I follow the George S. Kaufman method. He said to get your characters up a tree in the first act, throw apples at them in the second act and bring them down from the tree in act three. This works for me.
Paul Cross – 8 May 2014
The Back Flap
Blaming the Catholic Church for the death of his wife, filmmaker Henry Hawkins is determined to make an exposé revealing the Church’s responsibility. Not divulging the true intentions of his documentary, Henry’s quest leads him to Rome where he’s promised access to the Vatican by its highest ranking cardinal, Silvio Contini, the Secretary of State of Vatican City.
After arriving in the Eternal City, Cardinal Contini reneges on his agreement to meet with Henry. Refusing to have his plan compromised, Henry devises a bold scheme to get behind the impregnable walls of the Vatican to confront Contini. However, when the pope suddenly dies a quirk of fate throws Henry into a whirlwind when he is isolated in the inner sanctum of the papal conclave where he covertly records the secret election process, and clandestinely films Contini’s unscrupulous method of eliminating papal candidates for his own agenda. Henry’s obsession to avenge the loss of his wife is put in jeopardy when his tapes are stolen, and he discovers that if Contini is elected pope he will alter sacred Church doctrine, thereby destroying the meaning of his wife’s death and all that she believed in.
To prevent this, Henry must reclaim his tapes while ultimately deciding whether to smuggle them out of the conclave and use the information they reveal to make his documentary, or exploit them to the voting cardinals to stop Contini’s election thereby upholding the dignity of his wife’s beliefs.
About the book
What is the book about?
A Counterfeit Priest is about Henry Hawkins, a documentary filmmaker, who is determined to make a film on the Catholic Church for personal reasons. His quest leads him to Rome where a quirk of fate puts him in the inner sanctum of the alluring labyrinth of Church politics and rituals of the papal election. Henry secretly records the clandestine balloting process with all of its forbidden bureaucratic machinations with unanticipated and dramatic results. Now Henry and the Catholic Church must come to grips with the information he has found and determine what road to take with this knowledge in his possession.
When did you start writing the book?
I started to write A Counterfeit Priest in 2011
How long did it take you to write it?
It took me a year and a half to write it.
Where did you get the idea from?
I wanted to write something about the Vatican and the papacy and it just evolved from there.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
I can’t really say that I struggled with any part of it other than making it the best I possibly could.
What came easily?
The character development came relatively easy.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
All the characters are fictitious except for the character of Henry Hawkins. A lot of him is me.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
Frankly, I don’t read much and I can’t really think of an author that has influenced me. I hope that doesn’t sound too shocking, but it’s true. However I do watch a tremendous amount of movies and I am very influenced by them and their screenwriters. Peter Morgan is one screenwriter that I admire tremendously.
Do you have a target reader?
I really didn’t have a target audience when I wrote it. But now that it’s out and available to people I find that it attracts readers who like stories about the Vatican and the Catholic Church. With that said I have had people say that they read it because someone recommended it and they are glad of it. They were surprised because it’s in some ways a mystery and full of twists and turns and they found that to be a lot of fun. They also commented that the characters were very relatable and interesting.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I see it played out in my mind and I write it. I also use the three act structure of a beginning, middle and end. I follow the George S. Kaufman method. He said to get your characters up a tree in the first act, throw apples at them in the second act and bring them down from the tree in act three. This works for me.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I outline to a degree but when I do it’s like you said, a chapter heading and a couple of sentences.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
Usually I wait until I’m finished to edit. I wrote this book based on my screenplay by the same title, so when I decided to turn the screenplay into a novel I was excited because one of the most difficult aspects about writing a screenplay is brevity. The first thing that someone does when they look at a screenplay is to see the page count. If it’s more than say 110 pages they think you’re an amateur because generally it’s gauged that each page of a screenplay runs one minute of screen time. But you don’t have those same constraints when writing a novel. With that said you can’t go overboard when writing a novel as well. I did go overboard on my first draft and ended up cutting maybe two hundred pages from it to bring it down to the 365 page count that the book ended up being.
Did you hire a professional editor?
I did not hire a professional editor when I wrote A Counterfeit Priest. The main thing I was concerned about was spelling and grammar. I did give it to people to read for that aspect mostly.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
Music can be a great inspiration when writing and I have used it many times when writing a screenplay. But honestly I didn’t do that when writing the book. Music can sometimes take over my thoughts and can actually get in my way. Music has a great pull on me so I have to use it cautiously when writing.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
No.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I have spent years submitting my screenplays to agents, producers, directors, etc. And most of the time they can determine whether your work gets produced or not. But with the advent of self publishing you can get your work out to the world without someone allowing you to do so. Agents can be a big help to your career, but they can also prove to be worthless as well. Many of them wait for you to do all the work including marketing your book. Yes, get an agent, but still do for yourself what you know needs to be done.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
I hired a brilliant artist who did the cover art. I told him the style I was going for which was the Saul Bass approach and he hit it bang on.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
I have a marketing plan which includes getting reviews, blogging, setting up interviews, book signings, readings, personal appearances, having postcards made up and leaving them EVERYWHERE as each one acts like a mini-billboard. And by telling everyone about my book every chance I get.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Just do it. But,…find out how to do it right.
About You
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Kentucky and New York City.
Where do you live now?
I now reside in Hollywood, California.
What would you like readers to know about you?
That I can entertain you while taking you places with my writing that you have never been before.
What are you working on now?
Promoting A Counterfeit Priest and acting in a few independent films. I have another idea for a novel which I hope to get started on soon.
End of Interview:
For more, visit Paul’s website.
Get your copy of A Counterfeit Priest from Amazon US (paper or ebook), Amazon UK (paper or ebook), or Barnes & Noble.