David Archer - Letting a Book Write Itself

When David Archer is not creating music, poetry or building custom cars, you will often find him yelling "NO!" at his word processor screen while working on his lastest bestseller. Archer claims that his books write themselves, a technique that certainly seems to work for him, as both his Sam Prichard and Noah Wolf series are highly entertaining and have achieved #1 bestseller status on USA TODAY and AMAZON. As our author of the day, Archer reveals how he has no idea what his characters will get up to, how he managed to make Sam Prichard so relatable and which actor he thinks would be worthy of Prichard's role.

Please give us a short introduction to The Grave Man

The Grave Man came about because I sensed a need in my readers for a character who would be able to tackle even the most insurmountable case and find a way to get to the truth. While there are many such characters out there, none of them quite fit the mold I saw as needed, that of a man who never thought of himself as anything but a good guy, but now finds himself embroiled in things that could literally change the world. He’s not a super spy or secret agent, but he doesn’t back down from a job, no matter how big it might be.

 Why did you make Sam Prichard a retired cop, not an active one?

I wanted a character who had police skills, but was somewhat less limited and more pro-active than a normal police officer is normally allowed to be. By giving him a handicap and forcing him to blunder into becoming a private investigator, I was able to give Sam the freedom to work from his conscience rather than a rule book, and I felt that the mounting restrictions on police, along with the tendency to view cops as corrupt or overly authoritarian, made it necessary for him to be outside that community. Sam also needed to be a man who would do whatever it took to prove a case, and that led to his happy association with Indie, the young hacker who was down on her luck when they met. With her computer skills, he could gain information and insight that he didn’t even know were available during his tenure as a policeman.

What got you started on the Sam Prichard series? Was there anything specific, any event that made you want to write this?

Again, I wanted to write a character who was somewhere between Jack Reacher and James Bond. This character would have the guts to take on any case he believed was worthwhile and never give up as long as he had breath in his body, but without any of the special training that professional secret agents receive. His value is in his spirit, rather than in some former military or intelligence training.

What surprised you most about readers' reactions to The Grave Man?

I think every author knows that he (or she) can’t please every reader, but I was surprised at the fact that the readers who posted reviews either loved it or hated it. There was no middle ground; some readers found it boring, and others thought it was the most exciting book they’d read in a while. Fortunately, the positive reviews seemed to be more numerous than the negative, but each review helps me to improve the next book, so I’m grateful for them all.

Your books are fast-paced, keeping readers guessing throughout. How do you pull this off?

Well, to be honest, it’s because I don’t know what’s going to happen any more than my readers do! I’m often surprised by the things that appear on my word processor screen, and I’ve actually been known to yell, “NO!!!” when something goes off on a tangent I wasn’t expecting. The story may begin with rough idea in my head of what I think it should be, but it actually writes itself as I go along. I’ve even had characters that I intended to be just a walk-on who refuse to leave once they find the page. Harry Winslow was only supposed to show up once, as a possible bad guy, but the old man simply refused to accept that role. He not only came through as a hero, he has appeared in several other books in the series, and I really like him.

Then there’s Beauregard, the imaginary (?) ghost in Indie’s mother’s mind. I had no idea he was going to become a real character, whatever he is, and yet he has saved the day more than once. Go figure!

Your plot contains some surprising twists. Do you plan them out ahead of time or do they just happen as you write?

These are another example of how the story writes itself. I don’t usually see them coming until they’re already happening, but I’ve learned to just go with them and see how it comes out. So far, it seems to be working pretty well.

How much research did you have to do about the life of a cop to make Sam Prichard so believable? Or do you have some personal experience in the field?

I’ve actually been in that line of work, and I’ve known people in the intelligence community, so I’ve got some idea of how things work in both worlds. When I can’t be sure of my understanding, there’s usually someone I can call to help me wrap my head around it.

How does the next book in the series tie in with The Grave Man?

Death Sung Softly was intended to be a simple PI story, a break from the near-apocalyptic case in The Grave Man. Sam takes on the job of finding a missing rock singer, who turns out to have been murdered, and when the man who is charged with the crime hires Sam himself to prove his innocence, the story gets even thicker! Then there’s the fact that Sam blunders into the music world; when he mentions that he used to sing for a band in college, and sings the now singer-less band one of the songs he had written, they convince him to fill in for a while, and this leads to a new partial career as a singer. I actually wrote the songs that are in the books, and it was fun to take the old recordings and embed them into the ebooks, so the readers can listen to them.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

Moi? Well, I’m a bit of a songwriter and poet, a fair mechanic who loves building custom cars, and spent a lot of my childhood as part of a missionary family. Other than that I’m pretty normal, I think.

Tell us about your writing habits. Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?

I have goal of doing at least three thousand words a day, but life tends to interrupt. Some days I can crank out ten thousand or more, and other days I’m lucky to manage a thousand. It all depends on what else is going on in my life, and since that involves family, church and sometimes business, it isn’t possible to predict.

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, how do you overcome it?

When that happens, I’ve learned to just start writing something, anything! After a few minutes, I’ll usually see something in what I’ve written that interests me for the story, and then I can go again.

If your books should ever be adapted to a TV series, which actor would you like to see as Sam Prichard?

Sam is actually a pretty average guy who has suffered a lot, so he’s got some issues that show up from time to time. I think Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester from “Supernatural”) could pull it off, but it might be better to start with a lesser known actor, someone who can actually come to be identified with the role. Yes, I know actors hate typecasting, but it’s one of the realities of the TV industry, and some manage to build careers even after being stuck in one role for a while.

What are you working on right now?

Well, Sam Prichard isn’t my only character or series, so I’m doing some work on the others at the moment.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

Both my website, www.davidarcherbooks.com, and my facebook page, www.facebook.com/authordavidarcher are great places to follow me. But the best way is to join my newsletter which will keep you up to date on all new books, allow you to email me and interact with me, and also get the opportunity to win awesome prizes such as Kindles, Giftcards, and paperbacks when I do fan giveaways! For signing up you automatically will be sent book two in the Sam Prichard series, Death Sung Softly, AND the first book in my other bestselling Noah Wolf series, titled The Way of The Wolf.

You can sign up for all those goodies here: www.davidarcherbooks.com/vip