We are delighted to welcome author Ricardo M. Fleshman to Omnimystery News today.
Ricardo's latest entry in his series featuring PI Moses Byone is The Shiver Men (September 2015 trade paperback and ebook formats) and we recently had the opportunity to spend some time with him talking about it.
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Omnimystery News: Tell us a little more about the series as a whole.
Photo provided courtesy of
Ricardo M. Fleshman
Ricardo M. Fleshman: I write the Detective Byone Series of novels — a private detective series set in 1970's New Orleans. I am drawn to the supernatural, more specifically to the history, practice and culture of the dark arts in New Orleans and thought it would be the best place to set a series. Likewise, I am drawn to Private Detectives and Moses Byone, the main character and former NOPD Homicide Detective is much like me in his skepticism of the paranormal. He is brash and witty, astute and a modern day gunslinger. His partner is the funny, flamboyant former antiques dealer. A prissy old man named Armond Fontenot. They are the perfect complement to each other. That said, it is a dark series that is fun to read for those who love mystery/detective novels and those who may be just starting in the genre.
OMN: The Shiver Men is the fifth book in the series. How have these characters developed over time?
RMF: I think it is important to the development of the series that my characters (and I'm thinking specifically of Moses and Armond) develop with each case. There are so many external factors working with and against them that it would be extremely hard if they were not moved or changed by the situations they are put in. Sometimes that change is good and sometimes bad, and therein lays the conflict that continues to capture the interest of readers and make them extremely complex but loveable characters.
OMN: How do you go about finding the right voice for your characters?
RMF: The detective is very much like me however I do write several homosexual characters and writing those characters from an authentic voice perspective has been interesting, if not fun. I write them to be sincere and truthful to how the characters need to be and not in a degrading or mocking way.
OMN: Into which genre would you place these books?
RMF: I have found that the books fit into multiple categories. I would have the go with "private detective/mystery/thriller/suspense/paranormal" but that by no means sums up the reader experience. People have told me that they've laughed out loud at parts in the books and are moved by a burgeoning love story so I think it takes numerous elements to craft a well-rounded tale.
OMN: Tell us something about the series that isn't mentioned in the books' synopses.
RMF: The books are filled with real-life history and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana. Everything from art to plant-life, to history and prohibition, to music and culture go into the stories and help to round out the series. The city itself is my fifth character, so to speak.
OMN: How much of your own personal or professional experience have you included in the books?
RMF: There are a good deal of my personal experiences in the books, particularly locations or subjects that are personal to me. I have found that writing from a place of personal "likes" or experiences lends a certain authenticity to the stories that I would not have otherwise been able to convey. Thankfully for me I am world travelled and have a strong affinity for the arts, fine dining and all things 1970s.
OMN: Describe your writing process for us.
RMF: I start with a general outline for the story (each book) but of course it never goes where I intend for it to go. The story takes on a life of its own as I am writing and thankfully so — they've all ended much better than I outlined them!
OMN: What kinds of research do you do while writing a book?
RMF: It's important to me to create something that has basis in fact — to make it more real and therefore more appealing to the readers. I think intelligent readers are much savvier these days as we have access to so much more information at our fingertips. I try to write so that anyone reading one of my books can go a pull up a topic, a painting, etc that I reference in the book and get real information. Of course my favorite topic to study and research is human nature — that is afterall what the stories are about — the myriad of relationships and the complexity of those relationships.
OMN: How true are you to the settings of the books?
RMF: Because New Orleans is such a dynamic and well-known place I try to write from a place of accuracy with streets, landmarks, etc. I do take liberty with the individual places the characters visit such as restaurants, the Detective Byone Agency, etc. It's always fun when a fan lets me know that they've been on a particular street or Faubuorg from the books and I am humbled by the responses that I continue to get from New Orleans residents or natives on how well I've portrayed their city.
OMN: If you could go anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, to research the setting for a book, where would it be?
RMF: Paris. Having given so much to New Orleans as far as history and culture … besides it is the setting for more than one of the books.
OMN: What are some of your outside interests? And have any of these found their way into your books?
RMF: I read, a lot. You cannot love to write and not be a reader, in my estimation. I am also a huge movie fan. The blues … Blues music speaks to me like no other kind of music and that definitely has a place in the books.
