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By Peggy Helmick-Richardson
"An act of war has been initiated against Israel, the European Union and the United States of America by Abdullah Tartir’s Palestinian Authority. My ambassador and friend, Thornton McIver, was murdered, along with a number of other fine men and women. The PA acted like a hostile nation and is being treated as such." Flecks of violet hardened in [President] Abigail Stewart’s eyes. "Prime Minister Wasserman is confident Israeli forces will control the Left Bank and Gaza by mid-week. The aftermath, and how we plan to deal with future problems, is what concerns me."
—from Cry Havoc by John Hamilton Lewis
John Lewis has molded a profusion of global experiences, a variety of publishing industry careers, and a fascination with other cultures and their history to create four critically acclaimed international suspense novels. His fifth book is now nearing publication and others are already in the planning stages.
When not working or writing, this Heath author also shares his expertise in the writing, editing and publishing business with up-and-coming writers aspiring to make a name for themselves in the world of fiction.
Opal Eye Devil, John’s first thriller, takes place primarily in turn-of-the-twentieth century Shanghai, China. Released in 2001, this tale deals with the Boxer Rebellion. "This was the age of the robber barons and the great trading houses from Scotland and England," he notes, "when oil was replacing coal as the world’s primary energy source."
John’s interest in this topic grew out of a love for history. "I wanted to be able to show that a lot of problems we have today were back then as well. I also wanted to show readers the differences in how an oriental mind and a western mind would approach the same problem."
On the heels of John’s well-received first book, Basha followed in 2002. This novel, that takes place primarily in the Middle East and the United States, tells the story of a modern-day Palestinian boy raised by a Jewish Israeli tennis coach who chooses not to tell him of his true cultural heritage. As a result of these experiences and decisions, the young man grows up to lead a dichotomous life—one as a leading international tennis player and another as an assassin for a Palestinian leader.
"’Basha’ is an impressive word," John states. "It is Arabic and could mean godfather, king, head of a village or large family, or a mediator. In this case, it means mediator." He laughs that the title was actually inspired by a restaurant of the same name that he had dined in. The definition of the name got the wheels turning in his mind. "I thought, wouldn’t it be interesting if you had someone who could move around without being suspected—but motivated like (the main character) was. You don’t know the ending of the book until the final word, but I knew what the ending would be before I wrote the book."
In 2003, Samsara was released. This tale introduces Nick Ridley, a California orphan who joined the Royal Air Force at the onset of World War II, and was then captured and held at the Changi prisoner of war camp. Years later, the now financially successful Ridley moves to Hong Kong to start an airline, only to find himself drawn into unexplained murders and kidnapping, and again facing the commandant of the prisoner of war camp where he suffered years before. This gripping tale racked up more rave reviews for John.
The Buddhist term "samsara" is defined as the unending cycle of life, death and rebirth that results from ignorance and is marked by suffering. "This gives a message about the forces that drive people to do certain things, and how these are different in a western versus an eastern mind," John points out.
John’s most recent book, Cry Havoc, came out in 2005. This thriller recounts the choices Abigail Stewart, the first female president of the United States, is required to deal with during a crisis situation. Following a suicide attack on an Israeli jet carrying high-level dignitaries on a peace mission, she finds that an Arab oil embargo, a Middle Eastern invasion, and nuclear war with China are all frightening possibilities. The president comes to rely heavily on the counsel of Grant Corbet, Deputy Director of Operations for the CIA, much to the chagrin of some of her long-term advisors.
Cry Havoc received accolades from reviewers and fellow authors alike, and resulted in John being compared to Tom Clancy and John Grisham.
Edgar award winner John Lutz described Cry Havoc as a "chilling and believable look at post 9-11 America." He then praises John with, "His insider’s knowledge of the Middle East puts him in good stead in this fast-paced thriller."
"John Hamilton Lewis rips this one from next week’s headlines. A must read if you want to know what we’re facing. But especially if you don’t want to know," says Thomas Sawyer, former head writer for the television program Murder, She Wrote. "The dialog, pace, imagery and characterization are superbly crafted."
