Michael was honored to have AN HONEST MAN featured on First Chapter Fun, and Hank Phillippi Ryan did an incredible job of reading the first chapter! You can watch and listen to the episode below and on Facebook.
There were also a bunch of fantastic questions from viewers, which you will find with answers below.
What are you looking forward to reading this fall?
Just started reading NINTH HOUSE by Leigh Bardugo and it is a very promising beginning. Interesting blend of the history of Yale’s secret societies and some supernatural spookiness. She delivers very nice writing. I have a biography of Larry McMurtry up next.
Is AN HONEST MAN based on real life story/events?
No, not based on any real-life events, although the fictional setting has some inspirations from Maine’s midcoast island communities. All of the books have some textural elements or settings that are inspired by reality. The plot, not so much.
Do you know the key points of your plot before you begin writing? Or do you let the story evolve?
I know almost nothing about the plot when I begin. I try an opening scenario and see if it excites me enough to keep following things. My process requires a lot of rewriting, but I’d argue it’s maybe more fun because I don’t know what happened, who did it, or how!
Was this always the first chapter of AN HONEST MAN, or did you start somewhere else first?
This was always the first chapter. That doesn’t always hold true — I’ve had more where I changed the opening than not, probably — but for this book, the original opening stuck.
Are you a boater? If so, do you have a boat? What type?
I’ve been on a lot of boats of all varieties over the years, but my favorite boat is one someone else owns! Ha. I do have a pontoon boat on a lake, but that’s not nearly as much fun to write about as a lobster boat and a luxury yacht at sea. I love sailboats but I’ve never yet made the mistake of buying one. Hopefully, I can keep my wits about me there.
How long did it take you to write AN HONEST MAN?
About 16 months, and many drafts. I wrote more than 1,000 pages to arrive at the 365 final version.
Was AN HONEST MAN always the title?
Long enough that I don’t remember another one, anyhow! It might’ve been called SALVATION POINT for a while. I usually have the title before the book, but sometimes they’ll change late in the game.
When did you know you wanted to be a professional author?
From the moment I understood you could make a living writing stories. Not long ago, my mother unearthed something I’d written in first grade saying I wanted to be an author. That’s an early commitment! Ha.
How often do you get your ideas from the news? And do you have specific sources you read for ideas?
I can’t say that I get ideas from the news, at least not in terms of a plot, but I become curious about a lot of topics from reading the news. I’m a former reporter and a local news junkie. I love the curious/unusual/odd storyline that you can find in local news. For example, I learned that one of the islands off the Maine coast has a single deputy as its law enforcement presence. I thought that was a fascinating role! I read a long piece about the New York water supply that fascinated me, and it led me to the book that became THE CHILL. So the news is often a starting point, but it is almost never a crime story.
Did AN HONEST MAN end up the way you first imagined it or did it evolve along the way?
They always evolve enormously. I don’t know anything about the ending when I start, so I can’t say that I really imagine any clear version at the start. I just follow the characters to the end, then go back and do a second draft that’s much more polished than the first, with a clearer sense of the story.
What are your favorite types of books to read?
I read almost everything. I read about 100 books each year and it’s pretty evenly split between fiction and non-fiction. I like my suspense and thrillers, of course, but a lot of the writers I come back to regularly are far removed from that genre. Recently, I’ve been falling in love with audiobooks, and when you discover a really good narrator, it’s worth following them into new territory.
What are your pets names & ages?
I’m down to two now: a cat named John Pryor (the name of the gravestone I found him sitting on), and a dog named Lola. She’s almost 11. Pryor is about 10, although if you base it on the gravestone, he’s closer to 125. I lost my old buddy Marlowe, my first cat, this spring. He’d been around for every book since SORROW’S ANTHEM, my second novel. He got the next one, LOST MAN’S LANE, across the finish line before he checked out. I made sure to thank him in the acknowledgments for hanging in there until it was done. I like to think he was curious about the ending, but he never seemed to be a huge fan of what I was up to at the desk, based on his tendency to knock everything off it while I was working.
Are you ever tempted to have an “unexplained” crime in one of your books?
Well, I ended RISE THE DARK with an unexplained crime. The reader knows who did it — but not how, or how it will be fixed. One of these days, I might get around to addressing that!
Do either of your pets ever make cameos?
Not by name, but the dog’s likeness has appeared in several. The cats are more creatures of inspiration than cameo characters. My old cat, Marlowe, was particularly helpful in demonstrating feral feline behaviors while I was writing THE RIDGE, which features some big cats. Marlowe thought he was a tiger, so it was helpful to watch him.
Was AN HONEST MAN easy to write or did it challenge you?
This one was a hell of a challenge. They all are, really — I try not to repeat myself, and that makes each one a fresh challenge in its own way — but some stories put up more of a fight than others, and AN HONEST MAN was one of those. They always end up being my sentimental favorites, because over the years I’ll remember the battle more than I remember the details. It’s like fishing: the one that fights the hardest is the most memorable. It might not be your trophy catch, but it lingers longer.