Could You Tell Us About Yourself? 

I’m a retired Information Technology salesperson who has always enjoyed reading crime fiction books such as Agatha Christie, Michael Connelly, or John Grisham as I grew up. With additional time on my hand when I retired, I decided to start a second career.

Born in Montréal, Canada, I spend 5-6 months every year in South Florida. So, given my dual interests, I wrote French books for the Canadian market and English books for the US market. As of today, two books have been published in Canada and two more are available on Amazon as self-published.

What’s your favourite book ? 

Two books stand out in my mind. The first one by Agatha Christie is titled The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and was published in 1928. It contains a terrific twist at the end, something totally unexpected.

More recently, I’ve fallen in love with Where the crawdads sing, published in 2022. It is well written and full of surprises.

Who is your favourite author and why? 

I would have to pick Michael Connelly with his protagonist Harry Bosh. Here is a great detective with human defaults. Luckily for me, Bosh is in books, on TV and more recently in audiobooks. The best part of these audiobooks is the Bosh voice is performed by the actor on TV. So it’s completely transparent.

How many hours a day do you write? 

My typical writing schedule begins around 9 am and extends to about noon. After lunch, I’ll go for my daily walk while listening to audiobooks or a podcast. I may edit some of my work between 5 and 6 pm. 

So in total, I’ll write 3-4 hours per day, 7 days a week.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process? 

I have a problem with developing a full outline. I get excited about the story while I outline and start writing too quickly. This results in constantly adjusting the story. With one or two chapters, it’s not too bad. With forty chapters written, it’s a greater hassle.

Do you listen to music while you wrote your book (s) ? 

I do. Mostly smooth jazz or soft rock.

Where do you get your idea (s) for your book (s) ? 

I love to watch movies or series in the evening. I usually carry a small notebook where I’ll note new ideas that pop up. Then, I’ll write a few summaries when I want to start a new project and pick the one I’ll have the must fun with.

What is / was your writing process like? 

Once I get an idea for a book, I’ll start outlining the story as much as I can, which is never enough, but that’s another issue.

I’ll then start writing scenes that are independent of others. Each scene can range from 500 to 3000 words. I’ll do some editing as I develop the story. When all scenes are written, I’ll arrange them into chapters. I’ll review the chapter’s beginning and ending to provide some punch.

When all that is done, I’ll print a first draft, review it, correct it, and print it again. I may go thru 2-3 iterations.

The next step is full editing. I’ll use a professional to do this work, as English is not my native language. Then, it’s off to some beta readers to get their comments and correct the story when necessary.

Finally, I’ll publish the book on Amazon, organize some advertising, and look for another story to write.

What kind of research do you do and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book? 

The research I make consists mostly of geography, buildings, and locations. Fortunately, a lot of it is available on the Internet. But a real live view is better. In my first book, although a lot of the action is around Fort Lauderdale, the story moved to Miami and the Keys. So my wife and I took a few road trips to view, in person, these possible locations. With photos of the sites and the buildings, the surrounding, the description appearing in the book is more realistic. 

What’s your favourite and least favourite part of publishing your book (s) ? 

The best part of publishing a book is the discussions with readers about turns and twists in the story. Sometimes they’ll discover clues that I thought were well hidden.

My least favorite part is book marketing. Since I’m not a published author in the US, I must handle the activities around the launch, the publicity in social media, the management of a website, and all aspects of promoting the book.

What part of the book was the most fun to write? How did you come up with the title for your book (s) ? 

I would say the first and last chapters are the most fun to write. In the first chapter, you want to impress and excite your reader. You want to make certain he’ll hold on and not drop the story.

Titles… what a complex subject. Obviously, you want a title that will attract potential readers. My process is to keep a page reserved for potential titles. As I develop the story, I’ll add some possible titles to the page. In the end, I’ll review maybe 20-25 candidates and then hope I made a good choice.

How long did it take for you to write a book ? 

From start to end, I take about one year to produce a new book, maybe a bit more if I get distracted. Some writers can produce 3-4 books per year. I find this absolutely amazing. I would have to work 16 hours a day to compete. But it’s not my intention.

Where can people who are interested in your book, buy your book ? 

There are two books available on Amazon about the Jason Tanner mystery series:

Book 1 – The Missing Taylor

Book 2 – Behind the Mask

Readers can also visit my website

Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers? 

I’m about to complete my third crime fiction book in French. The title is unknown for now, but the story revolves around a young man’s quest to resolve the murder of his older sister by joining the police force. It’s a new way of writing for me as the action takes place in the 1970s and 1980s. Up to now, all my stories were in the current time period.

R.C. Cameron Media Links

Website

Amazon Profile + Books