Mystery Mania

An Interesting Time To Be a Writer

2016-07-15T08:34:00.000-05:00

A while back, I read an article that said Ernest Hemingway wrote A Moveable Feast after going through notes he had accumulated during his time in Paris 30 years earlier. I wish I had been that meticulous during my early days. Or even later ones. Notes from my newspaper days ended up in the trash bin after I wrote the stories.

I have found one period, though, in which my activities are well chronicled for posterity, if old Pos is ever interested. It’s the years 1963 through 1969, during which I was founder and editor of Nashville Magazine, the city's first slick paper monthly. All of its issues are stacked on a shelf at Nashville's main library, unless they were discarded after digitization. I wrote many articles for the publication, though quite a few didn’t carry my by-line. Each issue included a feature at the front of the book titled “Scene About Town.” I modeled it after The New Yorker’s “The Talk of the Town,” which back then included mostly short often humorous or whimsical vignettes about life and events that took place in the city.

We had several covers created by local graphic artists, including one for the first issue, shown above, by Dave Baker. The L&C Tower was the only "skyscraper" back then. The skyline has changed dramatically over the past 53 years.

My monthly musings about people and places and what went on around town bring back memories of how life was lived in those days. Looking back over a few issues (I have them all), I realized I’d forgotten how nice the perks were for a magazine editor. I was invited to all manner of dinners and parties and meetings. While attending, I picked up all sorts of little tidbits to put in my column.

At a United Givers Fund (now United Way) luncheon, a voluble advertising guy commented:

“Talk about your all-time salesman, I nominate the man who sold restaurants on putting parsley on every plate. Created a whole industry out of nothing. He should be sought out and recognized with a medal.”

I constantly had visits from strange people who would wind up in the magazine’s pages. Like the young lady named Sue Silber, who wrote poetry and observed her fellowman with a humorous perspective. At concerts, she watched as much as she listened.

“Audience-watching,” she said, “is a delightful sport in itself. Most audiences can be classified into various categories. First, there are the tappers. This classification can be further divided into the foot-tappers, the finger-tappers, and the hand-tappers. And then the last two can be further categorized as to what they tap.

“Some finger-tappers tap their chin–or chins, some their cheek, some their thigh, some tap their knee, some their program, some their cigarette pack, and some women tap their purse. Then there are, as it were, the back-seat conductors. These wave their hands in time to the music, sometimes quite broadly. Occasionally they even go so far as to use a rolled-up program for a baton. The musicians–foolish men–ignore these geniuses in favor of their own conductor.”

The pages revealed other such dramatic events as a cocktail party The Oertel Brewing Company held to announce its new “real draft beer” in cans. My comment: “This was akin to producing the real Jane Mansfield in a trenchcoat.”

I wrote about such things as traveling up the Cumberland River on a barge towboat, sitting in on a recording session at RCA’s now-historic Music Row studio, working backstage at a theatrical production, and watching them make Goo Goos at Standard Candy Company.

It was an interesting time to be a writer.

Now, approaching the age of 91, I find it interesting just to sit back and watch the world spin around me. Not that I'm the center of the Universe...you know what I mean.

Nashville, My Writing, My Idols, My Favorite Food

2016-07-02T03:00:00.000-05:00

This is an interview I did with Julia Buckley back in 2006 that I really like. I can't believe it's been ten years, but I mention having spent most of my 80 years in Nashville. It's been 90 years now and the city has changed dramatically in the past few years. I hope you enjoy it.

Hi, Chester. Thanks for chatting with me. You live in Nashville. Are you a country music fan? Whose music do you particularly like?
I cut my musical teeth on the big bands of the thirties and forties. I also loved balladeers like Perry Como and Andy Williams. So my country music tastes favor the old timers in the style of Eddy Arnold and Ray Price. My wife is a pure country fan, but I'm not too familiar with the current scene. Music City references in my books are more generic to the broad picture along Music Row. There's a lot more recorded in Nashville than country.

You got the mystery-writing bug early, and wrote a mystery while you were still in college. Did you have a sense then that you'd write more seriously one day?
Hey, I was dead serious back then. I was a fulltime journalism student during the day, worked a full shift as a reporter on a morning newspaper in the evening, then sat down at my little portable typewriter in my basement room in the fraternity house, whenever I could find time, and banged out the novel. Seriously, I always kept in the back of my head (is that where our memory chips are located?) that I would someday be a published novelist.

You've mentioned that your wife is a great supporter of your work. Does the rest of your family help to sell the books?
Not as much as I'd like--I need all the help I can get. (Just kidding, I think). They do promote the books among their friends and colleagues. Now if I could just get my daughter with two girls in Girl Scouts to sell books like she sells cookies, I'd have it made.

The New Mystery Reader has referred to your work as nothing less than "Campbellish." Are you pleased with the fact that they had to create this word to describe the essence of your books?
I'm thrilled at all the nice things reviewers have to say, like "this is one author a reader can count on," or "he continues to write fabulous mysteries," and "the plot is fast-paced, and the writing is top-notch." Hopefully all my readers will find that "Campbellish."

Tell us about Greg and Jill McKenzie.
The McKenzies have survived nearly forty years together. He's a little past 65, while she's just under that milestone. Greg came from a middle class family in St. Louis--his father was a master brewer for Anheuser-Busch. By contrast, Jill's father was a well-to-do life insurance salesman in Nashville. Both are college graduates. Greg started out as a deputy sheriff in St. Louis County, then enjoyed (more or less) a full career as an Air Force Office of Special Investigations agent (think Air Force detective). Jill studied aeronautics and operated her own charter air service during Greg's military gig. As an investigator, Greg is a no-nonsense, no-compromise, put the blame where it belongs kind of guy. The series starts after Greg is retired, and in book three he and Jill go into the PI business. She's a caring, understanding, non-judgmental person who is especially good at getting information out of women. The really fun part of writing about the couple is doing the occasional humorous digs between them.

Your Greg McKenzie novels take place in Nashville. What makes Nashville a good place to set a mystery?
Having spent most of my 80 years in Nashville, I have watched the city grow from a leisurely-paced town that proudly called itself the "Athens of the South" to a moderately-paced city (we're not New York or LA yet, thank God) known as "Music City U.S.A." Nashville is schizophrenic enough to cling to the old image while beckoning newcomers by smiling through its modern face. It offers lots of contrasts to play with while creating nefarious plots. I put the McKenzies' home in the Hermitage suburb and their office on Old Hickory Boulevard, both references to President Andrew Jackson, who lived nearby. But the stories take them to locations like bustling Music Row and the ultra-modern Opryland Hotel. You can read an article I wrote for Mystery Readers Journal on Nashville as a setting by going to http://www.chesterdcampbell.com/Articles.htm.

Like many writers, you have some manuscripts that were never published. Is there one of those in particular that you would really like to see in print?
Funny you should ask. I have one titled Hell Bound that has been making the rounds lately. I wrote it just before tackling Secret of the Scroll, which became my first published novel. Hell Bound takes place in 1999 and involves a busload of seniors on a church trip from Nashville to New Orleans. One of the passengers, living under an assumed name, is a former Mafia investment counselor who testified against the mob. He is tracked down by a hit squad that doesn't know his current identity but is determined to single him out from among the male passengers. If there are any agents or publishers looking in, it's available!

Among many other jobs, you once worked as an ad executive. What's the best ad you ever created?
I worked on several national accounts like Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and Martha White Flour, but nothing I did really stands out in my memory. One of the most challenging was full page ads for a local undertaker who decided to build a high-rise mausoleum. When we got through, I had a great time creating a parody using all the old death clichés I could unearth. Some of my colleagues were afraid the client might see it.

You've authored some interesting articles, including one about the trial of Charles Manson and his murderous followers. This trial went beyond the bizarre shenanigans of even the O.J. trial; what was it that made you want to write about it?
When the editor of Web Mystery Magazine contacted me about writing an article, she gave me a list of possible subjects, including such famous trials as the Lindbergh kidnapping. I did a little research and was intrigued by Manson's background and the shocking way he manipulated people. There is a subplot in Hell Bound about a mass murderer, where I had mentioned Manson, but I had never looked into his character. One of my earliest non-newspaper jobs was free-lancing for national magazines. This gave me a chance to tackle non-fiction once more.

You've met a lot of other writers in your travels. Is there a writer you haven't met, but would really like to meet?
There are two whose writing I have admired and have heard speak at conventions or conferences but never met. They are James Lee Burke and Robert B. Parker. Maybe I like them because I also use a middle initial with my writing. Actually, Burke's sense of place and Parker's dialogue have inspired me to work harder at my own.

You'll be at Bouchercon in the fall. Do you know what panel you will be on?
I have corresponded with Jodi Bollendorf, one of the programming chairs, about some ideas for panels, but I've heard nothing definite yet. Incidentally, my closest contact with James Lee Burke came at the 2003 Bouchercon in Las Vegas. I was a newby then with one book out. After my panel, I sat at my table in the signing room like the Maytag repairman. Next to me a long line trailed out into the corridor. The table, unoccupied, bore no name. When I departed without signing a book, I inquired about the line. "James Lee Burke is coming," I was told.

