very treacherous course. His superiors have warned him for the last time to tread cautiously around the MP, as the rising tide of the past threatens to pull him under. Reluctantly, Inspector Flannel turns to a most unlikely ally, a reformed pickpocket named Ernie Bisquets. Together they disentangle a mesh of old lies and current clues attempting to bring a ruthless murderer to justice — ignoring the dangerous notion of murder being a carefully disguised trait passed from one generation to the next.
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