Interview on Kindle Mystery Authors
http://www.kindlemysteryauthors.com/2012/04/interview-with-mystery-author-dmitri.html
An interview with Dmitri Ragano, author of Employee of the Year
KMA: Welcome, Dmitri. Please tell us about Employee of the Year
Dmitri Ragano: Employee of the Year takes place in the call center of Passion Financial, a banking conglomerate that makes its money marketing credit cards. The hero, Temo McCarthy, calls broke, desperate credit card customers and tries to convince them to pay their overdue bills.
The employee who collects the most credit card payments gets a one-hundred-thousand-dollar reward. Temo is the favorite to win the award until his main rival is shot dead in the company parking lot. As an obvious suspect in the murder investigation, Temo tries to find the real killer in order to clear his name.
KMA: What difficulties did you have writing this book?
Dmitri Ragano: The most important thing for me was to create a mystery with compelling themes and characters that seemed fresh and real. How do you create a tight, suspenseful plot and yet also take the time to describe the characters and their world in vivid, immersive detail? It’s a delicate balance and I did my best to get it right.
KMA: If you could be one of the characters in the novel, who would it be, and why?
Dmitri Ragano: I would be the hero, Temo McCarthy. I’ve shared some of the same experiences. I think most of us know what it’s like to do a thankless, low-level job in a big, faceless company. The nature of modern work is so depersonalized and morally ambivalent. We may not be proud of what we’re doing but we’re proud of the reasons we’re doing it. We’re working for our families, our loved ones or for our own survival. Or we’re working so we can do the things we find meaningful once our day job is done.
KMA: How do you develop and differentiate your characters and how do you “stay in character” when you’re writing? Has this processed changed over time?
Dmitri Ragano: Most of the characters I develop are based on composites of people I’ve known. It’s been an ongoing, conscious effort to try to understand different types of people and analyze their personality and motivation. This was the hardest thing for me when I first started writing as a teenager. My theory of mind, my ability to attribute different mental states to myself and others, was undeveloped and that made it very difficult to create credible characters. So you could say that this part of my fiction mirrors my lifelong attempt to better understand human nature. Both are still works in progress. The human mind is the greatest mystery of all.
KMA: What are your future writing plans?
Dmitri Ragano: I am working on a two-part-sequel involving Temo McCarthy and other characters in Employee of the Year¸ such as Temo’s wife Suzy, Gina Hill, Teresa Swan and Annabelle Davis. It’s a political thriller set in Las Vegas and Los Angeles on the eve of a major U.S. election.
KMA: Whom do you see as your ideal reader?
Dmitri Ragano: I would say my ideal reader is someone who tries to be a hero in some modest, unassuming way and tackle the mysteries of the real world. For instance one of my readers is a rehabilitation therapist. She’s trying to figure out how to help her clients with developmental disabilities get their first job so they can become independent, productive members of society. Another fan of Employee of the Year grew up surrounded by the gangs and drugs described in my novel and found a way out. Now he’s trying to balance a thriving high-tech career with a fulfilling family life, making sure his children have a prosperous, happy youth and never get exposed to the violence he saw as a child. One of my most treasured readers is my father, who taught high school in city public schools for thirty years, and loved the challenge of helping students from troubled backgrounds see all the possibilities for their future. Life throws challenges at all of us. The chaos and cruelty of the world is inherently mysterious. Some people are naturally inclined to be curious and search for the truth and come up with solutions. These people are my ideal readers.
KMA: What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?
Dmitri Ragano: My mentor told me to have fun with it. I think that’s the best advice I received. If there isn’t some element of joy to the act of writing, then you probably shouldn’t be doing it.
KMA: How much of your personal experience is in this story?
Dmitri Ragano: Most of the characters and episodes in the book are inspired by people and experiences during my career working as a technology consultant. If you strip out the actual murder, most of the subplots in the book are incidents that have happened to someone I know.
KMA: Who has been your biggest supporter?
Dmitri Ragano: My parents, my sister and my wife read my work before anyone else and they’ve been my greatest supporters and critics, steering me in the right direction if a character or a plot line goes off track.
KMA: How are you promoting your work?
