Norm is the Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com
Bookpleasures.com welcomes once again as our guest Gary D. McGugan author of the Three Weeks Less A Day, The Multima Scheme. Unrelenting Peril, Pernicious Pursuit and A Web of Deceit.Norm: Good day Gary and thanks once again for taking part in an interview for Bookpleasures.com
Gary: Thank you for the opportunity, Norm. It’s wonderful to be with you.
Norm: What trends in the book world do you see and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?Gary: Digital sales become increasingly important each year. With that growth in popularity, traditional publishers play a less prominent role as authors create professional, compelling manuscripts, build electronic or print books entirely, and promote their work directly to readers.
Norm: How many times in your writing career have you experienced rejection? How did they shape you?
Gary: I started writing later in life so I think my experience is atypical. Agents and publishers understandably showed little interest in an aging non-celebrity just setting out.
They had no way of knowing whether my capacity to generate revenue for them was limited to one book; or might offer more opportunities with others to follow.
When it became clear traditional routes showed little immediate interest, I decided to follow a self-publishing path instead of waiting for doors to open. I have no regrets.
Norm: What does a typical writing day look like for you, from waking to turning in at night, and how does it compare to a conventional 9 to 5 job?
Gary: Three primary activities occupy much of my day: investing, writing, and fitness. Early mornings, I research data for an investment portfolio I manage. From 9-Noon, I research, write, or edit my novel in progress.
Two to three hours each afternoon are devoted to walking and stretching. The remainder of my day and evening is devoted to relaxation, reading, social and family activities.
Norm; Do you feel that writers, regardless of genre owe something to readers, if not, why not, if so, why and what would that be?
Gary: Writers owe their readers a satisfying reading experience. Non-fiction readers usually expect to gain new information and insights into a specific subject. Suspense readers expect a tale that entertains them with some mystery, twists and surprises.
Readers pay hard-earned money when they buy books and should feel their expenditure was entirely justified when they reach the last page.
Norm: What do you consider to be your greatest success (or successes) so far in your writing career?
Gary: Canada’s largest bookseller—Indigo—has become a wonderful supporter, with its stores across Ontario and Quebec inviting me to hold in-store events to promote and sign books with readers.
This personal interaction directly with prospective readers has significantly boosted my readership for all five novels.
Norm: Many people have the skills and drive to write a book, but failure to market and sell the book the right way is probably what keep a lot of people from finding success. Can you give us 2-3 strategies that have been effective for you promoting your books.
Gary: Without a doubt, working with Indigo stores has been my most successful marketing thrust. I also communicate by email twice per month with readers who subscribe to my VIP Readers List. Folks who’d like to subscribe can do it easily by visiting my website. And I also use social media to inform and promote.
Norm: What inspires you?
Gary: Learning. Throughout my adult life, I’ve learned continuously about business, people, science, the arts, and life itself. Crafting some of that knowledge into a unique story created from a blank piece of paper provides powerful inspiration. Writing a story demands more discovery to make each plot work and make it appealing to, and credible for, most readers.
Norm: Where did you get your information or ideas for A Web of Deceit?
Gary: During the twenty-years I worked in commercial finance with some of the world’s most successful organizations, each of my employers invested huge amounts of time and money to educate its executives about continuously occurring pitfalls with digital commerce and money-laundering—and the massive risks each poses for successful businesses. It kindled a passion for me to learn more, read media articles, and listen intently to expert speakers at industry conferences.
Over the years, I’ve considered many possible scenarios where the worlds of organized crime and thriving commercial businesses might intersect. With A Web of Deceit, I added a pinch of imagination to create a scenario that might just be possible as a criminal element uses technology to attack a major corporation and wage a war with others.
Norm: What was the time-line between the time you decided to write your book and publication? What were the major events along the way?
Gary: Since 2016, I’ve written and published a new novel each year, and I’ll release another one in 2022. Before a story is fully completed, I usually started building the plot and begin research into settings and locales. A Web of Deceit takes place in the Caribbean, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, and Australia.
