I like to read a book where the writer takes care of you. A good thriller is fairly obvious from the first sentence. It’s like getting into a sports car and being taken for a spin.

Tom Claver – 24 May 2015

The Back Flap

Harry Bridger helps people run from their enemies. But when he arranges for Angela Linehan and her son to disappear abroad from her violent husband in London, little does he know that his life will depend on finding her again.

It’s a job that reawakens Harry’s past and brings him back into contact with his ex-wife Bethany. Fate has given him a second chance to redeem himself in her eyes.

But Angela’s disappearance puts Harry and Bethany in terrible danger. He risks losing everything unless he can find where Angela is hiding in Central America. The clock is ticking and his finely honed tracking skills no longer apply. Chance and luck will decide everything.

About the book

What is the book about?

Hider/Seeker is about a likeable maverick who bites off more than he can chew when he comes to the rescue of a wealthy battered wife. Harry Bridger makes a living helping people run from their enemies. But when he arranges for Angela Linehan and her son to disappear abroad from her violent husband in London, little does he know that his life will depend on finding her again. The job reawakens his past and brings him back into contact with his ex-wife. Fate has given him a second chance to redeem himself in her eyes. But the disappearance of his client puts both him and his ex-wife in terrible danger. He risks losing everything unless he can find where his client is hiding in Central America.

When did you start writing the book?

Good question. Would you believe me if I said about 30 years ago? After graduating in the mid-1970s, I made some short films with moderate success. One 30 minute film I scripted was distributed in British cinemas and another short I wrote and directed was sold to Central Television in the UK. I started writing feature length scripts, one of which formed the basis of Hider/Seeker. It had another title and was genuinely awful, but the BBC saw something and invited me to discuss it. Nothing happened and I decided it was time to put away my toys and turn my attention to raising a family.

How long did it take you to write it?

If you don’t count the 30 year gap, just over three years. This may sound a long time, but it takes as long as it takes. I gave up a full time job to work part time many years ago so that I could spend more time working on my novels. It took roughly a year to write the book, but it was followed by two years of editing and procrastination. The book went back and forth for critique. This is quite time consuming as the turnaround times are long.

Where did you get the idea from?

I hope this doesn’t sound pretentious, but I wanted a story that could have been written in the 1950s as I prefer thrillers from the past. But my aim was to give it a contemporary setting. I wanted a straight forward story and I also wanted it to be a chase thriller as I have a soft spot for John Buchan’s The Thirty-Nine Steps. By the way, this year marks the centenary of the publication of his book, arguably the world’s first modern spy thriller.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

One of the major problems of readapting something that was written a long time ago was that so much has changed. It has become much harder for people to fall off the grid in today’s digital world. Everyone’s details are just out there, ready to be found. I did some research on this, but I really didn’t want to turn the story into a techno-thriller as that would be wandering off the initial concept of giving the story a 1950s feel.

What came easily?

Dialogue and humour. I come from north London and Harry is the typical sharp wit of the area. I would say he’s a cockney, but technically you’d have to be born within the sound of the Bow Bells (St Mary-le-Bow) to be classified a real cockney, which would be east of the city. But Harry’s got feelings and he’s allowed to express them. He also supports a wonderful soccer team called Arsenal.

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

They are entirely fictitious although the crimes have true authenticity.

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?

Before answering this question, I would like to say that I wouldn’t have got the bug to write if it wasn’t for a certain American professor who visited my college in London while I was studying for a degree in economics. His name was Dr Rod Whitaker and he offered creative writing classes at the college in the evening. I decided to go to the class to get away from the loud music one of the tenants played every night in the house where I was staying. Dr Whitaker taught at the Department of Radio, Television and Film at the Austin School of Communications in Texas. He entered our class and apologised for being late but said he’d just been on the phone to Clint Eastwood. It transpired that he’d written a blockbuster thriller called “The Eiger Sanction” and he’d sold it to Eastwood. After that introduction he had my complete attention and he went on to explain how he embarked on writing an international best seller. He wrote under the name of Trevanian and there were long-running rumours that Trevanian was actually the thriller writer Robert Ludlum. In 1979 he publicly revealed his true identity and his various pseudonyms in an interview with the New York Times Book Review. Over his life time his 10 published books sold more than 5m copies and he was heralded as the only writer of airport paperbacks to be compared to Zola, Ian Fleming, Poe and Chaucer. You can read more about the late Dr Whitaker on my website. 

Dr Whitaker showed me the excitement that writing could bring as I had never thought about writing a thriller before. After that it became a lifelong ambition to write a thriller, which I finally fulfilled with the publication of Hider/Seeker.

To answer your original question, I like to read a book where the writer takes care of you. A good thriller is fairly obvious from the first sentence. It’s like getting into a sports car and being taken for a spin. I always feel this with classic thriller writers like Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Patricia Highsmith. But I’m a great fan of contemporary writers too, such as Jo Nesbo, Olen Steinhauer, and Martin Cruz Smith. You may have noticed none of these are English. My favourite classic English thriller writer is Len Deighton. I think subconsciously the style of writing is formed by the type of books you liked to read in your formative years.