Currently, John is taking a detour from his modern thrillers and working on Lost River, a story set in post-Civil War Georgia. This book tells of a doctor, James Ridley, who returns to his family home in native Georgia after the war only to discover that it was razed by Sherman’s army. A promise to a dying patient and an antagonist who attempts to gain total control of southern Georgia’s cotton industry all play a role in the novel’s intricacies. A plantation on Lost River that boasts a bat cave is a pivotal aspect of the plot. John expects his latest book to be released in June 2007 or February 2008.
The decision to write a story of the historical south followed a request from his mother. "I really got into the research about the old South and Reconstruction," he declares "It was a fascinating period and it was terrible. The government was corrupt and the carpetbaggers were given all the business contracts."
The protagonist, James Ridley, was named for John’s great-grandfather, James Nicholas Ridley, also a southern doctor. As an interesting side note, John remarks that another of his ancestors, James Nicolas Ridley, was labeled a heretic for being one on the writers of the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer. Known as one of the Oxford Martyrs, this Bishop of Rochester, and at one time, chaplain to King Henry the VIII was ordered to be burned at the stake by Queen Mary.
Start at the beginning
Although John didn’t complete his first novel until 2001, he was certainly no stranger to the world of writing and publishing. And he had already accumulated a lifetime of experiences to draw upon for his books.
Born in Sarasota, Florida, John came to Texas to study journalism at North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas). After graduating, he continued his journalism education at the University of Texas, where he earned his master’s degree. Following this, he moved to New York to work for an advertising agency.
After this job, John was hired as a sales promotion manager for the Standard Fruit and Steamship Company and was transferred to North Texas. In this position, he worked with his employer’s ad agency, Tracey Locke, in Dallas. Following this, John and a partner started their own business manufacturing foosball and pool tables. He later sold his interest in this business and started another— importing PC boards from Japan to sell to game manufacturers. It was this venture that launched John on his series of jobs that offered him the opportunities for worldwide travel.
When the price of PC boards began to fall, John accepted a position with the International Development Economic Corporation to find companies in the United States or Europe that were seeking Asian distribution. "I would put together the companies overseas and here," he explains. As a result he spent most of the next 17 years overseas, returning briefly to the United States once every few months. Among the locales he lived in or stayed in for extended visits were Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. He also traveled to Israel, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh and Sierra Leone. Because China was still relatively isolated from the west at that time, John had only rare opportunities to enter that country.
John quickly took advantage of the situation to learn more about the people he was doing business with. "I was there by myself and very interested in learning about their cultures. I got to go to their houses to eat dinner and meet their families. I learned about their religions and mores, and they would tell me about their histories."
During his years there, John developed definite favorites as well as a few dislikes. Topping his preferred list is Thailand, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. The stifling heat of the United Arab Emirates and Turkey were a deterrent for him, as well as the primitive conditions. John emphasizes that the latter have changed significantly since he last visited those two nations.
Two trips that John recalls as his most negative experiences were those to Sierra Leone and Bangladesh. Dealing with the extreme poverty of Bangladesh was incredibly difficult for him, and he comments that this is a country where one can witness the horror of people hurting and maiming their children in an effort to earn more money when they begged. John continues that when he traveled to a famine-plagued Sierra Leone on behalf of a rice processor in Thailand, he found his efforts frustrated by indifference from the country’s leaders and that much-needed money was being placed in Swiss bank accounts rather than used for food. "The whole culture wasn’t conducive to getting much done," he sighs.
Overall, John found that he loved most of Asia and he wrote travel articles for hotel and airline magazines praising the many locales he enjoyed. "That was a fun part of the job," he smiles. "I got to see a lot of interesting places and I got paid for it."
Although the many months out of each year spent out of the United States and away from his family took their toll on John, he still enjoyed traveling. "I got used to it," he declares. "If I didn’t do it, I felt like something wasn’t right."
The impetus for him to settle down and establish a career in North Texas came when the owner of the company he worked for suggested he move to Bangladesh. "I decided I had had enough of that!" he asserts.
Significant changes
Married to wife, Karen, for 17 years, they have made their home in Heath for the last eight years. John is the father of three daughters, Tracy, Emily and Lauryn, the youngest who still lives at home. In addition, they also share their home with Toby, "a neutered Maltese who is the closest thing I ever had to a son."
Although John had been writing and selling articles for a number of years, the idea of writing a novel had not been considered—that is, until a botched sinus surgery and the resulting case of meningitis put him out of work for a year-and-a-half.