With the exception of Australia, I spent considerable time in those locations in 2019 and 2020 before the pandemic restricted travel. My major events along the way are getting it all down on paper first, revising until I’m satisfied with the plot and content, then working with two professional editors to edit and modify as needed. I welcome their input and suggestions to make a story better, then fine tune it over several months. Finally, a professional proofreader points out any spelling and / or grammar concerns to polish a version ready for publishing.
Norm: What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your story?
Gary: When the subject relates to computer hacking there is little I find surprising. With enough technical knowledge, time, patience and creativity, expert hackers can penetrate virtually any computer system. For this reason, a next world war may well be waged more with technology weapons than conventional weapons.
Norm: Was there anything you found particularly challenging in writing A Web of Deceit? How did you deal with it?
Gary: For most people, technical talk can become boring very quickly. My goal in A Web of Deceit was to avoid ‘tech-speak’ and focus on activities and results that contributed directly to the plot.
Norm: What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
Gary: My primary goal with every story is to entertain my readers. Feedback from readers and reviewers suggest I was successful in A web of Deceit. I think most readers will find the pacing very quick, with a high level of intrigue, and insight into some of the dangers associated with digital commerce lurking in the background.
Norm: What is your secret in keeping the intensity of the plot throughout the narrative?
Gary: From the first chapter, my goal is to make every chapter in the book as exciting as possible. I try to avoid a natural inclination to provide backstory and focus instead on as much action and dialog as possible. During my editing reviews, I focus on specific passages where an additional twist or turn might heighten intensity and raise more questions for a reader.
Norm: How much research went into before writing the novel, and what were some of the references that you used while researching this book?
Gary: My stories draw on experiences from my forty-year career with major corporations around the globe. So far, I’ve personally visited 66 countries and more than 635 cities on every continent but Africa and Antarctica. Sometimes Googlemaps.com is necessary to refresh memories about a specific location or calculate distance or travel times, but most research is the result of observing people, listening to experts, and reading about a book a week over most of my lifetime.
Norm: Did you know the end of your book at the beginning, and what is the most favorite part of your book?
Gary: With every story, I have a beginning, middle, and end well established. The path I follow to reach the end often changes as I find more exciting routes to get from here to there!
Norm: Where can our readers find out more about you and A Web of Deceit?
Gary: I have information about all five novels and myself at my website.
Norm: What is next for Gary D. McGugan?
Gary: In April 2022, I’ll release A Slippery Shadow. This new story will be an independent self-contained story like all my novels, but will pick up from where A Web of Deceit ends. So I’d encourage your readers to read a copy of A Web of Deceit first. A Slippery Shadow will focus more on Fidelia Morales who recently assumed command of The Organization. I think readers will find this female crime boss an intriguing character as she interacts once again with venerable Howard Knight who bungles into yet another crisis involving Suzanne Simpson and her Multima Corporation empire. Once started, I think readers will have a hard time putting down A Slippery Shadow.
Norm: As this interview comes to an end, if you can invite three authors, dead or alive, of thrillers and crime to your dinner table, who would they be and what would you ask them?
Gary: Wilbur Smith, John Grisham and James Patterson would all be delightful dinner companions. I’d ask each of them the same question: “What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your writing career?” I have no doubt their answers would take far more than a dinner conversation to dissect and absorb!
Norm: Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors.
Gary: Thank you, Norm. It’s been great talking with you again.
Interview with Gary D. McGugan
Author of A Web of Deceit
Posted on February 17, 2021by Reader Views
Hi Gary, Welcome to Reader Views – it’s nice to have you back today! Tell us a bit about your latest novel, A Web of Deceit.
Thank you for having me back! A Web of Deceit is an international thriller with three main characters who each have very different goals but become entangled in one conspiracy to steal millions of dollars from legitimate companies. Readers of my previous novels will know all the major characters, but they may not recognize a couple. As usual, I try to transform characters in response to different plots and circumstances.
What inspired you to write this story?
Covid-19. To be candid, I originally planned to take a year off from writing in 2020. In March, I had scheduled 85 personal appearances with Canada’s largest bookstore chain and watched those opportunities evaporate as the pandemic spread. I realized my plan to focus on promoting books wouldn’t happen anytime soon, so I decided to use my time to write a fifth novel. I combined my just-completed trip to several Asian countries with a long-held concern about organized crime’s increasing technology sophistication to create A Web of Deceit.
