James Hayman: The What-If Seed and Research

Mr. Hayman has often spoken of a “what-if seed” when developing his story lines. With the opportunity to ask him a few questions, I first wanted to know how he started his first novel. 

Which came first, Mike McCabe and Maggie Savage or the “what-if seed” for your first thriller, The Cutting?

The “what-if” seed idea came first.  It was suggested by a 1993 movie called “Dirty Pretty Things” which was about illegal kidney transplants taking place for profit in a seedy hotel in London. It made me wonder how much more could be made by offering illegal heart transplants.

Did you plan to write a series from the very beginning?

I did plan a series from the beginning.  It just seemed logical to give people who liked the first book a chance to buy a second book featuring the same characters. And then of course a third.

I’m interested in learning if McCabe and Savage had lived in your head before you started writing your first thriller.

Initially, I planned a series around Mike McCabe. He, like me, was a transplanted New Yorker who had moved to Maine.  Maggie wasn’t initially considered a co-hero until I realized, midway through writing The Cutting, that I really liked her and wanted to offer her equal billing.

Please share a little about your “what-if” seed ideas and how they come about.

“Seed Ideas” can come from anywhere.  The seed idea for A Fatal Obsession wasn’t CTE.  Instead, it was my desire to give McCabe an even more compelling reason to find a killer when someone in his own family was the potential victim.  I made CTE the reason for Tyler’s rages because that was more interesting to me as a plot angle than simply another serial killer on an ugly rampage. 

On the other hand the seed idea for Darkness First was the epidemic of opioid drug use in the poorest counties in Maine, Washington County being he poorest of all.

As I have mentioned to you, my husband, a retired criminal defense attorney, is impressed with your knowledge of what contributes to aberrant behavior in the criminal mind. He has said more than once that he wishes he had you on his team during the mitigation phase of his death penalty cases. He often says, “He is right on point. He gets it. He understands the cause and effect of this behavior.”

Please share a little of your research methods once you get a seed idea.

“When I start a book I want to understand what motivates my characters.  In order to do so I read books and news articles about the various subjects. 

I read the memoirs of several rape victims for The Girl on the Bridge.  I read a book about the scandals in the Catholic Church, as well as a couple of memoirs of schizophrenics, when I started writing The Chill of Night. I watched a 60 Minutes episode about the effects of CTE and PTSD when I was creating the Tyler Bradshaw character, who, along with Abby Quinn, is one of my favorites.

Please share a little about your friend, Tom Joyce, and his assistance when you started writing.

“When I started writing The Cutting, I knew nothing about police procedures. So I called the Portland Police Department to ask them to recommend someone who could help.

The woman who answered the phone said “I know just the person.”  She recommended Tom who had just retired from the department where he was the Sergeant in charge of the Crimes Against People unit (the same job McCabe has). 

Tom was then teaching courses in Criminal Justice at the Southern Maine Community College.  He was more than happy to spend time with me discussing the Portland Police and the various procedures detectives follow. Ever since he has been more than happy to answer any questions I have and suggest other people I can call for information.

Obviously, imagination and research are the keys to developing an intriguing suspense thriller. My next series of questions deals with the “how” and “where” James Hayman creates his masterpieces.

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James Hayman on His Writing Process

There is no one right way to do this.  Some writers need an outline to proceed.  I prefer letting my characters tell me where to go as the story proceeds. When I’m writing I’m inside their heads and they know better than I do what comes next.

A few of your books have a prologue and I don’t remember any epilogues. I often feel the prologue is the means for an author to tell a backstory that sets up the novel. Epilogues usually seem to be the place to tie up loose ends when the author has lost interest in the story or can’t find another way to conclude the book. What are your thoughts on prologues and epilogues?

I’ve never written an epilogue.  As for prologues, you’re right.  They provide a backstory for the readers to begin to understand one or more of the key characters. 

In The Cutting, Lucas, as a young boy, killing a pet rabbit sets him up as a classic psychopathic personality.  I sometimes wonder if this was too obvious, but I am always interested in what makes so-called bad guys do the things that they do.  I explore this in the greatest depth in A Fatal Obsession.

Your writing is like a rainbow, the beginning, the arc, and ends in a pot of gold. Many authors talk about the hook, the first line, the first paragraph. You have commented on the importance of a strong ending. Please share what you mean by a strong ending.

I’ve never consciously compared the way I end a story with how other writers end theirs.  All novels, but perhaps mysteries and thrillers most of all, follow a so-called narrative arc in which the tension rises to a dramatic peak and then wraps up to an emotionally satisfying ending.

Your writing is tight with no long descriptive passages. Yet, I can still “see” every character. You have attributed much of your tight writing to your years on Madison Avenue, creating commercials and telling a story in 65 words or less. How have you used that in writing suspense thrillers?

Elmore Leonard is one of the writers who said never use more words than you need to tell the tale.  I fully agree and try to follow that rule. 

