After graduating the University of Florida and a stint in the National Guard, Richard worked 35 years in the textile and retail industries. He spends his retirement years writing novels, sailing and gardening. He has two married daughters and lives in New Jersey with his wife Ruth. “Beyond Guilty” is his fourth published novel.
WHERE DO I FIND MY INSPIRATION?
BEYOND GUILTY was inspired by a screen play written by my daughter, Marlo Brawer Lyons. In her script, the protagonist is an African-American male wrongly accused of a murder and sentenced to death. Despite her being a lawyer in the movie industry and the screen play winning a number of awards including $1000.00 from a “Writer’s Digest” contest she was not able to generate interest in Hollywood. I said to her, “Let me write it as a book with an African-American female protagonist as there are many black actresses looking for a meaty role.” Thus Beyond Guilty was born. However, in the process the book took on a life of its own and dramatically deviated from the screen play.
SILK LEGACY grew from my researching my family roots. I was born in Paterson, New Jersey and joined my father in the textile business when I graduated college, an industry where many of my extended family have worked since my grandfather started a silk company in 1904.
When my father died prematurely, I was told by his partners which were his cousins, “There is no future for you here.” (There was an obvious rift in the family which I was not privy to.) I struck out on my own, founding a linen and curtain store with my wife which we ran successfully for twenty-five years.
Always having a vivid imagination, I turned my energies in retirement to writing. Wanting to instill in my daughters their family heritage, I researched my family’s history, going back to Paterson for lectures about the city’s founding and it’s rich history of immigrant labor. Armed with my knowledge of the textile industry, the many vignettes I had heard over the years about my grandfather’s adventures from the time he left Latvia at the age of 13, and my newly learned knowledge about Paterson, I realized there was a great novel to be written.
THE DAVID NANCE MYSTERY SERIES―These were the first books I wrote. I started with mysteries because I love to read them. SECRETS CAN BE DEADLY came from a newspaper article about a dedicated nurse who witnesses an incomprehensible event in the hospital. DIAMONDS ARE FOR STEALING was written after I read a story about synthetic diamonds and how they can fool even the most knowledgeable diamond dealer. MURDER ON THE LINKS was taken from the seedy world of Wall Street.
Because I love history, I have included in my mysteries many Monmouth County, NJ historical vignettes. Read the books and answer these trivial questions:
1. Where was George Washington's most important spy network and how did it operate? (Secrets Can Be Deadly)
2. Who made up the Whaleboat Militia during the Revolutionary War and whom did they attack? (Diamonds Are For Stealing)
3. Where was President Grant's summer Whitehouse? (Murder On The Links)
4. Where was President Garfield taken after he was shot? What is the "Garfield Hut"? What was used to construct the "Garfield Hut"? (Murder On The Links)
5. Where did Annie Oakley defeat Phil Daly, Jr., professed to be America's greatest marksman at the time of their shooting contest? (Murder On The Links)
6. What do President Theodore Roosevelt and the former president of Walt Disney Company, Michael Eisner, have in common? (Murder On The Links)
7. Where did Marconi conduct his first wireless test in the United States? (Diamonds Are For Stealing)
8. You've heard the saying, "Is this the Real McCoy?" What was the first product this question referred to? (Diamonds Are For Stealing)
9. Where was the collie that starred in the first "Lassie" movies bred? (Secrets Can Be Deadly)
10. James Avanti is dubbed "The King of the Book Covers" because he painted pictures that were used on the covers of novels by which famous American authors? Where was his first studio? What is considered his most famous cover? (Murder On The Links)
11. Why is the Saint James Chapel in Elberon, NJ called "The Church of the Presidents"? (Murder On The Links)
12. Who is considered the founding matriarch of Monmouth County, NJ? (Secrets Can Be Deadly)
13. Who is the real Molly Pitcher? (Diamonds Are For Stealing)
14. What was the name of the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby, where was she stabled and what year did she win? (Secrets Can Be Deadly)
15. Where is the oldest continuously operating distillery in the United States and when was it founded? (Secrets Can Be Deadly)
16. When and where was the longest battle of the Revolutionary War as well as the largest field artillery battle and the last major battle? (Secrets Can Be Deadly)
17. How many electric cars did Diamond Jim Brady have? (Secrets Can Be Deadly)
WHAT IS MY WRITING PROCESS?
First: I form a major premise along with the ending of the story. In the mysteries it’s naturally "who-done-it." In the historical fiction novel which also has been dubbed “a trying love story” it’s the resolution between the characters. And in the suspense novels it’s how to the protagonist gets out of peril.
Second: I create my main characters, protagonist and antagonist―their looks, quirks, and their experiences in life that affect their personalities and the way they react to events.
Third: I create a very rough outline as to how the story will evolve from beginning to end. Note I said very rough as this changes as the story evolves.
Fourth: I try to create a captivating opening chapter such as finding the body in the mysteries, putting the protagonist in jeopardy in the suspense novel and creating a conflict in the historical fiction.
Finally: I write from my opening chapter to the conclusion of the story. I strive to take the reader on a journey that is never a straight line, but more like the line of a gyrating stock market. I place red herrings in my mysteries, adventure and jeopardy in my suspense novels and many setbacks in my historical fiction novel. However, one thing remains constant―there is always CONFLICT. The most important aspect of the novel is the conflict between the characters. Without conflict there is no story.
HOW DID I LEARN TO WRITE?
I read a couple of books and many magazine articles on writing just like I read books on retailing before I opened my store. But in writing as in life, the most important lessons come from doing. In the store it was on the job training. For writing its read, read, read. If you read books with the idea that you may want to be a writer, then you will consciously start analyzing how the author created his work. When you start writing, write the type of story you like to read.
Once you begin your writing try to find a critique group that will give you honest feedback on character development, dialogue, voice, conflict and setting. But don’t automatically take anyone’s critique as gospel. Remember, it’s your story. Analyze the critiques to see if they have merit. Say you have a six person group. If one person says something then it may or may not be a problem. But if three or four in the group say the same thing about a segment then you should take it under serious consideration.
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