Steve: I’m honored to interview author Leonardus G. Rougoor today. He writes mystery/thriller novels, among them Waiting in the Shadows, The Chase, The Revelation, The Clock, and The Murderer and the Lost Treasures. Our reading interests are also similar, so we have lots in common. Without further ado and with great pleasure, let’s hear from Leonardus.

Leonardus on reading and writing…

Steve: Why, how, and when did you start writing?

Leonardus: I never wrote much my entire life, except for music in my late 50’s. I started writing a novel one week after retiring in 2013. I wrote it because I had a story I wanted to tell. When I used to watch the news before going to bed and saw reports of rape and abuse, it bothered me so much that I had a difficult time getting to sleep. I would lie in bed thinking of ways to stop the abuse.

My first book dealt with a young man taking the law into his own hands, after his mother was raped and murdered. The criminal was not prosecuted.

Steve: Did you publish that first book you wrote?

Leonardus: Yes, I published it with the title Waiting in the Shadows (trilogy).

Steve: What is your biggest problem with the writing process? How do you tackle it?

Leonardus: My biggest problem writing was learning to tell a story by showing, not telling. Grammar was a big hurdle too. I learned how to deal with the showing part by rewriting my first novel nine times, and using the internet to give me examples. It helped that I had read at least a thousand books in my life. This showed me somewhat how to write a novel.

I hired a publishing consultant in New Zealand ($2,000). It was almost a total waste of money. I got one idea from her, and that was all.

I am very fortunate in the fact that I have never had writer’s block. I have written nine novels in five years. My problem is turning it off. I sometimes lay awake in bed thinking about plots and characters.

Steve: Do you feel writing is something you need to do or want to do?

Leonardus: Since I started writing, I feel driven to get on the computer and write more. My wife isn’t always as enthusiastic about it as I am, so I get off and spend time with her now and then—after all, happy wife….

Steve: Have your personal experiences or situations influenced you creatively? If so, how?

Leonardus: I have used quite a number of my experiences with people in my life and created stories from them. I especially use them for cases in my private-eye series. Some people that I have had a dislike for, but have been unable to tell them what I really think, I’ve done so in my stories. I sometimes wonder if they will ever read my works, hopefully.

Steve: How much of your creative ability do you think is innate and how much is learned?

Leonardus: My creativity, for the most part is innate with me. I have an overactive imagination. I have been told that when I mow the lawn, my mouth is quite often moving, as I talk to myself. Yeah, right.

I worked as a quality control inspector, among other things, in the steel fabrication industry. I was good at it because I was able to think on the run, coming up with new ideas as I needed them. Putting them down on paper properly has been a learned skill.

Steve: What is the last book you read? What are you reading now?

Leonardus: The last book I read was The Buchanan Campaign by Rick Shelly. Right now, I’m reading The Mutant Season by Karen Haber and Robert Silverberg. Both are science fiction, my favorite genre.

Steve: Who are your favorite authors?  Whose writing inspires you the most and why?

Leonardus: I like science fiction. My absolute favorite author is Isaac Asimov. I loved Caves of Steel, the Foundation series, and all his books that were written in this genre. His stories were set in the future, and many were murder mysteries, or just mysteries.

Larry Niven in the Ringworld series piqued my interest, as well as Harry Harrison. These writers had the ability to make me feel like I was there, in the middle of the stories, especially with Isaac Asimov.

Steve: What’s the last book to make you laugh?  Cry?

Leonardus: Laugh, that’s a hard one; there have been many. To tell you the truth though, it has to be when I was editing one of mine. I remember some of the events in my life and some were actually hilarious, especially when I give them a bit of a twist (literary license). I try to inject a bit of humor now and then. I know it sounds odd, or self-serving, that I would pick my own book, but that is the truth. Cry?  No book has ever made me cry.

Steve: Should writers read in their genre?  Should they be avid readers?

Leonardus: I think writers should read whatever genre interests them. I read in my genres sometimes, but then again I write in four genres, so it’s hard not to sometimes. The thing I try to never do is come up with ideas or plots that other writers have written about. I like being an original thinker.

We should be avid readers too, there are so many wonderful writers out there. Otherwise you limit your experiences.

Steve: How do you find (discover) your plots?

Leonardus: For some reason, most of my plots come to me as I need them. I do sometimes have them come to me when I’m doing other things, like when my wife is talking to me. Don’t tell her, though; she might not be as happy about it as I am.

Steve: Are your characters based on real people?

Leonardus: Sometimes some of my characters are based on people that I know. I make them into other people that do things the real people would never do, but, so far, they seem to really enjoy that. It makes them happy when they see their names in my books, most of the time though the characters are totally made up.

Steve: How do you name your characters?

Leonardus: I try to come up with a variety of names. If they are from a particular ethnic background, I’ll go on the internet and see which ones would suit the story. I think that they should be believable yet interesting. If a character comes from old money, in the nineteen thirties, I’ll use Beauregard, or Abigail, anything that was suitable for that time. In a supernatural story, about a fiendish person from centuries ago, I used Drakmar.

Steve: Which comes first for you, plot or characters?

Leonardus: A plot will come before a character most times, but not always. Quite often, the main plot, the thing the entire book hinges on, pops into my head. It seems to come out of nowhere. It ties everything together, with hardly a reason for it happening. One thing will trigger it and poof, there it is, and it all seems to make sense.

Steve: Any comments about writing dialog?

Leonardus: Dialog took me quite awhile to get right. I still struggle to get it to sound natural sometimes. I try to make it sound like it would, if people were actually having the conversation I’m writing down. It needs to sound natural and flow, or it doesn’t come across properly.

