Carolina Writers Speak
Carolina Writers Speak
Tom Kies, Author
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Thomas Kies is the author of the critically acclaimed Geneva Chase mystery series. In 2022, he was Edgar nominated by the Mystery Writers of America for the Sue Grafton Memorial Award for his book Shadow Hill. He has a long history of working for newspapers and magazines, primarily in New England and New York and currently lives and writes on Bogue Banks, a barrier island on the coast of North Carolina where he lives with his wife Cindy and their shi-tzu Annie.
To be a wordsmith is to find as a person who writes, an author, a journalist, a person who commits their thoughts to paper. But I believe it is so much more. The ability to craft a story, to change lives, to transport the ordinary life to an extraordinary place. To put words on paper and awaken the imagination in ways that the reader never dreamed possible. Yes, to have the ability to see what isn't there and make you see it too. To awaken the senses in new and amazing ways, like feeling a cool breeze on a hot summer day on your cheek. To smell wildflowers as they bloom. To taste the delicacy on foreign soil. To feel like you've never felt before. Touching places long forgotten. Connecting your soul in new ways. That's what writers do. It's my pleasure to host Carolina Writers Speak, a new podcast, a chance to hear actual writers' voices, hear what inspires them, experience their trials and their struggles, and realize that we all have a story and it's worth telling. Hi, I'm Rose Cushing, and I am the host of Carolina Writers Speak. Today my guest is Tom Keyes, and he is a noted author that lives down at the coastal area of North Carolina. Latest book is called The Whisper Room, and I know you're going to get enjoy getting to know more about Tom and the magnificent books that he's written. Welcome, Tom.
SPEAKER_00Thanks, Rose. It's good to see you. Great to hear you anyway.
SPEAKER_02Good to hear you too. I'm excited to learn more about your book. But before we get into that, tell us a little bit about you.
SPEAKER_00Well, I've recently recently retired. I was the president of the Carteret County Chamber of Commerce. That was my day job. But I also uh teach uh creative writing over at the college. So now I'm kind of a full-time freelance writer and uh do some part-time teaching.
SPEAKER_02That's really exciting. Now tell us about your class. How can people get involved with that?
SPEAKER_00If they go to the Carret Community College website, uh they can sign up. It's a four-week class. It starts uh, let's see, February 19th. We're actually going to be teaching the class at a place called the Web Center, which is a coffee shop. And uh actually on the far end, there's a little wine bar, but we'll be teaching in the library area. The college does not uh does not encourage uh drinking alcoholic beverages in class.
SPEAKER_02Right. Well, it is an in-person class.
SPEAKER_00I'm sorry?
SPEAKER_02It's an in-person class.
SPEAKER_00It's an in-person class. Um, we thought about making it online back during the pandemic, but that just doesn't work. We we like to uh do things face to face. What I do is I'll give the uh class a writing prompt, and then they'll write about a thousand words, which is about three pages, double space, and read it in the class the next week. Now that's scary, but what we do is after you read the piece, we all applaud and we talk about what we liked about it, and then uh we talk about how we could have made it a little stronger. So it's a very positive uh uh experience.
SPEAKER_02It sounds like it would be. I if I didn't live two hours away, I would certainly be signing up.
SPEAKER_00Well, you'd be welcome.
SPEAKER_02I I appreciate that. Now tell us about Whisper Room. That title is so intriguing.
SPEAKER_00Whisper Room uh came to me, and that came to me during the pandemic too. Um what if uh there was an escort service that was run by uh women and it was vetted so that uh it's not something that people are forced to do. It's not there are no drugs, uh, it's not sex trafficking. This is this is a way that they have chosen to to lead their lives. And indeed, I I have you know, online I was in touch with people who who do that, and that's what made me think about the whole thing. And then I thought, well, if it's it, then the whole thing is done online, like Uber, where you can order an escort and uh a reservation for dinner or a hotel room or even a trip to Jamaica. And I thought that was a pretty clever idea until I discovered there are actually websites and apps that do that kind of thing. Um, but the point of the story is what if somebody hacks into it and starts blackmailing clients and uh then goes a step further. What if some of the escorts start turning up dead? And that is the crux of the mystery.
SPEAKER_02That is awesome. What a what a good current times tale to to weave for people and uh and make it a mystery. I love that.
