Today, we're interviewing newly retired John Bray, a former Detective in the NYPD

 

·      My upcoming release is entitled THE BALLAD OF JOHNNY MADIGAN. The publisher, BeWrite Books of Lancashire, England, has it on their “coming soon” list. No definite date has been set. It involves an orphaned sixteen-year-old from Manhattan’s Lower East Side who enlists in the Union Army in September of 1862. It is partly an innocent love story between two teen-agers, a buddy story, a combat story and becomes a counter-espionage tale later when he is co-opted by law enforcement to find would-be assassins.

 

·      Actually, I served as a lieutenant-prosecutor in the Department’s Disciplinary System during my last four years in the Department. I was promoted to sergeant, then lieutenant and after I finished law school and passed the bar I was recruited to the Department Advocate’s Office, which prosecuted internal transgressions committed by members of the department. On occasion, crimes for which members were charged and either not prosecuted by the courts or which ended in not guilty verdicts were referred to us. The reason being, our standard of proof as an administrative proceeding was lower than “beyond a reasonable doubt”. I practiced criminal defense law in New York for thirty years after taking early retirement from the PD. When I finally and fully retired and moved to Virginia, we had an opportunity to visit the Fredericksburg Battle site. An idea began to germinate and resulted in a novel about a boy, wounded in that battle and later used by the National Detective Agency as an undercover because he witnessed an attempted assassination.

 

·      I began writing short stories in 2006 when I enrolled in the Long Ridge Writers correspondence course. Then, on a Writers Digest on-line writing course, I began to sketch out scenes for what became my “Johnny” story.

 

·      “THE BALLAD” is my first novel. In what I have been taught, suspense should be an integral part of every story to keep the reader turning pages. I tried to work in suspense in every chapter, sometimes every paragraph. A free-lance editor told me, when revising, to make every chapter end with a hook to the next one to maintain the reader’s interest.

 

·      I can’t describe myself as having any fixed schedule or process. I had become highly motivated when writing “Johnny” because the character seemed to “live in my head.”

I wrote the second, entitled THE BAITED TRAP, under to tutelage of a mentor from Long Ridge Writers, who pushed me through the novel writing course. The book is a completely different genre. It is a more contemporary police procedural set in the 1970’s based on real people and events from my experience, (fictionalized of course). Now I’ve started a third and find it tough sledding. I think it’s because I’m so much more critical of my own writing. Yes, I know the conventional wisdom is “just finish the damned book”, go back and edit later.

 

·      Trying to come up with a plot for my latest effort. Watching an episode of “The Wire”, an HBO series, an idea struck me and I began to write about another case in which I had become involved. I suddenly realized after thousands of words, I didn’t have a clearly defined protagonist. Oops, now I have to go back and re-plot.

 

·      Yes, like right now. In order to unblock, I went back to some stories just sitting in my documents file, reworked them and submitted two of them to writing contests. I started another story to send to “Scalped Magazine” an e-zine which published one of my shorts in their December issue under a pen name. (Not for consumption in mixed company.) That was my fourth short story published in on-line magazines. Others appear in luridlit.com, digitaldragonmagazine.com and freedomfiction.in. I have to force myself to overcome the inertia. BTW, a publisher in Canada has requested a full manuscript of THE BAITED TRAP after I queried them. I keep hoping.

 

·      I have attended one conference in the past and have signed up for the Christopher Newport University Writing Conference in March and sent a story to their writing contest.

 

·      Many people have said that I have so many stories with which I regale the hapless listener that I should write them down. My past police and legal experiences are fodder for some of my writing. Other stories just jump into my head. The visit to the National Cemetery and Battle site at Fredericksburg really sparked me to do substantial research and begin to write a full length work. My great-great-grandfather, an Irish immigrant was killed at the battle of Port Hudson, Louisiana in 1863. He left behind a baby son who became my maternal grandmother’s father. H-m-m, ghost from the past? Anyway, once I started, I began to pick up momentum. Now, I’m agonizing over a plot for my next book.

 

·      Well, I’m not exactly a published novelist yet. But of course, it is an ego trip and a sense of accomplishment. At least I’m not dawdling away my retirement. The worst thing, next to rejections, is waiting for the@#&* thing to get into print.

 

·      The biggest challenge for me is waiting for the muse to visit. I keep looking for plot ideas. Most of my stories are interesting or funny anecdotes but don’t lend themselves to endings with a twist.

 

·      I think what I said before, ending each chapter or even paragraph with a hook to keep the readers turning pages.

