Overall, I think it’s hugely important to read a lot and to read a wide variety of genres and styles. I think there is a kind of osmosis that takes place. The writer inhales the language and hopeful exhales something that’s worth reading.
R.J. Norgard – 27 September 2019
The Back Flap
Private investigator Sidney Reed hasn’t been the same since the tragic death of his wife, Molly. Sharing a rundown apartment above an Anchorage, Alaska coffee shop with a cat named Priscilla, he dulls his bitter memories with cheap beer and sarcasm. When he’s offered a bundle of cash for a simple surveillance job, Sidney sees a chance to finally put the broken pieces of his life back together. But once the job turns deadly, he’ll have to sort through a mountain of clues to solve this case – and confront his own demons in the process. In the hard-boiled tradition of Raymond Chandler, Trophy Kill is the first in a bold new series of Alaskan mysteries by R.J. Norgard, a former private investigator and U.S. Army counterintelligence officer, featuring Anchorage private investigator Sidney Reed. Using Alaska’s beautiful and unforgiving landscape as his palette, Norgard paints a tough yet sympathetic protagonist with a razor-sharp wit, along with a rich cast of supporting characters, to create a striking portrait of crime and passion in the 49th state. This and succeeding installments in the Sidney Reed Mystery Series feature the Sidney slowly coming to terms with loss as he struggles to regain his footing in a world he knows intimately yet struggles to understand. Along the way, he keeps asking why Molly had to die and holding himself responsible for her death.
About the book
What is the book about?
It’s about an Alaska private investigator named Sidney Reed. Once the top P.I. in the state, Sidney hasn’t been the same since the tragic death of his wife, Molly. Now he shares a rundown apartment above an Anchorage coffee shop, burying his sorrows in cheap beer. When he’s offered a bundle of cash for a simple surveillance job, Sidney sees a chance to put the broken pieces of his life back together. But his supposed simple surveillance doesn’t go quite as planned, and soon he’s dragged head-first into a two-year-old mystery centered around a hunting trip gone awry. Trophy Kill is the first installment in the Sidney Reed Mystery Series.
When did you start writing the book?
I first started working on it in about 2008.
How long did it take you to write it?
About five years in all.
Where did you get the idea from?
I remembered reading a short story in the 1960’s remarkable for the most unusual way in which the killer covered up his crime. Much later, when I was up in Alaska, I thought of a way I could use that same idea for a crime committed in the Alaska wilderness.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
I don’t know if this is something that has plagued other first-time novelists, but in my early drafts I found I tended to over explain things. Eventually I realized readers don’t want everything explained to them, they want to figure things out for themselves. Once I figured that out, I was able to trim five or six thousand words off my manuscript. It’s the kind of thing that comes with experience. When I look back now at some of the things I wrote five years ago, I have to shake my head and smile.
What came easily?
I found writing in the first person to be a natural fit for me. Dialog came pretty easily, too, and having spent 21 years in Alaska, including eight years as a private investigator, I was comfortable laying down the setting for the characters to inhabit.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
Some are entirely fictitious. Some are, to a greater or lesser extent, borrowed from people I know or have known.
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?
In the mystery genre, the late Robert B. Parker is someone whose writing I have admired. I love his tight dialog and the way he used short chapters to move the story forward. I think he had a direct influence on the way I wanted to write first-person fiction. Overall, I think it’s hugely important to read a lot and to read a wide variety of genres and styles. I think there is a kind of osmosis that takes place. The writer inhales the language and hopeful exhales something that’s worth reading.
Do you have a target reader?
My target reader is someone who enjoys a good story with interesting characters whom he or she can relate to in some way, as separate and distinct from my target audience, which is people who enjoy a good mystery. I think it’s an important distinction. I think every writer should, above all, strive to tell a good story. From a marketing standpoint, I’m trying to get mystery fans to notice my work.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I write when I can, as much as I can. I usually begin a daily session by reading everything I’ve written up to that point and then keep going until I stop.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I create a chapter outline in table format with four columns. The first contains the chapter number. The second column provides space for a brief description of the chapter. Another column charts time: What day of the week or time of day does the action take place? The last column is labeled “Remarks” and typically includes notes about major plot points, the need to plant a clue in a specific place, or perhaps a comment about a certain character. The outline becomes my working document as I write and is fluid – nothing is sacrosanct. In a novel length work with over a dozen characters and several sub-plots, my outline is an essential tool for managing the plotting and arc of my story.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I edit as I go and again when I’m finished.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
No, not unless I happen to be in a coffee shop when I’m writing. Having music playing in the background doesn’t necessarily bother me but I don’t think I need it, either.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
I haven’t yet, but I may do that in the future.
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 had originally intended to go the traditional route of submitting Trophy Kill to agents and editors. However, as I was completing the book, I had a chance conversation with Larry Smith, founder of Bottom Dog Press in Huron, Ohio. I’d known Larry for the better part of a decade. Back then he was heading up the Firelands Writing Center at Bowling Green State University’s Firelands Campus, in addition to being a respected publisher. Upon retirement, he’d continued to hold monthly meetings with local writers, serving as both mentor and friend. He’d been following the progress of my novel right along and, knowing of my plans to seek out a traditional publisher, Larry offered to publish the book under an imprint of Bottom Dog Press, even though, despite having published over 200 titles, he’d never put out a mystery before. I jumped at the chance.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
Defying conventional wisdom, I created the cover myself because, a) I had the technical ability to do it, and, b) I knew exactly what I wanted, had carefully studied the market, and was confident I could pull it off. Unless you meet these specific criteria, I would recommend strongly against it. The cover will make or break your book. That’s the one element of design you should never skimp on. I think mine came out pretty well.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
I was so focused on getting Trophy Kill completed and sailing on its way that I had no real marketing plan. So, yes, I pretty much winged it. Big mistake. You can write the Great American Novel, but if you can’t get it in front of readers, no one is ever going to know about it. So, I learned the hard way that having a marketing plan is essential.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Write every day and read voraciously. Make your book the best it can be. Revise – revise – revise. Don’t rush it. Don’t get discouraged. Keep going until you realize your dream. It’s nice to sell books but, ultimately, aspire to write a book that you can be proud of. Put together a comprehensive marketing plan 4-6 months before your book launch. Do everything you can to get your name out there. Send your manuscript out for review to as many reviewers as you can. One good place is Publisher’s Weekly. Kirkus is good, too, if you can afford it.
About You
Where did you grow up?
Port Clinton, Ohio, a town on the shores of Lake Erie. It was idyllic. A typical summer day was spent swimming and romping in the sand.
Where do you live now?
A few miles from where I grew up.
What would you like readers to know about you?
I head up a local volunteer group that restored and relocated my hometown’s historic lighthouse, and am involved in our county historical society. I enjoy writing mystery stories and we have two very precocious female black cats.
End of Interview:
For more from R.J. Norgard, visit his website and follow him on Facebook. Also check out the video for Trophy Kill on YouTube.