Passion Projects

As any creative artist can tell you, the muse comes in many different guises and you never know where or when or even how inspiration will strike. I’m a novelist and short story writer so words are my thing, but I've never been entirely sure whether my writing is what you'd call art.  I do write a lot though!

In 2015 I signed a five-book deal with Joffe Books for a Brit spy series featuring Thomas Bladen, a Surveillance Officer on the lowest rungs of British Intelligence. In 2018 the fifth and final book came out and that was going to be the end of Thomas's adventures. In 2020 Joffe Books produced a box set of THE COMPLETE THOMAS BLADEN THRILLERS to round it off.

I then began a new crime mystery series for Joffe Books, starring Detective Craig Wild. New characters, new set-up. LONG SHADOWS debuted in 2020 and WEST COUNTRY MURDER followed in 2022. I’m currently wrestling with the plot for a third book.

But…sometimes old characters refuse to fade away and they return to us with new ideas and adventures, long after we thought they’d gone. PATHFINDER is one such story and follows on from FLASHPOINT (published in 2018, remember!).

The muse presented me with a compelling premise and the seed was a single question:

What if people started dying because of a secret no one else was supposed to know?

Weirdly, although I completed it this year, PATHFINDER picks up right after where FLASHPOINT ended. No spoilers here but there’s a major event in Book 5 that has dire consequences in Book 6.

As far as my publisher was concerned, the original series was done and dusted, but they encouraged me to try other options if I wanted. After contacting a couple of other publishers, without success, I spoke with a good friend and fellow writer and he nudged me towards self-publishing.

The last time I self-pubbed a novel was back in 2012, so it has been a bit of a learning curve. This time I brought in expertise for the cover design and final formatting at the outset. I am very pelased with the results.

I don't know whether PATHFINDER will make any money or climb the Amazon charts. I hope so, but that wasn't my main motivation. I simply believed in the book and wrote it for the people who loved the series. You could say that's when I knew it was art after all!

Derek

PATHFINDER

Surveillance Officer Thomas Bladen is back and he’s a man on a mission. 

THE SHADOW STATE AND THE ALLIANCE HAVE BEEN AT WAR FOR DECADES.

After seven dissidents meet to try and end the deadlock, they think their secret is safe.

 

They’re wrong.

 

A near-miss on the London Underground is just the beginning for a contract killer with friends in high places. When no one else can be trusted, the fate of seven people rests with Thomas, who will learn the hard way about the price of loyalty and the cost of failure. The only rule is to stay alive.

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0CBZ32YP6 

US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CBZ32YP6 

 

 

 

Changing Lanes - writing in a different genre

In conversation with serial spy author, Derek Thompson, whose debut crime mystery, Long Shadows, comes out 1st June 2020. 

You’ve previously written five Thomas Bladen spy novels, so why write a different book now. Did you simply run out of ideas?

No, but that’s pretty funny. I have ideas for two more Bladen books but my publisher, Joffe Books, suggested my writing style would suit the crime / murder mystery genre and invited me to write and submit something. Crime is their mainstay and my spy novels have always been a bit of an outlier. Plus, I wanted to see if I could do it.

Was your creative process different for Long Shadows?

Definitely, and in ways I hadn’t anticipated. It’s quite a wrench after five books to set aside characters you have written about and thought about for years. Also, for Long Shadows, the plotting is much tighter and less organic this time, and of course there was a whole new cast of characters to meet. As we’re only one book in, that’s still ongoing.

So you see Long Shadows developing as a series?

Hopefully, yes, I find DS Craig Wild and PC Marnie Olsen, and their working relationship, intriguing. I want to know more about them so I hope readers will too. 

What was the inspiration behind LS?

Aside from the challenge? A friend of mine told me a story, which she insisted was true, about a mysterious death in the countryside. That was the seed for the opening scene and then I did what I usually do, asked myself Kipling’s six questions and wrote wherever they took me.

Describe your protagonist and his circumstances.

Craig Wild was a Metropolitan Police sergeant who over-reached himself in an operation and ended up first in hospital and then on extended leave. His transfer is very much his last chance saloon. He’s approaching middle-age, starting to lose his hair, and his career has plateaued. Meanwhile, his ex-wife is a high-flyer at New Scotland Yard. They only speak through solicitors. He has a passion for darts and for getting the job done. Not so good with people though.

What’s your connection to Wiltshire, where the book is set?

It’s tenuous, apart from fond memories of visiting Stonehenge, Avebury and Warminster. I did have a couple of old friends who lived in Wiltshire, but I’ve long since lost touch with them. I knew the story had to be set in the West Country – Dorset already had Broadchurch, my mate and fellow author Stewart Giles has bagged Cornwall, and Ann Cleeves has claimed Devon!I had a sense of the terrain I was after for Long Shadows and after some research Wiltshire fitted the bill (a little in-joke there, if you can be bothered).

