Bob Moore: No Hero by Tom Andry
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About the Author
Tom Andry is the Associate Editor of Audioholics.com, the largest AV website in the universe (as far as he's concerned) and host of the AV Rant podcast, the rantyest AV podcast on the net. He's the father of three boys affectionately nicknamed Punkalicious, Captain Evil, and Neo. He's happily married and currently resides in Perth, Australia. His background is in drama, creative writing, and research psychology, which basically means his kids are in for a pretty rough time. His wife, Tanel, doesn't have it so easy either. If you liked what you read, he'd appreciate checking out his other works, reviewing the book so he'll actually do other works, and telling your friends.
Connect with Me Online
www.tomandry.com
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Note from the Author
Writing bios about myself has always reminded me that I'll probably never be the subject of a biography (or autobiography). And if, by some fluke, something like that did get written, please, don't read it. It's sure to be boring (or full of lies, which probably would be a better read). I grew up trying desperately to be unhappy in a chronically happy family. I succeeded for a long time until I got married. Luckily for my writing career, I remember enough of those bitter, forced unhappy times to call them up when needed to connect with my damaged characters.
I've always been the type that wished he knew what he wanted out of life. There were times that I thought I knew what I wanted to be "when I grew up." Ironically, one of those times I was sure I'd be a writer. I loved writing, I had people tell me I didn't suck at it, and it was fun and easy. What I've never had was the sort of drive that it takes to see a project all the way through to the end. On the computer that I'm typing on now, I've got two different novels that both stalled on the sixth chapter.
Believe me when I say that when No Hero passed the sixth chapter, I cracked a smile and a beer.
I know what I did wrong with those other two books. The first was a complicated fantasy novel where I had to keep a pantheon of gods, a monetary system, a government, a city, the characters, the plot, and much more all in the front of my mind. I started the novel on a vacation, outlined the whole thing, and got five chapters written. I managed one more before the demands of work and my family made it impossible to keep everything straight in my head. On my next big vacation, I planned on getting back into it. Unfortunately, my charger for my laptop died and I couldn't get a replacement. Since then, I haven't taken another vacation.
When I started the second novel, I realized what I'd done wrong on the first. Too complicated, too big, too much to think about. For the second, I set it in the present day, in a city not unlike the one I was living in, with a slightly supernatural twist. I figured out the beginning and the end but assumed the middle would just flow. The first six chapters wrote themselves. After that, the "flow" ended. I put it aside to figure it out. I'm still trying. So I've got one that's outlined and ready to go that I can't keep straight in my head and another that is easy to keep in my head but won't come out.
Then along came the iPad. My eyes were opened to a world of free books (because I am, at heart, a cheap bastard). I read them voraciously thinking all along, "I could write one of these!" There are two things that were really (other than sloth and the demon of chapter seven) holding me back from completing a work. First, publishing. Writing the book is the first part. In many ways, it's the easiest (though that seems hard to believe when you're staring at a big, blank chapter seven with no idea what to write next). The hard part is getting it in front of the right person at the right time. How many novels have languished, unknown, until finally crumbing to dust after years of living in a box in an attic somewhere? With the iPad, I knew I could get published. No one might read it, but it'd be published.
The second hurdle for me was length. Having to meet some sort of arbitrary number of words because that's what sells or what looks good on a shelf or what publishers want has always infuriated me. Maybe I don't have the skill to plan a novel out so well that it will hit 70,000 words (not just maybe, definitely). Maybe I don't have a story that long in me. I know from my writing at Audioholics.com that I tend to be succinct. Even No Hero, which I had planned as a really short novella (around half the size it ended up), could have been stretched into closer to a full length novel if I wanted. That two weeks where Bob is following around the doctor? Prime filler material (and more than one person has suggested that I do just that). But I didn't want to be bothered and while I'm sure I could have made it work for the story and at least mildly interesting, I don't think it hurts to skip it. How many novels have you read and thought they could have cut out over half the chapters and still made a decent book? Many for me.
What made No Hero a project that I completed in less than a month (twenty-five days to be exact) was that I had no limitations put on me. I wanted it to be short; I wanted to tell my story with a minimum of fuss; and I wanted to be published. Honestly, writers are egomaniacs by nature and as long as I have a place I can tell people to go (even if it is on the Internet though I'd love to walk into a bookstore and see one of my works) to get my book, I'm happy. To be honest, I couldn't be happier. Will I write another? Will I dust off one of those novels stuck on chapter six and finish them? Will I write another story of Bob Moore, PI? We'll see.
I have a few people to thank. First and foremost, my wife Tanel. Even though I had to give up being a bitter, cynical bastard to marry her, I think it was worth it. My parents, of course have to make the list. A special shout goes out to all my proofreaders and friends; Angie, Theresa, Pat, Bobby and Clint. Rob gets a special mention because he probably wrote as many words as I did simply commenting on the novella. His help was invaluable. Even though I'm writing this while the email to him is still in my drafts folder, thanks to James Riot for what I'm sure it going to be an awesome cover. For my loyal readers and coworkers at Audioholics and listeners at AV Rant, thanks for the support. A special mention goes out to the kid that got Eragon published and for all you iBooks authors for making me think I could do it too. Lastly, even though you said I'd never make it as a writer, a big thanks goes out to Kevin for making me the man I am today.
Excerpt from Bob Moore: Desperate Times