SEELIE KAY: Postcards from The Ledge: This week in The Loft: Author Tim Smith!

Joining me today in The Loft is fellow Extasy author Tim Smith. Tim is an award-winning, bestselling author of romantic mystery/thrillers and contemporary erotic romance. His novels featuring former CIA agent Nick Seven have garnered several awards and international critical praise. He is also a freelance writer, blogger, editor, and photographer. When he isn’t pursuing those interests, he can be found in the Florida Keys, doing research in between parasailing and seeking out the perfect Mojito.

Author Tim Smith

S: Welcome back, Tim! I'm excited to hear about your latest book.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing romance authors today?

T: I think book banning and cancel culture both present issues for today’s romance authors. There are so many people looking for things to label as offensive that it’s getting more difficult to tell a good story without rubbing someone the wrong way. This is especially true for those who write LGBTQ or interracial romance. These subjects seem to dominate the banned book lists. For years, traditional romance publishers have strictly adhered to a list of off-limits story topics. Now we have people intent on adding their own politically-motivated pet peeves to the list.

S: A particular group of book banners has been very active in my area, submitting requests to school libraries to ban 200 books or more. As a parent and an author, I find their attempts to usurp my judgment aggravating.

How do you develop your characters? Do you use photos or a vision board?

T: When I’m conceiving a character, I have a certain personality and body type in mind, including hairstyle and clothing choices. I’m a people watcher and I pick up on little things, like a behavior or speech pattern, that I can use to make the characters realistic. In some cases, I might envision a specific actor, and I’ll use a headshot to capture certain details. My Florida-based stories are populated by Latino characters because they’re part of the cultural fabric, and they add realism. The challenge with specifying a character’s ethnicity is doing so without being derogatory or condescending.

S: I love developing characters. I have so much fun employing quirks I have observed in other settings.

Do you outline the plot for your stories before writing?

T: I typically begin with a rough outline in my head, including the ending I have in mind. I divide the story into chapters as I go. I seldom write an outline unless I’m stuck, and need to identify the problem. Although I have the story pretty much figured out before I begin, I’m not averse to changing course if the narrative dictates it. There have been times when I’m rolling along then something will make me stop and think “Hey, what if we did this instead?”

S: I am more of a pantser. I know where I want to start, but I never know where I'll wind up!

What do you write first—the blurb or the book?

T: The book comes first because writing the blurb is one of the toughest things for me. I’ll make a few notes on what to include while writing the story, but when it comes time to finish the blurb, I agonize over it. That’s the first impression you get to make with potential readers. It isn’t easy to write a 250-word summary that will grab their attention.

S: I agree. Writing blurbs can be painful.

Do you write in other genres?

T: I’ve published a number of short books that were romantic comedies instead of mystery/thrillers. Some were holiday-themed romances, and others were part of a series I called Key West Heat. All of those stories took place in Key West, but they each had different characters. I like to do the shorter ones as a change of pace. It challenges me to write a complete story in 10,000 words.

S: What would you like to people know about you as a person or as a writer?

T: My goal is to give readers an entertaining story, one that will help them temporarily escape this stressful thing called life. It’s why I work hard at creating realistic atmosphere, characters, situations, and dialogue. I don’t intentionally try to include messages or opinions, but sometimes they slip in by accident. I consider writing to be part of the entertainment business, because that’s what we do—we write to entertain and enlighten. I don’t write for the critics, but for the person in Parma, Ohio, or Rugby, North Dakota who just wants a diversion. One of the nicest compliments I can get is when someone says they can’t wait to read my next book. It doesn’t get much better than that!

S: What inspired “One Way Out?"

T: My previous series entry, “Out of the Shadows," did very well, and followers of the Nick Seven stories asked when I’d be releasing a sequel. I didn’t see a need for one, but the consensus was that I had left some loose threads at the end. This was done intentionally, because I wanted to leave a question mark about the Holy Grail everyone was after, but never found. After thinking about it, I viewed it as a challenge to see if I could write a story that would pick up where the previous one left off, while still working as a stand-alone adventure. I believe I accomplished that. I was also influenced by current events, social media trends, and political themes that piqued my interest.

S: Is there anything special you would like people to know about “One Way Out?"

T: “One Way Out” is my thirtieth published book, and the ninth installment in the Nick Seven series of Florida Keys-based adventures. The books do not need to be read in order. Although I incorporated topical themes into the plot, it’s a breezy, quick-paced adventure with romance, humor, interesting characters, snappy dialogue, and vivid atmosphere. It’s escapism, pure and simple. Chase away the blues by joining Nick and Felicia in sunny, sultry Key Largo for their latest adventure. I think you’ll enjoy the trip!

Here's the blurb--

Lauren Scott is a wealthy widow with a lot of embarrassing secrets. Her late husband, a convicted stock swindler, died under mysterious circumstances, just as he was about to name names in Federal court. His legacy supposedly includes a list of VIPs who attended sex parties on a private Caribbean island, among other things. Now Lauren has become the target of too many people who think she holds the secrets he once kept, and they just might kill her for them.

She calls on her friends, former CIA spies Nick Seven and Felicia Hagens, for help. Despite initial misgivings, they agree to assist her. But their laidback Florida Keys life is quickly disrupted by those in hot pursuit, including a zealous podcaster who is making Lauren’s private life public, a Treasury agent, victims of her late husband’s Ponzi scheme, and a Southern governor who has his eye on the White House.

Looks like there might be trouble brewing in paradise.