How did you research the police procedural side?

I read up on PACE (I’m saying that now in case it’s not apparent to expert readers!) and I checked out a police online forum for serving and retired officers. Most helpful of all was a visit to a police station. (You have to formally request it – you can’t just turn up!) They were a very generous host and I spent about an hour receiving a grand tour behind the scenes and asking questions – particularly from an IT perspective, as that’s key to the book.

Is it true you were a victim of gun crime?

Yes and no. Yes, I was caught up in an armed robbery but it wasn’t just me; there were several of us, in the wrong place at the wrong time. Three people stormed the place bearing shotguns and the fourth blagger stuck a pistol in my back. It happened a long time ago and the only harm I came to was psychological.   

How did you decide on your characters?

From the very beginning of the project I thought about the importance of the outsider – someone who sees things differently, perhaps more clearly in some respects, yet who may still be deceived. I like the motif of an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances so I wanted a protagonist whose main feature was his ordinariness. It was only in the writing Craig Wild that I learned more about his flaws and that helped steer some of the story. Hint: he’s not a ‘forgive and forget’ sort of bloke. Marnie Olsen is younger, ambitious and more of an introvert. She is educated and self-sufficient, and looking for a chance to shine. Their boss, DI Marsh, is partly inspired by a manager I worked under in Glasgow – someone insightful who doesn’t suffer fools gladly, although she doesn’t always get it right.

What’s next for DS Wild and PC Olsen?

I’ve started work on a follow-up novel that will hopefully share more of the spotlight with Marnie. It begins with a body in a car at a public event, where several people had reason to want him dead.

Would you consider a crossover with Thomas Bladen and Craig Wild as they’ve both spent time in London?

London is a big place! The last Thomas Bladen novel, Flashpoint, was set in 2005, while Long Shadows is set more recently. Setting aside the different genres and time frames, I’d consider a walk-on part for Craig in a Bladen novel.

Where can we buy Long Shadows?

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B089GXTB47

US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089GXTB47

Or the Amazon page for the country where you reside.

My other books can be found here:

UK Author Central: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08

US Author Central: https://www.amazon.com/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08

One last thing, you’ve previously said that your Thomas Bladen novels are pulp spy novels – what did you mean by that, and do you view Long Shadows the same way? 

Ah, that old chestnut. My take on my pulp novels (I can’t speak for any other author’s books) is that they are written and read for pleasure. A reviewer suggested one of my books made a good holiday read and that pleased me. I’ve said elsewhere that my love for film noir influenced the Bladens – especially some of the dialogue – and while I have included the odd cryptic reference the books aren’t a test! Long Shadows is a self-contained story but unlike the Thomas Bladen novels there is no overarching subplot. That aside, yes, I see Long Shadows as a pulp read. 

Film Noir Feeds my Fiction

The rules have changed.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that Raymond Chandler’s writing is one of the inspirations for my Thomas Bladen spy thrillers, but I also owe a huge debt to cinema.  It’s my great pleasure now to introduce you to a back catalogue of films that remain classics of the spy / thriller genre. Many of them are derived from novels but for consistency I will only reference the films and I’ve added the IMDB links so you can read about the plot in more detail. I hope you find some old favourites here, as well as some ‘new’ classics to add to your own list.

We’ll come back to Raymond Chandler in a bit. First and foremost, I have to pay tribute to The 39 Steps, a tale of a man unwittingly drawn into a murderous conspiracy, who goes on the run to prove his innocence. I favour the 1935 version with Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll, as well as a brilliant BBC version from 2008 (which includes elements from the novel that were left out of every other film). How much do I love The 39 Steps? Well, in Standpoint, Thomas watches the 1935 version with Miranda and comments on how Hitchcock changed the story from the novel. There’s also a homage to one of the film’s plot devices in Line of Sight, my follow-up to Standpoint. I put North by Northwest (1959) alongside The 39 Steps as another great example of a mistaken identity driving the plot forward. How do you win through when you don’t know what you’re supposed to know? I think it helps to have other people looking out for you from time to time.

The films Farewell My Lovely (1944), The Big Sleep (1946) and The Long Goodbye (1973) allow Raymond Chandler’s world-weary private detective, Philip Marlowe, to fill the screen; much like Bogart’s performance as Sam Spade in the Dashiell Hammett co-scripted adaptation of The Maltese Falcon. My original intention had been to write Thomas Bladen as a detective, only he arrived pretty much fully formed and had his own opinions about what he did for a living. What I love most about this batch of films is the dialogue and the characterisation. The plots are well-crafted but to me they are secondary. The ‘hero’ is flawed and his attitude is often more hindrance than help as he battles relentlessly against the tide. These films are gritty, sometimes sleazy and show the underbelly of society. Yet somehow, almost miraculously, the hero emerges with most of his honour intact. My fondness for this genre led to the creation of Leon Thurston, a West Indian private detective who plies his trade from an old minicab office in Dalston. East London. While we’re on the subject of Chandler, make time for The Blue Dahlia (1947) – it’s an intriguing whodunit that apparently involved a controversial rewritten ending…but you can research that for yourself! Like Alan Ladd’s Johnny Morrison, Thomas Bladen is a little out of steps with the world around him, but the right woman makes all the difference.

