Caleb T. Brabham - Noir Detective Story Set in Heaven and Hell

Raised by a rumpled fedora and a steady stream of fog vaguely taking the shape of Barbara Stanwick's wig from "Double Indemnity," Caleb T Brabham had little choice to write mysteries. Brabham is a multi-award-winning journalist and photographer living in New Orleans.  As our author of the day, he tells us all about his book, Godthread.

Please give us a short introduction to what Godthread is about.

A demon, Azreal Abaddon, is ostensibly summoned to heaven by Eve to perform an errand she doesn’t dare entrust to any holy angel – fetch her son, Cain, from the bowls of hell. Motivated by a rare, undemon-like desire to aid the infamous mother, Azrael searches through the damned. But when the devil is found dead causing a power struggle for the throne of Hell, Azrael realizes a far more sinister game is being played and the mysterious Godthread may be the most important piece of all.

What inspired you to write a detective story set in heaven and hell? Was there anything in particular that made you want to tackle this?

I was attracted by the opposing natures of the ideas. Religion, particularly traditional Protestantism, is concerned with salvation. Noir is often associated with damnation. To me it seemed so natural that the two should be intertwined in a way that complimented rather than contradicted each other. That it turned out cohesive at all is probably one of the proudest accomplishments of my life.

Tell us more about Azrael Abaddon. What makes him tick?

Like most demons, he is a creature driven by pure id. He’s ruled by his wants and desires. Occasionally, these wants and desires will materialize in something akin to altruism – but it’s that old riddle: is anything we do truly selfless, or do we do it to feel good or to avoid later snatches of guilt.

This riddle plays out in everything Azrael does – is he doing “good” for good’s sake, or is it for some possible benefit to himself? Whether it’s to win over Eve, get his claws on the coveted Godthread, or some other dark desire.

Have you always wanted to be an author? We'd love to know more about your writing journey!

I’ve always liked storytelling. As a child, I used to love to scrawl little comic books about my own invented characters, but I hated writing. I HATED the prospect of sitting down and using words to draw a picture. It seemed so … inefficient. And worse, it felt like work.

In high school, I had the fateful assignment to write a combined ten short stories in a single week for two separate classes. I freaked out and cheated – I recruited someone to help me write the lion’s share of the stories. One of my teachers called me up to see him – I knew I was caught. My heart beat like I was in a Poe story. But he did worse than catch me. He complimented me. I will always remember his burning commendation.

“You are light years ahead of the rest of the people in this class.”

It was partly that moment that pushed me to write my first short story for fun that summer. It was pretty bad. It was a mystery and I killed every suspect until the last guy standing was revealed to be the villain. Then I killed him too. But I loved writing it.

Then I wrote another. And another. Trying to be worthy of those words until I was doing it for the joy of writing and creating. Then it was just a desire to tell each story. Like I was a kid again drawing those comics. By the time I was a senior in high school, writing was a huge part of who I was.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

I don’t know … after that last question, it may be compulsive honesty. Bone dry humor maybe?

What was your greatest challenge when writing this story?

The original pitch for “Godthread,” which I came up with (fourteen!) years ago, was supposed to be a simple one; a man wakes up in hell – still alive – unaware of how he got there. But I could never crack it. The problem took me years to figure out; the story I was telling was an adventure story – with mystery elements, certainly – but not a noir.

For over a decade, it remained a circle that wouldn’t square, a problem I chewed over every time I put on “Out of the Past” or "Double Indemnity" and argued with myself for hours after each viewing.

And I kept that problem right up until I met Azrael Abaddon. Oh, I had traded perspectives among humans and angels through over ten different drafts, but none of them had his particular blend of charisma, humor, purported honor and moral degradation. His particular brand of sardonic humor gave voice to “Godthread,” firmly embedding it in the genre’s cynicism.

For me, his depths became the real story, and sometimes the real mystery. Goes to show if you’re having serious trouble with your book, you may just be trying to tell a story without your true main character.

Interesting cover. Why did you pick this design?

I liked the way it subtly leads the reader to ask certain questions ...

Reader: Ok, there’s a typical heaven. Oh, and look a demon is being dropped into hell below. How ordinary … what’s around his ankle? There’s a rope stopping him from falling completely. Is he being tortured or saved?

Wait, what’s the title again? Godthread? Is that what that rope is? Is that what’s saving/torturing him?

So, what is the Godthread?

… and hopefully, at that point, you’re on your way to read it.

Do any of your characters ever take off on their own tangent, refusing to do what you had planned for them?

I’ve notoriously been more of a “discovery writer” than an outliner – so, all the time. As I alluded to earlier, Azrael himself basically realigned the trajectory of Godthread. It’s his story and couldn’t be told without him any more than “The Maltese Falcon” could be told without Sam Spade.

When I was writing my first book “The Apocalypse of Bob,” I made one observation about writing: You expect the process of writing to be like architecture; you lay your foundation and you build your walls around it. But when I write, I find it to be more akin to archeology. It’s as if the book is out there written somewhere and I am just slowly uncovering it, even if it's just one speck of dust at a time.

Readers say this book had an old-fashioned film noir feel to it. How did you pull this off?

Whenever I try to capture a style, I try to immerse myself in that style. For Godthread it meant reading a lot of Raymond Chandler and getting the hang of his language and cynical similes like "He looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food cake" and being able to clap back with lines like, "I stood like a black stain against the white garment of the kingdom of Shemayim, the place the flesh call Heaven. The eyes of the other angels seemed to urge me to leave lest I start to set."

Godthread is also thought-provoking. Was this intentional?

Ha! You hope. You pray. You work towards it, but the act of becoming thought provoking is not necessarily something the author knows if they achieved.

Foremost, I wanted the story to be a fun urban fantasy/noir. But I did want to talk a little about deception and forgiveness. It’s simple, but It’s critical for us as people to understand as long as we’re willing to change, we are never too far gone.

When starting on a new book, what is the first thing you do?

I have to write a good first line. I’m a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to writing books. I’ve written many, but I’ve only published two. But above all, what I am most particular about is the first line.

I can’t make you pick up my book. I can’t make you read the first line. But I can make certain you read the second line.

Do you have any interesting writing habits? What is an average writing day like for you?

I can’t write at home - too many distractions. Coffee shops and even libraries can get too noisy if you have the wrong person sit next to you.

The best place I’ve found for me to write is malls. It has the perfect blend of white noise – it cancels everything out, even the people sitting next to you.

Also, you have Chick-fil-A and free refills.

What are you working on right now?

There are two projects I’m choosing between at the moment. Both are in the rewrite stage. It will be interesting to see which one wins out: a gothic mystery and a modern fairytale with dragons.

 

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

My personal website is calebtbrabham.com. You can write to me there, or send me a message at my Instagram at ctbrabham_author – I check both frequently.