I think many of us can relate to the Maytag Repairman analogy. What are you currently writing?
I have just finished the fourth Greg McKenzie mystery titled The Marathon Murders. It involves a bit of Nashville history and a fictional ninety-year-old murder. The Marathon Motor Works built a popular touring car in Nashville between 1910-1914 before falling victim to mismanagement. I've also just written my first mystery short story titled Double Trouble. The protagonist finds a look-alike to take the rap for a murder he plans. I'll soon be working on the fifth McKenzie book. What it'll be about is a mystery to me.

If I were to be invited to your Nashville home for dinner (hypothetically) and you and your wife were going to prepare me your favorite food, what would it be?
The menu would likely include chicken breasts cooked in sherry, green beans, corn, tipsy sweet potatoes (spiked with Jack Daniel's), yeast rolls, and green salad (made with lime Jello, cottage cheese, chopped celery, and pecans). We would drink fruit tea, my wife Sarah's (and Jill McKenzie's) concoction made with peach-flavored instant tea, pineapple juice, and Marachino cherry syrup. We'd have coffee (decaf for us) with the pecan pie dessert. Y'all come.

Thanks, Chester. That sounds fabulous. :)

Covers Sell the Book, They Say

2016-06-03T04:00:00.000-05:00

The cover is the first thing a potential reader sees when he/she encounters a book. In a store, if the cover is intriguing enough, they'll probably leaf through a few pages, maybe check the blurb on the back. But it's the design of that front cover that first catches their eye. I have some pretty good covers in my two PI series, but I'm happier with those on my last four books, the Post Cold War Political Thriller Trilogy and my first standalone, Hellbound. These were all produced by talented designer Stephen Walker of Atlanta.

Each cover is based on the story in the book, though, of course, it won't be obvious until you read it. But Stephen has put together the story elements in an exciting way. Here's a rundown:

The first book in the trilogy, Beware the Jabberwock, deals with an attempt by ex-Soviet hardliners and discontents in the U.S. to restore their hold on power through a shocking action in Toronto. The cover features American and Soviet symbols along with a mortar firing in front of the Toronto skyline. Burke Hill, ex-FBI agent who becomes clandestine director for a Washington PR firm that's a CIA spinoff, appears in all three books.

For the second book, it's a black cover that highlights a night view of South Korea's National Treasure No. 1, Seoul's Great South Gate. The title at the top—The Poksu Conspiracy—includes the Korean word for "vengeance." It has a different meaning in Chinese, which you'll learn in the book. Just beneath the photograph are the hangul (Korean) characters for poksu. The plot involves vengeance taken upon civilian leaders in South Korea who favor close cooperation with America.

The last book in the trilogy, Overture to Disaster, has a cover that features two images that relate to the plot. The one that fills most of the area shows a row of cannons firing, with a hammer and sickle showing faintly in the darkness above, covered in part by a large "DISASTER." At the top, beside a smaller "OVERTURE," flies an Air Force MH-53J Pave Low III helicopter. All of these images tie into the story, which involves a faction of former KGB operatives carrying out a disastrous scheme in Washington as part of an effort to revive the old Soviet Union.

The cover for Hellbound, my favorite, shows the back of a bus in flames, partially covered by the title in small-to-large letters. In this dramatic scene, the plot is capsuled in smaller letters: "The Mafia targets a busload of seniors..." The plot involves a bus full of seniors from a suburban Nashville church, which, unknown to the other passengers, includes a man who years before decimated a Mafia "family" with his testimony in federal court.

It is certainly logical that the cover sells the book, but the cover must be seen to be sold. Unfortunately, these days most of us don't find our books on the shelf in a store. Our covers aren't seen unless we get them out there in some sort of promotion, like on BookBub or Freebooksy or Awesome Gang or you name it. Twitter, Facebook, etc. But I'll keep going for great covers and hope they're seen.

Visit me at ChesterDCampbell.com.

A Memorable Tour of the Holy Land

2016-05-17T03:00:00.000-05:00

One of the most interesting trips I've made took place late in 1998 when I visited the Holy Land. Being a mystery writer, though not published at the time, I viewed most places on the trip with an eye to how they might be used in a novel. I bought a camcorder just before heading to the Middle East and took about three hours of videos during the tour.

Traveling by Royal Jordanian Airlines, we flew into Amman and spent a day cruising by bus through the mostly desolate Jordanian desert to visit two interesting sites. We stood on Mount Nebo where Moses gazed across the Jordan River before his death. Then we toured the ancient city of Petra, made famous by one of its striking building fronts carved out of rose sandstone being used in the climax of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Our first taste of the dichotomy between Israel and its neighbors came as we approached the Allenby Bridge over the Jordan River. It’s called the King Hussein bridge on the east side. We had to leave the Jordanian bus and board an Israeli bus for the crossing.

Jericho provided our first taste of the Promised Land, the same as Joshua in the Bible. Billed as the world’s oldest and lowest city (820 feet below sea level), its ancient tel, or archeological site, has been peeled back to reveal 26 layers of civilization dating back to 8000 B.C. Heading on to the Holy City, we checked into our hotel in East Jerusalem, the Arab district.

Our savvy Nashville travel agent, who joined us on the tour, booked us through a tour company run by two Palestinian brothers (who, incidentally, attended the University of Tennessee). He said we wouldn’t have any trouble in the Palestinian territories as they knew the bus was owned by Arabs.

For the next few days, we shuttled around various Jerusalem sites, plus Bethlehem, the Dead Sea Scroll caves at Qumran, the Dead Sea shoreline, and Masada. We were advised to steer clear of the West Bank hotbeds of Hebron and Ramallah. We visited such fascinating spots as Hezekiah’s Tunnel, dug 1,500 feet through the rock from both ends at once in 700 BC. We also toured the Shrine of the Book, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls; Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum; the Temple Mount with its striking Dome of the Rock; the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built on several levels and occupied by several different religious groups.

One of the more interesting stops was an Arab market filled with small but colorful shops. We had to stop and try the Israeli’s favorite fast food, a falafel (spiced chickpea fritter) tucked into pita bread.

During the next week, we traveled north through Samaria, with a stop at Jacob’s Well, heading into the fertile Yizreel Valley. We visited Mount Meggido, called Armageddon in Revelations, walking among the ruins, including a trip down 183 steps to see the historic water tunnel. Then it was on to the Sea of Galilee, where we stayed in Nazareth. We sailed on the sea in a fishing boat allegedly like the one Jesus rode in. They dipped in a net, but it came up empty.

We toured biblical sites around the Galilee, also known as Lake Kinneret, including the Mount of the Beatitudes, Capernaum, and churches dedicated to various incidents such as the multiplication of loaves and fishes. We visited the attractive Kibbutz Ein Gev and traveled up the steep slopes of the Golan Heights to an old artillery emplacement looking down over the kibbutz where Syrian gunners fired on the Israeli settlers.

Our tour began to wind down with a visit to Mount Carmel, where Elijah vanquished the priests of Baal. Then we headed for Israel’s third largest metropolitan area, Haifa. The hillside Baha’i Shrine and Gardens provided a striking panorama, as did a view of the Haifa port. Afterward, we headed south along the Mediterranean to the historic city of Caesarea, built by King Herod.

At the outdoor Roman Theater, our guide stood on the stage and showed how a normal voice could be heard all around the seating area. We also checked out the ruins of Herod’s hippodrome, which had seating for 20,000 people. Then we toured the remains of the king’s port, now part of the Crusader city. Just beyond this stood a Roman aqueduct built in the A.D. 100’s. It had steps leading up so we could walk along a section of the monstrous project.

After overnighting in a seaside hotel at Netanya, we headed into Tel Aviv, the country’s commercial center. Our final stop was the old port city of Jaffa on Tel Aviv’s south side. Old Jaffa had a special attraction for me, with its warren of stair-step streets through the reconstructed ruins of Turkish palaces, flanked by pastel colored artist’s studios, galleries, and outdoor cafes.

In fact, the experience led me to open the first chapter in Secret of the Scroll, my initial Greg McKenzie mystery, in Old Jaffa.

On our flight home from Amman, I read in the Royal Jordanian magazine about an archeological dig at Bethany in Jordan, the area where John the Baptist preached. It mentioned finding caves that had been occupied by monks in the early centuries. I thought what if someone found an ancient scroll in one of those caves. After I got home, it quickly developed into a plot. Happily, I had my videos to help out.

I used much of my travel experience to tell the story, sending Greg and Jill McKenzie on an identical trip. Many of the locations appear just as they did to me. You can read the opening chapters on Amazon at this link. Give it a moment to switch to the Look Inside.

Visit my website at ChesterDCampbell.com.

