My peek into Hoover's FBI

I’ve encountered zillions of people during my sixty years in the writing business, but none more intriguing than an ex-FBI agent we’ll call Scotty. I first met him back in the sixties during my days of editing Nashville Magazine. He was a friend of one of my equally intriguing staff members. She would relate stories about him that sounded a bit off the wall but still believable.

After a few years, she asked me to meet with him at her place one night to talk about a book he wanted me to co-write. We talked for hours and the strange tale unfolded.

Scotty went to Washington just out of high school and got a job as a clerk at the FBI. He worked there while getting a degree in accounting. According to his story, he got close to Director J. Edgar Hoover in the process, often delivering files to his home. After graduation, he took the FBI training course and became an agent.

At some point, he was assigned to the Nashville office, which is how my magazine staffer met him. This was during the Cold War, and she reported some suspicious activity she encountered. Scotty met her on assignment.

But back to his story. Scotty was chosen to participate in a small group of agents known as Hoover’s Goon Squad. They were tasked to do jobs that were not exactly in the rule book. That included assignments outside the country for counterespionage, something that should have been in the CIA’s bailiwick. But, as Scotty said, the CIA was ignoring the Bureau’s sole jurisdiction in the U.S. also. Records of the operations were buried in a special group of restricted safes known as the T Files.

One of the weird stories he told was of an agent who was sent out to Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah to pick up a package containing a chemical compound for use in some kind of skullduggery. They figured he must have gotten curious and opened the package. He was found a day or so later wandering naked around a little town in the Provo area, babbling like the village idiot.

Scotty said Hoover and Asst. Director Bill Sulllivan picked him to try to infiltrate the Cosa Nostra, a favorite Hoover target they had been unable to crack. First he had to resign from the FBI. He was instructed to commit a few crimes like bank robbery to build some bona fides, but not get caught. He said it was easy. Then he hung out in Las Vegas and tried to weasel his way into the mob but was never successful.

When he gave up and went back to report to Hoover, the man he had idolized all those years, the director refused to see him. Apparently Hoover had written him off and didn’t want to admit what they had done.

The last I heard of Scotty, he was trying to get copies of his personal files from the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act. He sent me copies of his correspondence, including a request for $50 to cover duplication at ten cents per page. That was in March of 1985. We never made it to the point of putting anything on paper. I had contact with his friend in later years and heard that Scotty had died. I know she did.

Though nothing ever came of it, it would have made a hell of a story.

I used Scotty as the model for the protagonist in the first novel I wrote after retirement. It was a post-Cold War thriller, something that went out of vogue about that time. Several of them have been published in recent years. I may resurrect it and try again.

10 things you can do to help a local author

This is something I copied off the Internet a few years ago. Unfortunately, I didn't copy the author's name, so it will have to go as Anonymous. The writer was self-published, but the advice would go well with most any non-bestselling author these days. I have shortened the opening paragraph and made a few editorial changes.

SURE, I'd love for my book to be a bestseller, but for that to happen not only does it have to be a good book which, of course, I think it is, but it has to have fantastic support from the buying public--that's you. Please, after reading it, if you like what you've read, won't you help make it a bestseller for this local author by doing one or more of the following?

1. Books make great gifts. Buy another copy as a gift and help spread the word about it by sharing it with new readers and tell your friends they've just got to read it, too!

2. Drop a line or email to your local newspaper. Tell them and their readers that you've discovered a great new writer that they don't dare to miss.

3. Go to Amazon.com and give a review of the book. And, yes, be honest. If there's something you don't like about it, feel free to say so. I think I'm a good writer but I'm smart enough to know I'm not perfect and I can't please everyone all the time.

4. And while you're online, go to your address book and tell everyone you know that they've just got to read this great new book by a great new author! Tell them they can go to Amazon.com or any of the other book sites to order the book.

5. Host your very own Book Reading/Signing Party. That's right. Invite 10 or more of your good friends for an evening of fun. I'll bring the books. You provide the wine and cheese or whatever you'd like. Oh heck, maybe I'll even bring a bottle of wine. Then you pick the section of the book you'd like for me to read. Afterwards, I'll be happy to answer questions about the book and the research I've done or even about writing in general. And, of course, I'll sign books.

6. My daughter tells me everyone has to write Oprah about how good the book is and how hard it is for good writers without celebrity status or connections to get noticed by the big publishing houses. Well, why not? If anyone can give a book bestseller status, it's Oprah. And I'm not the least bit snooty--I'd be thrilled if Oprah liked my book.

7. I'll be very happy to do a Reading & Book Signing at your club or organization.

8. Buy an additional copy of the book and donate it to your public library. You'll be providing the library with a great book and introducing new readers to a great new local author. Donations of new books to the library are even tax deductible.