Some of the characters in A Web of Deceit come to us from your original corporate intrigue trilogy, Escapades Abound. How do you keep your characters interesting and relevant with each story?
People often change when circumstances change. Folks we thought we knew well suddenly become different when they confront challenges outside their ‘normal’. I change the plots in my stories dramatically, knowing my characters will behave differently.
Two of your three lead characters are women, Suzanne Simpson, head of Multima Corporation and Fidelia Morales, new Kingpin of the crime syndicate known as The Organization. These characters are exceptionally well written. Tell us about your experience writing from the perspective of the opposite sex.
Thanks for your compliment. As a writer, I get real satisfaction when someone recognizes the scope of the challenge. As a guy, I must step out of my own mindset and worldview to think and write from a woman’s perspective. Fortunately, I worked with strong women throughout my career. I visualize a circumstance—and some of the women I know—to imagine how they might act or react. Surprisingly, this usually works well!
When I think about Fidelia Morales, the phrase “You’ve come a long way, baby,” always comes to mind. When did her current career path open up to you?
Fidelia is the ultimate survivor. After growing up in the slums of San Juan, Puerto Rico, her brilliant mind won her a scholarship to Columbia University in New York, where she graduated among the top of her class in law school. Disillusioned quickly with her legal career, she eventually chose a life of prostitution and thrived under the protection of crime-boss Giancarlo Mareno. When she ‘retired’ from The Organization—with Mareno’s blessing—Fidelia intended to give a traditional relationship a try with Howard Knight. When she dumped him in The Multima Scheme, I already started thinking about what such a relentless survivor might do next.
Do you plan your character arcs, such as Fidelia’s above, or do they sometimes surprise you while you are writing?
Fidelia’s character arc was three books in the planning and development stage. What does occasionally surprise me are specific actions or decisions made by a character. Those are usually the result of what my wife likes to call an overactive imagination!
Susanne Simpson is driven by her high moral standards, while Fidelia Morales seems more motivated by the dark side. Both are outstanding, professional leaders. What are some of their common traits that take each woman down a different path?
Both women have a remarkable ability to compartmentalize their lives. They both prioritize issues and block out noise or interference that might distract from their mission. And they solve problems like someone might build a puzzle, putting individual pieces into the correct places step by step.
“Don’t be afraid to kill your darlings,” is advice often heard in the literary world and you have killed off some of key characters over the course of your novels. What is your motivation behind these fearless deeds and how do you stay objective when disposing of a character?
I look for a form of justice when I eliminate any character. In my first novel, Three Weeks Less a Day, no major characters met an untimely end. In each of the others, we’ve lost one or more significant players. Readers shouldn’t be entirely surprised, but they should still feel some emotion, some sense of loss, and perhaps even regret. As the cold-hearted author, I make my decision to eliminate well in advance of the actual deed based on how useful that character might be in future stories.
Have you had any pushback from readers about killing your darlings?
Every story! If I’ve done my job well, even characters who deserve to go have some loyal fans. If characters disappear, some people are quick to shoot me an email or share their disappointment when we meet up at a signing event.
I can’t leave Howard Knight out of the mix – he’s been one of my favorite characters from the start! How has Howard survived the axe thus far?
Howard Knight might be a bit of a bumbling genius, but he’s still a genius. We came close to losing him in Unrelenting Peril, but he survived in the end. More than any of my other characters, he’s an example of how easy it is to become mixed up with a criminal element and how painfully difficult it is to escape. Lesser men would not have survived the retribution of The Organization for such a long time.
I’ve said before that your novels are both character-driven and plot-driven but I must amend that statement to include setting-driven, which admittedly may not even be a “thing,” but regarding your settings, can you speak to the level of influence your travels have on your writing?
I often like to describe myself as a “citizen of the world.” I feel equally comfortable in Manhattan or a village in Cambodia. To me, it seems normal to have characters move easily from country to country and setting to setting because that would describe accurately my life experiences. It would also describe my ambition for humanity. The more comfortable we all become, exploring and learning from our global neighbors, the greater our chances for lasting peace and global prosperity. I truly hope my stories inspire readers to pursue that sort of exploration once we get COVID-19 under control.
