Ask the Author: Gerard de Marigny
Answered Questions (10)
Gerard de Marigny
There'd be so many places ... from 19th century London to stump Sherlock Holmes -- to Tolkien's Middle Earth to live in the Shire among the Hobbits, spending days at the pub and evenings smoking a pipe -- to the world's of my own making -- to the CRIS DE NIRO universe to befriend Cris -- and to Joshua's Country in Southwest Texas to be a friendly neighbor to cantankerous old Joshua Jacobs.
Gerard de Marigny
I become allergic to wine and sex. A classic French horror story.
Gerard de Marigny
The mystery of my lineage. Apparently, I come from a long line of rouges and scoundrels. Going back 800 years, my ancestors were beheaded, hanged, exiled, knighted on the same battlefield on which they then lost their life, accused of murder, and responsible for bringing the game of craps to the United States.
Seems to me, the mystery of the intrigue surrounding de Marigny men would make a decent plot for a book ... for mature readers only, though.
Seems to me, the mystery of the intrigue surrounding de Marigny men would make a decent plot for a book ... for mature readers only, though.
Gerard de Marigny
Hi Samuel,
Great question and point on ... the espionage thriller genre encompasses a number of subgenres (i.e. techno, war, counter-terrorism, etc.) that call for the highest level of authenticity, in order to really bring the story to life. That means the writer has to get all of the details right.
I utilize every resource at my disposal, beginning and ending with advanced search capabilities on the internet. I do not stop at Wikipedia for my research. It's important to read source documents whenever possible, in order to confirm information and then to cross-check with other sources like white papers, research documents, professional journal articles, etc.
There are also times when I need to check/confirm with real people. I will either reach out by email, less often by phone or face-to-face. The latter can be very time consuming and relatively costly, so I, as do other writers, try not to have to meet in person. One particular experience ... I had read a confidential white paper (I am well-versed in how to find/procure source documents/information that can be considered confidential, especially from government publications that I think no one thinks anyone reads) and needed to confirm the dimensions (and existence) of a Shahab-4 missile. It took me a week to find the author of some of the technical specs ... the individual works for the NSA as one of their research PhDs. Well ... I finally emailed this person with a simple question, "Can a Shahab-4 fit inside a 40-foot ocean container?" and the reply I received in less than three minutes was, "How did you get this email??" Ha! After having this person confirm that I was indeed merely a writer, he finally answered the question with a one-word reply, "Barely." I discovered later that the existence of a Shahab-4 is denied by many in our military. In other words, I wasn't even supposed to know of its existence ... so I certainly wasn't supposed to be asking technical questions about it to our own resident expert on the subject. <-- A good writer is only as good as his sources!
I do also read books, but even more so, I spend at least an hour a day reading news articles from a variety of domestic and international sources. It's very important to get as many points-of-view, including on research topics, as you can.
Thanks for the question,
GdeM
p.s. I just completed co-writing the screenplay adaptation of my first novel, THE WATCHMAN OF EPHRAIM with the legendary Michael Greenburg (MacGyver, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1, et al.) The movie is what they call an "A-budget" film, which means north of $25 MM. That allows Mike and I to actually hire "technical advisors," such as military, counter-terrorism, special forces, future tech PhDs, and espionage experts, in order to breathe as much reality as possible into our work. <-- This is where it really gets fun!
Great question and point on ... the espionage thriller genre encompasses a number of subgenres (i.e. techno, war, counter-terrorism, etc.) that call for the highest level of authenticity, in order to really bring the story to life. That means the writer has to get all of the details right.
I utilize every resource at my disposal, beginning and ending with advanced search capabilities on the internet. I do not stop at Wikipedia for my research. It's important to read source documents whenever possible, in order to confirm information and then to cross-check with other sources like white papers, research documents, professional journal articles, etc.
There are also times when I need to check/confirm with real people. I will either reach out by email, less often by phone or face-to-face. The latter can be very time consuming and relatively costly, so I, as do other writers, try not to have to meet in person. One particular experience ... I had read a confidential white paper (I am well-versed in how to find/procure source documents/information that can be considered confidential, especially from government publications that I think no one thinks anyone reads) and needed to confirm the dimensions (and existence) of a Shahab-4 missile. It took me a week to find the author of some of the technical specs ... the individual works for the NSA as one of their research PhDs. Well ... I finally emailed this person with a simple question, "Can a Shahab-4 fit inside a 40-foot ocean container?" and the reply I received in less than three minutes was, "How did you get this email??" Ha! After having this person confirm that I was indeed merely a writer, he finally answered the question with a one-word reply, "Barely." I discovered later that the existence of a Shahab-4 is denied by many in our military. In other words, I wasn't even supposed to know of its existence ... so I certainly wasn't supposed to be asking technical questions about it to our own resident expert on the subject. <-- A good writer is only as good as his sources!