9. Are you a blogger? Heck, I didn't even know what that was until recently. But if you have your own blog or visit other blogs on a regular basis, add your thoughts about the great new writer you've discovered. And let people know how they can get their hands on a terrific new book.

10. And if you have connections to the entertainment world, please pass the word about this great new author and book you've discovered.

Thank you so much! Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts or suggestions.

End of story. Come to think of it, this could very well be Support an Author Week. Feel free to pick a few of those ten and...uh, the name is Chester Campbell and the new book is The Surest Poison. No obligation, of course.

Happiness and Lemonade

How's that for a combination. It's all the fault of my erstwhile colleagues in the BlogBookTours Challenge, also known as the Flog Your Neighbor Group. I had decided not to play tag, but two of my fellow bloggers put the bee on me today, so I guess I'll have to comply.

First there was Ann Parker, she of the historical mystery bent, who went for the funny bone. She tagged me to name six things that make me happy. So here goes:

Cappuccino to get the morning off to a good start.

A holiday weekend with our extended family (you should hear the stories).

A brisk walk before the mall opens (keeps me young).

Writing a page that really sizzles.

Hearing from a reader who loved the book.

A goodnight kiss with "I love you."

According to the rules, I must now tag five individuals out there in bloggerland. If they've already been hit before, sorry, I didn't make the rules. I just follow 'em.

Beth Groundwater

Christine Rose

Joan De La Haye

Joy Delgado

Karen Sayed

Now for the lemonade. Freelance Novel Editor Helen Ginger graciously saddled me with the "When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade Award."


I suppose this came about as a result of my blog "What happened to Sunday?" If you haven't read it, drop down two notches. As it happened, she didn't know the rest of the story. That night I came down with a gastrointestinal virus, or some such bug, that definitely qualified as a lemon experience. Fortunately it was gone by the next day, and I'm back to being my usual ornery self.

The rules of this game are that it must be passed on to ten other worthy blogs. So here goes:

1. Candid Canine

2. Jane's Ride

3. Mysterious People

4. Art and Words

5. Circle of Friends Books

6. Mystery Writing and Musings

7. Grandma Is a Writer

8. Speakeasy 1935

Okay, so I ran out of names at eight. Squeeze a few more lemons and enjoy the ade.

Sylvia Cochran reviews The Surest Poison

Sylvia Cochran did a great review of The Marathon Murders for Roundtable Reviews a couple of years ago. When I contacted Tracy Farnsworth, who runs Roundtable, about my new book, she said she was so swamped with review requests that she wasn't accepting any more. So I wrote Sylvia and asked if she'd like an Advance Review Copy.

I received the following today, which can be found at the Associated Content website. I couldn't resist posting it here.

By Sylvia Cochran

THE SUREST POISON is the fifth book penned by octogenarian mystery writer Chester D. Campbell. Proving that you don't have to be in your 30s or 40s to write a heart stopping, action packed whodunit, this former journalist, magazine editor, public relations genius, and political speechwriter is finally channeling his love for the written word into the kind of fiction writing that those with a penchant for Lawrence Block can enjoy.

THE SUREST POISON is the start of a new series. Loyal mystery readers may know that thus far Mr. Campbell is renowned for his Greg McKenzie series. The Sid Chance mystery presents a foray into the world of a former small town police chief falsely accused of bribery who, after a long hiatus from society, comes back as a private investigator to chase criminals on the private payroll rather than at the taxpayer's behest.

THE SUREST POISON pits Sid Chance and his indomitable sometimes-sidekick Jaz LeMieux against a small town shyster, a former auto parts shop that seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth - except for the sickening pollution left behind - and several dead bodies that seem to be piling up quite rapidly because of the old business.

The cast of characters is reminiscent of John Sturges' "Magnificent Seven" or the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but without the capes and transformations. Chester Campbell succeeds in crafting a solid "good versus bad," "law versus lawlessness," and "little guy taking on the machinations of scheming lawyers" mystery that has more twists and turns than your average rollercoaster. Ex cops, detectives, a judge, journalists and others form a loosely knit poker round where the case is discussed and solutions suggested.

The result is a happy ending - albeit with a fly in the ointment! - that can be squarely traced back to solid investigative work. As an avid mystery reader, I am in awe at the writing skill of Mr. Campbell who can make even a records search sound interesting on paper -- no deus ex machina for this writer!

Mystery readers who like solid whodunits without clichés, easy answers, and stereotypical female characters will love Chester D. Campbell's THE SUREST POISON!

Now, if he could only write faster and release the next few installments in this new Sid Chance Mystery series ...

End of review. I hasten to add that the book won't be out until April but is now available at BarnesandNoble.com for pre-order. It should also be available on Amazon.com in the next couple of weeks.

What happened to Sunday?

I am normally a disorganized person, but today has been exceptional. Nothing has gone the way I planned it. Did I say the P word? That's a bit of an exaggeration in itself.