Dmitri Ragano: I’ve tried methods online and offline. So far I have to say online is working much better. The price point is lower and it’s just easier to connect with people online through my blog or Facebook or Twitter. I am still trying to promote through offline channels like independent bookstores, et cetera, but I don’t have anything to show for it so far.
KMA: Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
Dmitri Ragano: It’s never been a better time to be a writer. You have so many ways to find audiences, whether it is through a blog, a podcast or an ebook. If you want to try the traditional channels of working with established agents and publishers, that’s great too. But you have so many options to find readers. And that’s important for most of us. Even Kafka had a group of 20 friends that he’d read his stories to. Other than that I would say write about what interests you. If you’re interested in what it’s like coming of age in a small town in Kansas then write about it. If you’re interested in imagining a war between zombies and mummies in ancient Egypt then write about it. Don’t let anyone else tell you what you should be writing about.
KMA: Can you tell us why you chose to publish your books for the Kindle, or give other authors advice about the process?
Dmitri Ragano: I published through CreateSpace, an Amazon subsidiary that helps you publish for paperback and Kindle. The customer service was outstanding. I have a busy day job in the IT industry and didn’t have time to do a lot of leg work on the mechanics of publishing, like filing with the Library of Congress and researching the best fonts for book printing. The project team at CreateSpace made it very easy. Amazon makes it very easy for authors to publish on Kindle but I’ll be the first to say I hope they don’t end up monopolizing the whole ebook space. Authors and readers will be best served if we move towards open epublishing standards that will give creators, distributors and consumers a lot of different ways to read without domination by a single company.
KMA: Where can our readers find a copy of your book?
Dmitri Ragano: It’s on Amazon in paperback and Kindle format. I will convert it for Nook and other formats in the future.
KMA: And finally, as an author, do you have any quirks or habits that help you along?
Dmitri Ragano: For me writing is a form of relaxation that makes everything else easier. So I would say writing fiction is a quirk/habit that helps me along with the rest of my life: like being effective in my day job, tolerating my daily commute in LA traffic, et cetera.
KMA: Thanks for talking to us. We wish you the best of luck with your writing.
Dmitri Ragano: Thanks for the opportunity. This is a great site that serves an important need for its audience.
An interview with Dmitri Ragano, author of Employee of the Year
KMA: Welcome, Dmitri. Please tell us about Employee of the Year
Dmitri Ragano: Employee of the Year takes place in the call center of Passion Financial, a banking conglomerate that makes its money marketing credit cards. The hero, Temo McCarthy, calls broke, desperate credit card customers and tries to convince them to pay their overdue bills.
The employee who collects the most credit card payments gets a one-hundred-thousand-dollar reward. Temo is the favorite to win the award until his main rival is shot dead in the company parking lot. As an obvious suspect in the murder investigation, Temo tries to find the real killer in order to clear his name.
KMA: What difficulties did you have writing this book?
Dmitri Ragano: The most important thing for me was to create a mystery with compelling themes and characters that seemed fresh and real. How do you create a tight, suspenseful plot and yet also take the time to describe the characters and their world in vivid, immersive detail? It’s a delicate balance and I did my best to get it right.
KMA: If you could be one of the characters in the novel, who would it be, and why?
Dmitri Ragano: I would be the hero, Temo McCarthy. I’ve shared some of the same experiences. I think most of us know what it’s like to do a thankless, low-level job in a big, faceless company. The nature of modern work is so depersonalized and morally ambivalent. We may not be proud of what we’re doing but we’re proud of the reasons we’re doing it. We’re working for our families, our loved ones or for our own survival. Or we’re working so we can do the things we find meaningful once our day job is done.
KMA: How do you develop and differentiate your characters and how do you “stay in character” when you’re writing? Has this processed changed over time?
Dmitri Ragano: Most of the characters I develop are based on composites of people I’ve known. It’s been an ongoing, conscious effort to try to understand different types of people and analyze their personality and motivation. This was the hardest thing for me when I first started writing as a teenager. My theory of mind, my ability to attribute different mental states to myself and others, was undeveloped and that made it very difficult to create credible characters. So you could say that this part of my fiction mirrors my lifelong attempt to better understand human nature. Both are still works in progress. The human mind is the greatest mystery of all.
