Author Rick Acker ~ Interviewed

Rick Acker does his best work while traveling, and he pecks out pages every day on the commuter train to his “real job” as a Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice. Rick’s other books include Dead Man’s Rule and the Davis Detectives series for tweens. He lives in Northern California with his wife, Anette, and their four children.

What is your current project? Tell us about it.

Okay, time for the shameless plug: According to Christy Award-winning author and physicist Randy Ingermanson, Blood Brothers “is an excellent legal suspense novel, with a strong biotech backdrop. It reminded me of Michael Crichton’s latest novel, Next, except Blood Brothers is better.” It’s also a terrific gift, a fascinating conversation piece, an attractive paperweight, and will help you lose 20 pounds.*

*If you read it while exercising, that is.

Tell us about your journey to publication. How long had you been writing before you got the call you had a contract, how you heard and what went through your head?

It was an e-mail rather than a call in my case. I don’t remember what was going through my head, but I do remember a couple of co-workers coming into my office a few seconds later to find out why I was yelling.

Do you still experience self-doubts regarding your work, or struggle in a particular area such as writers block or angst driven head-banging against walls? Please share some helpful overcoming hints that you've discovered.

Sure, every author I know regularly experiences self-doubts. While writing Blood Brothers, for example, I worried because it was moving more slowly than my previous books had. I’d done that intentionally to allow more room for character development, but it bothered me nonetheless and I had to resist the temptation to stick in a car chase or shooting to liven things up. It wasn’t until the early reviews came in calling the book “fast-paced” and “gripping” that I was finally convinced I’d made the right decision.

The key for me was to rely on people whose judgment I trusted throughout the writing process: my wife, Anette; my editors, Steve and Janyre; and my many test readers. They kept insisting that the pacing was fine and the book was turning out well, so I kept things the way they were. By the way, one of the best things an aspiring author can do is to find someone who (a) has good literary judgment, (b) is willing to read your manuscript, and (c) will be honest with you.

What mistakes have you made while seeking publication? Or to narrow it down further what's something you wish you'd known earlier that might have saved you some time/frustration in the publishing business?

The biggest mistake I made at first was not to pay attention to what was likely to be publishable. I wrote an allegorical fantasy at a time when that genre was completely dead. Then I tried an historical adventure novella, followed by a supernatural thriller that read like a cross between Beowulf and a George MacDonald romance. And I couldn’t figure out why publishers weren’t interested in my manuscripts.

I was still pretty clueless even after my first two books (both young adult mystery/adventure novels) were published. My publisher came to me and said, “You know, you’re a litigator and you write suspense novels. Have you ever thought of writing legal suspense novels?” I hadn’t.

What's the best or worst advice (or both) you've heard on writing/publication?

Both best and worst advice: write what you know. To the extent that you can draw on your own experience and expertise, do it. It will give your writing authenticity and will help you avoid embarrassing factual errors. But never feel limited to what you already know—as long as you’re willing to do the research necessary to write about new topics. For example, C.S. Lewis had no formal theological training and the closest he got to hell was his service in WWI, but he managed to write a modern classic (The Screwtape Letters) composed entirely of correspondence between demons.

What is your favorite source for finding story ideas?

My story ideas come from all over the place. For example, Blood Brothers was inspired in equal parts by intense courtroom battles I’ve seen between former close friends and partners, Norse sagas from the very beginning of written history in Scandinavia, a couple of experimental drug trials that went badly wrong, and Christ’s admonition that it’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Have you ever had one of those awkward writer moments you'd like to share with us, the ones wherein you get "the look" from the normals? Example, you stand at a knife display at the sporting goods store and ask the clerk which would be the best to use to disembowel a six foot man…please do tell.

Great question. I’m a lawyer by day, so one scenario I’ve encountered several times runs basically like this: A group of attorneys are together and one of them tells a story about something entertainingly stupid that a client did—for example, a senior executive who decided he didn’t want legal advice on a particular business practice because, as he put it, “stealing from our customers is a business decision, not a legal decision” (true story). We all laugh, and then someone remembers that I write legal thrillers and asks whether what was just said will wind up in my next book. The room then suddenly becomes very quiet—until I assure everyone that really good true stories are too unrealistic to make believable fiction.

Is there a particularly difficult set back that you've gone through in your writing career you are willing to share? Or have you ever been at the point where considered quitting writing altogether?

I remember sitting in front of my laptop one day and trying to work on what would become my second published novel, though at the time it seemed like a worthless mass of words destined to be read by my family, a few friends, and no one else.

Worse, it seemed like a waste of time. I had just started a new job and I was very busy; did I really want to take my few free hours away from my family so I could work on this?

I actually did quit writing on that day. I didn’t start again until a few months later when Anette, who has always been my biggest fan (and most incisive critic), strongly encouraged me to get going again. A few days later, I got that first “we’re interested” e-mail from a publisher that all unpublished authors dream about.

