Secrets and families...they seem to go together so easily and can make for some fascinating fictional stories as easily as they can for true stories. Today's guest in My Writing Corner brings us a suspenseful story that sounds like a wonderful invitation to spend a cold afternoon reading by the fire. My guest today is Ed Baker.
An English major at Elon College, Ed earned a master’s degree at Appalachian State University and a doctorate in Educational Leadership at the Sage College’s Esteves School of Education. After thirty-five years in higher education and after retiring as Interim President of a public community college, he turned his attention to his first love, writing, while continuing to teach undergraduate and graduate courses on an adjunct basis at a private college in upstate New York.
During the warm months, Ed and his wife reside in their cabin on Galway Lake, New York. During the cold months, they “hole up” in their winter quarters in Saratoga Springs, New York. When he’s not writing or teaching, Ed is engaged in woodworking projects or playing with his four-legged canine companion Sudsy.
Tell us about your road to publication.
I always wanted to be a writer. In college I was editor of the college’s literary magazine and its satire publication. Although my creative writing should not have been derailed after graduation, I openly admit I let that happen. All my creativity turned to work-related grant-writing. At one point, however, when I was leaving a stateside position for one in Micronesia, I wrote a novella explaining my personal quest. I shared that work only with my family and best friends.
After retirement, my good friend Larry fell from a ladder and scrambled his brain. I took turns watching him during the healing process and, while he napped, I began writing again. A 120,000 word novel poured out of me in three months. Its 96,000 word sequel was completed in another three months. These were semi-autobiographical in nature and have not been published. Then I conceived of the Dan Arrow character—a private detective whose investigation carries him into situations where the New World Order is working with aliens to dominate the world. I wrote four Dan Arrow novels in total, all infused with popular conspiracy theories. I submitted Dan Arrow and the New World Order to fifteen publishers before Black Opal Books snatched it up. They, then, readily accepted its three sequels.
What do you find is the most challenging part of being an author?
My wife is my toughest critic, always asking, “Do you want your children or grandchildren reading that?” Honestly, my greatest challenge is writing around sensitive situations such that my wife doesn’t object to what’s in the text. To the point: I can describe a grisly murder or a rape in painfully minute detail, or I can avoid the potentially offensive description and bring my sleuths in after the incident has occurred. For example, in Bloodbath, I describe in detail the kidnapping of a child, but my readers don’t see her being tortured or ghastly murdered. They don’t need to see that. Instead, I focus upon my characters’ reactions to the unseen incident and their determination to identify the perpetrator.
What is your latest book and how did you come up with the idea to write it?
My latest novel, The Devil Never Asks, was published just yesterday by The Wild Rose Press. The idea landed in my lap during a family conversation where my children were comparing their results on a popular DNA analytic. My wife refused to participate in the analysis, citing several reasons related to how the pool of collected data could be used in the unforeseeable future—ethnic cleansing, denial of medical insurance, illegal breeding, etc. I had to agree with her concerns. In my new novel, the lives of several characters are destroyed by the innocent submission of seemingly harmless DNA samples to a commercial vendor. My lead characters, detectives Bartholomew Jones and Helen Martin, seek the killers of two individuals, a child and a gang member, whose deaths are curiously related by DNA samples.
The book sounds fascinating! Let's get a blurb:
Ready for more? Let's get an excerpt!
“Were you there when BabyX was born?” I asked.
The judge shook his head. “I didn’t know there was a BabyX until right now. I’m shocked and mortified. How’s my wife going to take this? To what end will the press go to embarrass my family and humiliate me? For God’s sake, I’m running for the State Supreme Court of Appeals. The election is in just a few weeks.”
“We know,” Agent Casola said. “That’s why we asked to meet you here. You should probably hire an attorney and prepare your wife for the worst. We don’t know where this is going at the moment, but there’s the distinct possibility of a murder charge against you, your high school FF, or both of you.”
“I assure you on my word of honor as a representative of the West Virginia legal justice system
that the DNA analysis may have found me guilty of fathering that poor child, but I had no knowledge of his existence until today, and most certainly I didn’t murder him.”
After the judge left, Special Agent Maxwell asked, “Do you believe him?”
“It’s hard not to,” I said.
“He’s probably a liar,” Agent Casola sneered. “All men are.”
What’s your next project?
My second novel in the Bart Jones series is a spin-off of The Devil Never Asks, using the same hero and heroine. Entitled Blood Bath, the novel follows Jones as his marriage collapses while he and Helen are investigating the death of an individual whose body has been drained of all its blood. That novel, also under contract with The Wild Rose Press, explores the world of Sanguinarians living as our next-door neighbors.
My current project continues to follow the unraveling of Bart Jones’ personal and professional life as he morphs from police detective to private detective when his maverick attitude runs afoul of the police chief during the “Defund the Police” movement. His only client (he later discovers) is a businessman who is running a shill corporation for a Mexican cartel. Soon, Bart entangled in a “garbage war” as the cartel moves to illegally eliminate competing waste removal companies.
How do you develop characters?
My novels are “quick reads” because most of the dilemmas are exposed through character interaction. I don’t depend upon long passages of narration to expose a character’s flaws. Instead, my characters self-expose their strengths and frailties through dialogue with other characters. Once these elements come to light, I push the characters into situations which challenge their beliefs about themselves and others. Then, they either self-destruct or grow strength as individuals.
How do you come up with your plots?
I find that plots and sub-plots are thrown at me every day by current events, as well as by the interactions we have with other people. Who couldn’t find a plot and numerous sub-plots in the arena of American politics? How about the many potential stories in the Russian war with Ukraine or in the positive and negative aspects of human interactions during Hurricane Ian? (Anyone for a giant squid seeking victims in the flooded streets of Fort Myers, Florida?) I find mind-expanding scientific advancements announced every day. Spawned by the rocket launches of SpaceX and Blue Origin, my next project will explore the creative ways in which a crime syndicate might make millions by serving the habits and prurient interests of men and women in space, especially those living at isolated military and commercial outposts on the Moon and Mars.
Buy Links:
https://www.thewildrosepress.com/twrp-bookstore-aerio
https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Never-Asks-Bartholomew-Jones-ebook/dp/B0BJP7N1XD?ref_=ast_sto_dp
Social contact information
Email: esbaker47@gmail.com
Web Page / Blog: www.edwardsbaker.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edward.baker.31337
Twitter: Edward S. Baker @esbaker47
Thank you, Edward, for being my guest today and introducing us to your work. Any comments or questions for Edward?
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment