I caught up with the versatile and talented Charles Kipps to discuss his first crime novel. David Black, a producer and writer on Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, and Law & Order, calls Kipps' Hell's Kitchen Homicide "a must read."
Charles, an awful lot of crime fiction is set in New York City. What makes Hell's Kitchen Homicide different?
What makes Hell's Kitchen Homicide different is the setting: Midtown Manhattan. It takes place in a precinct that includes Hell's Kitchen, the Broadway Theater District, Times Square, and the Diamond District. Also, the motive for murder in Hell's Kitchen Homicide is unusual, something never seen before in a mystery as far as I know.
The main character in your book is Detective Conor Bard. Tell us about him.
Detective Conor Bard is a cop who'd rather be a rock star. But he's now in his mid-forties and must face the reality of the situation regarding any thought of making it in the record business. Should he retire now and go after a music career? Or should he wait a few more years to retire with a larger pension. While wrestling with this dilemma, Conor drinks too many martinis and consistently chooses the wrong women.
You've written for two of the great mystery series in TV history - Law and Order and Columbo. How did those experiences help you with your novel?
What I learned when writing for television, particularly Columbo and Law & Order, was extremely useful when developing Hell's Kitchen Homicide. First of all, crafting a television episode requires strict adherence to structure in that there are only forty-four minutes in which to tell a story. Although a novel does not have such restraints, applying the discipline of television writing turned out be an asset when writing fiction. Also, writing two such iconic characters, Columbo and Detective Mike Logan, helped me focus on character as well as story and structure when creating Conor Bard.
A detective who works in Hell's Kitchen said, "Reading Hell's Kitchen Homicide made me feel like I was working the case." What kind of research did you have to do to make the book seem that real?
I firmly believe in authenticity. For example, when I wrote Exiled: A Law & Order Movie, I employed police consultants (and one from the Medical Examiner's Office) to make sure the action was true to life. Over the years, living in Midtown, I have become friends with several Detectives at the Midtown North precinct. Hanging out with them has tuned my ear to cop dialogue and has given me an insight into their world. In addition, I asked them to read early drafts of Hell's Kitchen Homicide and offer comments on the police procedural aspect of the story.
Are you writing what Graham Greene called an "entertainment?" Or are you shooting for more?
I think all forms of entertainment should be, well, entertainment. With Hell's Kitchen Homicide my intention was to create a readable, fast-paced book that would entertain the reader. But I also endeavored to introduce a complicated character who was grappling with mid-life yet still kept the dream of being a rock star alive while trudging through his day-to-day law enforcement duties. So did I strive for more than "entertainment?" I strove to write something that would be embraced by the only people who matter when it comes to books: the reader.
You've already won an Edgar? What for and what was it like?
I won an Edgar for Exiled: A Law & Order Movie. Of course, I was thrilled. What was particularly gratifying about winning an Edgar was the fact that the award is voted on by writers.
Charles, you've written songs, TV and movie scripts, non-fiction books, and now crime fiction. Why a novel now? Which of your projects did you enjoy working on best and why?
I've heard my songs on the radio, seen my words come to life on the small screen and the big screen, but I've found that nothing compares to holding a finished book in your hand for the first time. And while I enjoyed writing nonfiction books, a novel is a completely different experience. As for why a novel now, I actually had the character in mind for almost twenty years but I every time I started to write about Conor Bard, something came up on the film or television front. But Conor Bard wouldn't leave me alone. So I finally just sat down and wrote it.
What do your screenwriting colleagues treat you know that you've turned to novel-writing? As a poor country cousin?
My screenwriting colleagues don't consider a novelist a poor country cousin at all. Quite the contrary. Everyone I know who is laboring away on a television show or doing endless rewrites on a film would love to be writing novels instead. A novelist is like a boxer -- one person in the ring. In Hollywood, a writer is one of many people working on a project. And every single one of those people thinks he or she is more important than the writer.
You've written for movies before. Any Hollywood interest in Hell's Kitchen Homicide?
Yes. In fact, there is quite a bit of interest from both film and television. Of course, being Hollywood, one never knows where it will all lead. I wish the networks hadn't given up the "Mystery Wheel" which launched shows like Columbo, McCloud, and McMillan & Wife. I think Conor Bard would fit well in a series of two hour television movies.
So are you satisfied with novelist's life now? What's next for you?
I love the novelist's life. It offers a great deal of freedom in that I can write anywhere without being tied to a television soundstage or movie location. In fact, I took a cruise to Lisbon a few months ago and spent a lot of time sitting by the pool working on the second installment of the Conor Bard Mysteries, Crystal Death, which takes place in the Diamond District. What's next for me is more Conor Bard mysteries as well as television and film projects. But I'd have to say that writing novels is the most satisfying form of writing for me right now.
Contributing editor Keith Raffel has held a top secret clearance to watch over CIA activities and has founded an award-winning Internet software company. Steve Berry called Keith's latest book, Smasher: A Silicon Valley Thriller, "taut, tight, and suspenseful" and said it "skillfully carries the reader triumphantly from one climax to the next."
