Oh, no. I can’t listen to music when I write. I’ll start singing and dancing, and never get any work done.

Martin Roy Hill – 8 February 2015

The Back Flap

A sandstorm uncovers a long buried secret in the Iraqi desert, an ancient Sumerian temple dating back at least 6,000 years to the beginning of civilization. An American army patrol sent to investigate the ruins is trapped inside the temple’s eroded walls, first by an insurgent ambush then by another, even more powerful sandstorm. When an enemy mortar shell blasts an opening into a hidden burial chamber, Captain Adam Cadman and his soldiers take refuge deep in the ruins. What they find hidden inside threatens to destroy every belief about the beginnings of mankind—as well as modern civilization as we know it.

About the book

What is the book about?

My latest book is called Eden: A Sci-Fi Novella. It follows a small American army unit in Iraq as they are sent to investigate ancient ruins uncovered by a massive sandstorm. As they approach the ruins, they are attacked by insurgents and take cover behind the eroded walls of the ruins. They become trapped there, not only by the insurgents but also by an even larger sandstorm. When an enemy mortar shell blasts open a hole leading to a buried chamber, the soldiers enter the chamber seeking shelter from the storm. What they find is an ancient secret about the origins of Mankind that threatens to destroy civilization as we know it.

Eden is departure from my earlier books, which are all in the mystery, suspense, and thriller genres. But I wanted to explore questions about what do we really know about religion and science, and sci-fi was the perfect vehicle for that.

When did you start writing the book?

I started writing Eden around the fall of 2013.

How long did it take you to write it?

I finished the final draft in the summer of 2014.

Where did you get the idea from?

I was watching the TV series Ancient Aliens on the History Channel, which explores the theory that ancient extraterrestrials somehow guided man’s development. At the beginning of each show, the narrator asks, “What if it were true?” That started me thinking, “Well, if it were true, then why? Why would make them come here and do whatever to us?” At the same time, I read an article about a group of researchers who, using satellite imagery, believe they discovered the location of the Biblical Eden in Iraq. That started me thinking, “What if some of our soldiers there stumbled onto the remnants of the Garden of Eden? What would they find?” The two sets of questions merged into the idea for Eden.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

Oh, yes. First, Eden started as a short story, but it took on a life of its own and grew. I had to settle on making it a novella, instead. Also, the first two drafts of the book were written with a third person narrative. Halfway into the third rewrite I had to admit it wasn’t working. After much thinking, I one day heard the first lines of the book spoken inside my head in the first person. I realized then I had to change the entire perspective of the book. The problem I had was that part of the book is written from the view point of another person. That’s when I remembered a writing technique sometimes called “the lost manuscript” technique. That allowed me to have one person relating the experiences of another person. I think it worked well since the reviews have all been good.

What came easily?

Only the title.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

One character, Estrada, was inspired by a sergeant I knew, and the character of Thomas was also loosely based on a soldier I know. I used them only as models for their physical traits. The narrator, Cadman, and the others are entirely fictitious.

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?

Ernest Hemingway had a great influence on me in high school and college, as did most of The Lost Generation authors. I also read a great deal of H. G. Wells, and still do. In fact, I got “the lost manuscript” idea from his writings.

Do you have a target reader?

I don’t really target an audience. I just want to tell a story and hope readers enjoy it.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

I write in places of opportunity. I carry my tablet and keyboard in my ruck everywhere I go; they’re lighter than a laptop. When I get some down time, I pull them out and start writing. I also utilize apps on my iPhone that allow me to work on my writing, whether it’s plotting or actual writing. In fact, I just finished a 5,000 word short story that I wrote exclusively on my iPhone while sitting around waiting for meetings to start or whatnot. When everyone else was checking their email or texting, I was writing. I strive to write five hundred words a day. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I don’t, and sometimes I exceed it.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

I’m big on plotting. I grew up using index cards to write down ideas and organize them into a plot line. Today, I use Scrivener and its wonderful corkboard app to do that. That’s not to say, however, that the final book follows that plot exactly. Books take on a life of their own as you’re writing them.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

I start each writing session by going over what I wrote the day before and cleaning it up. Then I start writing. As I finish each chapter, I go back and rework it before moving on to the next chapter. When I finished the first draft, I go back to the first page and do it all over again. I do at least three rewrites on each book, usually more.