How has the global pandemic altered your writing/marketing routine/career?
The pandemic has changed everything as you might imagine. First, I didn’t think it was realistic writing a story taking place in 2020 that didn’t include the pandemic. My challenge was to create a plot that included COVID-19 but didn’t allow the virus to dominate the story. Personal appearances don’t exist in Canada, and many bookstores remain shuttered. In place authors need to use the internet, online retailers and zoom appearances.
As a world traveler, how are you coping with staying at home? Where do you plan to visit once the virus is under control?
I’m Canadian, but this winter is the first I’ve spent in Canada in 25 years! I had to buy a new outdoor wardrobe. I love to walk most days and had to find ways to stay warm for one to two hours in snow, wind and sub-zero temperatures. Coping required a very positive mindset, discipline and dogged determination to carry on. Japan, Croatia, Peru and some Caribbean islands will all factor into my plans as circumstances in each country permits. Realistically, it may still be a year or two before we can travel safely wherever we choose.
In all your books you credit your team, consisting of family, friends, other authors, and experts, humbly noting that your journey is a shared experience. How have these influences strengthened your writing?
I treat learning as a life-long experience. I seek feedback in all subject matters—from writing structure to social or political viewpoints. I truly like to listen to perspectives and impressions from other people. I hope to learn something new with every interaction I have. While I don’t necessarily agree with everyone’s view, I make a concerted effort to think about their outlook and learn from it.
I have to ask, what’s next? Do you have another story planned? Can you give us a sneak peek as to what it’s about?
There will be more novels, but after 2022. Instead, I’m in the early stages of developing a work of non-fiction. I can’t share much with you because there’s not much there yet. But I can tell you I visualize a book about the most interesting stuff I’ve learned from my varied life experiences around the globe. If I move forward, I’ll write it in a “memoirish” style.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Yes. A heartfelt thank you for your interest in my stories. I think it’s wonderful the way you use your platform to help writers and their books become better known to your audience. Keep up the great work!
Thank you, Gary, for sharing your stories with us!
CONNECT WITH GARY MCGUGAN!
Website: https://www.garydmcguganbooks.com
Monthly Blog: https://www.garydmcguganbooks.com/rendezvous-blog
Facebook: @gary.d.mcgugan.books
Twitter: @GaryDMcGugan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorgarydmcgugan
Podcast Interview Gary D. McGugan
Meet Gary D.McGugan Who Discusses his Third Novel in his Multima Series, Unrelenting Peril
Reviewer & Author Interviewer, Norm Goldman. Norm is the Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com. He has been reviewing books for the past twenty years after retiring from the legal profession. Bookpleasures.com welcomes as our guest, Gary D. McGugan author of Three Weeks Less A Day, The Multima Scheme and Unrelenting Peril.
Gary is here today to discuss the third novel in the Multima series, Unrelenting Peril. Good day Gary and thanks once again to participate in our interview.
Norm: Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it? Gary: Thanks, Norm. It’s good to be here. So far, I’ve never encountered writer’s block from a creative perspective. It seems my brain generates a steady flow of productive ideas! Occasionally, challenges crop up. Unforeseen issues might relate to inconsistencies or plot complications that usually occur if I twist direction to increase suspense without thinking through all the implications to a story. When this happens, the only remedy is to rework one or more passages to touch up the problem.
Norm: Has a review or profile ever changed your perspective on your work?
Gary: So far, there hasn’t been a review issue that impacted my perspective. To influence a change, it would depend on the issue highlighted. For example, let’s say a reviewer thoughtfully suggests a story would benefit from more dialogue. I’ll self-assess the value of more dialogue and might well decide to consciously work more into subsequent stories. If a criticism relates to foul language or sexual encounters, my perspective probably wouldn’t change dramatically. Why? Because swearing and sex are parts of everyday life in our real world and usually need to be part of fiction for a story to become believable. That said, I take care to use coarse language and descriptive sex appropriately.
Norm: What do you believe are the elements of a good corporate thriller?
Gary: A good corporate thriller needs an intriguing plot, well-defined characters, a conflict that is easy to understand, and lots of action.