SPEAKER_00Now and we actually touch we touch upon the Gilgo murders too out of Long Island. Uh this is before he was he was arrested. Because, as it turns out, after doing some research, uh prostitutes and escorts are prime targets for serial killers because they're just so easy to take off the street.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that would make sense, I can see. So you have many books out there. So tell us about some of your other books.
SPEAKER_00They're all part of the Geneva Chase mystery series right at the moment. I've got five of them. Uh, the first one was Random Road. It's uh they are all written from the first person viewpoint of a female reporter uh who has uh she's she's a smart ass, she drinks too much, but and she makes bad life decisions, but she's really smart, her heart's in the right place, and she ends up fostering a 13-year-old girl. So um it's I was only planning on writing from the viewpoint of a female for one book, and then uh it sold out of its first hardcover printing before uh at the launch date because we we were getting such good reviews, and um they ordered two more books after that, and I've written five. Now my agent has a sixth, but while we're waiting for that, um, I've got another book that's with my editor right now that is not a Geneva Chase novel. We're gonna try something a little different.
SPEAKER_02That's really, really interesting. Now, how can we find your books and buy them?
SPEAKER_00You can get them obviously on Amazon. Uh, you can uh order them through Barnes and Noble, Target, Walmart. Uh, you can get them in person at a lot of bookstores. Barnes and Noble has been very good about carrying my books. Um, Books a Million has been good about carrying my books and uh a lot of independent bookstores, but you your easiest is obviously to find them online.
SPEAKER_02Now, do you have any other events coming up where you have some book sign-ins or or things going on?
SPEAKER_00Rose, it's funny you should ask. Um, we have a uh dinner theater uh on next Thursday. What is it? That is the uh 8th and the 9th, uh, Thursday and Friday, February, at the Carteret Community College Hospitality and Culinary School. They'll be doing the food, and the uh Carteret Community Theater uh are gonna be acting the parts. I wrote the the play. It's the second time I've done that. We did one last year. It was sold out. It's a fundraiser for the college, it's a fundraiser for the theater. And uh after after the uh the play is done, I sell books out in the lobby.
SPEAKER_02That's really neat. I love dinner theaters. I'm gonna go to one in April in Aurora. And I who would think Aurora, North Carolina would have dinner theater, but they do. So that'll be really fun. I wish I'd known about this one earlier.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, this is this is this is a lot of fun for me because my books are a little dark. Uh and the dinner theater, it's there are comedies because nobody wants to go be depressed for dinner. You know, we want some laughs, and uh the theater people take this very, very seriously. They've been uh rehearsing three nights a week for the last month. And uh I from what I understand, I was talking to the head of the culinary school last night. They've got uh a great dinner planned for both nights. Uh right at the moment, we're uh both nights are three quarters of the way sold out. So we're anticipating, yeah, we'll probably sell out probably by early next week. So if anybody's interested out there, now's a good time to buy a ticket.
SPEAKER_02Very good. Very good. I will post that on my Facebook pages for you, too. So your your new book, can you give us any clues about that? What direction you're going?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, the new book is called Saint of Lost Causes. And uh the premise is he he he's an ex-New York cop. His claim to fame was he uh he found lost children and he burned out. He he he lost one, he he made a mistake, and he took an early retirement, and now he's tending bar uh at a beachfront uh location in North Carolina, very much like Moorhead City. And um a woman finds him. She she has discovered that she's got a sister she never knew, and the sister is 10 years old. And uh the whole thing he he suggests that she she hire another detective because he doesn't do this anymore, and she does that, and the other detective, two nights later, is found in the Albemarle Sound with two bullets in the back of his head. Wow. So he does go out, he he wants to find who killed his friend, the detective, but he also wants to find the 10-year-old little girl, and it's a story, it it talks about racism, it talks about militias, uh, but it also talks about murder. And um, I had a very good time writing it, so I hope my editor loves it. She's she actually has done a quick run through as far as editing, and she's taken it to the acquisitions team of my publishing house. So we'll see if they like and uh if they like it, they'll move ahead with it and hopefully it'll be out this year.
SPEAKER_02That's fantastic. That will be fun. Uh it's good to see you branching out in some new directions. It's always fun to kind of flex your wings a little bit.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I figured it's I I I want to try that, and I've got a couple of other ideas for books. Um, I I did not want to pigeon myself, pigeonhole myself into uh just doing the Geneva Chase series.
SPEAKER_02So in your writing career, what would you say is your largest obstacle at getting your work finished and put out there?