One thing that has always turned me off when I’m reading is when there is too much description in a story. An endless explanation, or someone trying to sound overly philosophical and witty, makes me stop reading it. I don’t like having to analyze what I’ve just read; it interrupts the story.

Steve: How do you handle POV (point of view)?

Leonardus: POV is something I have used extensively in many of my novels. Of course, each POV requires that you start a new chapter, and so most times I write the character’s name under the chapter number. I have always been able to put myself in someone else’s shoes. I love to, for a short time, become these other characters. It’s fun to be an unsavory person, in your head. I wouldn’t want to be them in my real life, though. When this happens, it’s almost as if the book writes itself; I’m just the one hammering away at the keyboard.

Steve: Do you do fact-finding for (AKA research) your books?  If so, how? What sources do you use?

Leonardus: When I need solid information, such as locales, or how certain things work, I use the internet. Street views are a quick, easy way to see what places really look like. When I describe an area, I want to know what I’m talking about. If someone from a place I’m describing actually reads my book, I don’t want them to think I’m an idiot by describing things all wrong.

Leonardus on the publishing business…

Steve: Do you use a formatter?  Editor?  Agent?

Leonardus: I have had a few people read my works before they are sent off to Black Opal Books. It’s tough finding someone who will be brutally honest. If I ask for an opinion, that’s what I want. If something isn’t good, I want to know about it, so I can fix it. I found one brilliant person who did just that. She didn’t care if she offended me. When she saw something wrong, she told me. I appreciated that honesty, and fixed the problem.

The publisher does most of the work, but I try my hardest to polish my work as much as I can before I send it in. I feel that is my job.

Steve: Do you self-publish or traditionally publish?

Leonardus: I traditionally publish. I had about fifty rejections before I got three publishers at once interested in taking my first novel. It really was discouraging until that happened, and when I got one rejection, I sent the MS to several others, until I got a hit. I was lucky when one publisher took the time to tell me what was wrong with what I had written..

Steve: What are your most effective marketing techniques?  Where would you like to improve?  Do you go it alone or seek professional help (outside what your publisher provides, if appropriate).

Leonardus: I have had to email a lot of big bookstores in order to have them put my books on their shelves. I’ve done book signings, which was scary at first, but after awhile I started getting good at getting people to stop and look at the novels I’ve written. Some even bought one. Like anything of this nature, you can’t take it personal when people say no. After all, I’ve done the same thing many times.

In order to hire someone to help sell your books, you have to sell a lot to make that money back, so I don’t. FaceBook hasn’t been a very good way to sell for me. With many friends, you almost have to give them a book in order to get them to read your novels.

Steve: Do you release trade paperbacks or ebooks or both?

Leonardus: Black Opal Books does both for me.

Steve: What do you think of publishing services like Amazon, Smashwords, etc?  What about small presses v. large, traditional publishers?

Leonardus: I haven’t used publishing services. Small presses are a great way to get into the business, if you can get one interested, but everyone wants to sign up with the big boys. That of course is easier said than done.

Some personal questions for Leonardus…

Steve: What is your favorite place to eat out?  Favorite food?  Drink?

Leonardus: I like eating at pubs. They have a variety of good food, and they serve beer, of which I might have two, but no more, because it makes me feel bloated. I enjoy the buzz of conversation around me. Happy people make me happy.

Steve: What are your favorite other places, either here or abroad? What places would you like to visit?

Leonardus: I absolutely loved Hawaii, the main island. South America’s Amazon would be nice, but I have sleep apnea that doesn’t allow me to sleep well without a CPAC machine. It would be hard to use in the jungle, or so I’m told.

Steve: What other interests and activities do you have besides writing?

Leonardus: I love boating on the ocean. I play guitar, do wood carving, and go fishing. My wife and I go for drives exploring areas we haven’t seen before. We do the same thing on vacations. On our trip to the Kona coast, we put almost seven hundred miles on a rental car in eleven days.

I work for a community service called Needs and Extras program, which picks up furniture donations from people buying new things, and delivers them to the needy. I like helping those that are less fortunate. But for the Grace of God….

Steve: If you could trade places with someone for a week, famous or not, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?

Leonardus: Neil Armstrong would probably be the one person I wouldn’t mind trading places with for a week. I would love to have been able to walk on the moon. [Note from Steve: There’s a new movie coming out about him. I think it’s called First Man.] Either that, or one of the characters in Isaac Asimov’s books. [Note from Steve: As a kid, I wanted to be Elijah Bailey!]

Steve: What is your favorite song and why?  Piece of music?  Theater work? Movie?  Piece of art?

Leonardus: My favorite song is “It’s All Over Now” by the Rolling Stones. Why? Because I just loved the tune. For movies, I enjoyed most of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movies. I love action and science fiction. Why he never won an award is beyond me.

Steve: I want to thank you, Leonardus, for these interesting and candid answers today. I’m sure readers will want to learn more about you and your books. I’m certainly intrigued by them. (You can visit Leonardus’s website: http://www.leonardusrougoor.com/.)

***

Comments are welcome!

Rembrandt’s Angel. Esther Brookstone, Scotland Yard Inspector in the Art and Antiques Division, becomes obsessed with recovering a Rembrandt painting stolen by the Nazis in World War Two. Paramour and Interpol agent Bastiann van Coevorden tries to control that obsession and keep Esther safe. But they uncover a vast conspiracy that threatens the free world in general and London in particular. This mystery/thriller is available as an ebook on Amazon (now $4.25) and Smashwords and its affiliated retailers. It’s also available in print format from Amazon and your favorite bookstore (if they don’t have it, ask for it).

In libris libertas!

 

 

 

 

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