On Series Writing and Small Presses

2016-05-03T16:07:00.000-05:00

I've done lots of interviews over the past decade-plus, but one I particularly like appeared in Poe's Deadly Daughters, which has since been discontinued. The interview was done about the time I started my second PI series with The Surest Poison. It includes some views on series writing and the pros and cons of small presses. The interview was done by Sharon Wildwind; "PPD" stands for Poe's Deadly Daughters.

PDD:
You now have four books in your Greg McKenzie series. Why did you decide to write another PI series with a different type of protagonist?

Chester:
I enjoyed writing about Greg and Jill McKenzie, a pair of sleuths in their late sixties. Writing their snappy banter was particularly enjoyable. Several reviewers referred to them as cozies. I didn’t think of the books that way, but they’re certainly not hard-boiled, and I felt I’d reached the place where I wanted to strike out on a bit edgier path.

The Surest Poison deals with the dumping of a large amount of a toxic chemical behind a small plant in a rural community west of Nashville. When the state comes after the plant’s current owner, PI Sid Chance is hired to find the real responsible party. He soon finds himself, and his associate, Jaz LeMieux, beset by three seemingly unrelated murders, an explosion, and shadows from Sid’s past.

PPD:
I gather Sid has—what’s the current term—issues?

Chester:
He was formerly a National Park ranger, then spent ten years as a small town police chief. After he was disgraced and forced to resign, he spent three years roughing it in a hillside cabin in the woods fifty miles from the city. Jaz got him out of that cabin, back to Nashville and into the PI business.

PPD:
Jaz is sharp, sexy, and fourteen years younger than Sid. Do we see romance ahead?

Chester
A. Sid has never been married, or even had a serious relationship. He and Jaz clash now and then, but they’re obviously coming closer. Who knows what may lie ahead?

PPD:
Where did the plot for The Surest Poison come from?

Chester:
I have a friend in Nashville named Norma Mott Tillman who is a private investigator specializing in finding missing persons. She’s pretty well known, being on Oprah and several other shows. She told me about a case she had investigated in West Tennessee a few years ago that involved a similar scenario. I saw the possibilities, moved it closer to Nashville, and the story took off.

I should have given Ralph Waldo Emerson credit for the title, but I don’t guess he’ll complain. He wrote an essay in The Atlantic back in 1862 in which he said substances like prussic acid and strychnine “are weak dilutions: the surest poison is time.” I thought it fit the story. The actual poison took years to affect the community, while time took its toll on the characters.

PPD:
The Surest Poison is published by Night Shadows Press, your second small publisher. What are the pluses and minuses of going with a small publisher?

Chester:
I’ve heard a lot of New York editors are only concerned with acquiring manuscripts. With a small press, I got to work closely with my editors. I learned an awful lot from my first editor.

I’ve also been fortunate that my editors have stuck with my suggested titles. The only change in mine was with the first book, which I called The Secret of the Scroll. I was rightfully told to leave off the first “The.” Covers involve another plus. I have had total input on all my covers. An additional favorable aspect is production time. From the time I sent the manuscript to the editor, it was no more than nine months until the release date.

On the minus side, the chief problem is distribution. The books are available through Ingram and Baker & Taylor and can be ordered through any bookstore. However, the stores do not routinely stock them. They will only be on the shelf at places where I have done signings. Also, the major review sites mostly ignore small publishers. Library Journal is the only one that has reviewed some of my books. However, respected review sites like Midwest Book Review and Crimespree Magazine always come through.

PPD:
I’m not telling secrets to say that loads of us in the mystery community envy your ability to do top-notch book signings. Got tips for the rest of us?

Chester:
I’m always looking for any kind of venue where I can sell. One of my grandsons’ school has a Market Place. I went there and to a street fair in a small town not far from here. My book launch for The Surest Poison will be at my church. Church members are always asking, “When will your next book be ready?” So I know I’ll sell a bunch of books there. I do some signings in larger chain bookstores as well, and we have a small mystery bookstore in Nashville that pushes my books and has ordered several copies of the new one.

I’m pulling out all the stops for this new release, primarily on-line. With the economy as it is, I’m cutting back on travel this year, spending more on venues where I can sell books. I’ve recently done the Southern Kentucky Book Fest, and will do the Kentucky Book Fair in November. I’ve always done well at book fairs.

So I guess my tips are get on the road, do bookstore signings when you can, and constantly keep your eye out for other places to sell. Build a team. I’m very fortunate that my wife plays such a big part in all of my appearances. She’s my shill: she passes out small promo folders and directs people to where I’m signing. If you’re not as lucky as I am, with a ready-made co-conspirator, build a team to help you sell.

PDD:
It sounds like retiring to write books has been very rewarding.

Chester:
I’d say there are several rewards. The first is that I simply enjoy writing mysteries. I wrote eight before the first one sold, and I guess I’d still be writing away if none of them had. Another is the satisfaction I get when readers tell me how much they enjoy reading my books. And being a bit vain as we all are, I get a charge out of reading a good review, like the one Jon Jordan wrote in the current Crimespree Magazine that ended, “A top rate mystery by a gem of a writer.”

Website: http://www.chesterdcampbell.com

Wrtiing the Private Eye

2016-04-18T03:00:00.000-05:00

The Private Eye Novel has been a favorite of American reading audiences since back in the thirties. Its early popularity grew out of such characters as Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade, Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer, and John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee. Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon has become an American fiction classic. There is no shortage of definitions for the detectives who populate these stories. Probably the most definitive is the one used by the Private Eye Writers of America in picking winners for its annual Shamus Awards.

They define a “private eye” as any mystery protagonist who is a professional investigator, but not a police officer or government agent.

I had no idea of creating a PI when I started writing about Greg McKenzie, a retired Air Force OSI agent, the protagonist of my first four mystery novels (plus a later fifth). In fact, I wasn’t even thinking series. The first book involved a hostage taking, and I wanted a character with investigative experience who would have all the tools he needed to compete with the bad guys and rescue his wife. While working on that story, I consulted with the Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Special Investigations at Arnold Air Force Base.

It wasn’t until the end of the second book that I realized Greg and his wife were perfectly suited to get into the private investigation business. The last three books have dealt with cases they took on with unexpected results. A few reviewers referred to the books as cozies, though I didn’t see them that way.

If you’ve never been in law enforcement, how do you learn the basics of writing about private investigators? It helps if you’ve been a newspaper reporter. They use some of the same techniques as detectives. Also you read a lot about PIs, both in fiction and fact. I have two books about private investigation written by two working pros I know personally.

I was surprised when I got a review of the third Greg McKenzie book that started out, “If you’re interested in seeing how a real private detective works try Chester Campbell’s Deadly Illusions.”

That was only topped by a review of the fourth book that began, "The Marathon Murders is a skillfully woven tale that shows detective fiction wannabes how it’s supposed to be done.”

Although I enjoyed penning the exploits of Greg and Jill McKenzie, I wanted to try my hand at a more gritty private eye story. So I conjured up Sidney Lanier (Sid) Chance, a Green Beret in Vietnam, a National Parks ranger for 19 years, and a small town police chief for another 10. He left the NPS after being shot and quit his police job over false accusations of bribery.

Sid is the protagonist in The Surest Poison and The Good, The Bad and The Murderous, the two books in the series. Apparently I succeeded in telling a more hard-boiled tale since one reviewer said I was channeling my love for the written word “into the kind of fiction writing that those with a penchant for Lawrence Block can enjoy.” If you don’t know Larry Block, he writes really hard-boiled stuff and is one of Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Masters.

So what’s the secret to writing believable private eyes? In my view it’s keeping your detective’s eyes and ears tuned to pick up any lead, whether it be a phone call, a scrap of paper found at a crime scene, a casual observation by a witness, and following it wherever the trail takes him. And you’d better obstruct the trail with plenty of boulders and booby traps.

The early PIs were strictly loners, but as the twentieth century wound down, it became popular to give private investigators sidekicks. Jasmine (Jaz) LeMieux fills the spot for Sid Chance, though she’s not like any sidekick I’ve encountered before. She’s rich, being majority owner and board chairman of a chain of truck stops, but followed a pretty weird path in getting there. After quitting college over a disagreement with her basketball coach, she served in the Air Force Security Police, was a professional boxer, and worked as a Metro Nashville policewoman.

Barbara Norville, in her book Writing the Modern Mystery, says “the primary attribute of the private eye is his unique sense of justice, and this is the theme of all private eye novels.” I agree, and it’s the raison d’etre for my PIs. As we learn about Sid Chance, “the possibility of taking a twisted situation and making things right was the lure that kept him in the business.”

Check out my books on the website HERE or on Amazon HERE.