Do you have a target reader?

One of the first books I read about writing was Stephen King’s On Writing. His first piece of advice before writing anything is to pick a genre. The thriller is the most competitive genre of all and it is difficult to break into because so many people are writing them. But I do have a reader in mind. It is someone who likes linear plots with a touch of romance and humour. I like to add humour to my characters because it makes them look real and also helps to bring greater contrast when things go wrong for them. I also think there should be some romance in a story because that is how real life is. I know this may sound a bit cross-genre, but hopefully it makes my writing more interesting.

About Writing

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

I write down ideas for plots and keep them on file. When it comes to starting a new book, I try a few of the plot ideas out by writing some chapters to get a feel for the story. I then kick around a few alternative treatments to the same storylines until one of the ideas looks a goer. I see a story in terms of sailing from one port to another. I don’t know exactly what is going to happen between ports as I leave that to the characters to drive the story. But I always know that I have to navigate the ship towards the final port destination.

After drafting say 10 chapters, I send my work for a critique, along with a synopsis, for feedback. I want to make sure I have sound foundations for a story to build upon. More importantly, the synopsis is a good indicator of whether you have a viable idea. If the synopsis sounds complicated, then you have a problem. Writing a synopsis before the book is written is not easy and certainly won’t be the same synopsis when the book is completed, but it is a great litmus test.

I normally pay attention to the critique and decide what is coming across and what is not coming across. If the story still looks like it can sail, I’ll get on with it. When I have finished the first draft. I put it in a drawer for six weeks or longer. Then I read through it again to see how bad it is. At that stage, I take a deep breath and start re-editing. This usually means cutting for most people, but as I tend to underwrite it normally results in me adding. Then I send it to someone else to provide a critique of the opening chapters and synopsis. I then make further amendments and continue to refine the product until it is finally ready for an editor to look over.

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

I work from a one-line plot and have a good idea of the ending. Then I let the characters speak and do things. I have no idea what they will do next and if I don’t know, then I’m pretty sure the reader won’t either. If you plot chapter after chapter there is a likelihood that it will become a predictable story.

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

Stephen King advises to put it all down as quickly as possible. Get the whole book on paper in one go. But I’ve never been able to do this and Patricia Highsmith’s book Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction talks about editing while you go along although there is no need to start from Chapter One each time. I prefer editing the previous day’s work before moving on. If you write in a gallop and never look back, I think there is a great danger of going completely off course.

Did you hire a professional editor?

Yes. More than one. But they tend not to change or alter your sentences. They’re largely employed to look out for typos and anomalies. The real editing is done by me. It’s a very slow process, as it eventually dawns on you that after reading it so many times, parts of the chapters are slowing things down. It’s very difficult to spot them when you are so on top of it all. It often means cutting your favourite sentences or sections. I read somewhere that a good writer knows what to leave out and I think that is very true.

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

Absolutely not. I cut my teeth as a reporter writing in big newsrooms with boisterous journalists and clacking typewriters and nothing would ever distract me from writing my copy. But having music playing while I work would be another matter. I would not want an artist getting inside my head while I’m composing my own prose. The only advice I would give to a writer is never wear slippers when writing an action piece. Boots are much better.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

I always do because sometimes you get free advice, which is very helpful.

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 written three thrillers over the past 10 years or so, and I have a stupendous collection of rejection slips. I did find an agent at one point, but she then retired. This year I came to the view that I was more likely to expire before finding another agent. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and jump over the gatekeepers.

Publishing has been the one area of the art world where production has been restricted by cost. Musicians have been able to sing on street corners or perform in church halls and pubs. Even film makers have been able to produce short films and have their work seen on the internet. But now, thanks to the ebook, it is possible also for writers to put their book out there and break the hold of agents and publishers. It’s not perfect, but it allows your work to be read and bring some completion to a project.

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

I spent many days looking through stock shots and found something that was particularly suitable.

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

I just want good reader reviews. The whole process of putting a book together with the self-publishing company I’m working with has increased my knowledge about the whole business. It will also make me a better writer in future as my work is no longer in a drawer but out in the open.

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

It takes many years to learn how to write and you never stop learning. Send your work to editors for comments and when they say it is of a publishable standard, take the plunge.

About You

Where did you grow up?

North London.

Where do you live now?

I live in the beautiful Dorset countryside, surrounded by sheep.

What would you like readers to know about you?

I’m one of them. But when I read, I tend to focus on the mechanics of a book and what makes it tick.

What are you working on now?

All I will say at this point is that it takes place south of the Arctic Circle.

End of Interview:

For more from Tom, visit his website.

Get your copy of Hider/Seeker from Amazon US or Amazon UK.