If you check back you’ll realize I never described McCabe’s looks other than a brief mention of “a skinny Irish face” in The Cutting. It never seemed that important. Let readers imagine his physical appearance however they want to.

Do you have a special writing space or home office?

One of the three bedrooms in our house is my office or “writing room.” I often write there but just as often I write in the so-called “great reading room” in the Glickman Library at the University of Southern Maine.  The Library is a quiet space and less than a ten minute walk from my house.

Do you write by word count or by setting certain hours to write each day? Or, do you have another way of getting it done? (asking for a friend)

No to word count. And no to certain hours. I write when and as long as the writing feels good and I have a strong sense of where the story goes next. 

However, I have no problem interrupting myself when I don’t feel like I know where the story should go.  I’ll sometimes take a walk or do some reading or do some chores.  Eventually, the subconscious takes over and tells me what the next steps in the story should be, often when I’m lying in bed in the morning.  That’s one of the most fertile times.

Do you read your work aloud when writing or when near completion?

Rarely.

Who is the first person to read your completed work?

Usually another writer whose opinion I respect. In the case of The Cutting the first reader was a fine writer from Maine named Cynthia Thayer.  In a couple of the books the first reader was my editor. I read and edit and polish my writing innumerable times as the story progresses.

How do you know when the thriller is completed and ready to send to your agent?

I can always keep polishing and hopefully improving a book.  But at some point the law of diminishing returns takes over so I stop.  Happily I’ve never had to work to a tight deadline from my publisher.

Does Pippa stay close to you as you write?

Usually not. There’s no comfortable space for her in my office and, obviously, she’s not allowed in the University library.  Mostly she’d rather be with my wife who fusses over her far more than I do.

You know I am one of your biggest fans. I have read all your novels and my husband, who is a quadriplegic as you know, has listened to the audiobooks (several times). I want to thank you for taking the time to answer all my questions. But, I do have one last question for you. When can we expect your next McCabe/Savage suspense thriller?

I don’t know.

*gasp* 

Right now I’m writing a stand-alone story with different characters which I hope you, Howard and my other readers will enjoy just as much.  But after that I’ll probably check in and see what Maggie and McCabe are up to.

*sigh of relief*

Thank goodness! As a reader, I eagerly look forward to your next book, with or without Mike and Maggie. But, I do hope you check in with them in the future. I know they have another homicide to solve.

Thank you so much for taking your time to do this interview. And, keep writing. We are waiting.

The Cutting by James Hayman – A Review

Hayman does an excellent job of developing Mike McCabe’s character as a divorced man with sole custody of a pre-teen daughter named Casey and an artist girlfriend named Keira. A slip of a kiss from Maggie Savage adds a complication that neither McCabe or Savage recognize as more than what it seemed at the time, but it definitely comes back to play in McCabe’s mind.

The homicide investigation Mr. Hayman describes is one that is not filled with red herrings or literary diversions to fill the pages, but one that reasonably leads from one possible suspect to another. Following the detectives through their process of questioning persons of interest and suspects, following up on leads that seemingly eliminate one person while adding another is as well written and logical as any procedural I have ever read.

While balancing the personal lives of the detectives with the homicide investigation, Hayman is able to develop the lives of the possible suspects without losing a step. In fact, by the time I closed the back cover of the book I felt as if I had been friends with McCabe and Savage for as long as they had known one another.

With so much to cover, I was amazed that there was never a slow moment in the suspense, never a page or two I wanted to skip, and when I finished the first of this series I immediately purchased the next, The Chill of the Night.

Mr. Hayman started at a fast pace and continued it throughout the book. His talent for writing and his thoughtful development of characters was evident from cover to cover. The thriller started with a disturbing premise and ended with no loose ends. Rather, Mr. Hayman tied it up nicely with a bow on top.

It took two years for James Hayman to complete his first novel. Published in 2009, this novel is a writer’s dream come true. His first query landed him one of the top literary agents in New York. The publication landed him on the NYT best seller list. Enough said.

The Chill of the Night – A Review

In this thriller, the reader also meets Abby Quinn, a schizophrenic woman that gets sucked into the suspense. The character of Abby presents some of the daily issues faced by those with schizophrenia and realistically demonstrates how easy it is for them to be misunderstood and manipulated. 

Along with Mike McCabe and Maggie Savage we explore all the clues, follow all the leads, question all the witnesses, and question our own reasoning until we find the killer. If a reader dares to think this is a typical police procedural, he should think again. This is real police procedure.

James Hayman has the unique ability to tell a complete story, develop each of his characters, and keep the pages turning without unnecessary descriptions or passages that lead nowhere. Every word has meaning.

Hayman’s books not only tell a compelling story, but demonstrate how life experiences shape each of us while providing an in-depth insight into what motivates a man (or woman) to commit a crime and to what lengths he (or she) will go to cover it up.