2016-04-07T20:09:00.001-05:00

The Surest Poison's Jaz LeMieux Talks

The Surest Poison, first book in the Sid Chance PI series, involves Sid’s efforts to locate the man responsible for a toxic chemical dump behind a plant near a small town west of Nashville. I wrote this for another blog shortly after the book came out. I think it's still just as relevant now, particularly if you're new to the series. In The Surest Poison, the current owner of the toxic dump area faces the costly cleanup of the mess caused by a previous occupant years ago. Three seemingly unrelated murders occur as Sid is tailed and threatened. When his part-time associate, Jasmine LeMieux, offers her help, she is awakened by an explosion behind her mansion. A lot of readers tell me they like Jaz better than Sid. She's quite a character. I hope you enjoy the interview.

Chester: Would you state your full name and occupation?
Jaz: What is this? Are you trying to play detective?

Chester: Just answer the question, please.
Jaz: Oh, all right. I’ll play along. My name is Jasmine LeMieux, a.k.a. Jaz, and I’m chairman of the board for Welcome Home Stores, a chain of truck stops headquartered in Nashville. I’m also a newly-minted—licensed, that is—private investigator.

Chester: And a very attractive one at age forty-five.
Jaz: Thanks, I guess, but you didn’t have to go into that age business. A lady needs to keep a few secrets.

Chester: Sorry about that. I hear you’re working with another local PI named Sid Chance. Is that correct?
Jaz: I wouldn’t call it working, exactly. It’s more like a lark to me. It’s a chance to play cop.

Chester: Weren’t you a Metro Nashville policewoman at one point?
Jaz: Until my mother died and my father was nearly killed in a car wreck. I quit the force to help nurse him back to health.

Chester: Your career choices up to that point caused a bit of consternation with your family, didn’t they?
Jaz: You’re being kind. Actually, I was kicked out of the family. My mother was a snobbish Southern Belle. She went ballistic when I dropped out of college and joined the Air Force. I was young at the time and quite determined. I had been a star point guard on the basketball team. When they brought in a new coach who berated my style of play, I got mad and quit. In the Air Force I was assigned to the Security Police under a sergeant who was a former Golden Gloves champion. He worked out regularly with me in the gym. When I left the service, he offered to train me as a boxer. I went professional, and my mother erased my name from the family ledger.

Chester: Didn’t you become a lightweight champion?
Jaz: I did, but it didn’t pay enough to live on. That’s why I became a cop.

Chester: From the looks of this French Colonial mansion you live in, I’d say you weren’t hurting for money now.
Jaz: I’m doing okay. My dad came to Nashville as an ambitious young French Canadian. He built Welcome Home Stores into a lucrative business. When he regained his health after the accident, he asked me to come to work for him. I went back to school and got a computer science degree, plus an MBA. He left me controlling interest in the business when he died.

Chester: How do you find time to play cop, as you call it?
Jaz: I keep close tabs on the company, but I’m not involved in day-to-day operations.

Chester: Weren’t you responsible for getting Sid Chance in the PI business?
Jaz: I was looking for somebody to run an investigation for Welcome Home Stores, and a mutual friend told me about Sid. He had a wealth of experience in law enforcement but got shafted by small town politics. He’d run off to a cabin the woods and was playing hermit. I looked him up, talked him into coming back to take my company’s case. He did such a great job with it that I offered to help him get into the PI business.

Chester: Did you have anything to do with Sid’s taking on this toxic chemical pollution case?
Jaz: I recommended him to a lawyer who does work for my company.

Chester: It sounds like you think pretty highly of Mr. Sidney Chance. True?
Jaz: If you mean do I think he’s one very sharp detective, quite true. He’s also one gorgeous hunk of a man, a little rough around the edges, but honest as the day is long. He’s totally devoid of pretense, someone you can always count on to come through for you.

Chester: In addition to your helping with Sid’s case, he got pretty heavily involved with your problem at home, didn’t he?
Jaz: Yes, there’s a dear couple who lives with me. They’ve been family employees since I was a kid. When their grandson got into trouble, Sid came to the rescue.

Chester: Do I detect something a little more than a purely business relationship?
Jaz: We’ve become very close friends. And this part is off the record. I wouldn’t object to pushing the relationship to a new level, but I think Sid needs to find some inner peace before he’s ready to break out of his shell. He needs to come to terms with his past.

Chester: Didn’t you introduce him to some good law enforcement contacts?
Jaz: You refer to the Miss Demeanor and Five Felons Poker Club. We meet irregularly with a Metro homicide detective, a patrol sergeant, a retired newspaper police reporter, and a former Criminal Court Judge. They’re great friends, and Sid has found they can be quite helpful.

Chester: And what’s in store for Jasmine LeMieux as a private investigator?
Jaz: That depends on Sid. I’m only interested in working cases where he needs my help. I have resources he doesn’t possess, including computer savvy to dig out information not easily accessible.

Chester: I’m sure he’ll find ample opportunity to use your services in the future. Thanks for talking with us, Miss LeMieux. I wish you much success.
Jaz: Hey, speaking of which, you won’t mind if I succeeded in selling a few books, would you?

I guess I could use her help as well as anybody else's. Anyway, that's all for now.

Using Personal Experience in Plot Locations

2016-03-31T21:38:00.000-05:00

Fiction is bound to be somewhat biographical. Any of the author's experiences and beliefs are subject to ending up in the story. One area particularly likely to figure in the mix is location. Places familiar to the author will probably find their way into his or her stories. It's certainly true for me.

My Greg McKenzie and Sid Chance mysteries are mostly set around the Nashville area, which is where I have lived for most of my 90 years. But the first book, Secret of the Scroll, is set about half in Nashville and half in Jordan and Israel. Describing the Middle East part was no problem as I had made a similar trek through the area on a Holy Land tour. To back up my recollections, I had three hours of videotape I had shot along the way.

The second McKenzie mystery, Designed to Kill, takes place in large part around Pensacola, Florida. I had no trouble with descriptions there since my wife and I had spent two weeks in spring and fall for the past few years at my brother's condo (photo at right) on the stretch of sand called Perdido Key, just southwest of Pensacola. I gave Greg and Jill McKenzie a similar condo for their vacation getaway.

When it came to writing the Post Cold War Political Thriller Trilogy, my travels about the world really came into play. The first book, Beware the Jabberwock, opened in Vienna, Austria, a city I had visited on one of my European jaunts. One important locale in the story is Washington, D.C. I made annual trips there during my years as an association executive, visiting House and Senate office buildings, plus other areas in the District. Another key spot is the Great Smoky Mountains, where the major character lived when he was recruited into a clandestine role. I have driven and roamed about most parts of the Smokies. Important to the story is a small island I invented off the Gulf Coast near Apalachicola, Florida, another area I have visited.

Other foreign sites in the story where I have spent time are Tel Aviv, Israel, Hong Kong, Acapulco, Mexico and Toronto. U.S. cities include New Orleans, San Francisco and Atlanta, places I have visited multiple times. Others I have only passed through include Baltimore, the I-75 corridor through Detroit and Niagara Falls. One place I only used research to depict is the island of Cyprus.

In book two, The Poksu Conspiracy, a major portion of the story takes place in South Korea. I was stationed in Seoul during the Korean War and visited modern Seoul during a Far East tour in 1987 with my late wife, Alma, our son Mark and his Korean wife I Pun. But when personal experience doesn't stretch far enough, I have to depend on research.To cover cities such as Berlin, Budapest and Pyongyang, North Korea, I turned to tourist guidebooks and memoirs by people who've lived there.

The last book of the trilogy is Overture to Disaster. I had followed Russia and its satellites closely during the Cold War, so I had no problem finding sources for what I needed about Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. I had visited several parts of Mexico, including Mexico City, which provided a lot of help with the Mexican angle. I depended on research for the Peru part but had visited Zurich, one of the other cities involved in the story.

After 90 years of roaming around the U.S., plus many other areas of the world, I've found personal experience a handy entree to the task of locating physical action. There are still lots of places I'd like to visit, but, unfortunately, my wife, Sarah, isn't up to the journey, and we've always worked as a team.

New Look at an Old Blog...or Is It?

2016-03-25T09:50:00.000-05:00

Since I haven't been accomplishing much in the way of writing a new book, I decided to revive this old blog. I say "old" because its debut came with the dawning of 2009. My first effort appeared here on January 1 of that year. Reading it now, the context could fit the current scene. So let's take a ride down Memory Lane:

It has been a quiet New Year's Day around here. Everybody but me slept till noon. I've been banging around on the computer most of the day, cleaning up this and that. Finally got around to setting up my new blog. Welcome aboard.

So why should you read mine in addition to the 99 million others out there? Will I have anything worthwhile to expound upon? There's the mystery. You'll need to check in now and then to find out.

In a world where the economy is sliding down a greased pole, where people like me have a granddaughter-in-law in Iraq and a grandson in Afghanistan, hopefully not getting shot at today, where legislators seem more adept at arguing than accomplishing, where food on the table is a luxury in many places, is this a a great time to be alive or not? You bet it is.

