So, several years after signing with a literary agent, I was on my own again. That was the defining moment, of course, for me to decide to go the self-publishing route. But it was also a process—several years of back and forth, of ‘almosts’, capped by that final conversation that made it clear what I had to do. And it’s been surprisingly liberating.

Kayne Milhomme – 9 July 2015

The Back Flap

The “Invitation to the Chase” arrives in the post without warning. Inscribed in silver ink on black paper, the anonymous summons expresses a simple challenge: to find the priceless Templar Diamond.

Stolen in 1896 from St. Peter’s Cathedral in Belfast, the Templar Diamond has been missing for six years, with the suspects still at large. Now there is hope of its discovery in Boston, if the cryptic invitation can be believed. But is it a ruse?

Jack Tuohay, Belfast Inspector 2nd class, is an inheritor of one such invitation. Professionally discredited for allowing the diamond theft to occur on his watch, he is desperate for a chance at redemption. But the new circumstances are not without stakes, as demonstrated by the murder of a second recipient of the invitation, a Boston priest.

It seems the search for the missing diamond is a deadly one.

Tuohay, with ties to both the diamond and the dead priest, is grudgingly assigned the case by his superiors. Along with two former sleuthing companions, Eliza Wilding and John Eldredge, he pursues the priest’s killer and the lost diamond. It is not long before the companions find themselves entwined in a web of ciphers, puzzles and ruses where one step closer to the diamond is also one step closer to the fatal consequences surrounding it.

The chase is on.

About the book

What is the book about?

There is, of course, the book blurb. But in simpler, less dramatic terms, it is a book about a discredited inspector, Jack Tuohay, who has a chance at redemption when the Templar Diamond—a priceless relic that was stolen during his watch and is currently missing—resurfaces. Tuohay travels to Boston intent on finding the diamond and on a darker note, to track down the individual (or individuals) who seem to be eliminating anyone else looking for it. He teams up with a pair of old friends (Eliza Wilding and John Eldredge), forming an ad hoc investigation team. (As a side note, Eliza is an absolute scene stealer, or so I have been told by just about everyone who has read the book). As you can imagine, the story has a handful of themes that the characters struggle with: renewing old friendships, facing past transgressions, obsessing over finding the diamond and stopping the killer(s) before they can do more harm, trying to decide who to trust and who not to trust (there’s a lot of that going on)—and that’s before lunch. Almost a character itself, the colorful setting and era (turn-of-the-century Boston) adds a vibrant dynamic to the story as well. And the puzzles and twists keep the investigation team (and the reader) guessing, up until the last revelation. It’s fun.

When did you start writing the book?

There are actually two versions of the book (only one version is published). The first version, which was more true to the historical research that the novel was founded on originally, was started over seven years ago. I landed a literary agent with that version, but it did not sell with traditional publishers. The new version, which has many strong ties to the original version but also has more creative freedoms (including the diamond theft plot line), was started about a year and a half ago (this version is self-published without a literary agent).

How long did it take you to write it?

As the crow flies, about eight years. Much of that time was in limbo as it was being reviewed by my (At the time) literary agent, or the agent’s readers. More on that soon.

Where did you get the idea from?

My father, William Milhomme, is an expert researcher (he worked for the Massachusetts archives for ~20 years). His favorite research is usually geared towards marginalized individuals or groups. In this case, he researched a priest that lived during the turn of the century. The priest had a serious bout with the Catholic archbishop (he took him to court, which created an electrifying scandal), and many years later was found dead in his apartment under mysterious circumstances. After speaking with my dad about it, I read the research and was hooked. By the way, if you have a chance take a look ay my dad’s blog, there are some great articles.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

Sure. Ensuring historical accuracy was one, of course. I am a creative writer and not a historian, and there were times where I would veer from the allowances of the time and place. Not as in suddenly placing a Camry on the streets of turn-of-the-century Boston, but more so the nuances of the time—what was trendy (and trending via newspapers, not via twitter), what did people have for breakfast, how did they greet one another—those kinds of things.

