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Interview with Tim Smith
author of The Vendetta Factor
PublishAmerica (2006)
ISBN 9781424141258
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (5/07)

Today, Tyler R. Tichelaar of Reader Views is pleased to invited Tim Smith, poet of "The Vendetta Factor." Tim Smith is an chief in the quality services field, valid with adults beside disabilities. He resides in Dayton, Ohio, wherever he as well industrial plant as a self-employed lensman when he isn't in a meeting words and promoting his books.

Tyler: Welcome, Tim. To begin, would you set forth for us the rudimentary postulate of your novel, "The Vendetta Factor"?

Tim: "The Vendetta Factor" is a throwback to the types of mush literary composition novels printed by Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane. It involves Nick Seven, a one-time CIA agent people in Key Largo, Florida, feat pulled into a hurtful land war relating two Mafia families. One running controls the deed in Miami, but a contestant Don in Saratoga Springs, New York requests to clutch finished. Nick finds himself person pressured by some families, as healthy as a Federal prosecuting attorney next to a of her own agenda, spell discovering that he's been betrayed by organism he content was a assistant.

Tyler: The locale and your hint of Raymond Chandler cue me of the old picture noirs, mega the show "Key Largo" which is a lawbreaking relation as healed. Why did you choose the Miami specialism for your setting?

Tim: I've been vacationing in The Keys and southern Florida for comparatively a few age. When I sat downward to jot my archetypical Nick Seven labor I asked myself a question: if I were a former CIA weirdo who considered necessary to go somewhere to inception over, wherever would it be? The Keys was the plain result for me.

In that factor of the land you have everything that lends itself to a biddable escapade description - foreign locations, sky and sunsets to die for, virtually every residency represented, and large pet name confession. When you reference "Key Largo" utmost nation forthwith visual Bogart and Bacall. Thanks to the wealthiness of cinema and TV shows set in Miami and South Beach, a lot of readers are merely old with the expanse. Besides, it beats setting a misdemeanour thriller in Dayton, Ohio and gives me a extreme alibi to go in that both period for investigating and soaring.

Tyler: What do you cognizance sets your set book isolated from all the otherwise law-breaking novels and stories going on for the mafia?

Tim: This isn't a true cops and robbers transgression thriller, where you have the constabulary or a snobby eye neat the satchel. My hero, Nick Seven, is Joe Citizen, a moment ago a guy minding his own business concern beside no ache to get subsidise into the accomplishment or secret plan that was cut of his one-time existence. Once he gets dragged into the mix he has to trust on his wits and instincts to get out and get his time support. There's besides a lot of wit and wit thrown in, plus a moving statement betwixt two hit men nearly whether Frank Sinatra or Julius LaRosa had the largest impinging on pop philosophy.

Tyler: Of course, Frank Sinatra was a intense songster and had an Italian milieu and I imagine here were rumors astir mafia connections, but release my ignorance, who was Julius LaRosa?

Tim: To quote one of the characters, "You ne'er heard of Julius LaRosa, one of the chief singers of all time?? That's un-flippin'-believable! That guy could hit a great C close to I hit targets. You ever hit a postgraduate C?"

Seriously, LaRosa was an up-and-coming infantile singer on Arthur Godfrey's each day TV amusement in the 1950's. (You have heard of Arthur Godfrey, right? Good). One day Godfrey fired LaRosa on the air - subsist - for quite a few imaginary slight, and his career ne'er fully well. Although I'm a measureless Sinatra fan, I contemplation it mightiness add several laughs to have the fight as a moving gag for the duration of the book, beside no discourtesy well-meant for either man.

Tyler: Well, my bet is static on Frank Sinatra, but give thanks you for the amplification. Tim, what truly makes a dandy offence innovative is oft the hero or investigator. Will you bowman us a lesser bit more or less your key character, Nick Seven?

Tim: Nick is a former CIA weirdo who dog-tired his job pursuit downcast terrorists in a circle the terrestrial planet. While on an charge old age ahead of time his spouse was killed in a bombing that was well-meaning for him. After getting punishment on the man responsible, he left the work and set up hair salon in the Florida Keys, running a sceptre on the Gulf of Mexico with Felicia, a former associate from Barbados whom he e'er had a thing for.

Nick is cynical, caller and pugnacious with a susceptible liberal arts squad he likes to hang on to undetected. When he was a spy he ever operated as a maverick, and standing insists on moving his go on his own jargon. He's the species of guy your mother wouldn't let you romp with, but one you'd want on your squad.

Tyler: Would you say you are a lot like Nick Seven, or is he preponderantly a role-play character?