KMA: What are your future writing plans?
Dmitri Ragano: I am working on a two-part-sequel involving Temo McCarthy and other characters in Employee of the Year¸ such as Temo’s wife Suzy, Gina Hill, Teresa Swan and Annabelle Davis. It’s a political thriller set in Las Vegas and Los Angeles on the eve of a major U.S. election.
KMA: Whom do you see as your ideal reader?
Dmitri Ragano: I would say my ideal reader is someone who tries to be a hero in some modest, unassuming way and tackle the mysteries of the real world. For instance one of my readers is a rehabilitation therapist. She’s trying to figure out how to help her clients with developmental disabilities get their first job so they can become independent, productive members of society. Another fan of Employee of the Year grew up surrounded by the gangs and drugs described in my novel and found a way out. Now he’s trying to balance a thriving high-tech career with a fulfilling family life, making sure his children have a prosperous, happy youth and never get exposed to the violence he saw as a child. One of my most treasured readers is my father, who taught high school in city public schools for thirty years, and loved the challenge of helping students from troubled backgrounds see all the possibilities for their future. Life throws challenges at all of us. The chaos and cruelty of the world is inherently mysterious. Some people are naturally inclined to be curious and search for the truth and come up with solutions. These people are my ideal readers.
KMA: What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?
Dmitri Ragano: My mentor told me to have fun with it. I think that’s the best advice I received. If there isn’t some element of joy to the act of writing, then you probably shouldn’t be doing it.
KMA: How much of your personal experience is in this story?
Dmitri Ragano: Most of the characters and episodes in the book are inspired by people and experiences during my career working as a technology consultant. If you strip out the actual murder, most of the subplots in the book are incidents that have happened to someone I know.
KMA: Who has been your biggest supporter?
Dmitri Ragano: My parents, my sister and my wife read my work before anyone else and they’ve been my greatest supporters and critics, steering me in the right direction if a character or a plot line goes off track.
KMA: How are you promoting your work?
Dmitri Ragano: I’ve tried methods online and offline. So far I have to say online is working much better. The price point is lower and it’s just easier to connect with people online through my blog or Facebook or Twitter. I am still trying to promote through offline channels like independent bookstores, et cetera, but I don’t have anything to show for it so far.
KMA: Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
Dmitri Ragano: It’s never been a better time to be a writer. You have so many ways to find audiences, whether it is through a blog, a podcast or an ebook. If you want to try the traditional channels of working with established agents and publishers, that’s great too. But you have so many options to find readers. And that’s important for most of us. Even Kafka had a group of 20 friends that he’d read his stories to. Other than that I would say write about what interests you. If you’re interested in what it’s like coming of age in a small town in Kansas then write about it. If you’re interested in imagining a war between zombies and mummies in ancient Egypt then write about it. Don’t let anyone else tell you what you should be writing about.
KMA: Can you tell us why you chose to publish your books for the Kindle, or give other authors advice about the process?
Dmitri Ragano: I published through CreateSpace, an Amazon subsidiary that helps you publish for paperback and Kindle. The customer service was outstanding. I have a busy day job in the IT industry and didn’t have time to do a lot of leg work on the mechanics of publishing, like filing with the Library of Congress and researching the best fonts for book printing. The project team at CreateSpace made it very easy. Amazon makes it very easy for authors to publish on Kindle but I’ll be the first to say I hope they don’t end up monopolizing the whole ebook space. Authors and readers will be best served if we move towards open epublishing standards that will give creators, distributors and consumers a lot of different ways to read without domination by a single company.
KMA: Where can our readers find a copy of your book?
Dmitri Ragano: It’s on Amazon in paperback and Kindle format. I will convert it for Nook and other formats in the future.
KMA: And finally, as an author, do you have any quirks or habits that help you along?
Dmitri Ragano: For me writing is a form of relaxation that makes everything else easier. So I would say writing fiction is a quirk/habit that helps me along with the rest of my life: like being effective in my day job, tolerating my daily commute in LA traffic, et cetera.
KMA: Thanks for talking to us. We wish you the best of luck with your writing.
Dmitri Ragano: Thanks for the opportunity. This is a great site that serves an important need for its audience.
No comments have been added yet.