What came easily?

Once the characters were established, the dialogue and their interactions came quite naturally. For me, the plot is the destination, but the characters are the journey. In this regard, it is almost as if they come to life on the page, and rather than writing what they would say and do, I am watching it unfold before my eyes.

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

They are in fact entirely fictitious. Not to say that I do not know plenty of real world people who I could borrow some colorful traits from (including myself), but in this case the characters really did stand apart from the people I know.

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?

Reading and music are similar for me in this regard—I do not have a favorite artist that I consistently return to, or even a favorite genre (when it comes to books, the main thing that draws me back to a particular author is a series). For the most part, each book stands alone based on its individual merit, regardless of author. In that sense, I believe all the authors I have read (which are a lot) have had influences on me; perhaps some more than others, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I have picked up at least one thing from each book I have read.

Do you have a target reader?

Perhaps this is surprising or even naïve (from a marketing standpoint), but I really don’t. I want readers, don’t get me wrong. Lots of readers!! But I don’t target my writing for any particular type of reader. Of course, it may work the other way around, and readers who like certain genres or writing styles may (or may not be) drawn to my novel, but on my end I’m not targeting any particular audience type. My hope is that the writing, story, and characters can draw just about anyone in.

About Writing

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

Write something creative every day. It can be short, it can be terrible. But write something. When I am not working on a novel (during planning stages, for instance), I keep my writing fresh by writing summaries of RPGs I have played in. For instance, I play a Star Wars RPG (when I have time, which is not in a limitless supply), and the game play is usually thrilling and hilarious. After the fact, I’ll try to capture that tabletop fun by ‘writing it up’ as we call it. When I am working on a novel, than its all hands on deck—the focus of my creative writing is almost entirely on that. I will try to write every night, usually for several hours, but my overarching goal is always a chapter a week. That usually occurs in the wee hours of the night (or perhaps I should say morning). Another part of the process is taking walks, or perhaps going for a run here and there, and thinking about the story as I do so. Those types of activities help me in ways I can’t really explain—but my imagination tends to open up during them.

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

For novels, yes I do outline, especially for mystery novels. However, I do not go into great detail. Due to the fact that the characters are the real ‘authors’ of the story, I find that if my outline is too rigid or detailed, I (or more accurately, my characters), do not have the freedom they need to do what they want or need to do—they are limited by the rules of the outline. I fully acknowledge that this may simply be a shortcoming of mine in terms of how to build strong outlines that allow flexibility, but due to the fact that I cannot, I typically build the skeleton outline, include the major twists and ‘ah ha’ moments, and kick off. I will note that as the story progresses, I do tend to add more detail to the outline as I go, but more so in a ‘remember this for later’ fashion.

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

Probably to my own detriment, I edit as I go. Well, I’ll take a step back and qualify that statement by saying that the editing does not happen right away, if I am writing and am ‘in the flow’, I’ll keep that going. However, once I am finished with the chapter (or section, or maybe just for the night), I will go back and do a quick reread. If I see things then that need to be edited, the OCD part of me will not let that go, and I’ll edit away. Not at great length, because I know better—there is time enough for the major edits later—but at least so that I don’t read the excerpt the following day and want to blanch (well, even edits can’t guarantee that reaction will not occasionally happen).

Did you hire a professional editor?

I did use a professional editor, but not because I was self-publishing. At the time, I had a literary agent, but the book (version one, which is not the self-published version) was being rejected by the publishing houses. As a final step, I decided to work with a professional editor to see if she had any industry insights she could lend. She did, but as it turned out, she helped me create a novel that I am much happier with, and have self-published, rather than keep my literary agent and convince the publishing house editors of the merit of the novel.

