Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been a writer for almost my entire life. Most of my writing has been of the professional sort, much of it in the military. I was drafted in 1972, won an appointment to West Point, and spent a career in the Army, both as an infantry officer, and later as a civilian employee of the Department of the Army, during which time I deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan for a total of 38 months. My job there was to mix with the population and learn about its concerns for security, and incorporate that into operations planning. The objective was to meet military objectives while avoiding lethal means.
I’ve written two books, Curse The Moon and Rasputin’s Legacy. Both hit the top 100 in at least one of Amazon’s categories on the first day of publication. The first is Book 1 of my Cold War series, and is based on my father-in-law, who was a leader in the resistance against Fidel Castro in Cuba. The main character, code-named Atcho, is a composite character composed from the experiences of my father-in-law and many other heroes and their real experiences. The second book, Rasputin’s Legacy continues the Cold War series with the same hero. Both are historical thrillers, spy/espionage stories, and historically accurate.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest published book is Rasputin’s Legacy. I was fortunate in writing it to be mentored by Carmine Zozzora, the producer of Die Hard with a Vengeance. When he had taken me as far as he could, he delivered me into the hands of Bill Thompson, who discovered and edited Stephen King and John Grisham, to name two great authors. I was inspired to write the book by the common theme between my two books: the heroic actions of clandestine warriors and the suffering of people having to live by the political decisions of malicious and incompetent national leaders.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t have an office to work in. My office is wherever my laptop is. If I need solitude, I look for it. In our last home, I had a library, but the call of grandchildren became overpowering, so we moved into our vacation home near them. It does not have a library. However, I wrote my first novel years ago when our kids were small and we were crammed into an apartment. I managed, and it won an award. So, I learned to make do with where I am, regardless of the distractions.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Robert Ludlum always comes to mind for me. I loved the Bourne Identity long before it became a movie (and think the movie does not do justice to Ludlum’s characters, who are very human and bleed when cut). Others are Vince Flynn, a master of his subject matter; Tom Clancy, unmatched in technical detail; Shakespeare, unparalleled in literary philosophy and efficiency of words; Dostoyevski for depth of thought; Edgar Allen Poe for setting mood. The list goes on and on. When I finished with Rasputin’s Legacy, I mentioned to Carmine that I could not have produced the quality of that book without his and Bill Thompson’s guidance. His response: “No author does it alone except those that lie about it.”
What are you working on now?
Currently, I am working on Book 3 of the Cold War series, with the same hero, Atcho. It’s working title is World Afire. The story carries to Europe, and centers on East and West Berlin in the days surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall. It pulls in the lines of influence that led to movement of terrorist activities into the middle east, which will be the concentration for Book 4.
Also, Carmine and I are agreed to co-write the screenplay for Rasputin’s Legacy. Depending on the outcome of Book 3, we might have a franchise. The other project, longer term, is working title, Cuba. It is more of a historical saga along the lines of a James Michener novel, but with much less description and a lot more suspense. It traces the outsized influence of Cuba on world events from the time of Columbus to the present. It won Best in Show in the Golden Triangle Writers Conference several years ago.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m not sure there is a single site. For me, key is driving traffic as efficiently as possible (meaning with fewest clicks) to the purchase sites, meaning Amazon, BN, Kobo, etc. Driving that traffic is a function of interplay between a website, FB page, Twitter account (with automated posting), a subscription email list, and paid promotion. The Amazon is the big daddy for sales, and Bookbub is king of eBook promotion. For successful sales, credibility on the sales sites is imperative, and to be promote on Bookbub and other paid promoting sites like Awesomegang, requires credibility in terms of good writing, good storytelling, good editing, a great cover, effective copywriting, and effective use of market resources.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t be in a hurry. Current advice from sellers of writing/marketing courses seems to be to write and publish as rapidly as possible. However, it’s easy to find authors who’ve published 20+ books who make very few sales. They are numerous. The story in the book *must* be great, or it’s a one-off sale, and no amount of speed in writing or getting to market is going to cure that.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Story, story, story. That from Carmine Zozzora. We worked together on Rasputin’s Legacy for a year. I had though it complete when he offered to read it, and I was just looking for a blurb from him. I got much more than that. He became my mentor. He called and said, “Lee, you’ve got a goldmine with this book, but you’ve got a lot of work to do.” Based on his guidance, I cut out roughly 30% of description, beautiful writing, interesting detail, but they were all elements that distracted from the story. His advice was sound. The book has been out for a month, has 84 reviews (average of 4.8-stars), and a common comment is how fast moving it is, without confusion, and without bogging down in unnecessary detail. Story, story, story. If an element doesn’t move the story forward, take it out. That’s sometimes painful to do, but the result will reward.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading Forty Autumns by Nina Willner. It is the true story of her family, which was divided for 28 years by the Berlin Wall. I’m reading it for background for World Afire, which again, centers on the intrigue in the days surrounding the fall of the Wall. It is an excellent book, very well written. I give it 5 stars.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Curse The Moon was just selected for a Bookbub promotion. For many authors, that is a game changer, often launching them into the major best-seller lists (i.e. New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, etc.). I hope that happens for me. Time will tell. With this Bookbub promotion, my main objective is to set up Rasputin’s Legacy for a similar promotion. I am already a full time writer. If I achieve those objectives, I have a shot at moving into the major ranks of authors.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would definitely take Rasputin’s Legacy. That might sound conceited, but I like reading what I write, and that book had so much loving attention, and was good enough that both Carmine and Bill Thompson put their blurbs on the cover. I would also take The Bourne Identity. At the time it was written, the premise was so unusual, a cover operator suffering amnesia, and it was so well done. I’d take Hunt for Red October for pure entertainment well written; and, given that I’d be stranded on an island, I’d take Kris “Tanto” Paronto (hero of Benghazi)’s The Ranger Way for mental toughness. Since I’m restricted to 4 books, I’d try to sneak on the Ranger Handbook as a survival guide (I was a Ranger).
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