This is my eighty-third winter, and I've seen a lot of crazy goings-on in this topsy-turvy world. I've managed to survive it all by being an incurable optimist. Things are going to get better. You can count on it. And I plan to take part in the good times ahead. That's why I like mystery writing. The good guys may take a beating along the way, but they're gonna win in the end.

I hope you'll come along for the ride.

It's Great When Readers 'Get It'

2015-07-30T16:52:00.000-05:00

It's always a pleasure when readers "get it," that is, when they totally understand what the author is trying to say in a story. That doesn't always happen. In the case of Hellbound, my latest crime novel and first standalone, the reviews on Amazon indicate that it happened this time. There aren't many, only seven, three 5-star reviews and four with four stars. Most of the reviewers are identified as VINE VOICE, which indicates they are among Amazon's most experienced reviewers.

One of them, Susannah St Clair, top Amazon reviewer, captured the essence of Hellbound in the following three paragraphs:

Who would have thought a trip with a bunch of oldies (us folk who want to hear all that 50’s music) on a big Greyhound bus would be entertaining? I certainly wasn’t too sure about it but I am glad I took the time to read Mr. C.D. Campbell’s “Hellbound”. Entertaining it is with a nice bit of humor and a touch of romance thrown in. Mr. Campbell definitely knows his way around the English language and writes a very good narrative along the way. His characters are nicely drawn and fun to “meet”.

Pulling a hurricane into the story along with the Mafia chasing their unknown quarry through New Orleans was a nice touch making things more scary to all aboard the bus and you the reader. Mr. Campbell has written several other books and it shows in the crafting of this one. Only saw one editing mistake, at least that I noticed. (But then I am a senior too..;<) )

If you're looking for a cute, fast read, then this book is for you. Even more so if you're over 60. You may see yourself in one of these well etched characters!

My thanks to Ms. St. Clair for her comments. Those who have read my PI series know I attempt to portray older people in a favorable manner. As one who has been in those ranks for many years now, I know most "senior citizens" are just normal people who have passed the age of retirement. Many of them haven't retired but continue to perform valuable service to their communities.

Hellbound was a fun book to write because most of the colorful details of the scenes came from an identical bus trip my wife and I made with our church group back in the late nineties. Fortunately, we were not hounded by a gang of thugs as were the characters in the story, but the places they visit are as we saw them. Right up to the hurricane, that is. The trip we took went from New Orleans to Bellingrath Gardens near Mobile, then up I-65 home to Madison (Nashville).

You can read more about Hellbound on it's Amazon page or my website.

Digging into the Past

2015-05-20T02:00:00.000-05:00

There's no telling what you'll turn up if you go shuffling through files you haven't delved into in years. I discovered the results the other day while cleaning out a filing cabinet. What I came across was a sheet of background information on my first two published novels. I had forgotten about compiling the data.

The first interesting fact I came across was when I started working on Secret of the Scroll and when the book finally made it into print. I began the writing process in January of 1999. The end came three years and nine months later when I received my first copies—October 2002. I typically do a dab of research before starting to write but complete the bulk of it along the way.

Checking my notes, I read numerous books on biblical archaeology, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Bible Codes. My interviews included one with a professor at Emory University, the Special Agent in Charge of the OSI detachment at Arnold Air Force Base, Tullahoma, Tennessee, and a United Methodist preacher I had known from my church in Madison. I dug through lots of internet articles on such subjects as the Bible Codes and Shin Bet, the Israeli Secret Service. I consulted Israeli tour books and the Royal Jordanian Airlines inflight magazine from which I gleaned the idea for the book.

With all the research along the way, I finished the writing part in eighteen months. Then I sent out query letters to thirty agents. I got one request to see the manuscript and mailed it to the agent in December 2000. On her advice I sent Secret of the Scroll to a professional editor, received some valuable feedback, revised the manuscript, getting the final edit in June 2001. I sent it back to the agent and heard nothing until December when I received a call from her husband, who headed a small press. He offered me a three-book contract.

I started book two in the Greg McKenzie Mystery series, Designed to Kill, in October 2000 after completion of the first book. Most of the research and part of the writing took place while my wife and I stayed at my brother's condo at Perdido Key, Florida, site of most of the action. I didn't have anything published at the time, but I didn't hesitate to interview people like a law enforcement ranger at the Gulf Islands National Seashore, a sergeant and an investigator with the Escambia County Sheriff's office, an official in the Building Inspections Department, and a forensic investigator and an Associate Medical Examiner with Florida's First District.

I did research at the Pensacola Historical Society archives, a Biloxi, Mississippi casino (that's fun research), and with several engineering friends. The book was released in March 2004.

I've had eight more novels published since then, and there are many more stories connected to them. I don't know what else I might find in the files, but I'll glean a few more thoughts to use in future blogs. Stay tuned.

Incidentally, I've just redone my website. Take a look at chesterdcampbell.com.

What's Behind Mystery Writer Chester Campbell

2015-03-27T12:06:00.001-05:00

I often hear that readers like to know personal stuff about authors, so I thought I would put together a few significant background bits about myself. The things we write about, the ideas we share, the events we describe come out of the knowledge and experiences we have gained over the years. For me, that adds up to 89-plus. Rather than use the old I pronoun, which would make it sound too self-centered, we'll switch to third person, the POV used in six of my novels—all but the Greg McKenzie Mysteries.

● Campbell graduated from East Nashville High School in 1943. He received the Overall Medal
as the city's outstanding ROTC cadet in his junior year.

● After enlisting in the Army Air Forces Reserve just out of high school, Campbell was called to active duty in January 1944 and served a year and ten months in the Eastern Flying Training Command during World War II.

● As a member of the class of 1949, Campbell was among the first to complete the new journalism curriculum at the University of Tennessee.

● Campbell began his writing career as a reporter for The Knoxville Journal while in his junior year at UT.

● Campbell received the Bronze Star Medal in the Korean War as a captain at Fifth Air Force Headquarters in Seoul. The citation said he "performed exceptionally meritorious service in support of operations in Korea as an Intelligence Officer in the Estimates Division, Directorate of Intelligence."

● During a brief stint as a freelance magazine writer, Campbell had articles published in such national publications as Coronet and The American Legion Magazine.

● As a copywriter for a Nashville advertising agency, Campbell worked on ads for such accounts as Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut. His crowning achievement was keeping a straight face while working on full page newspaper ads for a high-rise mausoleum.

● Campbell was founder and editor for six years of Nashville Magazine, the city's first slick paper consumer monthly.

● Campbell served eighteen years as executive vice president of the Tennessee Association of Life Underwriters, a 4,000-member trade association. He was recognized by the National Association of Life Underwriters (now the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors) in 1980 with the C. Carney Smith Award as outstanding association executive of the year.

● Campbell holds the coveted CAE (Certified Association Executive) designation conferred by the American Society of Association Executives.

● After service in the Tennessee Air National Guard following the Korean War, Campbell retired from the Air Force Reserve as a lieutenant colonel.

● Campbell's first published book was titled The Best Is Yet To Be, a history of the first 150 years of City Road Chapel United Methodist Church in Madison, Tennessee. He has had ll mystery, thriller, and suspense novels published since then.

● Campbell's first wife died in 1998 from complications of Parkinson's Disease. He and his current wife share six children, 11 grandchildren, and 10 1/2 great-grandchildren.

Sorry, Grammarly, You Got It Wrong

2015-02-13T13:00:00.000-06:00

I've been aware of a website called grammarly.com but had never checked it out. When I did, I found it provides a platform for writers to vet their compositions for grammatical errors. It's a great resource for writers unsure of their knowledge of the rules of grammar. It advertises: "Instantly find and correct over 250 types of grammatical mistakes." My attention was drawn to the website after receiving an email from Grammarly's Nikolas Baron offering an article titled "Fifty Shades of Grammar (It's Not as Bad as You Think)." Here's the link.

According to the blog, the Grammarly team reviewed E. L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey "for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, and learned that — although there were some mistakes — the errors were in alignment with similar gaffes in celebrated romances." They detailed nine Fifty Shades' mistakes that were also found in several classic novels (or plays) by such authors as Hemingway, Shakespeare, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Boris Pasternak. I agreed with about a third of them, such as leaving out a comma in a compound sentence. But the rest I would term nitpicking.

While these may have been grammatically incorrect, strictly speaking, I saw them as stylistic or deliberately expressive use of language. One in particular that falls into this category was sentence fragments. I use them often for emphasis or to highlight a dramatic moment. I studied under a strict English teacher in high school and served some time as a copy editor during my newspaper days. I think I have a pretty good grounding in the rules of grammar, and when I have doubts, I check reliable sources such as Strunk and White.

But I do not believe fiction writing is a place to get overly concerned with the strict application of grammar rules. Regarding comma misuse, Grammarly said many writers forget to use a comma where one is necessary, or include a comma when it is not necessary. I sometimes use commas to show readers how I would like them to read a sentence. A comma means to pause your thought. I put in a comma to show where I want you to pause, even it's not technically required.

