Jonathan Dyer's Blog: The Nick Temple Files, page 7

Draft Cover for New Nick Temple File

Draft Cover for Nick Temple File no. 7Front Cover and Spine of Nick Temple File no. 7

My writing process isn’t a steady, linear process. At times the words flow; at times the ideas flow; at times the questions flow; and at times nothing flows. During the slow times, I try to find some way to move things along. I can proof and/or edit what I have already written, or I can do some research, or I can outline additional material. With some books I commit myself to doing something every day. I’m not...

A Five-Star Review for A String of Beads

The First Review of A String of Beads Gives it Five Stars

Well, there it is. The first review of A String of Beads and it’s a good one. Five-stars! Don’t let any writer who says, “I don’t pay attention to reviews” fool you. They do, and so do I. Here’s the first review of my latest work:

“Revisit summer as a child in Vietnam era suburbia.”“Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2022”“Verified Purchase”“Re-visit, and re-evaluate. This seering portrayal of people you probably knew will leave...

The Thrill Never Gets Old

Few Things Equal Holding a Copy of My Latest Book

My copies of A String of Beads arrived today. There was some inexplicable delay in getting them, but now that they’re here, all is momentarily right with the world. Opening a package with copies of my newest book in it is one of the joys of writing. While each book is different in terms of the effort required to create it, each is treasured personally. I remember receiving copies of the first book I published. Whatever anyone else thought of the ...

Two Action Movies in Two Weeks

“Top Gun: Maverick” Followed by 007 in “No Time to Die”

Two movie experiences defined a new world of movie-going, and one of those experiences set a new standard for an old franchise.

About two weeks ago, we saw “Top Gun: Maverick” at an IMAX theater. It was the first time we’d been to a movie theater since the pandemic started. We tried, but failed, to remember the last movie we’d seen in a theater. The theater was sold out. Every seat had a viewer in it. A few people were wearing masks, but th...

Balance Between Characterization and Plot

Expanding Characterization in a Plot-Driven Thriller

Plots drive the Nick Temple Files. A recent review of Switchback even noted the emphasis on “plot-plot-plot.” That’s a fair observation and one that tracks with my intent when I write the books. Most of the characters in the series are not deeply developed. One concern driving that choice is keeping anything that gets in the way of the plot to a minimum. However, credible characters assist the movement of plot along in ways that are also credi...

The Intersection of Fiction and Autobiography

Pulling Fiction out of Autobiographical Fact

I believe I’ve read all the fiction Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote. I have also read a good deal of biographical information about both men. As a result, I have a good sense for how much their personal lives influenced their fiction, and how many details of their lives appear in their fiction. However, those two are the exception. I don’t know enough about most authors whose works I’ve read to determine how much their fiction owes to t...

How Short Should a Short Story Be?

Counting Words When Writing a Collection of Short Stories

I see a good deal of discussion on the internet – some of it insistent, some of it less so – about the “proper length” for a short story and a collection of short stories. I assume that most of those who advocate for one number or another have commercial viability in mind. What attracts a publisher? What sells? The opinions are often couched in terms of what “readers” are looking for without disclosing any objective criteria that led thos...

When Do Three Books Become a Trilogy?

Three Works of Fiction that Constitute an Accidental Trilogy

I view reflection as a valuable exercise, particularly when it yields unexpected insight. Whenever I release a new book, as I did yesterday with A String of Beads, I’m inclined to reflect on its creation and its place among my prior works. That process in this case has resulted in my considering three of my books together as a trilogy, or nearly so.

Webster’s defines a trilogy as “a series of three dramas or literary works or sometimes...

Dyer Releases a Collection of Short Stories

Twenty-Seven Short Stories/Childhood Memories from the 1960s and More

I released a new collection of short stories today, A String of Beads. The following is from the back cover of the book: “A String of Beads is a compilation set primarily in the 1960s about a boy, his brother, and his sister trying to survive in an environment soaked in alcohol, marked by a distant war, and scarred by the rarely suppressed demons of the adults around them. Dyer’s skills as a writer are on full display here. Fr...

Death as a Fact of Cold War Life

Using Death in Cold War Espionage Thrillers

The Cold War produced victims. I’ve never seen a complete accounting of how many men and women on either side were killed or wounded during the Cold War. I have seen an estimate of 382 Americans killed during the Cold War outside of the wars in Korea and Vietnam. That estimate is usually defined in terms of direct military action. Presumably, it does not include covert civilian casualties resulting from other than military action, many of which are lik...