Norm: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Gary: John Grisham or Wilbur Smith. Grisham because I can learn from his success creating superb stories in the legal world in much the way I create intriguing stories in the corporate world. There are similarities. Wilbur Smith has the skill to describe places and events in Africa so powerfully that sometimes I almost feel I was there!
Norm: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book, Unrelenting Peril?
Gary: I really like the story in Unrelenting Peril, and I think most readers enjoy the evolution of my characters as the plot becomes more complicated. I think most readers find the ending very satisfying. I strike a balance between an outcome most are cheering for with discovery of real flaws in character or judgment like most of us have at some juncture in our lives.
Norm: What is your secret in keeping the intensity of the plot throughout the narrative of Unrelenting Peril?
Gary: As a reader, I enjoy intensity. I think it’s crucial to enjoyment and satisfaction. When I’m writing, I try to read and re-read every paragraph not from my writer’s perspective but from what I think might be the perspective of my readers.
Norm: You include some very detailed dialogues in Unrelenting Peril.Where did that dialogue come from?
Gary: My forty-year experience working at senior levels of multinational corporations provided a window into how executives think and talk. I had more than 10,000 entries in my Outlook Contacts when I retired from corporate life. Of course, business people have very different personalities and react to circumstances in unique and individual ways.Similar challenges to those I create in Unrelenting Peril occur in corporations more often than many people realize. As a writer, I may take some license with tone and vocabulary to make the dialogue more dramatic, but the essence of my conversations are not foreign to the environment.
Norm: Do you agree that to have good drama there must be an emotional charge that usually comes from the individual squaring off against antagonists either out in the world or within himself or herself? If so, please elaborate and how does it fit into Unrelenting Peril?
Gary: I think the drama in Unrelenting Peril is a direct result of the number of conflicts I create. The Organization, the FBI, individual characters, and the newly introduced companies all create friction in ways that are both plausible and yet hard to believe at the same time. I think most readers will have trouble putting the story down once they start.
Norm: How much real-life do you put into your fiction? Is there much “you” in there?
Gary: Under the right circumstances, I suppose there might be a little bit of me in almost all the characters. I guess it will be a reader’s mission to try to discover which might be me and which are purely figments of an overactive imagination!
Norm: How wide-spread do you believe is the infiltration of criminal entities into legitimate business?
Gary: I think criminal entities have infiltrated -- and may actually control – a significant number of both privately owned and publicly traded companies. And I think that’s true in Canada, the United States, and in many countries around the world. I also think these elements have an insatiable appetite and continuously try to expand their influence.
Norm: Have you personally experienced this infiltration? If so, how did you react?
Gary: Yes. Every business I worked with required potential customers to make some form of application to qualify for our product or service. Such applications required extensive information from applicants, and the companies I worked for investigated the information received thoroughly. If we discovered a whiff of influence or involvement by unsavory characters, we avoided the business opportunity.
Norm: What would you like to say to writers who are reading this interview and wondering if they can keep creating, if they are good enough, if their voices and visions matter enough to share?
Gary: I encourage prospective writers to read extensively. Explore different genres. Try new authors. Study the methods and techniques of writers whose work they enjoy. I also recommend future authors join a structured community of writers to meet frequently, discuss challenges, observe what other writers are doing, and learn continuously. With those fundamental strategies, I think most aspiring writers will find a path to realize their ambitions.
Norm: Where can our readers find out more about you and Unrelenting Peril?
Gary: To learn more about Unrelenting Peril, the previous suspenseful novels in the Multima Corporation trilogy, or me, readers should visit my WEBSITE.There’s lots of information about my books, personal appearances, independent reviews and profiles, my monthly blog, and information about coming novels. Norm: Will there be any more sequels in the Multima series?
Gary: Unrelenting Peril completes the Multima Corporation trilogy. However, I’ll release a new novel in 2020. It will have different approach – one without Multima Corporation as the backdrop. But I’m borrowing a couple interesting characters from the three novels of corporate intrigue, and I’ll cast them on a very different path. I think readers will enjoy where they’re headed.Norm: Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavorsFOLLOW HERE TO READ NORM'S REVIEW OF UNRELENTING PERIL
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