Another "mistake" cited was use of colloquialisms. "Although it is largely stylistic, the choice to use informal language -- including contractions -- can diminish the perception of your writing" was the comment. Their examples included changing "don't blush" to "do not blush" and using "it does not sound" instead of "doesn't sound."

My comment: Ridiculous!

Except for people who speak in strictly formal terms, everybody uses common contractions in conversation as well as in mental musings, otherwise known as introspection. Saying it might diminish the perception of your writing in a modern novel is hogwash. Maybe that term diminished your perception of my writing?

Another subject for Grammarly's ire is "Prepositions." They say prepositions help to show where (or when) one thing is in relation to another. Correctly using prepositions helps readers to better visualize what is happening in your writing. The "error" they cited was from Shakespeare's The Tempest. The Bard wrote: "We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with a sleep." To which Grammarly says delete "as" and insert "on which."

Change The Tempest to "We are such stuff on which dreams are made on?" I can see old Will stomp his foot and shout, "Out, damned spot!"

One last diatribe. (Sorry, Grammarly, that's a sentence fragment.) Mistake No. 7 is "Determiners," which is explained as words such as "a," "an," and "the" help writers to be specific about what they are talking about. This "mistake" was attributed to Pasternak in an example from Doctor Zhivago. Here's the quote:

"You and I, it's as though we've been taught to kiss in heaven and sent down to earth together, to see if we know what we were taught." Grammarly says Pasternak should have inserted "the" before "earth." How many earths do we have here? Would adding "the" make it any more specific? Why not add "the" before "heaven?" The sentence reads perfectly well and understandably specific just as Pasternak wrote it.

I have had a few people write reviews on Amazon and complain of the grammar in one of my books. Now I know who they are—disciples of Grammarly.

Ukraine Events Spotlight Overture to Disaster

2014-07-19T22:05:00.000-05:00

My final book in the Post Cold War Political Thriller Trilogy, Overture to Disaster, highlights skullduggery in former republics of the old Soviet Union, not unlike what is taking place today in Ukraine. In fact, the book opens in an area of Ukraine where an army unit is training. Former KGB agents are involved, just as former KGB Agent Vladimir Putin is knee deep in the current debacle.

The book, only available as an ebook for the Kindle, will be free to download on Amazon through Monday, July 21. Just click on this link to get your free copy. It presently ranks #7 in free books on Amazon, #1 for Espionage Thrillers.

Previous blogs give more info on the book, and there's lots more on my website at www.chesterdcampbell.com.

Unscheduled Trip Down Memory Lane

2014-05-27T03:00:00.000-05:00

We're painting the inside of our house. The biggest challenge is my office in the bonus room over the garage. It's packed with the clutter of 15 years of the writing life. The main problem is I've found it virtually impossible to throw anything away. You never know when it might come in handy, I've always contended. In the process, things kind of get piled up here and there (think everywhere).

But the painter must be able to get to the walls to paint them. So last week we started digging into the clutter. My wife would pick up something and say, "Can we throw this away?"

You can't go around willy-nilly throwing stuff away. It might be something of infinite value to posterity. Or at least something worth showing to a curious great-grandchild. To prevent such a tragedy, I would begin to read. I found it's like doing research for a book. When you get onto a fascinating subject, it's difficult to stop.

Taking some papers from Sarah, I found I was looking at notes I'd made from my trip to the Holy Land in 1998, the venture that led to my first published mystery, Secret of the Scroll. I took several hours of videos with the new camcorder I bought before leaving, and I looked through a partial script I wrote for an edited version I presented to my Sunday School class. Unfortunately, I loaned the tapes to someone who lost them.

It brought back memories of our tour starting in Jordan, where we visited Petra, the remarkable town carved out of reddish sandstone cliffs. Its best known site is the striking face of the Treasury, featured in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. We walked through the narrow 250-foot high sandstone slot canyon called the Siq where Indiana burst into the open facing the vivid facade of the Treasury.

In Israel, we spent nearly two weeks taking in everything from the stark, windswept heights of Masada to the multitude of historic sites around Jerusalem, up through Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee, the Golan Heights and the port of Haifa, then back down the coast to Tel Aviv and the ancient port of Joppa. That's where Secret of the Scroll opens.

I decided to keep these few sheets of paper and followed my wife's urgings to move on. The next slowdown came at a pile of magazines with colorful covers. It was my complete collection of
Nashville Magazine issues over the nearly seven years I served as editor. I started the magazine in 1963 and struggled to keep it afloat all those years.

After putting down the few issues I thumbed through, I resumed the trip down memory lane. I sifted through a stack of newspaper clippings of reviews for my earlier books. This was back in the days when our local paper and those in smaller towns where I did signings printed such things. There were also posters from bookstores about my appearances, something I no longer do now that my sales are mostly online. Reluctantly, I decided the lot of them were of no value to anybody but me, and I no longer had room for them.

File 13.

A little later, I found another itinerary for a trip through Europe Sarah and I took shortly after we married in 1999. Starting in Amsterdam where we watched a flower auction, we made a stop at the Luxembourg American Cemetery where World War II soldiers including Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. were buried. Then we toured Paris―the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, Montmartre―and continued through Germany and Austria. We visited Vienna and such interesting sites as the Swarovski crystal headquarters.

Most of the tour was spent in Switzerland. We ranged across the country from Zurich to Geneva, plus soaring to the Alpine heights around 10,000 feet aboard a cable car where we looked across at of the magnificent Matterhorn peak. In the Montreux area along Lake Geneva, we toured Castle Chillon, location for Lord Byron's The Prisoner of Chillon Castle.

After all that reminiscing, I was forced to detour off Memory Lane and get back to the cleanup. But, alas, we're not finished yet.

Payoff to The Review Chase

2014-05-02T21:12:00.000-05:00

In my last blog, I wrote about the chase after reviews, in particular one for my final post Cold War political thriller, Overture to Disaster. I talked about using Story Cartel to go after reviews. Well, it paid off. The first review, which just showed up on Amazon, is a doozy. It was written by Charles A. Ray and is quoted here in full:

Overture to Disaster by Chester D. Campbell is a post-Cold War political thriller that, in light of current events in Ukraine and other parts of the former Soviet Union, reads as if it could have been taken from the headlines or the lead story on CNN. I received a free copy for review, and found myself immersed in a story that rivals the best Tom Clancy novel.

This novel has everything – rogue former KGB agents who are determined to bring the U.S. to its knees through the use of stolen nerve gas with the help of the Peruvian terrorist group, Shining Path; senior U.S. officials who put profit and position before honor; and a few daring individuals, Russian and American, who are willing to put their lives on the lines to preserve peace and order.

Campbell’s knowledge of weaponry, tactics, and bureaucratic and political doings is first-rate, and he weaves it all together with characters that, while true to life, seem larger than life. The suspense is drum-tight, and the odds are astronomical, as a wrongly cashiered Air Force special operations pilot and a dedicated Russian criminal investigator race against time to prevent what could tip the world into a catastrophic confrontation with no winners.

Don’t even think about reading this book unless you have several hours to devote to it, because once you start reading, it’ll suck you into a world of betrayal and intrigue, and not let you go until the end.

I reserve five-star reviews for only the best of books, but if I could, I’d give Overture to Disaster six. Don’t let this one pass you by.

( End of Review)

An almost 6-star review. Can you top that? Check it out on Amazon HERE.

The Review Chase

2014-04-25T21:45:00.002-05:00

It's generally accepted that reviews help sell books on Amazon. Since that's where I sell virtually all of my books, I'm constantly on the lookout for venues to get reviews. The best place I've found is BookBub. I've put several on the site as free books. They racked up 30,000 to more than 40,000 downloads. That brought a large number of reviews, though subsequent sales didn't bring in much more than the cost of the promotion.

My last book published, Overture to Disaster, final book in the Post Cold War Political Thriller Trilogy, available as an ebook on Amazon, has sold a modest number of copies but has no reviews.

I'm reluctant to go the free route anymore at BookBub, but the price for paid books is pretty steep. Promoting a mystery that costs $1.99, for example, means a fee of $930. They promote it to 930,000 subscribers, but to break even I'd have to sell about 668 books. I have difficulty imagining that. On the other hand, a thriller priced at $1.99 would cost $660 with the promotion going to 820,000 subscribers.That would require 475 sales to break even. It might be worth a try.

Meanwhile, I'm trying something new to get multiple reviews. There's a site called Story Cartel where you pay a small fee and they put up a page for your book. Readers can click on a link and get a free copy in exchange for writing an honest review. It stays up for three weeks, during which Story Cartel promotes it, and the writer is urged to do the same. They say you can expect as many as 100 reviews from the promotion.

I put up Overture to Disaster a few days ago and am working to promote it in such places as Twitter, Facebook, and various listserves. If you'd like to try it free in exchange for an honest review, just click on this link.