SPEAKER_00Uh procrastination. Uh just is like with a lot of other writers. One of the things I tell my class is if you're a writer, you'll write every single day, even if it's only a single. Uh keep a notebook with you. And if you hear some dialogue, somebody saying something, or you see a scene that you think is remarkable, write it down. Now, my problem is I can go down that rat hole of the internet. You you see something online, you go, Well, that looks interesting. And then you see something else, that looks interesting. And next time you turn around, you look at the clock, it's three hours later. Yeah. So that that is a detriment. You you really have to force yourself to not do any of that, just turn off everything. I don't even have any music or anything on. I just I'm just, you know, work away at it. And that that is my biggest obstacle is is trying to tune the rest of the world out.
SPEAKER_02Right. I I think that was mine too. I find myself doing anything but yeah.
SPEAKER_00And that's and and there's actually an old joke that uh how do you how do you get your house clean? Uh we'll give a writer because they'll they'll do anything except you know sit down at the computer.
SPEAKER_02And you nailed it. I I said, Oh, I bet let me write this down, but I gotta go do this first. So yes, I'm very guilty of that. So as a writer, a very successful writer, how would you what kind of advice would you give to writers coming up? How to, you know, stay with it and is it worth it and how to make it, you know, in the writing world?
SPEAKER_00Well, first of all, it's it's it's certainly worth it no matter what, to to write your thoughts down on paper. It's on in some cases, it's almost like therapy. I've I've in my class, I've actually um had students who had PTSD and they would talk about their experiences and work their way through it on paper. And I I there was one guy, he was he was uh a retired Marine, his wife reached out to me and said that he has he has felt so much better by putting his thoughts on paper. So no matter what, whether it's published or not, it's just it's good to get it down. Um, and my advice for anybody's is keep plugging away, keep trying. It's uh it it I wrote five novels before Random Road was published. But every time I I'd write a book, it would get better. It's like practice. It's like if you want to be in the you you will practice, practice, practice. And that's what this is. Writing is sitting down and doing it and being with other writers. It's a lot of fun. Um the Carter at Writers Network. Uh, most of the people on that board are my ex-students. So you know, I suggested stay, stay with me. Writers like to be around writers. I, you know, I love being around.
SPEAKER_01Uh do you know if they're gonna do their workshop series this spring? The Carter at Rogers?
SPEAKER_00I do believe they are. Good. Um, you know, they are extraordinarily active. They're they're I love those two. So if I had to take any bets, I'd say yeah, they're gonna be doing them again.
SPEAKER_02Good, good. I hope to attend them again. That'll be fun. I I joined them, but I have a hard time getting to the meeting because of the two-hour distance. I don't drive good at night anymore. So maybe when the days get a little longer, I'll be more apt. Well, all right. Now remind us again where we can find your books and the titles of them.
SPEAKER_00Uh uh, most bookshops should have them. If they don't, please ask for them.
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SPEAKER_00But you can always get them on Amazon, uh, Barnes and Noble website, uh, Target website, uh, Walmart uh website. Um so they're pretty easy to find.
SPEAKER_02Now, one last question. Do you you have your books in local bookshops? Do you find most local bookshop owners are happy to have local authors?
SPEAKER_00They are. They're they're they're they're really good to work with. And uh there's we have a little bookshop down here, it's it's just called the bookshop. It's got no other name. He's been a great uh fan and he's been a great supporter. Uh little bookshop up in New Bern uh called Next Chapter. She is a supporter of local writers. And I can't say enough nice things about independent bookstores. They are great. If you can't find a book you're looking for in an independent bookstore, ask them to order it for you. And that way you spend your money local and you're helping support those little independent books.
SPEAKER_02That's so important. When I teach marketing, I always remind people to not forget about their grassroots marketing because the local people are going to support you through thick and thin.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. And they they've been terrific.
SPEAKER_02I I absolutely love well, it's been really nice chatting with you today. Is there anything else you want our listeners to know about Tom Keys?
SPEAKER_00Uh no, other than uh he's got a class coming up, he's got the uh dinner theater coming up. And since I'm retired, I can say uh retirement is everything that's cracked up to be. I sleep late in the morning now, and I'm just loving it.
SPEAKER_02I hope you enjoyed today's episode. Everybody has a story. Just let your mind drift away and find yours. I know it's out there. What are you waiting for?