OMN: What is the best advice you've received as an author?
RMF: The best advice I've ever received is to never stop writing. For me that means either putting the proverbial pencil to the paper or even conducting research, but no matter what form it comes in, I try to do something on the current manuscript every day. I also try to do one thing (at least) to promote my books or connect with readers on a daily basis. When I first started putting the books out there I got the criticism that they read too fast or were too short. I like to read books that are quick reads and sometimes in the event of a series (like mine) that is by design. You are pushed through the story so that you get to the other parts faster without drowning the reader in unnecessary descriptions or wordiness. The fans that have stuck with me through The Shiver Men (5th in the series) now applaud how quickly the story moves and see why. The greatest advice I can give to an aspiring writer is three-fold: 1) Be true to yourself as a writer; 2) Write with the abandon and the fervent passion that it takes to truly connect with readers; and 3) Delight in your small successes, no matter how small.
OMN: Complete this sentence for us: "I am a mystery author and thus I am also …"
RMF: … I am also inquisitive by nature. I want to know everything there is to know because I never know how/where/when it will find a place in one of my stories.
OMN: How did you come up with the titles for your books?
RMF: The title of each of the five books (soon to be six) is derived from a specific event in the book. I wanted them to be just catchy enough to draw the reader's attention and relevant enough for readers to discern where it came from in the book.
OMN: What kind of feedback have you received from readers?
RMF: I enjoy any feedback I receive from readers! Of course the good feedback is always welcomed but even critical feedback is necessary to improvement. I have received hardly any negative feedback but I don't mind when people say the first part of The Dying Dance (book one) is confusing because in my mind there are two things happening: 1) as a reader you are cutting your teeth on the series, i.e. learning the characters, setting, motives etc.; and 2) It is a detective novel- you are not supposed to know everything that's going on. You, like the detective, are supposed to figure it out so that you can enjoy the reward (climax) just that much more.
OMN: When selecting a book to read for pleasure, what do you look for?
RMF: Overwhelmingly, I look for books that can completely transport me. I like to be enveloped in a story, transported into a world that is as involved as Tolkien's world or even King's Dark Tower series. Sometimes I like the fun detective reads, like the Preston/Child Agent Pendergasts series to simply be entertained and then sometimes I look for serious, heavy texts that challenge me like books on religious/sacred texts or nature of the universe type stuff.
OMN: What kinds of films do you enjoy watching?
RMF: When I was growing up, I fell in love with detective/private detective movies and television shows — The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Columbo, Shaft, Kojak … and they left such an indelible impression on me that there would be no other type of character that I could write. They certainly created my love for the genre and continue, even today, to fuel my dedication to the Private Detective as a character.
OMN: Suppose this series were to be adapted for television or film. Who do you see playing the key roles?
RMF: I see Clarke Peters as Moses Byone, Brian Cox as Armond Fontenot, and Paula Patton as Lisette St. Germain.
OMN: Create a Top 5 list for us on any topic.
RMF: Here's an interesting take on this question. I have a Top 5 list for nearly everything. What I offer you here is the #1 from each of my top five favorite lists:
1) Movies — Shaft, 2) Television Shows — Hannibal, 3) Authors — Preston/Child, 4) Food — Steak au poivre, 5) Music — Blues.
OMN: What's next for you?
RMF: Well that's simple: in my immediate future is to finish my current manuscript, the 6th book in the series — The Voodoo Detective. Then after that … more study and research and the next Detective Byone book, ad infinitum.
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Ricardo M. Fleshman is an avid reader, travels extensively with favorite destinations in the United States South and also international locations in South America and Europe. He is a fan of horror books and movies, dark art and "The Blues." He resides in Northern Virginia with his family where he continues to write more stories of Detective Moses Byone.
For more information about the author, please visit his website at RicardoMFleshman.com and his author page on Goodreads, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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The Shiver Men by Ricardo M. Fleshman
A Moses Byone Mystery
Publisher: Ricardo M. Fleshman
Forced out of the country on a personal mission, Moses Byone must confront his own demons in one of his greatest cases to date. Set against the exotic paradise on the island of Trinidad with Armond Fontenot and the mysterious and alluring Lorena Hemingway, it is more than death that threatens the detective, he must also confront his own haunted past.
— The Shiver Men by Ricardo M. Fleshman
