James McCrone is...On the Writing Block!

Before we begin, let us get down to who is James? 

James McCrone is the author of the Faithless Elector series—Faithless Elector, Dark Network, and Emergency Powers—“taut” and “gripping” political thrillers about a stolen presidency; and Bastard Verdict, about a conspiracy surrounding a second Scottish Independence referendum. His thrillers delve into the questions that are often obscured by the answers we’re given. Imogen Trager, his recurring character, is driven to find the truth. Wherever it leads.

James is the president of the Delaware Valley Sisters in Crime chapter, and a member of MWA, Int’l Assoc. of Crime Writers, Phila. Dramatists’ Center. He has an MFA from the University of Washington, in Seattle.    

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What is your ultimate goal as an author?

I want to be part of the conversation. I want my stories to be among the ones people look forward to; stories that they return to. Writers and readers communicate across stories, and I want to be part of that conversation, with readers, and with other writers. I want people to be moved, to be entertained. And I hope my stories give them something to think about too. I’ve been writing stories since I was a child, and writing is the way I make sense of the world.

While I may write about the current moment and current politics, the stories and characters resonate beyond the present. They are true to life. The problems they encounter, while dramatic, are relatable, because typically they’re more-or-less ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances. I’m also careful for my characters to not be caricatures, and I pay a lot of attention to making the bad guys fully realized, too.

Who are two authors that have inspired your writing?

It’s difficult to name only two writers who have inspired me, but Graham Greene and John Le Carre have had a big influence. They tell a good story, and the stories are particularly compelling because the characters are conflicted. The protagonists are idealistic and disillusioned at the same time. They want to do the right thing, but in the shadowy world of their books, it’s often unclear what the right thing is. I’m thinking particularly of Fowler, the narrator of The Quiet American, and of George Smiley, the pudgy, near-sighted “anti-James Bond” spymaster in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, etc.

Quiet American came out in 1955. The novel stands on its own as a bittersweet, compelling story, but one made chilling because it’s set in Vietnam during the time that US involvement there is increasing. Though it’s fiction, we see that the war is coming, and we know how it will end. I wanted that same sense of inevitability for my first novel, Faithless Elector. I’m certainly not comparing myself to Greene, but like his novel, the events that come to pass in the real world make a compelling read that much stronger.

I’m also drawn to Le Carre’s patient build-up. His narrative voice has confidence and wry humor. He doesn’t talk down to his readers. And he brings them along. Relentlessly. And in both writers, there is room for beauty in their prose. Early edits of Faithless had me cutting it down to very bare bones indeed, and I found it unsatisfying. I happened to be re-reading Le Carre’s Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and I was struck by the fact that while the novel is spare, Le Carre allows time and space for little flourishes. So, I went back over the previous edited version of my book, and put back some of the things that gave it weight. And some beauty.

Do you always know who the killer is, or do your characters surprise you in the end?

Certainly, my characters surprise me, but so far, I know who the killer is from the beginning. I work the plotline a little bit backwards, I think. Once I have my beginning, my protagonist, and a vague way forward, I focus on the bad guy. Who is he, what does he want? How would he go about getting it? What must he protect?

What I learn from those questions becomes my list of clues or obstacles for the protagonist. It’s as I write the story that I am surprised. By the final third of the first full draft, I find myself barely considering “what would she do here?” because I know her well enough. And it’s there that I’ll find she does something that surprises me. I’ll type a dialogue exchange and think, ‘Where did that come from?’ There is a scene in Bastard Verdict, my latest, where Imogen Trager and her allies are hiding out, and Imogen takes charge. Not because the plot demanded it, but because it’s what Imogen would do. I had written the scene and the dialogue before I had really thought it through.

This “backward” approach has served me (and the storytelling) well, not only in Faithless Elector, as I’ve noted earlier, but also in my most recent work, Bastard Verdict. For the bad guys, not losing is more important than winning. As a second referendum on Scottish independence looms, they need to keep secret that they had a hand in defeating the first referendum. Figuring out how they might do it, who they would have to corrupt or silence makes for a harrowing, twisty thriller.

Do you prefer pen and paper, or computer for writing? 

When I begin a new novel, I write it out longhand. I like to be away from my writing room and just be open to what comes. I’ll sit outside, or in the living room, or at a café, and I’ll scribble away. When it begins to come together and the combination of my handwriting, cross-outs, arrows in the margin indicating that a certain passage should come earlier or later, that’s when I turn to the computer. But once again, as I consider who the bad guy(s) are and what they want, I go to my notebooks, and only when I feel I have a handle on things do I come back to the computer.

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What is Bastard Verdict about?

You don’t need to win, just don’t lose.

As a second referendum looms, elections specialist Imogen Trager is asked to investigate possible discrepancies in the first referendum on Scottish Independence. She uncovers a trail of criminal self-dealing, cover-ups and murder. None but a very few know the truth. And those few need it to stay hidden. At any cost.

But this is just part of the Faithless Elector series!

Faithless Elector: Faithless Elector 1 - Everyone thought the election was over. But in politics, six weeks can be a lifetime. Or the end of one.

An idealistic young researcher uncovers a plot to steal the presidential election by manipulating the Electoral College.

His book is available at the following locations…

Bookshop.org

IndieBound(UK)

Blackwell's(UK)

Waterstones

BookBub

Amazon

Goodreads

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

B&N-Nook

Apple books 

Book Series in Order

You can also connect with him at the following…

His Website

Facebook

Instagram

Bluesky

Chosen Words blog

Mastodon

Thank you, James, for sharing your time with us!

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