It’s not cheap to write a thriller – or, at least, not in my case. The travel, accommodation, museum visits, research and reading all add up in terms of the dollars. My total came to around $US6000 and, to date, book sales have not put a dent in that. So, why do it? Because the idea was with me for some time and I could not kill it. The idea grew into a story that I felt should be told. And, now I’m here. Of course, I can claw back some of the expense with a tax write-off and the travel expanded to allow my wife and I to do other things, but the novel was uppermost the whole time. Every key location – Gibraltar, Dubrovnik, Split, Trieste, Seattle, Cartagena, Barcelona, Montpellier, London, et al – were observed through my writing lens and recaptured with my camera to help review in detail. Some readers may find there’s too much detail, but I attempted to trim it to stay relevant to the plot and not overwhelm it. You may ask if it was worth it? Of course and MUTINY is my happiest, most satisfying book. But, then, all authors prefer their second novel to their first, but only if they write more than one! I hope you enjoy it too.
locations
Apologies to Dan Brown
I forced myself through the improbable scenarios of a Dan Brown novel and was left thinking, “impossible plot development.” Now, I’m not being critical of Dan’s work – it’s a novel he’s writing after all – but the plot was too implausible for my liking. Others might enjoy Dan’s approach, just as they love the swashbuckling rodeo ride of a James Bond movie. I try hard to check my locations to see if they are accurate. For example, in 3 WISE MEN, I describe a visit to a perfume shop in Florence – Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella. I used details gleaned from the internet and my earlier visits to the city. However, I had never been to the historic shop before. My wife and I finally had the opportunity to step inside the store after 3 WISE MEN had been published. When we found the unobtrusive entrance and walked the long corridor, I was anticipating the need to re-write the relevant section in my novel. The displays were wonderful and we enjoyed afternoon tea from an amazing selection and, after a tour of the perfume-making studio, we returned to our accommodation. I quickly leafed through my copy of the 3 WISE MENl and discovered to my delight that there was no need to change anything. That doesn’t mean to say that sometimes a first-hand knowledge is required. I do hope that readers of MUTINY find all the locations real and relevant to the plot, with descriptions that have enough detail to propel the action and anchor the reader to the page. Dan Brown failed to do so, but his style, and intent, is totally different.
There’s Nothing Like a Real Context
My wife and I prefer to organise our own itinerary when visiting new places and this was the case when we arrived in Croatia by train from Venice. We would sometimes tag along with a Tour by Locals or take in a musical event. Otherwise, it was freestyle all the way. When we arrived in Dubrovnik (August, 2019) we happened upon a restaurant at the waterfront and it became a meeting place in MUTINY:
It was well after ten when Nikolai thanked Zarko and arrived at the Poklisar Bar, adjacent to the harbor and swinging to the hip strains of a loud jazz group. The double-bass player plucked with ease, ogling women on the boardwalk from behind dark glasses. He looked cool in a dark, short-sleeved shirt, patterned in pineapples, with a bikini-clad playing card glued to his white instrument. Nikolai settled into a comfy canvas chair to enjoy the ironic strains of What a Wonderful World and feast his eyes on the tight tops and short skirts.
Fact Check: the double-bass player is described as accurately as possible (from a photo I took at the time – shown here). He was backing the strains of “It’s a Wonderful World.” All in all, a genuine context within the pages of MUTINY. However, for the wanna writer, be careful that the location details don’t override the plot. If the descriptive writing swamps the action, then it’s just a travelogue with drama. Better to let details settle in the background and keep the plot moving. You may notice – if you have read MUTINY – that Jenson’s fireside chat at MI6 is contrasted with the gloomy London weather outside, which fits the mood rather well and fits the plot when he steps out into the night.
PS: As it happens, the Poklisar location occurs more than once when the plot wraps up. To be enlightened, you will need to read MUTINY :-).
And those other names?
3 WISE MEN features real locations, real cafes, and real hotels , etc. in order to give authenticity to the novel. The plot is also plausible and based on a genuine ancient document.
The sense of place – places that reader have heard about or visited – was essential for me as a writer. In fact, one idea for the story was dropped – simply because it was a far-fetched possibility that our protagonist would be able to circumvent the security in place. I had checked it out carefully and realized that there was a slim chance of getting past the guards, but this was highly unlikely.
I hope the exotic locations and real places give 3 WISE MEN that touch of reality that I was looking for. Even the airline and train schedules needed to be correct. Some research took a while!
Finally, I was grateful to Galimard in Grasse for allowing me the rights to use their company name in 3 WISE MEN.
As an author, do I plan the plot or not?
Aha – the plot thickens! Well, so it should. I was once asked whether the plot for 3 WISE MEN was clear before I started writing, or did it grow as the word count increased? It is best to answer this in two ways:
- The two basic ideas were floating around in my mind for about 2 years.
- My wife and I visited locations in the south of France, but I did not start writing the book until we were taking the train from Nice to Paris a few days later. It may have been the sunshine, or the lovely swims in the Mediterranean that set the writing wheels in motion – or, it could have been the train wheels engaging with the writing cogs? Originally, I hoped to have the book largely written before embarking on the trip. This approach simply didn’t work for me. There are so many details that are needed for an authentic thriller, that I needed to see the main places firsthand. Here is one brief example of a cafe that we came across one day, but it was a Sunday and it was closed. So, we made a point of visiting it the next day, and it proved to be a great meeting place for Jak to catch up with an old teaching colleague of his. They both taught together at the University of Milan, which if the pinkish-red building on the left in this photo.
[novel extract: “His favorite café – the Bar Arcibaldo – was just across the street from the university entrance, and Jak was delighted to enter and finally shake off the cold air. Not only was this a good place to relax, but it was also an opportunity to enjoy the company of fellow university students and lecturers who frequently gathered here between classes and at the end of their academic day.] Note: “Nun Te Pago” means “Not paid.” - When faced with a “what do I write next?” scenario, I tended to wait a few days until the basic ideas flowed. This was usually in the morning. Once I had the next step in the plot worked out I would type furiously to get it all down. Sometimes, things happened that I had not expected in the plot. Hopefully, neither will the reader be expecting them!