John describes how he came to be a novelist. "My oldest daughter said, ‘Dad, you are a really good writer. Why don’t you write a novel?’ So I started writing and I finished this book. I thought it was the best book written. But after being rejected hundreds of times, I sent it to this well-known editor. She told me I had not written a novel, I had written a 500-page newspaper story. So I started writing again, this time paying serious attention to the craft of novel writing, which is a lot different than journalism."
At this time, he took a job as an agent as well as selling books for publishers. "I met editors as a result, and learned from them how to write fiction."
Through this task, John had the chance to get know some newcomers to the publishing business, including the Dallas-based Durban House. He began doing sales work for them. When John completed his first novel, Opal Eye Devil, they were anxious to publish it, and have continued to release each of his subsequent books.
John is now employed with National Book Network, which he describes as the largest book distributor in North America, with 250 publishing companies represented. "I do sales work," he explains. "I call on national accounts for them and attend trade shows where they have exhibits."
In addition, he edits books for other authors, and is often invited to make presentations at writers’ conferences and literary events across the country. One of his most requested topics for these programs is "How to evaluate your own writing."
Although John is still working on his latest novel Lost River, he is already thinking ahead on other areas of interest that he would like to create his next novels around. "I want to do another post-Civil War book, maybe something on New Orleans and the villainous acts that took place back then."
Another poignant topic for him is the modern slave trade and the practice of kidnapping young girls, or of families in poverty conditions feeling forced to sell their daughters to brothels. He explains that he was inspired after hearing the true story of a Cambodian girl who managed to escape this life after being kidnapped and sold.
One other possibility John hopes to explore is delving into his own family history and either producing a biography on the James Nicholas Ridley who co-wrote the Book of Common Prayer or a historical novel around his story.
In order to write as well as maintain a full-time job, John states that he usually writes for about one hour every morning before work during the week day and devotes two or three hours to his craft each Saturday and Sunday.
Sharing his knowledge
Always ready to share advice with other aspiring novelists, John also feels compelled to warn of some potential pitfalls as well. He stresses that making the best sellers list is a feat reserved for only a small margin of authors: "Sixty-three percent of the top 100 best selling fiction books between 1986 and 1996 were written by six writers."
John points out that most authors are responsible for their own public relations and that they must build a readership base in order to reach any level of distribution and success. Currently, he arranges for about 50 book signings a year, primarily in Texas, Arizona and Southern California. Naming "marketing and pizzazz" as necessary as writing skills when striving to achieve acclaim, he declares, "It is all about money and how to get the books on the front table."
He admits that self-promotion is a "daunting task" and shares that smaller companies have money constraints when it comes to competing with the larger publishing companies. "You have to be shameless when you are a writer," John laughs.
With the growing success of each of his books, the job of self-promotion becomes an easier process. John often gives presentations to community organizations, churches and books clubs. And over the years, he has built up a strong readership base through his participation in the prestigious literary events such as the annual "by-invitation-only" Men of Mystery conference in Irvine, California. He explains, "Joan Hansen invites 50 male writers—two are generally big name and the rest are lesser known writers. Five hundred people pay to come, and each writer has a table where they have lunch with people, and visitors come around and buy books. The people who come are book lovers."
For anyone aspiring to be a writer, John asserts, "Don’t let people tell you what you should or shouldn’t write about. You should write what you are passionate about." He also warns, "Writers tend to make too many mistakes because they emulate other writers who are making mistakes. You have to find your own voice."
In summation, this successful author advises that a plot "should be believable," characters need to be "three-dimensional" with their dialog "sounding real." He continues, "It is very important to transport the reader beyond the pages to the place where the story is taking place. And above all, show the reader what is happening through your characters by using dialog and action rather than using your omnipotent writer’s voice telling them what is happening."
As far as developing the necessary skills required of a successful writer, John recommends Stein on Writing
by Sol Stein. "It is a marvelous book," he states.
And what does John consider the most difficult aspect of being a novelist?
"I think there is a lot of fear and frustration about it. Once you have written it and shown it to the world, you have to stand there naked in front of the audience and accept any type of criticism from people who don’t know what you have gone through to do that."
In spite of that, he admonishes, "You have to write because you love to write. You can’t let the frustration get you down. You have to be positive."
Peggy Helmick-Richardson is a freelance writer. |