Winter, Too, Must Pass

2014-03-02T20:44:00.000-06:00

One form of writing I haven't discussed here before is poetry. That's mainly because it's something I haven't indulged in for many years. I wrote a bit of poetry in my younger days and published one or two when I was running Nashville Magazine back in the sixties.

This was our second issue, dated February/March 1963. The cover is described this way on the Contents Page:

"After the pure havoc created by the weather in Nashville during January, we chose the serenity of a rural view for this month's cover. Called 'Valley in Winter,' the Edward W. Redfield painting hangs in the Main Gallery of the Parthenon in Centennial Park. It is part of the James M. Cowan Collection, donated in 1927, which has been called one of the finest small collections of art in America."

The magazine's graphic logo at the top, created by Art Director Hermann Zimmermann, is a representation of the front of the Parthenon. An exact replica of the Athenian temple, it was built originally for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition in 1897.

The Redfield painting is wider than shown on the cover. It's full width is shown on a two-page spread inside, followed by smaller winter photos and my poem:

WINTER, TOO, MUST PASS

The sky glistens in the winter night
like frost crystals
reflecting from a darkened pane...cedar smoke, sweetly piquant,
spices the heavy cold, conjuring up wistful scenes
before an open fire...but every silent breath
hangs in the air like a frozen sigh.

The night wind brushes icy fingers
across a reddened cheek...gaunt, bare arms
of once-stalwart oaks shudder in the maddening chill,
and warmth seems all but lost save in the memory
of a summer past.

Can life, once so vibrant, so compelling,
so filled with quenchless thirst be forever
locked within this bleak and frigid vale?

No: winter, too, must pass...dreams frozen in their prime
by the icy grip of fate
shall be revived as the sap of life

flows once more—

even through the bitterest night
the spark still glows,
for in the unfailing promise of spring
dwells winter's lingering hope.

The poem was not signed. This is the first time in fifty-one years that I have acknowledged authorship. I might look around and see if I can find some more.

The Other Stuff to Write

2014-02-07T02:00:00.000-06:00

Today's guest post is by Nikolas Baron, who says he has the pleasure of being tasked with talking to writers, bloggers, teachers, and others about how they use Grammarly’s online proofreading application to improve their writing. Nikolas discovered his love for the written word in Elementary School, where he started spending his afternoons sprawled across the living room floor devouring one Marc Brown childrens’ novel after the other and writing short stories about daring pirate adventures. After acquiring some experience in various marketing, business development, and hiring roles at internet startups in a few different countries, he decided to re-unite his professional life with his childhood passions by joining Grammarly’s marketing team in San Francisco. His free time is spent biking, travelling, and reading. Here's Nick:

You need to be honest. Years have passed; the novel has not materialized. You have not written it. The little that you have written is sitting in a file “in the cloud” taking up a pitiably small portion of its virtually unlimited storage. You are not going to write that novel, are you? Well, if not, do not just sit around gathering dust. Write something else. Use that A+ that you received in English Literature. What can you write other than that thing that you obviously are not going to write? Here are some ideas that will put your atrophying creative voice to work.

Short Stories

If you already had an idea in mind for a novel, you have a great start for a short story. Consider a short story as a brief episode in one of your character’s lives. Are you familiar with Winesburg, Ohio written by Sherwood Anderson? This collection of short stories focuses on the inhabitants of a small town; I will let you guess where. The characters interact with each other, so the stories overlap. Sherwood Anderson compiled the stories into one book. I am not a huge fan of short stories, but I loved this book because of how the stories relate to one another. Take one of your characters and develop a story around a major theme in his life. Before you know it, you may have populated a small Midwestern village with characters as interesting as those in Winesburg!

Blogs

Blogs kill two birds with one stone. On one hand, you are exercising your writing muscles. You can write about your life, travels, and interests. Blogs are a vehicle for sharing writing tips with others. As followers give feedback, you discover what your readers really want to read. When you are ready to tackle “the Great American novel,” you have built a fanbase eager to hear your story.

Poems

Those who write stories are not necessarily talented at writing poems. Poems require a different set of skills. Trying your hand at this art form will bring a refreshing change to your routine. As an added bonus, magazines often accept submissions of a single poem.

Product descriptions

Would you like some extra cash? Companies pay freelance writers to describe their minventory. Companies rely on product descriptions to inform the public of product features and to entice them to buy. Often, you will need to learn how to use SEO, or search engine optimization. Take a class in this skill online.

Reviews

A lot of online articles about writing encourage new writers to read many different types of novels. While reading, why not write a review? Your analyses will teach you what makes a novel fail. When you write, you will know what to avoid. Furthermore, reviews are also great content for blogs.

Grants/Proposals

If you want to support a non-profit organization, donate your writing talent to help them to gain funding for special projects. Otherwise, grant writing is another way to generate income from your writing skills. You will need special training because grant writing requirements are very specific.

Query Letters

Do you work best under pressure? If a publisher accepts your proposal, it will obligate you to start writing. Use the loads of templates available to give you ideas. Do not copy them, not even brief phrases. Many publishers use plagiarism checkers to ensure that content is original. Any suspicion that it is not equals an automatic rejection. Besides, if you cannot write a simple letter, you have no business proposing to write a novel.

In addition to what I have already mentioned, there are tutorials, screenplays, and dozens of other writing options to explore. A masterpiece of a novel could be a part of your future, but you still need to be busy now. Experiment with other writing styles and genres. What a great way to get your mind moving again!

Greg McKenzie Mysteries Boxed Set

2014-01-08T20:49:00.000-06:00

Readers unfamiliar with the Greg McKenzie mystery series can get a jump start with the first four books now available for the Kindle in a boxed set. With ebooks, of course, it's a virtual box. The books—Secret of the Scroll, Designed to Kill, Deadly Illusions, and The Marathon Murders—are $2.99 each for the Kindle, but the four-book set is only $7.99, a one-third savings. You'll find it HERE.

The set follows the adventures of Greg and Jill McKenzie from their fateful trip to the Holy Land, through a trek about Perdido Key and the Gulf coast in search of a murderer, an agonizing venture around Nashville involving a missing client and an assassinated Washington bigwig, and a puzzling 90-year-old cold case that leads to more murders.

A retired Air Force Office of Special Investigations special agent in charge, Greg puts his experience to work in the first two books. By the end of book two, it is apparent that Jill possesses her own talents in the investigative field. After that, it's the adventures of a partnership known as McKenzie Investigations.

Those who finish the boxed set have more to read, namely book five with the title A Sporting Murder. This episode follows Greg and Jill on a tantalizing case that finds them narrowly escaping death in an explosion only to come face-to-face with an armed murderer on Christmas Day.

If you've finished the exploits of the McKenzies, you'll find more exciting reading in the two Sid Chance mysteries. And then there is the global sweep of action in the trilogy of Post Cold War political thrillers featuring former disgraced FBI Agent Burke Hill and a cast of unique characters that will transport you from one side of the world to the other.

You'll find them all HERE at my author page on Amazon.

You Can't Please Everybody

2013-11-09T11:44:00.000-06:00

One of the advantages of doing a promotion with BookBub is the big boost in reader reviews that come after the promo. My first experience was with Designed to Kill, the second book in my Greg McKenzie Mysteries series. After it appeared for three days as a freebie for the Kindle, reviews tripled to 63. Happily they include 33 5-star and 17 4-star entries.

My second BookBub promo was for The Marathon Murders, book four in the series. It ran free for three days during the last week in October. In a little less than two weeks, reader reviews have climbed from 20 to 33. Again, favorable reviews predominate, with 20 5-stars and 9 4-stars. Checking through the list, though, I found an interesting phenomenon.

As you have probably noticed, Amazon includes a line at the bottom of each review that says "Was this review helpful to you?" It's followed by "yes" and "no" buttons. By far the majority of reviews have nothing checked in that department. Of the 4 and 5-star ratings, only a handful had anything checked, with one 5-star showing 9 of 10 people found it helpful and one 4-star showing 8 of 9 people found it helpful.

But for the 3-star ratings (2), one listed 35 of 39 people found it helpful and the other 13 of 16 the same. For the 2-star ratings (2), one listed 20 of 25 found it helpful, the other 18 of 25. It would appear that some people just look for low-ranking reviews as an excuse for not reading a book, regardless of the opinions of the vast majority. What I found really striking are the contrasts between reviews that run next to each other.

Here's the first 2-star review under the heading "mediocre":

"This started out well, but it went on too long. After a while, the author's style became annoying. I did finish it, but I won't pick this author again."

The review that followed is a 5-star under the heading "Great read!":

"Very well written story. Hard to put down. Excellent read. The story moved along at a fast pace that made it a pleasure to read."