I do also read books, but even more so, I spend at least an hour a day reading news articles from a variety of domestic and international sources. It's very important to get as many points-of-view, including on research topics, as you can.
Thanks for the question,
GdeM
p.s. I just completed co-writing the screenplay adaptation of my first novel, THE WATCHMAN OF EPHRAIM with the legendary Michael Greenburg (MacGyver, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1, et al.) The movie is what they call an "A-budget" film, which means north of $25 MM. That allows Mike and I to actually hire "technical advisors," such as military, counter-terrorism, special forces, future tech PhDs, and espionage experts, in order to breathe as much reality as possible into our work. <-- This is where it really gets fun!
Gerard de Marigny
I close my eyes and remember days past when I earned a living working in a factory and later on in offices ... that acts as a sharp smack to the bottom of my pants to get on with it!
Gerard de Marigny
As an artist, being able to write is my ultimate form of expressing myself.
“The soul of an artist cannot be muted indefinitely. It must either be expressed or it will consume the host.”
“The soul of an artist cannot be muted indefinitely. It must either be expressed or it will consume the host.”
Gerard de Marigny
The best advice I would offer is the advice I heeded when starting out just three years ago. That is ...
+ learn your craft, write your works, edit your works, publish your works, let others know you've published them ... then rinse & repeat!
+ Don't spend too much time or money on marketing and social media. Word of mouth is the best device to sell books. Word of mouth comes from having a breadth of quality published works. So write better and write more!
+ Don't be defensive or thin-skinned. Be a professional, which sometimes means to be courteous in the face of negativity.
+ Believe in yourself!
+ Trust in yourself, but first make yourself trustworthy ... do the work!
+ Persistence ... tenacity ... relentlessness ... discipline! You only fail if you quit!
+ learn your craft, write your works, edit your works, publish your works, let others know you've published them ... then rinse & repeat!
+ Don't spend too much time or money on marketing and social media. Word of mouth is the best device to sell books. Word of mouth comes from having a breadth of quality published works. So write better and write more!
+ Don't be defensive or thin-skinned. Be a professional, which sometimes means to be courteous in the face of negativity.
+ Believe in yourself!
+ Trust in yourself, but first make yourself trustworthy ... do the work!
+ Persistence ... tenacity ... relentlessness ... discipline! You only fail if you quit!
Gerard de Marigny
Currently, I'm completing work on the memoir of one of rock music's most prolific hired guns. The title is _THUNDER: A Rock Memoir_. It is the story of bassist Greg Smith who has played for or been a member of over a dozen of rock music's largest acts, such as Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Dokken, Ted Nugent, Tommy James et al.
I am also starting work on the next Cris De Niro novel, _NEW DETROIT (Cris De Niro, Book 6)_, and ARCHANGEL novella, _WHITE WIDOW (ARCHANGEL Mission Log #3)_.
I'm also very excited to report that the first novel in the Cris De Niro series has garnered the interest of the powerhouse Hollywood production team of Mike & Ross Greenburg, and Tom Swanson. We are busy now raising money for the production of a feature film or episodic series based on _The Watchman of Ephraim (Cris De Niro, Book 1) and/or the entire Cris De Niro saga.
I am also starting work on the next Cris De Niro novel, _NEW DETROIT (Cris De Niro, Book 6)_, and ARCHANGEL novella, _WHITE WIDOW (ARCHANGEL Mission Log #3)_.
I'm also very excited to report that the first novel in the Cris De Niro series has garnered the interest of the powerhouse Hollywood production team of Mike & Ross Greenburg, and Tom Swanson. We are busy now raising money for the production of a feature film or episodic series based on _The Watchman of Ephraim (Cris De Niro, Book 1) and/or the entire Cris De Niro saga.
Gerard de Marigny
For me, that's like asking me how do I get inspired to breathe, or eat, or drink. Writing is one of my life's necessities.
Gerard de Marigny
From the same place I get all of the ideas for Cris De Niro and ARCHANGEL books ... today's headlines.
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