There is practically no similarity of characters or plot to the bad 1950’s detective novels, but they are what inspired me to start the project.

Logan Terret – 21 January 2025

The Back Flap

An agate heiress finds herself to be the prime suspect in the bizarre murders of two prominent lapidaries and teams up with a geologist and a detective to capture the killers.

About the book

What is the book about?

A satirical riff on noir detective novels featuring PhD geologist Nick Cameron as the Watson and his Navajo jewelry artist friend Frankie Benally as the Holmes. Lake Superior agates, lapidary murders, a homicidal hobo, and beautiful women lead Nick through the Sonoran Desert into Mexico as he searches for the key to a complex mystery involving a treasure-trove of Mexican gold ore with historical connections to Pancho Villa.

When did you start writing the book?

It started as a joke email I wrote a long time ago.  In 2021 I stumbled upon the email and decided to develop the idea.

How long did it take you to write it?

About two years, though I was not working intensively on it and not writing to a deadline of any sort. The first draft was less than 50k words and quite rough, but thanks to the excellent developmental editor Jodi Fodor, I made many improvements and ended up with Agates are Forever as it exists today, at about 75,000 words.

Where did you get the idea from?

I was reading some bad 1950’s detective novels set in Chicago and written by an Englishman who had probably never been there. If he had been there, he never learned that a Chicago shamus does not say “whilst” or call the trunk of his car the “boot.”

Anyway, a friend returned from Northern Wisconsin with some Lake Superior agates, and as a joke, I wrote an early version of the opening paragraphs of Agates are Forever in an email, making the detective a “consulting geologist.”  She liked it.

There is practically no similarity of characters or plot to the bad 1950’s detective novels, but they are what inspired me to start the project.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

The opening.  I went through multiple versions and spent an absurd amount of time on the opening lines.  These are traditionally of utmost importance in a noir detective novel.

What came easily?

The last few chapters.  The ending was fully sketched out. It required no new characters and no new research.

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

All are based loosely on real world people. This avoids stereotypes, since real world people are not stereotypes. Their roles are different, of course.  I knew a Chinese chemical engineer, but she was not an industrial spy.  As far as I know, anyway.

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?

Charles Portis has been a big influence on me.  True Grit is his most familiar novel, but I’ve read and liked all his novels.  He has a clear and concise style, interesting characters, and excellent humor.  He’s classified as a regional writer, but his novels are set in the Midwest, South, and Mexico, so I’m not sure that fits.

In the introduction to his collected works, editor Jay Jennings observes,”Charles Portis is now recognized as a singular American genius, a writer whose deadpan style, picaresque plots, and unforgettable characters have drawn a passionate following among readers and writers.”

And Mario Puzo.  He was an excellent and thoughtful writer.  His autobiographical The Fortunate Pilgrim is great, but my favorite is Fools Die, which was also Puzo’s favorite.  It deals with the gambling, publishing, and film industries.  The treatment of the publishing industry is hilarious, especially the world-famous writer Osano, who keeps getting advances for a novel over a ten-year period and dies after completing only six pages.

‘“The only special person is the novelist,’ Osano would say. ‘Not like your f***ing short story writers and screenwriters and poets and playwrights and those f***ing flyweight literary journalists. All fancy dress. All thin. Not a heavy bone in them. You have to have heavy bones in your work when you write a novel.’” He mused about that and then wrote it on a piece of paper, and I knew there would be an essay about heavy bones in next Sunday’s review.

Of course, all the past masters like Steinbeck, Hemingway, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Melville, Conrad, Balzac, Zola etc. etc. influence me, but they influence everybody, so no point talking about them.

Do you have a target reader?

Geosciences people, lapidaries, and anyone interested in rocks or the rock show scene.  Anyone interested in Southwestern Fiction.  Anyone interested in the Mexican Revolution. Anyone who wants a smart, humorous detective who is not a divorced boozer with an estranged daughter.

About Writing

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

I like to decompose things into small units.  You could call this functional decomposition, but I think writers refer to scenes and beats.  The main story passes control to a scene, which then does something and returns its output back to the main story, which uses it to call another scene, and so on. If the scene doesn’t have anything worthwhile to pass back to the main story, it probably should not exist.

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

Yes. I could not do a complex mystery without an outline. You can only hold so much in memory at a time.  Agatha Christie was noted for her use of outlines, and I suspect most mystery writers use them.  Other forms of writing may not require detailed outlines, or any outline at all, for that matter.

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

I do some editing as I go, at the beat or chapter level. This is mainly to remove verbosity and ambiguities, find an especially apt word, and improve descriptions.

Did you hire a professional editor?

Absolutely.  If a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client, a writer who edits himself has a fool for an editor.  In my case, I hired an excellent developmental editor, and it vastly improved Agates are Forever.  She didn’t tell me what to write but identified areas where more or less was needed. “Is this necessary?” “What does this gorgeous creature look like?” or, best of all, “You can get more out of this.”  After the developmental edit was complete, Jodi referred me to SparkPress.

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

Music can inspire my writing, but I don’t listen to it while I am writing.  It distracts me.  Silence is fine.  Maybe the sound of wind in the palm and olive trees, which is rather like white noise, but not music. An occasional dog barking is fine. Music that evokes the vast empty spaces of the desert helps put me in the mood.  Ennio Morricone’s film music, in particular for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, is great. Some of Brian Eno’s “ambient music” is good.  Some Native American music is excellent, too.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

I did to one guy, but I quickly realized I needed a serious developmental edit.  Once that was done, Jodi referred me to SparkPress, and I’m very happy with them.

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 don’t think traditional publishers are interested in things outside standard genres, which I find rather boring, to be honest.  And I didn’t want to publish myself because I know nothing about publishing.  So, I was delighted when Jodi referred me to SparkPress.

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

Professionally done by an artist in LA.  We wanted to evoke the vivid covers of classic detective novels. Internal illustrations, pen and ink, were done by the same artist.

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

I know nothing about marketing, so I hired BookSparks, which has done a fine job for me. Promotion at and around the big rock shows in Tucson in January and February is something I am working on with a geologist who did the fact checks on my book.

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

Don’t imitate anybody.  ChatGPT can do that.  Find a good developmental editor, especially if it’s your first book.  Read widely, fiction and nonfiction.  Take advice seriously, but remember that reasonable minds can differ, and de gustibus non est disputandum. But if multiple readers of discernment tell you something sucks, most people will probably feel the same way.

About You

Where did you grow up?

Northern Michigan

Where do you live now?

Phoenix, Arizona

What would you like readers to know about you?

I wrote Agates are Forever hoping it would engage and amuse readers.  I didn’t write it for myself. I wrote it for you.

What are you working on now?

I am retired and do volunteer work.

End of Interview:

For more from Logan Terret visit his website.

Get your copy of Agates are Forever from Amazon US.