Q&A with Patrick H. Moore Author of Rogues & Patriots: A Nick Crane Thriller

(Sponsored Content)

Author Patrick H. Moore with his book Rogues & PatriotsPhoto byBookBuzz

(This post includes affiliate links if you purchase anything through these affiliated links, the author may earn a commission.)

Patrick H. Moore is a Los Angeles-based investigator and sentencing mitigation specialist, renowned for his work on over five hundred high-profile cases spanning drug trafficking, sex crimes, violent offenses, and white-collar fraud. With a background in English Literature and Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, Moore's literary prowess shines through his gripping thrillers and crime novels. In 2014, his debut thriller Cicero’s Dead garnered acclaim as a finalist in the thriller category of the Beverly Hills Book Award Contest. Following this success, his PI political thriller 27 Days was published by Down & Out Books in 2023, earning him further recognition as a Finalist in the General Fiction category of the 2023 American Fiction Awards. Moore's upcoming release, Rogues and Patriots, slated for April 2024, continues the thrilling saga of LA PI Nick Crane's battle against the Principals, a violent cabal of right-wing extremists. Alongside his literary pursuits, Moore co-founded the esteemed All Things Crime Blog, a bastion of crime-related discourse during its peak from 2014 to 2017. Connect with Patrick on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for updates on his latest releases and investigative insights.

Author Q&A

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

My parents read to us a lot when we were children, and the value of reading was emphasized in our home. I was an avid reader of children’s books including the Signature and Landmark series about historical figures that were popular in those days. My own interest in writing developed gradually. At around the age of ten, I wrote a story in school about pioneers crossing the mountains in Conestoga wagons. My teacher read it, thought it was good, and showed it to our principal. I must have basked in the praise, though I don’t remember it that clearly. What I do remember is that writing the story was fun.

In high school, I decided, more or less unconsciously, that I wanted to be a writer. I took Creative Writing but only managed to write one good story, a whimsical tale about the perils of raising geese (they bite like crazy, have powerful wings, and love to wander after storms), based on my own experiences as a farm boy in Wisconsin. This story caught the teacher’s eye and my father’s. For the next several decades my dad insisted that I should write more humorous stories like “The Tale of the Wandering Geese.”

By the time I graduated from high school, I was quite certain that I wanted to be a writer. And now, here I am decades later, publishing my third PI crime thriller.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

I am a very slow writer, especially compared to many of my writing compatriots who seem to churn out their books with astonishing speed. It takes me forever to come up with an idea for a novel and then to actually write it. I write basic sentences easily enough, but I struggle with crafting sentences and paragraphs that pass my own personal sniff test with regard to pace, tone, sentence structure, and word choice. Every page of Rogues & Patriots has been written and rewritten ad nauseum. So, in a general sense, I would say that, for me, writing is easy, but writing skillfully and effectively is quite hard.

It took me about five years to write my new PI thriller Rogues and Patriots. It feels like I’ve worked on this story forever. During this time, Book One in my “Nick Crane vs. the Principals” series, 27 Days, was published by Down and Out Books. Throughout the writing process, I always had a strong sense of what the story is about—one man’s battle against powerful forces bent on destroying America—but I had little sense as to the correct storyline and how to execute it effectively. All I could do is plug away at my story, day after day, year after year.

Do you write an outline before every book you write?

If only I could write an outline before I begin a new book! I am envious of those lucky souls who know where they’re going when then start writing. When I begin a new book, I have only the foggiest sense of where the story is headed. I do have a sense of what I want to achieve, but it is unshaped and rudimentary. My technique is to let the words and paragraphs guide me. During the process of getting these basic building blocks right, the storyline gradually begins to form in my mind’s eye.

Once the story is well underway, I can sometimes (often while driving) admonish the creative side of my brain to stop slacking and get on the job. What comes next? And what comes after that? The answer is always there somewhere in my unconscious, but bringing it to the surface is no easy process. When storyline ideas finally do come to me, I jot them down and use my notes as a guide while crafting the latter (and critically important) parts of the novel.

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

Great question! I think I learned while writing Rogues & Patriots that the most rewarding part of the writing process is the actual hours one sits there working on one’s book. This is the actual process of writing—choosing words and sentence structures, listening to your inner voice that conjures up tone and rhythm. These nuts and bolts are all there to be discovered and perfected, if the writer is willing to dig deeply. I think this is the artistic part of the process, and it is most rewarding if you are sufficiently patient and determined.

What is your most unusual writing quirk?

For the most part, I only write at night, starting at seven p.m. and going as long as I can. Until recently, I was working full time as an Investigator and Sentencing Mitigation Specialist, so I could only write very early in the a.m. or at night. Now that I have more time, I still find that I want to read and reflect by day while writing at night. It’s the approach that seems to work best for me.

Do you feel like it’s most important to have A) Strong characters B) Mind-blowing Plot twists or C) Epic settings?

Many of my fellow writers put a great deal of emphasis on their settings, or what is sometimes referred to as “a sense of place.” Although my own protagonist Nick Crane is an LA-based private investigator, he is frequently on the move traveling to different parts of the country. Therefore, I try to present all of the different settings as concretely as possible. I know that my readers want to know where Nick Crane is at any given moment and what that where looks like, tastes like, and smells like.

My main emphasis, however, is on plot and characterization. I would say that both are equally important in my stories. With respect to characterization, a wise mentor once told me that the perfect villain should have plenty of good qualities in addition to his or her nefarious tendencies. In other words, as readers, we would actually like the villains if their evil sides weren’t so monstrous. The villain should be a complete and rounded character, not just a stock figure. I am struck by the fact that many crime novels seem to resort to using eastern European characters with heavy accents as their villains. This has been overdone and overcooked, in my opinion.

When it comes to my protagonist and his crew, I also try to make them well-rounded characters with both good and bad sides. A good crime novel should contain many shades of gray, thus reflecting the real world in which we live.

A compelling plot is absolutely essential in writing a strong crime novel. The first two crime writers I read avidly were Dennis Lehane (his early Patrick Kenzie novels) and James Lee Burke (his Dave Robicheaux novels). In them, I noticed that Lehane was good at both plot and characterization, while Burke was brilliant with characterization but that his plots were, perhaps, a bit murky, at least when compared to Lehane’s work. Because of this, I developed a slight preference for Lehane’s early work compared to Burke’s.

As a result of this, in my own novels I try to place equal value on both plot and characterization. A successful crime novel should have both in equal measure. In addition to plot and characterization, in my own work I place great value on tone and sentence structure. I tinker with my sentences endlessly and try to convey my meaning(s) with as few words as possible. I try to keep my text(s) as laconic as possible in keeping with my protag Nick Crane’s nature. As we all know, actions speak louder than words.

I am currently a judge for this year’s (2024) Shamus awards in the hardback category. This experience is a great learning tool because I get to see how dozens of other crime writers handle these same issues—plot, characterization, setting, tone, diction, pace, and so on. In reading these books over the past few weeks, I’ve discovered that only a few of these authors seem to be skilled in all of these areas. Why is this? It’s because it’s damned hard to cover all the bases successfully. Writing the perfect crime novel is no easy task.

Which brings me back to the beginning of this interview. I worked on Rogues & Patriots for five long years, trying to get it right, trying to make it meaningful to my readers. Did I succeed? The jury is still out. Naturally, I hope for the best.

Rogues and Patriots is available for pre-order on Amazon and will be available for purchase on April 22, 2024.

BookBuzz helps indie authors, hybrid authors, and small publishers promote and market their books. They also help with book reviews, publicity, and more. Let's Create Some Buzz For Your Book!!!