Here's the other 2-star that appears in the midst of five 5-star reviews:

"Picked this up thinking it might be a good read and quality characters to follow in his other books. I'm an avid reader of suspense novels (military, police, espionage and so on)and enjoy repeat characters in an on-going series of novels. This book (and the characters) failed to deliver. Marginal at best. The writing style was amateurish compared to what I normally read. It's as if the book was written for high school students as reading material. The chapters were kept short. The story plodded along and never gained any traction. Basically a 'simple' book. Sorry, but I wont be spending any more time with Mr Campbell."

I find it quite interesting the way different people react to reading the same book. Just goes to prove the old saying that "you can't please everybody." But as long as I'm pleasing 29 out of 33 (almost 90 percent), I'm happiy.

The Accidental Novelist

2013-10-28T18:54:00.000-05:00

I suppose I should be called the accidental novelist. Unlike many of my writing colleagues, I never penned stories as a kid or spent hours at the library checking out children's mysteries. As a teenager I enjoyed reading fiction, but it was mostly short stories in magazines like The Saturday Evening Post and Liberty. My Nashville high school had a student newspaper, but I never had any interest in writing for it. The closest I came to being involved in the literary field was as co-advertising manager for my high school yearbook as a senior in 1943.

I first wrote about my accidental entry into the writing game when I updated my website several years ago. I wrote an article titled "Reflections on The Writing Life—My 60-year odyssey with the written word." In it I told how I volunteered for Aviation Cadet training in the Army Air Corps after graduation in June of 1943. I was called to active duty the following January after turning eighteen. With the air war in Europe going our way, they didn't need as many new pilots, bombardiers, and navigators as they did when I signed on. With the rank of Aviation Cadet, I was shifted about the Southeastern Training Command, winding up in the summer of 1945 at historic Randolph Field in San Antonio.

After first serving as a guinea pig in the School of Aviation Medicine, where I was probed and prodded by candidates for Flight Surgeon, I was assigned as a clerk in the Transient Bachelor Officers Quarters. Another cadet and I

Classic Spanish design of buildings at Randolph Field, now Randolph AFB.

mostly checked in and out pilots there for an overnight stop. We also served as cashier in the Officer's Mess that occupied another part of the building. My partner, a cadet named Wolfson, had spent a year at Yale before entering the service. While we were chatting one day, he said, "Ïf I had it to do over again, I'd study journalism."

That somehow struck a chord with me. Up to that point, all I'd ever wanted to do was fly airplanes. But with the war winding down, it didn't look like that would happen. The more I thought about it, the more I became obsessed with the idea. Journalism schools only dealt with upper class students, so after my discharge I immediately enrolled at the University of Tennessee, intending to transfer to some place like Wisconsin or Missouri in my junior year. But the accidental nature of my career still ruled supreme.

When my sophomore year began, the executive editor of The Knoxville Journal took a year's sabbatical to teach a newspaper reporting class at UT. I immediately enrolled.Then I learned the university was bringing in a new professor to start a full journalism curriculum the following year. By then I was working on the student newspaper and was in line to become managing editor of one edition. But shortly after school started that fall, The Journal editor, who had returned to his old job, called me and a couple of other of his former students and offered us jobs as reporters.

Since The Journal was a morning newspaper, we could go to school during the day and work as reporters at night until the first edition was put to bed, as we journalists would say, around eleven o'clock. But it gets even worse...er, more complicated. While browsing the library near the newspaper office one day, I came across two books by Horace McCoy, They Shoot Horses Don't They? and No Pockets in a Shroud. I devoured them and became hooked on the mystery genre.

While going to journalism school during the day and working at the newspaper at night, I managed to squeeze in time on my little portable typewriter to write my first crime novel. I had filled in occasionally on the police beat and wrote a tale of a young reporter helping solve a murder. I gave it the title Time Waits for Murder, sent it off to a publisher, and soon had my first rejection slip.

I also wrote a spy story in the sixties, but it was 2002 before my first published book came out. My journey as an accidental novelist would take too much space to continue here, but if you'd like to read the full story go to my website where you'll find the article I wrote in 2008. Incidentally, that 60-year odyssey is now up to 66.

Free Promo Does Well

2013-10-03T02:00:00.000-05:00

That free promotion of Designed to Kill covered in my last post turned out well. It recorded more than 49,000 downloads, by far the best results of any such promotion over the last year. And while Designed to Kill hasn't set the world on fire as sales since the free deal went off, all of my other books have been doing well for the Kindle.

Secret of the Scroll (Greg McKenzie book 1) and Deadly Illusions (book 2) have been the best sellers. The other salutary effect of the promotion was a near doubling of reviews on Amazon for Designed. It now has 43 reviews, including 22 five-star and 12 four-star. So hopefully it will continue to do well in the days ahead.

I'm planning another freebie promotion in a few weeks and will announce the book shortly. Meanwhile, if you haven't read my new trilogy of post Cold War political thrillers, give 'em a try. The final book, Overture to Disaster, is a real tour de force, with parallel plot lines that take you around the world as one crisis after another piles up.

I've started work on the sixth Greg McKenzie mystery and hope to have it finished in the next few months. That is, provided I don't pull any more tricks like the one I did last week in Dothan, AL. If you haven't seen my Facebook post, I banged my head on a tile floor on the way to a vacation in Florida, resulting in seven staples pulling my scalp back together. We cancelled the vacation and came back home. I had the staples taken out today. I don't advise trying this trick.

Check my website occasionally to see what I'm doing. Saturday I'll be in a booth at Gallatin, TN Main Street Festival. Just click here: ChesterDCampbell.com.

Designed to Kill Is Free Today

2013-09-14T10:03:00.000-05:00

If you're new to retired Air Force investigator Greg McKenzie, and his wife, Jill, here's your chance to get started for free. Today (Saturday, Sept. 14) through Monday (Sept. 16), the second book in the series, Designed to Kill, will be available in ebook format for the Kindle at no cost.

Don't have a Kindle? No problem. Download the free version to your Windows computer or tablet, Android phone or tablet, iPhone, iPad or MAC, Blackberry or Windows phone. Just go to the Free Kindle Reading Apps Page and pick your device.

Designed to Kill is a tale of greed that leads to murder. It involves a high-rise condo on the beach at Perdido Key, Florida designed and engineered by the son of Greg and Jill's best friends from the first book in the series, Secret of the Scroll. A party in the 15th floor suite celebrating completion of the project ends abruptly when the balcony falls, killing two celebrants.

The investigating sheriff's officer tells Tim Gannon his balcony caused two deaths. The next morning Gannon is found dead of a gunshot wound at the nearby Gulf Islands National Seashore. The deputy says "suicide" and the medical examiner agrees.

Tim's dad, Sam Gannon, Greg's best friend, disagrees. He asks Greg to go down to Florida and find out what happened. As Greg digs into the case, assisted by Jill, he finds lots of disturbing facts.There are plans missing, an obstinate contractor, a too-slick developer, and an inspector angry over a disrupted love affair.

When Mafia goons rough him up, Greg realizes it's time to target a murderer. But who? Jill's help with the case leads to a partnership that goes through the next three books. And there's another in the works.
I

Right Out of Today's Headlines—Overture to Disaster

2013-09-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

The last book in my Post Cold War Political Thriller Trilogy, Overture to Disaster, is now available for the Kindle. It comes out at a time when it sounds almost like something out of today's headlines. Chemical weapons...nerve gas...a plot to release it on a large crowd.

The second book in the trilogy, The Poksu Conspiracy, involved nuclear weapons. I decided to go to the other end of the weapons of mass destruction inventory for the final story, C/B or chemical and biological weapons. I did considerable research on the development of nerve gases and their use. The largest chemical attack on record occurred in the Kurdish section of Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war. It was carried out by Saddam Hussein's air force on March 16, 1988 and killed between 3,200 and 5,000 people.

I found the Soviet Union had a plant that produced C/B weapons at Kharkov in the Ukrainian Republic. This was also location of the army's 48th Division. I opened the book on a collective farm north of the Black Sea where a battalion of motorized rifle troops were bivouacked. A few artillery shells loaded with nerve gas and canisters of neurotoxins had been brought in for a demonstration of how to handle and dispose of highly toxic agents.

Rogue members of the KGB steal some of the C/B weapons and touch of an explosion to destroy all evidence of their crime, including the soldiers charged with storing the nerve agents. This plot thread continues a few years later in Minsk, Belarus, where the brother of a captain killed in the explosion is an investigator for the city prosecutor.

A parallel plot thread starts in Washington at the time of the weapons theft. It involves an Air Force Special Operations helicopter mission to penetrate deep into the Iranian mountains and bring out a defecting official. The pilot is unfairly charged with an oversight that results in the mission's failure.

The plots come together in Mexico when Chief Investigator Yuri Shumakov connects with retired Col. Warren (Roddy) Rodman. There is lots of action throughout the book, plenty of tension as things move one way and then the other. A complicating factor during the last half is the role of a shadowy organization called the Foreign Affairs Roundtable. Headed by international bankers and cartel capitalists, the leaders are out to control the world economy. Their support of dissidents in the old Soviet Union leads to the final cataclysmic confrontation.