Author R&R with Brian Klingborg

 

Brian Klingborg studied Chinese folk religion at Harvard University before plunging into the publishing world, becoming a Sr. Vice President at an educational publisher. He’s penned books on Kung Fu and also wrote for the Winx Club animated TV series before recently turning his hand to crime fiction with his debut novel, Kill Devil Falls, from Midnight Ink.

The book follows U.S. Marshal Helen Morrissey, tasked with collecting a fugitive bank robber from a remote town in the Sierra Nevadas. She braces for a rough trip, but it turns out to be far worse than she imagined. After barely surviving a white-knuckle drive in what she suspects is a sabotaged car, she’s stuck in a virtual ghost town populated by a handful of oddballs and outcasts. But it’s not until her prisoner turns up dead that Helen realizes she’s in real trouble, and there are secrets buried below the surface of Kill Devil Falls—secrets worth killing for.

Brian stopped by In Reference to Murder today to take some Author R&R about writing his new novel:

 

In a roundabout way, authorial research is to be credited for my marriage.  But more on that in a moment...

Everyone is familiar with the old adage “write what you know.”  The point being, unless you are intimately acquainted with a subject, your writing will lack those small, yet crucial details which truly bring a story to life.  But what if you, for example, work in children’s educational publishing (like me) and want to write a noir crime thriller (again, like me)?  Then you’d better do your research!

My first novel, Kill Devil Falls, recently published by Midnight Ink, features a female U.S. Marshal who is tasked with collecting a fugitive from a remote town in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California.  The easy part of writing this book was establishing the setting.  I grew up in the general vicinity and went skiing in those mountains most winters.  In order to flesh out some specifics regarding driving routes and terrain, I used Google Maps.  Especially helpful were the Google Satellite and Street View features, which allowed me to visit actual locations and navigate their surroundings, complete with photographs.

The hard part was accurately describing what a U.S. Marshal does and how he or she does it.  After all, my closest brush with law enforcement thus far is being on the receiving end of a few speeding tickets.  Fortunately, I have a good friend who is a 20 year veteran of the NYPD and he was able to advise me on correct procedure regarding prisoner transport, Miranda rights, use of force, and even how to snoop around a suspect’s home without first obtaining a search warrant (claim “exigent circumstances”). 

My next book, The Knock Down, is an historical thriller set in New York in 1901.  It follows a prisoner as he travels from Sing Sing Prison up the Hudson Valley by train, then back down to Manhattan by tugboat, and finally through a seedy assortment of Lower East Side dive bars, brothels, gambling halls and opium dens.

My research kicked off with two excellent books which cover the 19^th century underbelly of New York in fascinating detail:  Lowlife, Lures and Snares of Old New York, by Luc Sante; and The Gangs of New York:  An Informal History of the Underworld, by Herbert Asbury.  I was also lucky to come across first-person accounts describing life in Sing Sing, both from the point of view of guards and inmates.    Background color was provided by various newspaper article archives, located through online searches.

With respect to period details regarding attire, furnishings and various personal accoutrements, again it was the internet to the rescue.   I discovered a treasure trove of scanned photos from early 20^th century catalogs and advertisements hawking men’s and women’s clothing, kitchen appliances, medicinal remedies and even hygiene products.   

In order to get the vernacular correct, I scoured various slang dictionaries, such as George Matsell’s The Secret Language of Crime, and my favorite, the 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose, from which I borrowed fun phrases such as “hanging an arse,” meaning to hesitate, and a number of insults, curses and amusing euphemisms for, ahem, various body parts.

I was briefly stymied, however, when I attempted to find good source material on early 20^th century Hudson Valley train schedules and tugboat information.  Finally, I had the idea to approach enthusiast groups through internet blogs and Yahoo groups.  Trust me, if you’re looking for some arcane bit of data regarding planes, trains, boats, medieval weaponry, Mongolian throat singing, etc., there is a Yahoo Group or blog out there, somewhere, which will prove to be an invaluable resource.  I eventually tracked down some train and tugboat fans who generously shared insights that greatly enhanced the accuracy of my book.

As a reader, I’ve always loved stories that are told well, but also that teach me something.  Anything, really.  The daily routine aboard an 18^th century warship.  What the ancient Greeks ate for breakfast.  How Hong Kong became a British colony.

It was that last tidbit, gleaned from James Clavell’s Tai-Pan, which I alluded to above.  As a freshman in college, I met a young lady who had a poster of Hong Kong, where she had grown up, on her dorm wall.  I was the first person she’d come across at school who even knew where Hong Kong was, let alone details of its history and politics, and she was suitably impressed.  A few years later, we got hitched. 

 Now that, folks, is the power of authorial research!

 

You can find more information about Kill Devil Falls via Midnight Ink's website and can follow Brian on Facebook and Twitter. The book is now on sale from all major online and brick-and-mortar bookstores.