Hydra Publications Interviews Me On Writing and My Latest Thrillers
Interview with James Bruno by Hydra Publications
http://www.hydrapublications.com/2012/01/04/interview-with-james-bruno/
January 4th, 2012
Today I would like to welcome James Bruno to the site.
What inspired you to write your first book?
Twenty-five years in the federal government placed me in situations which made me say, “Fiction can’t rival this.” So, I cut short my diplomatic career to have more fun writing stories which encompass the chicanery and fecklessness of government. If you thought Washington was out of control, then don’t read my books. They’ll only confirm your worst fears about how things are done in our nation’s capital.
Do you have a specific writing style?
Rather short sentences. Plenty of dialogue. Close attention to detailed texture and sense of a place and of people. I want my characters to be three dimensional and my settings to have color, smell and sound.
How did you come up with the title?
“Tribe” refers not only to the ethnic groups of Afghanistan and Yemen which comprise part of the story, but also the political “tribal” groupings that constitute the various power centers in Washington. The epitaph of a deceased senior CIA officer in the book’s epilogue reads, Our Tribe Lost.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Following a moral course isn’t always easy.
How much of the book is realistic?
My background as a diplomat, military intelligence officer and journalist lend an authenticity to my books that the vast majority of my competition lacks. You are getting a dose of the real thing with James Bruno’s books, not contrived fantasies. I believe this has been a factor in all three of my thrillers becoming Kindle bestsellers and my getting national media exposure on NBC’s Today Show, in the Washington Post and other news outlets – also my landing Stieg Larsson’s agent.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
I draw heavily on my two decades-plus of working in the national security arena. Characters and events are often slightly altered from real people I’ve known and real events I’ve experienced. It is due to this verisimilitude based on my experiences that I must submit to government security review and censorship of all of my writing.
What books have most influenced your life most?
Non-fiction books encompassing history, biography and travel influenced my chosen career.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
In my genre, probably Daniel Silva. In contrast to most of the competition, he writes intelligent and realistic espionage tales.
What book are you reading now?
The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCollough.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
I’m still exploring.
What are your current projects?
HAVANA QUEEN, an espionage thriller set in Cuba, where I’ve served, is due out in 2012 (after the Feds finish with it).
Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
Gloria Nagy, NYT bestselling author.
Do you see writing as a career?
As a three-book Amazon bestseller with steady and growing writing income, I view this as my career.
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Probably to put yet more “kinetic” action between the beginning and end, because that’s what readers expect in this genre.
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
Yes. I started out as a journalist. But finding myself in so many unreal and surreal circumstances during a diplomatic career that inserted me in places like Cuba, Pakistan/Afghanistan, Vietnam, Cambodia and other exotic locales, often war-torn, I found myself stating repeatedly, “Fiction can’t rival this.”
Can you share a little of your current work with us?
HAVANA QUEEN posits an end-of-days scenario for the Castro regime, intertwined with an intricate and dangerous war of espionage between Cuba and the United States. I draw heavily from my service both inside Cuba and at Guantanamo Naval Base.
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Joseph Conrad. I’m particularly struck by how this Polish-born man who didn’t start to learn English until he was 16 could become such a master of the language.
Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
I front-loaded most of my travel in the course of over two decades traveling and living abroad as a diplomat, sometimes in war zones, often in communist countries.
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Staying in the mental groove in the face of the distractions of daily life.
Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
I learn many new things from each of my books, ranging from the history of the KGB to the intricacies of weapons systems. From my Cuba thriller, I’m learning many fascinating things about Cuba’s burgeoning social network-based human rights and political activists.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
It’s a steep and l-o-n-g learning curve. Successful authors are those who never give up. Improve your craft; learn the business side. I would skip the legacy route altogether and self-publish. Life is too short.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
If you want to read political and spy thrillers that hew closely to the way things are really done as opposed to fantastical artifice, you’ll enjoy my books.
What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life?
I’m a meticulous researcher. I researched for my Cuba thriller for nine months before setting finger to keyboard – even though I’ve served in Cuba and at GTMO. Another is the lengthy government security review process my books must undergo, which results in months of lost time and invariably text redactions and changes.
What books have influenced your writing?
Heart of Darkness, The Quiet American, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, among others.
What genre do you consider your book(s)?
Political and espionage thrillers.
Do you ever experience writer’s block?
Not really. Just writer’s uncertainty.
Do you write an outline before every book you write?
I keep a running outline that I fill out in more detail as I write the story.
Have you ever hated something you wrote?
Some passages maybe, but not any of my entire books.
What is your favorite theme/genre to write about?
Political-espionage-military thrillers. My recurrent theme is the difficult moral choices people often face in the service of their country as well as the fecklessness and cynicism that infuses government decision-making.