Spies yet? Well, almost. Vicious Circle (1957) finds a humble doctor (humble but with a cravat!) drawn into a deadly game of blackmail and intrigue that leads him questioning who is out to get him – and why? I’d put this one in the same category as The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and also (1956). Ordinary people in extraordinary times, who dig deep when they find themselves pawns in a much bigger game – much like Robert Hannay in The 39 Steps.

Both The Conversation (1974) and Enemy of the State (1998) tackle surveillance, paranoia and ethics, along with the perennial question of who watches the watchers. It is perennial too, as that phrase is as old as the Romans. In Thomas Bladen’s world, a simple surveillance job often turns out to be far more complicated and it doesn’t pay to ask too many questions (not that it stops him). The observer may seem impartial but they cannot deny there are consequences to their work. Three Days of the Condor (1975) pits one man against the ‘organisation’, by trying to stay one step ahead of everyone, in order to get to the truth and hold people in power accountable. By book five, Flashpoint, Thomas has learned that justice can take many forms and sometimes even a bitter compromise is the best option. The Third Man (1949) involves a mystery, a disappearing act with a difference and a conspiracy – how do you find out the truth when everyone is telling you something different? Its cunning and amoral titular character (compelling played by Orson Welles) dominates the film despite not being the main role. This group of films demonstrate another element that I wanted to bring to my books: unresolved endings. The moviegoer is left wondering what could happen afterwards.

I hope you’ll make time to watch all these films, even if you’ve seen them before.  

For those who enjoy extra homework, make time for:

The Long Memory (1953)

Rear Window (1954)

A Prize of Arms (1962)

Gilda (1946)

Build My Gallows High (1946)

In a Lonely Place (1946)

When not watching classic cinema, I write Thomas Bladen spy thrillers - intrigue, action and sardonic humour.

UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08

US https://www.amazon.com/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08

FLASHPOINT – Part Five of the Spy Chaser series

After London suffers a coordinated terror attack, Thomas Bladen questions everything – his future with Miranda, his Surveillance Support Unit job and even his clandestine role as a Spy Chaser.

But his troubles are just beginning.

When the Unit comes under MI5’s control and two senior SSU staff disappear, his search for answers is blocked at every turn.

A missing handgun and the reappearance of old adversaries forces him into uneasy alliances and hard choices.

-       Could there be a double agent in their latest assignment?

-       What is behind the rift between government departments?

-       And what if he has got it wrong this time?

Thomas must face his deepest fears and what he discovers could change the rules forever.

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Who Owns Your Books?

When it comes to books, the word 'ownership' can mean different things at different times.

Who owns an idea?
Nobody. Try copyrighting an idea and be prepared for laughter and disdain.


Who owns a completed manuscript?
Unless you've been paid to ghostwrite a novel, ownership rests with the author. The laws on copyright different between the UK and US, so as this is a mixed audience I will simply say that in the UK copyright exists (but would still require proof if there was a legal challenge) from the act of writing it. The Society of Authors has some brilliant information here:
http://www.societyofauthors.org/Where-We-Stand/Copyright


Who owns your book once it's contracted?
You own the manuscript and you enter into a contract with an agent or a publisher. They own their edited version of your original manuscript. No matter how many drafts you've gone through, an objective editor will find more gold and cut away more. Their contract permits them to do certain things with your manuscript and specifies which of those actions requires your prior approval.


Who owns your book once it's published?
You and the agent / publisher retain the same proprietary interest in the book, but the reader owns their copy. Now, here's the thing, they may also have an emotional investment in your characters and their adventures, which - I would argue - is every bit as important as the nuts-and-bolts ownership principle. If you disappoint them during that book or in any subsequent book, they will vent their frustration online or by word of mouth. Once you become aware of this factor it can be a challenge to balance what you want to write, what your characters want you to write, and what your audience expects. 

I have spoken on this blog before about the principle of 'the same but different'. However, different can mean different things to different people.

The BBC website recently reported that JK Rowling  tweeted her apologies for killing off Professor Snape in the Harry Potter series. Some would argue that the plot demanded it and that there's a certain logic in his demise. Others were so attached to Snape (and, of course, Alan Rickman who portrayed him) that it felt like an act of literary cruelty. 