 

·      I sent my second manuscript to a writers’ association which will remain nameless. They advertised one free edit upon joining. I think the person who edited it either missed the point or tried to coax me into hiring that person as an editor for the work. I didn’t follow most of the suggestions about it and shortly thereafter I received a request for a full manuscript from a publisher after a query.

 

·      Everyone must promote their own writing. Usually it is the only way to get recognition now when so many people are writing and trying to sell books. I have so many people waiting for the publication of the “Johnny” story I begin to get embarrassed when they ask me about it. I believe the delay is attributable to the economy, at least I hope so.

 

·      I have queried numerous agents in my naiveté. I’m just glad when I get at least a polite rejection. Most of us authors are accustomed to either terse rejections or no response at all. I know it’s a business and they have to be confident it is a project they can sell. At this stage I’m content with a publisher who does not want a fee to print the book. So far, with my one accepted work, that has been the case. I refuse to go the route of self-publishing, although many of my writer friends did so out of frustration and impatience.

 

·      I have made two starts at a third book. I’m not happy with either of them. In fact, I deleted the four thousand words of the first one I started. The second one, based on the theft of a million dollars worth of heroin from the Property Clerk’s Office, (an actual event about which I know a considerable amount, on the side of the angels, of course) now up to chapter three, just sits there, defying me to push on. I need a definite protagonist and a love interest and an ending and a plot, and well, you know what I mean.

 

·      As for those just starting, I’ve spent money on courses to catch up with the craft of fiction writing and found out how much I didn’t know. But I believe that helped in getting an acceptance from a main-stream, albeit second tier, publisher.

 

·       People who have written jacket blurbs for THE BALLAD have used the words “well or meticulously researched”. So I would say, especially with the “Johnny” story, that was a big plus. I make it a habit not to use forms of the verb “to be” when writing narration, description or exposition in my stories, except in dialogue. Just a quirk I have. Next, no adverbial dialogue tags. I try not to use words that keep the reader at arm’s length from the characters, i.e. “he felt, he saw, he watched,” etc. Just omit them and describe what those feelings and experiences are.

 

·       I try to do something about writing during the day. I’m not disciplined enough to have a set routine. When I have an inspiration I can go like blazes. One failing: I’m too critical of my own work when I’m writing. As indicated earlier, that’s not good. One speaker I listened to on a podcast from a conference said, “Write first in idiot mode, that is, just write. Then go back and rewrite in genius mode, but just finish the first draft before starting to edit.”

 

·      I don’t have one favorite craft book, I have so many. Each one contains a little nugget to use when writing. Some of the titles are ON WRITING WELL, by William Zinsser, WRITING FOR STORY, by Jon Franklin, FICTION WRITER’S WORKSHOP, by Josip Novakovich, PLOT AND STRUCTURE, by James Scott Bell, and SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS by Rennie Brown and Dave King. Of course EATS, SHOOTS AND LEAVES, by Lynne Truss is a classic.

 

·      I began to realize that writing was something I always wanted to do but never gave myself the chance.

 

·      Having other people read what I write

 

·      I used to think of John LeCarre as someone I would like to emulate. That’s too high a standard for me at this point. My new favorite detective novel authors are Michael Connelly and I have rediscovered Martin Cruz Smith. Now I can fully appreciate how well he writes.

 

·      I really should outline, I know. But up to now I just let it flow.

 

·      My biggest mistake is not starting sooner.

 

·      Sure, I have all those stories to tell.

 

·      I have read a wide variety of books, right now listening to Martin Cruz Smith on CD, I would like to find more of his novels besides the ones I have either read or listened to: GORKY PARK, POLAR STAR, HAVANA BAY and RED SQUARE.

 

·      I guess what I’m experiencing now is writer’s block. I’m having a hard time pushing ahead with my work in progress.

 

·      Not really published yet. Getting the first royalty check would be nice, or selling a box full of books to friends and family would be good, too.

 

·      I have written for my own amusement and my wife is a great uncritical audience. At least she thinks some of my stories are funny.

 

·      Most of my characters come from my life experiences. Some I have imagined, like my Civil War protagonist.

 

·      Not dreams, but my past life is a good source.

 

·      Usually not present tense acquaintances.

 

·      My “Johnny” character might have some of me in him.

 

·      When it comes out I’ll let the whole world know.

 

·      Don’t have one yet. When I get cover art and a publishing date, a friend of mine will design one for the Chesapeake Bay Writers site.

 

 

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