My wife let our eleven-year-old grandson invite a friend over to spend the night, and we told them to be prepared to get up and go to church this morning. So, of course, they didn't get to sleep until about 2 a.m. When she tried waking them, there was not a stir.

Since grandson's dad is currently staying with us because of a bad back (he mostly takes pain pills and sleeps), we went on to church and left them at home. When we got back, they were just in arousal mode and looking for breakfast. Granny cooked pancakes for them. Since she had plenty of batter left, we ate pancakes, too.

Which messed up our normal Sunday routine of walking two miles at the mall, then eating out (Red Lobster more often than not).

From there it went downhill. We finally did the walk and squeezed in a sandwich at mid-afternoon. So here I am at just before 7 p.m. blundering around at my blog, and my wife is thinking of scrambling eggs to go with a couple of left-over biscuits. (You probably found this post by clicking on "scrambled eggs.")

Ain't life grand?

Why do they murder?

I haven’t indulged in any scientific study of the subject, but it seems to me that in crime fiction the most popular motive for murder is greed. I say that using the dictionary definition of greed: “An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves.” Most often it involves money in some form or another, but it could be almost anything, including somebody else’s wife.

One of the classic Bible murders occurred when David got his henchmen to arrange the death of Uriah. That left him free to marry Uriah’s widow, Bathsheba. James M. Cain used a similar plot (sans henchmen) in The Postman Always Rings Twice.

Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon is a classic tale of greed. All the killing is done in an attempt to acquire the supposedly ancient black bird.

Another popular fictional murder motive is revenge or retribution. This has spawned the good guy killer fad seen most notably in Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels. The hero doesn’t consider them murders but retribution for injustices to himself or other friendly characters.

Interestingly enough, this type of rationalization is similar to that of the schoolyard killers. At Columbine and Virginia Tech, the students rationalized that they were punishing other kids who had bullied them, ostracized them, made fun of them, or generally made them feel unwanted. In the fictional world, authors make sure their targets are painted black enough that there’s no doubt “they deserve it.”

Actually, rationalization is the balm that most murderers use to justify what they’re doing in their own minds, even when they know it is against the will of the law and society. They become determined to do it anyway.

I say most murderers, because there are always the psychopaths—serial killers. These guys (and a few gals) are so egocentric and socially disconnected that they know what they’re doing is right. Nobody else matters, so what’s to rationalize? Psychologists say there are plenty of them around. Fortunately, only a few drift into the murderous category. Except in fiction.

So why do they murder? If you’re writing a novel, they can do it for any good (or bad) reason you can dream up. Just try to keep it believable.

Writing in present tense

I have always harbored a prejudice against books written in present tense. Just something about it bugged me. Then I ran across Timothy Hallinan and his new series featuring expatriate travel writer Poke Rafferty. Poke (or Tim) chose Bangkok as his stomping grounds, and he haunts the seamy underbelly of the Thai capital.

I reached the end of the first chapter of the first book, A Nail Through the Heart, before I realized it was written in the present tense. Tim Hallinan does it seamlessly.

I recently finished the second in the series, The Fourth Watcher, which brings in more of Poke’s family background. Talk about dysfunctional families, you ain’t seen nothing yet. His immediate circle includes fianceé Rose, a former go-go dancer in Patpong Road, where bucks or baht will buy you anything, and adopted daughter Miaow, a waif he rescued off the street.

Past experience added to the intrigue of the setting as I spent a month traveling in Southeast Asia with my then-wife, son, and Korean daughter-in-law. That was back in 1987 when my son had just completed a tour of duty with an Army Special Forces team assigned to Thailand. We visited Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, and The Philippines.

The character Rafferty’s name brought to mind Raffles Hotel in Singapore, where the Singapore Sling was invented. He’s much more complicated than the drink. The Bangkok descriptions reminded me of walking through the city on a Sunday morning, at times pushing it to keep pace with my son, a two-mile cross-country runner. Plus marveling at the dissonance of travel sounds while cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, and assorted wheeled vehicles dodged about through hairbreadth holes in the traffic flow.

Tim Hallinan’s descriptions are not lengthy. In fact, most are quite brief. Pithy would be a good label. They paint a colorful picture in a few words. Like this image of Rose’s friend clutching a brown paper bag full of money:

“Peachy is staring at the bag as though it has a red digital countdown on its side, signaling the number of seconds before the world ends.”

Or this one:

“The man nearest Rafferty also has a gun in his hand, a tiny popgun just big enough to die from.”

The books are thrillers and full of suspense, but it’s the characters, including the city of Bangkok, that keep the story shining with brilliance and unputdownableness (so I made that one up; I can be creative, too).

As you might have guessed, Tim divides his time about half in the States (he hails from Los Angeles) and half in Southeast Asia, primarily Thailand and Cambodia. He also teaches writing and has a wealth of information on learning the craft under Writers’ Resources at his website: www.timothyhallinan.com.