Did you hire a professional editor?

I’m married to my editor. My wife, Winke, grew up in the publishing industry and has more than twenty years of editing experience. Her father was a novelist and her step-father was a magazine publisher. You might say she was born to the trade.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

Oh, no. I can’t listen to music when I write. I’ll start singing and dancing, and never get any work done.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

Yes, and I had very disappointing experiences. The first book I wrote was Empty Places, even though my second novel, The Killing Depths, was published first. I signed with two literary agencies for Empty Places, and neither of them came through. After a year with the first agency, I contacted the agent assigned to me and she told me she had been too busy with writing her own novel to market mine. The second agency I signed with went out of business before they could sell my book.

Then I had a very well-known lit agent contact me about an investigative story I did and wanted me to give her a book proposal. I did, but she decided no one was interested in it. It was about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction program. This was just prior to Operation Desert Storm. She asked me for another proposal. I gave her one for a book on Gerald Bull, the Canadian scientist who specialized in long range cannons.  He started to build one for Iraq that was aimed at Israel before he was assassinated, perhaps by the Mossad. But she said no one was interested in him. Since then there have been two books written about Bull and an HBO movie.  I lost my trust in agents after that.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

The incidents I previously mention had a lot to do with it. But also about eleven years ago I made a big career switch. After some twenty years as a journalist I took a job as a Navy research analyst in combat medical operations, based on my experience as a military and law enforcement medic. Shortly after that we invaded Iraq, and for nearly ten years our op tempo was very high and I didn’t have time for writing. When the war started to wind down, I started to write again. And then I read about independent authors and I liked the idea. With my twenty-plus years as a professional journalist I had a lot of experience producing magazines, newspapers, and other publications. It was just like publishing any of the other publications I worked on, but more enjoyable.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

So far I’ve done all my own covers. As I previously said, I have a great deal of experience planning and designing publications, so designing a cover was not difficult. I actually enjoy it a great deal. But I can see in the future of contracting the cover design out to others.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

I have to admit with my first book, Duty, I just winged it. But as I published The Killing Depths, I started to get smarter. I started using Twitter to campaign both books. And I started doing click-per-view ad campaigns with Goodreads and Google. Starting with Empty Places, I started a more organized approach, using spreadsheets to organize who I approached for pre-publication reviews, which  reader-author sites I put the book on, putting out press releases via certain services, and so on. I used the lessons learned from Empty Places to tweak my pre-publishing marketing so that by the time Eden was officially published I had several reviews waiting to go live.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

I think the best advice is to write, then rewrite, then rewrite again. The art is in the rewriting.

About You

Where did you grow up?

I’m a California native. I was born in Long Beach and grew up in Redondo Beach, just south of Los Angeles. Other than military service, I have lived in Southern California my whole life.

Where do you live now?

I live in the San Diego area now, where I work as an analyst for the Navy.

What would you like readers to know about you?

Well, I hope they would like my books and find them entertaining and thought provoking.

What are you working on now?

I’m currently writing a follow-on to my novel The Killing Depths, which featured NCIS agent Linus Schag. The new book is called The Butcher’s Bill and involves a NCIS agent and good friend of Schag who goes rogue. I’m also in the plotting stages of a book tentatively called Polar Melt about a U. S. Coast Guard team investigating the disappearance of an American research ship in the Arctic Ocean. This is special for me, since I’ve wanted to write a novel involving the Coast Guard since I joined the Coast Guard when I was 19 years old. I’ve served in the Coast Guard Reserve, the Navy Reserve, and a component of the California National Guard, but I’ve always been proudest about my 13 years with the Coast Guard. It’s a great branch of the armed forces.

End of Interview:

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Get your copy of Eden from Amazon US (paper or ebook) or Amazon UK (paper or ebook).