Q&A with Jim Ody
Beneath the Whispers
by Jim Ody
Genevieve Deboise is too good for Scott Dean. He’s always known that. It isn’t a shock to learn she is cheating on him.
What is a surprise is bumping into his childhood sweetheart in the woods where he’d planned to take solace in his heartbreak and bruised ego.
But running into Mary-Ann Jennings isn’t exactly the fairy tale it might seem.
Instead, his first love needs his help finding a USB stick that has fallen into the wrong hands. Now in the cellar of Genevieve’s new lover, Scotty must confront his feelings for both women in order to retrieve the missing USB stick.
On a quest to confront his past and locate Mary-Ann’s property, he journeys through the whispers that have always surrounded him.
Love will make you do crazy things.
But is it enough to get beneath the whispers?
What is a surprise is bumping into his childhood sweetheart in the woods where he’d planned to take solace in his heartbreak and bruised ego.
But running into Mary-Ann Jennings isn’t exactly the fairy tale it might seem.
Instead, his first love needs his help finding a USB stick that has fallen into the wrong hands. Now in the cellar of Genevieve’s new lover, Scotty must confront his feelings for both women in order to retrieve the missing USB stick.
On a quest to confront his past and locate Mary-Ann’s property, he journeys through the whispers that have always surrounded him.
Love will make you do crazy things.
But is it enough to get beneath the whispers?
It's my great pleasure to welcome Jim Ody to my blog today! I'm thrilled he has been able to pop by and answer my questions about his new novella, Beneath the Whispers.
Could
you start by summing up your novella in three words?
Contemplative, Unexpected, Mysterious
What
was the inspiration for ‘Beneath the Whispers’?
It is based on a short-story I wrote many years ago called
‘Mary-Ann’. I was going to re-write it but ended up completely re-writing to
the point that the two bore no resemblance whatsoever. I wanted it to be
mysterious and about the struggles between a man choosing between two women…but
that not being the main drive of the novel.
You
have written several novels already – is this novella linked to any of the
novels you have written or a stand alone? Did you consider a ‘bonus’ style
novella to compliment any of your other novels or short stories?
This is a standalone novella however: The location is the fictional
town of Thornhill which appears in my other books. Jez and Miss Chambers make a
brief appearance. And eagle-eyed readers may notice that when Scotty is sat
down with Mary-Ann for the first time in the book, they see a man walk by and
stare at them. He appears in ‘A Cold Retreat’ and this exact scene plays out
from his point of view. All my novels
have these subtle links that have a nod of familiarity without having to be
read in order. I’ve been writing many short-stories recently, and I wanted to
get something out there for people as the next book would not be until the end
of the year.
What
would you say where the main challenges or differences between writing a
novella and writing a novel? What did you enjoy about writing a novella?
I have written five books with three of them having been released.
By the end of the year I will have written and release almost a dozen
short-stories, so I was familiar with a long in-depth as well as a quick sharp
shock of a tale. The novella nicely fitted in between and meant it is the
perfect length. You can delve into back stories more than you can with shorts,
but still quicken the pace. It has opened my eyes up to writing one or two a
year as a standard. I will always prefer to write novels, as I like to have a
few complex stories intertwining and the nature of the beast is that this takes
up pages! The novella allows you to think of an idea, expand on it but to keep
it simple. They can be written from start to finish in a couple of months.
Do you
plan your stories before writing them or do you just let them develop more
organically?
No, I will have a vague concept. This will appear six or twelve
months before I start writing. I will keep it in the back of my mind and nurture
it throughout that period. When I come to write the novel, or story, it will
have a bit more meat to the bones. Then it is all I think about throughout the
day, so more characters will appear, and the lives of them will slowly connect.
At some point the twist, or double twist will pop into my mind, and then I
relax and let all the loose ends tie up perfectly! I get bored easily, so I
must keep myself in the dark so as I remain excited for as long as possible.
Fairy
tales seem to be a recurring inspiration for you in your stories. Why do you
think this is? Do you have a favourite fairy tale?
I think it’s more a case of dreams and aspirations. I think as
children we form a misconception about what life will hold for us, and
gradually through experience things change. My stories often take this concept
and turn it into an adventure, or a reason why they have turned into what they
have. To believe life will play out like some Disney fairytale is to set
ourselves up for a fall. I’m not sure I have a favourite. I always struggled
with castles and princesses, to me I was more pragmatic and couldn’t relate to
any of them!
What
appeals to you about the psychological thriller genre? Do you think you will
always write in this genre?
I love psychology. My stories use the fact that everyone is
different to introduce interesting characters. I like to have people doing
strange things, but also try to unpick into their past and how, and why that
might be. You can have blood splatter, and gore, but I think it’s the dark
psychology of someone using their trust from others to cause harm, that is just
as horrifying. I’ve written my short-stories in a number of genres including
comedy, sci-fi, lad-lit and horror.
Are you
currently working on anything at the moment?
I am working on a lot! I have another couple of short-stories to
write. I have a comedy/crime called ‘…Just South Of Heaven’ which I hope to
have out by the end of the year, then following that and between the three
co-writes that I have in the planning stage, I have: ‘The Lonely Island’ a dark
thriller about a couple searching for hidden treasure; ‘A Stolen Truth’ a
psychological/thriller about a woman who wakes up and realizes that she no
longer loves her husband, and ‘Freedom Bay’ a contemporary fiction/mystery
about a woman who moves to the coast along with her dog called Banjo, with the
idea to surf and write. But what is she running from and why is there somebody
watching her…
Ooohhh they all sound great - can't wait to read them all!
And
finally, which three novels would you recommend to any readers – either old
favourites, influential authors or current titles?!
Caroline Kepnes – You – I
loved this book and have just really enjoyed the follow up.
Joe R Lansdale – The
Bottoms – Set in the turn of the century America it is beautifully written. It
is sad and honest with a touch of dark wit, it’s the story of the poor being
tormented, only to rise up and fight back.
Peter Benchley – Jaws –
Yes, we all know the movie but the book is so much more. This plays to my deep
character backstory, and the relationship between Sherriff Brody and his wife
is so much more than was portrayed on film. It is also a wonderful thriller
that is also adventure that borders on horror. Truly wonderful.
I loved 'You' as well - I have the second book on my TBR pile and really want to read it! Thanks for the top recommendations!
Thank you so much Jim for taking part in my Q&A and for telling us all a bit more about your books and writing life.
Don't forget to look out for Jim's other titles, A Cold Retreat and The Place That Never Existed.
JIM ODY
Jim spent 10 years writing music reviews and interviewing bands for a rock music website. He also contributed lifestyle and comedic features and poems to a number of websites.
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