Ask the Author: Otho Eskin
Answered Questions (16)
Otho Eskin
There was one reader, probably a gun fanatic, who complained that my protagonist didn’t carry a gun. This reader seemed to be very offended by the idea. But I didn’t change the story as a result of his complaint. Marko Zorn still prefers nonviolent methods, and I’m proud of that.
Otho Eskin
Thanks, Henry. Great question! I’d probably have to ask a psychoanalyst that question. I did feel a pull both toward the law and diplomacy. I spent my senior year of high school in Paris. I was learning French, and that excited me. I found a fascinating world away from the mundane one I grew up in. It seemed exotic to live abroad. Foreign policy was a secondary thing. The pull, for me, was to experience life abroad. The foreign service allowed me to do that.
Otho Eskin
I would said say, “Be sure to get into screenplays, as that’s where the money is. No one reads books.” In all seriousness, I think my younger self would have been baffled by the concept of publishing. I just wanted to write. I didn’t have any idea what it takes to actually publish a book or that I’d have to consider such things as a market for a book. Like anything, this is a business. We authors prefer not to think of writing that way, but it’s the truth.
Otho Eskin
I read a lot of biographies. One of my favorites is John le Carré’s memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel. It tells of his time in the British Foreign Intelligence Service during the Cold War, along with the research he conducted for his spy novels. It intrigues me to know how authors draw upon their own lives on the page. I have also enjoyed the works of James Patterson, John Grisham, and Mick Herron. Like le Carré, these three know how to tell a story.
Otho Eskin
I usually begin in the late morning and write throughout the late afternoon. I’ll take a break for dinner, then come back to my desk for another hour or so. I try to write 4-5 hours a day—or at least, work on the writing. I’ll put down events, ideas, and lines that appeal to me. Over time, I develop them.
Otho Eskin
About a year. I usually take six months to write the first draft, then revise and rewrite for the next six.
Otho Eskin
I devour the news, and I saw the headlines about the opioid crisis. Like many Americans, I was horrified by the Sackler family’s greed and callousness toward human lives. I was also aghast to learn of the FDA’s complicity in the crisis. Government regulators failed to scrutinize the science that drug manufacturers cited in support of opioids’ use. So I asked myself, “How can I turn my outrage into narrative?” I really do believe that art is a powerful antidote to violence.
Otho Eskin
The headlines often provide fodder for my books, and the blank page is a challenge to be conquered. If I can add to the word count every day, that’s enough to get me going in the morning.
Otho Eskin
I’m currently working on my fourth Marko Zorn book. Titled Black Sun, it’s about a neo-Nazi plot to take over the US government. Zorn gets caught up in it almost accidentally and is forced to go undercover to join the movement. A lot of the action happens under the city, in the subway tunnels and water/sewer passages. This underworld always fascinated me. I’m excited to someday share this story with readers.
Otho Eskin
Read lots of books and then try to forget them so you don’t copy them. A while back, I devoured Lee Child’s Reacher books. But I found it was difficult to find my own voice. I was imitating Child’s. I had to let the books fade from my mind before I could do my own writing.
Another piece of advice is to know what publishers want. You can learn this by reading within your genre. Take note of the conventions, such as the pacing, structure of chapters, character types, and themes. Finally, have a character that interests you and the reader. You have to like your main character, as you’ll be spending so much time with this figure!
Another piece of advice is to know what publishers want. You can learn this by reading within your genre. Take note of the conventions, such as the pacing, structure of chapters, character types, and themes. Finally, have a character that interests you and the reader. You have to like your main character, as you’ll be spending so much time with this figure!
Otho Eskin
I really enjoy Hank Phillippi Ryan’s books, so her latest, One Wrong Word, is on the list. I just finished reading David McCloskey’s Damascus Station, which I greatly enjoyed. I’m sure there will be a lot of biographies and history on the nightstand, as well. Those are some of my favorite genres to read.
Otho Eskin
I lead a very non-mysterious life. I had some experiences while living abroad that could have been made into a novel, but I have to keep those secret.
Otho Eskin
If you’re a writer—and I believe that you either are or you’re not—there is enormous satisfaction when the story comes out right. The sheer thrill of knowing you have produced something good is what keeps you going.
Otho Eskin
I don’t have it. When I turn on the computer and see a blank page, there’s a challenge.
Otho Eskin
Hi Margie. Thanks for reading! My instinct is to use the language, social conventions, and styles of the mid to late 20th century. And that creates problems for a few readers. I was made aware of this a few years back when I was talking with women friends about one of my books. I briefly describe the clothing and hair styles of some of the women attending the reception. My women friends observed, in a gentle way, that the hair styles I described were out of date. Later, my children informed me that no one under forty uses email for social interactions. People use Facebook or Snapchat or Instagram or probably something else. Who knew? But I daresay that many readers like little touches of the old days!
Otho Eskin
Hello Mary! Yes, in one way or another. While in the foreign service, I spent many years in Washington, DC, which is the setting for all of my books. I try to capture both the grit and majesty of that city, along with the atmosphere of state offices. For instance, in my second novel, Head Shot, I write many scenes in the Secretary of State office and other diplomatic rooms. While in the service, I met many fascinating people from far-flung places. Some of them have stayed with me and inspired characters or incidents in my novels.
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