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

Yes and no, which means that I go back and forth. Usually not, because in many ways silence is golden—meaning that silence allows my mind to remain free of influences. Music is very persuasive, and that may not always be a good thing when a character is trying to speak her/his mind, but something different comes out because I was listening to xxxxxx.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

Yes, through the traditional process of sending query letters. Through that process, I actually landed an agent at a legitimate and well-known literary agency who represented me for several years. She was a great agent, but it was not to be in the long run.

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

Both, if that’s possible. I recently wrote a blog about the experience, and hopefully it’s OK to use an excerpt from that for here (the full blog can be found at my website).

As I have referenced, I had a wonderful literary agent for several years. In true form, she diligently circulated the novel to publishers (more specifically, editors at publishing houses) over the course of many, many months. I should note, before beginning the submission process she asked if I would prefer for her to simply alert me to rejections, or have her forward me the actual rejection emails. The hope was, of course, that there would not be many rejections, and that they would be tempered by an eventual acceptance or two. Long story short, I said ‘forward them on!’.

And forward them on she did.

One thing I learned from the feedback of the publishing houses—it’s a subjective business. Of course there are standard market factors, fundamental requirements and certain expectations that any publishing house would follow—but there is most certainly an element of ‘I didn’t quite fall in love with it’. Along those lines, it was interesting to read the rejections from the editors at varying houses. More often than not, the specific reasons contradicted one another (one liked the writing, but the plot needed work; another loved the plot, but the writing needed work). But the end result was the same.

My agent was diligent, open, honest, and professional—in short, she was great. But publishing via the traditional route evidently wasn’t in the cards. The eventual closing conversation with my agent was humorously reminiscent of the exchange between Miles and his literary agent, Evelyn, from the movie Sideways:
Note: if you haven’t seen Sideways, skip the excerpt below since it gives away part of the plot!

EVELYN (ON THE PHONE)

And… they’re passing. Conundrum’s passing. He said they really liked it. They really wanted to do it, but they just couldn’t figure out how to market it. He said it was a tough call.

MILES

Huh.

EVELYN (ON THE PHONE)

I’m sorry, Miles.
(off his silence)
So I don’t know where that leaves us. I’m not sure how much more mileage I can get out of continuing to submit it. I think it’s one of those unfortunate cases in the business right now — a fabulous book with no home…

So, several years after signing with a literary agent, I was on my own again. That was the defining moment, of course, for me to decide to go the self-publishing route. But it was also a process—several years of back and forth, of ‘almosts’, capped by that final conversation that made it clear what I had to do. And it’s been surprisingly liberating.

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

Let’s just say it’s a good thing I did not do it by myself. The sketches that I made, and then populated and manipulated in Adobe were—well, let’s just say I should stick to writing. The great news for me, however, is that my sister Tracy is a professional marketer and an expert in design, and other sister, brother and Tracy’s husband (a professional photographer) are creatively talented. Lea by Tracy, the put the cover together, which I am extremely pleased with.

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

I think I would appear like a much more legitimate professional if I answered this question with a well thought out plan, including daily and weekly action items, and ways to utilize blogs and webpages and the writing community to spread the word. But right now, I am indeed winging it. I’ll give myself a little credit to say that I am using the tools out there—I just haven’t formulated a fool-proof marketing plan just yet.

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

Reach out to other indie authors, reach out to wonderful resources such as The IndieView, and don’t let the hindrances stop you from what matters most—writing. I wish I could provide more wisdom, and perhaps I will be able to a year from now, but at this point all I can say is just keep at it.

About You

Where did you grow up?

I grew up near Boston.

What would you like readers to know about you?

I love to write. I love to read. I love to be creative. I’m not witty, though many of my characters are. I envy them that.

What are you working on now?

The next book in the series: Tuohay, Eliza, and Eldredge will return to team up again.

End of Interview:

For more from Kayne, visit his website or follow him on Twitter.

Get your copy of Grace & Disgrace from Amazon US (paper or ebook) or Amazon UK (paper or ebook).