I ponder all of this as I write my fifth book in the Thomas Bladen Spy Chaser series, and I'm mindful of the feedback I've received, including:
- Isn't it about time that Thomas and Miranda settled down?
- Is there an ultimate revelation at the conclusion of the series?
- Is Book 5 the end of the series?
- Why isn't Thomas more macho?
- I hope you don't kill someone off just for the sake of it.

Without giving away any spoilers, my statement to the imaginary panel is:
Someone dies in each book. I won't name the dead but I make it a body count of at least eight so far. Thomas has shot five people, been wounded by one, and restrained himself from shooting someone on at least one occasion (not counting a familial near-miss!). How much more macho do you want him? Thomas and Miranda's relationship has its own carousel of baggage, but it has also evolved through the series. Book 5 continues that journey. Is it the end for Thomas and Miranda and Karl? That depends on the readers and what they want. Of course, a TV deal would certainly help bring Thomas Bladen to a wider audience! And yes, there is a revelation of sorts in Book 5. It's subtle, but it is there.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have gun battle to conduct. Or do I?

Derek

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08

https://www.amazon.com/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08

Shadow State

Science is golden.

Even if you don't believe in destiny you probably accept the word of Sir Isaac Newton. His 'three laws', unlike Isaac Asimov's (now that's what I call a literary reference), underpin not only our understanding of physics, but also of daily life and writing.

The First Law states that:
a) An object at rest remains at rest unless a force acts upon it.
b) An object in motion stays that way - same direction and speed - unless a force acts upon it.

Simply put, in fiction something has to happen in order for something to change, whether the outcome is progressive or regressive. You could argue that every twist and turn in a novel is really a Newtonian force zinging into the protagonist from an unanticipated angle.

I'm more of a plotter than a pantser when it comes to putting together a story, but I welcome an unexpected inspiration that careers towards me and knocks a character out of the picture or into it. Shadow State, the fourth book in the Thomas Bladen 'Spy Chaser' series owes a debt to Newton. I thought I had the plot figured out and my characters were moving purposefully towards the checkpoints on my writing roadmap. (I know, it makes writing sounds really romantic, huh?) 

And then...out the corner of my mind's eye, this speck of light, this flicker of 'what if' from the muse slammed into my carefully constructed plot. Okay, carefully might be overstating it a bit. But the result was surprising. A character did something unexpected and I had a choice of whether to run with it and see where it led, or to rein them in and remind them that it was my ball and therefore my rules. I went with Plan A, trusting the character I thought I'd created - we can debate that one on a chair and couch some other time - and ended up somewhere else. It was different to my original vision and I liked it. Writers like to be surprised. It keeps us on our toes and it's a great reminder that we are engaging with a fluid and mimetic imagination. 

You could say that Shadow State is something of an experiment in places. It features many characters from the series and a couple of new ones. It redraws the map in places, as far as loyalties go, and it peels back the layers a little more of the characters we think we know. It plays with some of the conventions and, I hope, it adds something special to the canon.

If you're drawn to British spy thrillers that give a nod to Len Deighton, John le Carre, Raymond Chandler, and Harlan Coben, Shadow State might be just your cup of coffee. Intrigue, action, sardonic humour and swearing - what's not to like?

SHADOW STATE

Thomas Bladen thinks he is in control. He's wrong. When Thomas is confronted by a Shadow State operative, he is given a stark choice - expose a defector or face the consequences. But who is the real enemy? A stake out becomes a rescue, an intervention leads to murder and loyalties are stretched to breaking point. Soon Thomas is forced into a dangerous game, turning the Shadow State against itself. 

"Good spy thriller with a appealing flawed hero in Bladen. Liked the London life evoked!"

Shadow State is published by Joffe Books. Come and meet Thomas Bladen.

UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08

US https://www.amazon.com/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08

Dear unsatisfied customer

Dear unsatisfied customer,

I know how you feel, having bought goods and services myself and found them wanting. The price doesn't enter into the equation and I recognise you've chosen to spend your money on my book. Thanks for that initial vote of confidence.

I read your review with interest - as you can imagine, I read them all! I can't speak for your experience because, let's face it, nothing has that fingernails-on-a-blackboard feel to it like an author trying to justify their work to a critic. And it could be argued that if I have to point out the good bits, or what I was trying to achieve, that's as good as admitting I've failed.

However, while I'd never knowingly attempt to change a person's mind once it's made up, may I offer some advice? If a book has really disappointed you, when you review it why not let the author - and other readers - know where it failed and why? That way your negative experience can be turned into a positive by giving the author something to work on with their next book.

I hope the next book you choose is more to your liking. Incidentally, I have other books out there that you might enjoy, or not! 

Best wishes,

An author