What are a few of your favorite books? (Not written by you.)

My taste in fiction covers pretty much anything with good characters and a fast-moving plot, especially if I feel like I learned something by the end. That covers everything from Homer’s Iliad to Dumas’s Count of Monte Cristo to C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia to Tom Clancy’s early books to the latest novels from my author friends.

What piece of writing have you done that you're particularly proud of and why?

My younger brother’s eulogy, which I composed a few days after his death from cancer on his 38th birthday. “Eulogy” comes from Greek words meaning “good word,” and I was honored to be able to speak a good word about my brother as his family and friends mourned his departure from them, but celebrated his entry into heaven.

Dean Koontz recently shared his take on the concept on "the writer's sacred duty." What comes to your mind at the mention of "the writer's sacred duty?"

If you’re reading this interview, chances are that you either (a) feel that God has called you to write or (b) are my mother. If you fall into category (a), you have a sacred duty to write for the same reason that you have a sacred duty to whatever God calls you to do to the best of your ability.

By the way, a sacred duty to write is not the same thing as a sacred duty to publish. A poem written for a relative’s wedding, a play for a church production, or a letter to a friend going through a crisis can all serve both God and your neighbor. As I mentioned above, the piece of writing I’d most like to hear God quote to me when I stand before Him is something that wasn’t published.

Do you have a pet peeve having to do with this biz?

Deadlines. It’s not much fun knowing that I have two weeks to figure out how to get my characters out of a raging inferno and solve their personal problems and get it all written down. On the other hand, if I didn’t have deadlines, I’d never finish anything.

Do you have a dream for the future of your writing, something you would love to accomplish?

I dream of someday writing a book that I can read later and not once ask, “Wow, why didn’t someone tell me to fix that?”

What is your favorite and least favorite part of being a writer?

Favorite part: Opening the box of author copies and holding the finished book in my hands for the first time. It’s like being a kid on Christmas and knowing my parents got me what I really wanted.

Least favorite part: Going through the galleys and making final edits. I’ve been through the book half-a-dozen times by this point and I’m sick of it. Also, it’s time-consuming, but has to be done quickly—which means I generally spend at least one late night carefully reading a book I’m beginning to loathe.

What aspect of writing was the most difficult for you to grasp/conquer? How did you overcome it?

The day-to-day discipline of writing didn’t come easily for me. One of my favorite authors, Ray Bradbury, talks about writing 50 pages at a sitting and finishing a book in a month. That’s not how it works for me. I’m lucky if I can average two pages a day, so at first I tended to write a few pages on a project and then run out of steam.

I’ve learned two tricks that help me write steadily: First, I find a distraction-free time and place to write every day. For me, it’s the hour and a half I spend on a train during my daily commute. Second, I need deadlines and someone to hold me accountable if I miss them. Publishers will generously provides this service without being asked, but you can always have a friend or spouse do it if you don’t have a publisher yet.

What is the first thing you do when you begin a new book?

I usually do a short (2-3 page) synopsis of the story first. If that “sings,” I write a 6-7 page chapter outline. Then I write a couple of sample chapters to send to a publisher. After that, I go back and revise the synopsis and outline because the story has already started to change.

Writing rituals. Do you have to sit somewhere specific, complete a certain number of words, leave something undone to trigger creativity for the next session? Some other quirk you'd like to share?

I do about 90% of my writing while commuting on BART, the light rail system that connects San Francisco to America.

I also shoot for 600 words per day, but that’s not so much a ritual as a mechanism to make sure I hit my deadlines.

Plot, seat of pants or combination?

Combination. When I start a new book, I know how it begins and how it ends, but the middle is always a mystery to me. My publisher makes me turn in a plot outline for the whole thing, of course, but we both know not to take the middle three pages seriously.

What is the most difficult part of pulling together a book? Ex. Do you have saggy middles, soggy characters, soupy plots during your first drafts…if so, how do you shape it up?

Actually, my books are usually in decent shape by the time I get done with the first draft. The reason is that I have several layers of editors reading the manuscript in installments as I write. Anette is particularly good at spotting bad writing and catches most of it before anyone else can see it.

Have you received a particularly memorable reader response? Please share.




Several judges have told me they enjoy my books, which, of course, is a real treat for a writer of legal thrillers.

How much marketing/publicity do you do? Any advice in this area?

I’m a real marketing amateur, so I’m probably not the best one to answer this question. I can pass along one tip about book signings, however. They’re great if an organization is sponsoring them, particularly as a fundraiser. They’re terrible if you’re sitting by yourself in a bookstore and your name doesn’t happen to be Jerry Jenkins or John Grisham. You sit there trying to look comfortable and friendly as customers try to avoid making eye contact or getting too close.

Parting words? Anything you wish we would've asked because you've got the perfect answer?

Writing is like playing a violin; you probably won’t be very good when you start. I was awful, and I still have the poetry to prove it. So keep writing and focus on getting better. You will.