Hank Phillippi Ryan talks with contributing editor Janice Gable Bashman about Prime Time, the first book in her Charlotte McNally mystery thriller series. Prime Time hit the shelves in July. The second and third books in the series (Face Time and Air Time) will be published in August and September, respectively.
What makes Prime Time such a great read?
As a reporter, my first goal is to tell a great story - and that's how I think of Prime Time. It has a truly unique and original plot. I still remember the moment I thought of it - I was deleting a raft of annoying spam emails, and opened one by mistake. Instead of being about refinancing, as the subject line promised, the body of the email looked like lines from a play from Shakespeare.
Why would someone put Shakespeare in spam? I wondered. And it crossed my mind - oh, maybe it's a secret message. It was a true plot-eureka experience. And from that moment on, I was obsessed with finding out whether there could be secret messages in spam, and why, and how it could work.
Joe Meyers of the Connecticut Post called it "a wonderful mystery." I think readers are compelled to discover what happens next, and that's terrific.
You stated the "architecture of a mystery novel has fascinated [you] from the beginning because it all has to work, it has to be fair." How do you ensure this occurs during your writing process?
One of the amazing things about writing is that you have to hold 90,000 words in your head at the same time. You're managing the lives of dozens of characters. You've created a new world. You're juggling and moving and being careful of context. You need to make sure the "truth" of the world you created stays fair and honest.
First, I write extensive outlines - maybe 60 pages! - because I want to make sure, before I start writing, that everything works. That people do what they do for a good reason. That the puzzle pieces fit, with none left over. That clues appear, that there are no coincidences or author conveniences, and that the conclusions are reasonable. And that the ending is satisfying.
Then, as I begin the actual writing, I keep a notepad by my keyboard. (David Hewson would suggest I get special writing software, and he's probably right). But on my old-fashioned notepad, I keep track of clues and conversations. I'll write things like: "Charlie doesn't know about the phone call" or "Why would she give him the letter?" And then make sure those points are taken are of.
Finally, in revision, I try to read my story as if I hadn't written it. I put myself in someone else's head and then ask: Does it make sense? Do I understand this? Is it fair? Do I see the clues? That's a really valuable exercise.
You've won 26 Emmys for investigative reporting, yet in a previous interview in the Big Thrill you stated "I've never faced a challenge like getting my first novel published." Explain.
I've wired myself with hidden cameras, confronted corrupt politicians, and chased down criminals. I've spent days and weeks digging up documents and sorting them until my hands are a mass of paper cuts. But as a reporter, I know the truth is there somewhere, I just have to find it. And I relish that.
But in writing a mystery thriller, I have to create the truth. And that's a different challenge, right?
And as for the actual getting-it-published part - well, confession, I thought it would be much easier to get Prime Time a publisher than it was. It's been a long time since I was the new kid. And I was a total newbie when I entered "book world." I've learned so much, it's almost astonishing.
You've wanted to write since you were young. Which authors influenced you and how?
As a kid...I just loved stories. I loved reading. I decided I would write stories for Nancy Drew - she was my only friend during a very geeky adolescence.
My influences as a teenager? From Agatha Christie I learned about plots. Arthur Conan Doyle revealed how to use clues. But I also remember at about age 13, sneaking Marjorie Morningstar from my parent's bookshelf, thinking I was going to read something racy. What I got was a really compelling story. You can't put down a good old Herman Wouk. Talk about drawing the reader in! I was enchanted with Shakespeare even as a teenager. And I know I often think about all the double meanings he uses, and layering of words and themes. Thomas Wolfe for the need to make characters have a past. F. Scott Fitzgerald for writerly elegance. Edith Wharton for wry humor, and proof that you can sneak in social commentary. Later, Stephen King's The Stand. He packs suspense into every word.
As a Cold War teen, I devoured - I mean devoured! - Seven Days in May. Advise and Consent. On the Beach. Page-turners, right?
But my number one influence? Walter Cronkite. I keep saying - it's all about a good story. He knew how to choose a compelling situation and tell it with fairness, drama, conflict - and in the shortest possible way.
How has your work as an investigative reporter informed your writing?
The two are so similar! First, as a reporter, there's no such thing as writer's block. The news is on at 6pm, whether the "muse" is ready or not. (Can you imagine if I asked to be on at ten after six, saying I just didn't "feel it" yet? I'd be out on my ear.) So I have no problems with writing on deadline. I just do it.
There's the "looking for a good story" element. You have to make sure the viewers - and readers - care about what you've written. In both TV and fiction, you need compelling characters, an important conflict, and a walloping sense of justice in the end.
Thirty years of TV has taught me about storytelling. And a great story is a great story, whether it's fact or fiction.
What's next for Hank Phillippi Ryan?
In TV world, I'm working on some big stories, none of which I can breathe a word about. I just signed a new three-year contract with Channel 7, so I'm delighted with that. In book world, I'm on the road and hoping to introduce more readers to the three "Time" books. I'm also doing the final edits of book four, Drive Time, which comes out in February from MIRA. (Thanks to David Morrell and Carla Neggers for the very wonderful blurbs!) I'm also percolating another series - and you guys will be the first to know.
Contributing editor, Janice Gable Bashman, writes for leading publications, including "Novel & Short Story Writer's Market," "US Industry Today," "Food & Drink Quarterly," "The Wild River Review," "Bucks," and others. Her serial feature "Thrill Ride: The Dark World of Mysteries and Thrillers" (co-written with Jonathan Maberry for the "Wild River Review") includes interviews with Barry Eisler, Lawrence Block, Steve Hamilton, and other thriller and mystery writers. She is working on a thriller, "Vengeance," and her writing won multiple awards at the 2007 Philadelphia Writer's Conference.
