Author! Author!

Innerview: Fredric M. Ham

What is your ideal writing environment?

That would be at home in my study, with no background noise, no music, no television… I love the silence because it allows me to be totally immersed in my world. The ideal time for me to write is in the late evening or early morning. However, I travel extensively so I have trained myself to write just about anywhere and anytime.

What authors inspire you most?

Here are just two, John Steinbeck and Leon Uris.

What do you do when you aren’t feeling inspired or motivated to write?

This doesn’t happen that often, but when it does occur there are a few things I do. On those rare occasions when nothing surfaces or I lose the connection, I jump on my Harley Low Rider and cruise, usually down Highway A1A along the Atlantic Ocean. Since I can do voice impersonations, I will occasionally “act out” (in my study at home) the dialogue for some of the characters in my story. This definitely helps.

Any connection between electrical engineering (your primary career) and writing a mystery/thriller?

There certainly is. It’s the research, it is all about the research. I believe that a mystery/thriller should have a riveting sense of realism. I have been conducting research for more than twenty years. So it’s this discipline I have developed that allows me to dig in and find the necessary details to inject into a particular scene. I believe it’s my obligation to ensure the realism for the reader.

DEAD RIVER is your first novel. What motivated you to write it?

DEAD RIVER was inspired by an actual event, but maybe I should say events. Although DEAD RIVER is a work of fiction, it rings true with the anguish and helplessness that a family experiences when a loved one has been abducted. Equally disturbing is our tangled and incongruous judicial system that many times ineffectively deals with criminals and leaves one with a feeling of hollowness when justice is not properly served.

I always wonder this about mystery writers: Did you know how the story would end when you began writing it?

Yes. I know the beginning, the end and most of what’s in between. However, what I believe is one of the most exhilarating aspects of being a writer is discovering several details of your story as you write it.

Care to share anything about your next novel?

The working title is The Faculty Club. It’s another thriller and will have a unique blend of story elements that I will save for the reader.

Got a favorite quote?

Actually, there are two that come to mind:

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
Albert Einstein

“Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.”
Groucho Marx

Fredric M. Ham's book, Dead River (ISBN: 0-9763083-7-1, Published by PulpBytes , 2006) is available in eBook format at the DPPstore, www.dppstore.com

To learn more about the author and his novel, Dead River, please visit Ham's website at http://www.fredricmham.com/