Interview with James Hayman – Author of ‘The Cutting’
Like the hero of The Cutting, James Hayman is a transplanted New Yorker. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Manhattan, he spent more than twenty years writing TV advertising for clients like The U.S. Army, Lincoln-Mercury and Procter & Gamble. He moved to Portland, Maine in 2001. Four years later he decided to scratch a lifelong itch to write fiction and began work on his first suspense thriller featuring homicide detective Mike McCabe. St. Martin’s/Minotaur bought rights to The Cutting and published it in July, 2009. Hayman is currently at work on the second McCabe novel which is due to be published in July, 2010. The tentative title is The Chill of Night.
Q: It’s rare today to find an author who does nothing but write for a living. Do you have a ‘real’ job other than writing, and if so, what is it? What are some other jobs you’ve had in your life? Have they influenced/inspired your writing?
THE CUTTING is my first novel. However, writing has always been my “real” job. I spent 25 years on Madison Ave writing and producing TV commercials for major clients (which is great training for writing mysteries and thrillers._ After that I became a freelance writer-for-hire writing articles, press releases, annual reports, speeches and a couple of non-fiction books under contract.
Q: What compelled you to write your first book?
I was between assignments. I always wanted to write a novel and see if I could get it published. So I did it.
Q: Have you always wanted to be a writer?
I discovered early on that writing was the only thing I was really good at and that I enjoyed doing. So that’s what I did.
Q: Tell us briefly about your book.
THE CUTTING is the first in a series featuring ex-NYPD homicide detective Michael McCabe. McCabe is a single father who moves to Portland to find a safer place to bring up his young daughter. He quickly discovers that there are no safe places in the world. The plot of the first McCabe book involves a brilliant but psychopathic cardiac surgeon who kills and cuts out the hearts of his victims to sell in an illegal organ transplant scheme.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
The second in the McCabe series is almost finished. The title is THE CHILL OF NIGHT.
Q: How did you feel the day you held the copy of your first book in your hands?
Actually two other days stand out more in my mind. The first is the day the first agent I contacted about THE CUTTING (she’s one of the best agents specializing mysteries and thrillers) said “I love it. Let’s talk about representation.” The second is the day she sold it to St. Martin’s Press in a two book deal. Both times I did an arm pump, shouted “Yes!” jumped in the air and took my wife out to an expesive dinner.
THE CUTTING is probably most like Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch books and Dennis Lehane’s Patrick Kenzie/Angie Genarro books.
Q: Is there any particular book that, when you read it, you thought, “I wish I had written that!”?
Lots of them. Most recently ATONEMENT by Ian McEwan. Any of Cormac McCarthy’s books. Hemingway’s THE SUN ALSO RISES.
Q: Is there anything you’d go back and do differently now that you have been published, in regards to your writing career?
I’d start writing novels earlier. I love it.
Q: In my experience, some things come quite easily (like creating the setting) and other things aren’t so easy (like deciding on a title). What comes easily to you and what do you find more difficult?
Dialogue comes easy. I’m a natural dialogue writer. Maybe that comes from having written for TV for so long or maybe that’s just the way my mind works.
Q: Have you ever had a character take over a story and move it in a different direction than you had originally intended? How did you handle it?
Characters always take over my stories. I don’t write from an outline. I just know my characters really well and let them lead me where they want to go.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?
THE CUTTING was published by St. Martin’s Minotaur in June 2009. It’s available pretty much everywhere…Amazon, Borders, B&N, and most independent bookstores.
Readers can learn more about me on my website www.jameshaymanthrillers.com
They can also become a fan of THE CUTTING on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/thecutting
I have a blog called Musings of a Murderous Mind which can most easily be accessed through my website.
November 25th, 2009 at 3:26 am
[...] Hayman, author of the thriller, The Cutting, will be stopping off at The Hot Author Report! Someone is Stealing the Hearts of Beautiful Young Women. NYPD homicide detective Mike McCabe left [...]
November 26th, 2009 at 4:59 am
[...] Hayman, author of the thriller, The Cutting, will be stopping off at The Hot Author Report! Someone is Stealing the Hearts of Beautiful Young Women. NYPD homicide detective Mike McCabe left [...]