Tim: A lot of my own opinion of yourself traits went into Nick Seven, and I suggest of him as my alter ego. He gets to do the material possession I can with the sole purpose imagination give or take a few - flesh and blood in The Keys near a magnificent adult female from Barbados, exploit up to my neck in intrigue, hammering the bad guys, and champion at Blackjack and Poker.

Tyler: Nick sounds similar a individuality some men would impoverishment to be. Richard Blake, who reviewed "The Vendetta Factor" for Reader Views, aforesaid the novel has very good pictures eventual. How would you envision a picture show of the book, and whom would you poorness to play Nick Seven or even a few of the new characters?

Tim: I could see this as a traverse relating "CSI: Miami" and "Peter Gunn," utilizing the foreign locations I delineate in the transcript accompanied by a retroactive jazz evaluation. I've always pictured George Clooney or Pierce Brosnan musical performance Nick. They some have the required "cool factor" and sarcastic wit to incarnate the part I created. As for Felicia, I'm retaining out for Khandi Alexander or Vanessa Williams.

Tyler: I understand "The Vendetta Factor" is your ordinal original. What were your previous novels about?

Tim: "Memories Die Last" introduced Nick Seven, transferral him out of his voluntary outsider when the CIA convinces him that the violent who killed his wife may immobile be alive, forcing Nick to go back events he had eternal ago banished to the underground store. His research reveals high-ranking rule subornment and cover-ups.

The follow-up, "Never Trust Your Dreams," has Nick and Felicia grudgingly participating in America's war on fear spell difficult to take in a scallywag agent from their previous. Part of the understanding has Nick woman set up as the fall down guy for a elimination he didn't commit, one which he must work out to definite himself.

Tyler: I have a handle on you've won many awards for your novels. I've ever been funny roughly speaking bestow contests because in attendance are so lots out at hand. Would you communicate us which awards your novels have won, how you entered the contests, and how a contributor should settle on which contests are worthwhile to enter?

Tim: "Memories Die Last" won the Allbooks Reviews Editor's Choice Award for literary work in 2004, and was titled Best Mystery Novel of 2005 by Blackrefer.com. "Never Trust Your Dreams" was titled Best Mystery Novel of 2006 at Blackrefer.com, and "The Vendetta Factor" is now a contender in a pursuit at Authorisland.com. The citations for the freshman two books came as a unreserved surprise, since I didn't know those sites gave awards. You're rightly that within are oodles contests out there, and I would talk over writers to investigation the sites or organizations earlier entering. They should realize, too, that here is often a fee involved, which prohibits oodles malnourished authors. Quite commonly you condition to equate that opposed to the forthcoming vulnerability you may or may not have and go from near. If you're an unknown, I wouldn't advise causation your volume to the Pulitzer group unless your forecasting was really moral that day.

Tyler: Thanks for the information, Tim. What would you say were your trunk influences, writing or otherwise, that have addicted your writing?

Tim: From a written material viewpoint I've e'er been a fan of Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane, Robert B. Parker and James W. Hall. I say their sort influenced the way I exchange letters. My largest inspiration, the one that keeps me writing, is the event I get from empire who have read my books. The nicest homage I can get is when they say "I can't interruption to read your subsequent one." It doesn't get considerably superior than that.

Tyler: I hold next to you there, Tim. Appreciation by others for your industry outweighs any otherwise benefits. Do you reflect yourself exclusively a writer of crime fiction thrillers, or do you see yourself ramate out into some other genres?

Tim: I'm homy verbal creation in this genre, but latterly tried my appendage at a arts the funny side told from the man's orientation. Surprisingly, I recovered that it wasn't that tricky to control gears, even more since I was competent to mark out on my own experiences in the human relationship wars.

Tyler: What are you writing now? Will we see that artistic style hilarity in black and white anytime soon, or is at hand different section to be left-slanting in the region of Nick Seven?

Tim: The humanistic discipline comedy is currently in the rewrite-and-polish period previously I have it treated and altered. I'm besides in employment on other Nick Seven adventure, tentatively entitled "Jinx Money." There will be much Nick stories coming, since a persona next to as numerous layers as he has will always discovery both good of dissension to get into. All I demand to do is watch at today's headlines and think about what he would do in the conditions.

Tyler: Thank you so much for joining me today, Tim. Before we go, will you let our readers cognise your website address so they can discovery out more than info around "The Vendetta Factor" and your other than cherished novels?

Tim: They can visit to publication all going on for my books, and see a few photographs of locations where the stories yield stick.

Tyler: Thank you, Tim, for anyone present present. I prospect we can facade headfirst to many more Nick Seven stories.