Talk with most writers and chances are they’ll tell you they’ve been writing since they were knee high to a grasshopper. Not so today’s guest. I met Author James L’Etoile at Left Coast Crime in Albuquerque in 2022 when we were on a crime writing panel. After reading Dead Drop, I knew he was talented. Later I would find him generous as well. As a member of Crimescenewriter, James regularly shares his expertise with fellow and aspiring writers. Please welcome James L’Etoile to Help From My Friends Friday. ~ Donnell
My Impetus for Writing Fiction
By: James L’Etoile
Author James L’Etoile
Donnell, thanks for the invitation to come and say a few words on Help From My Friends Fridays. I’m always happy to help authors bring a little authenticity to their crime fiction.
I’m a full-time author now, but that wasn’t always the case. The idea of writing commercial fiction didn’t even occur to me until after I retired from working in California’s prisons for twenty-nine years. I served as a hostage negotiator, captain, and an associate warden in a maximum-security prison. When I retired, I was the director of the state’s parole system.
The thought of writing fiction never occurred to me, until one morning as I sat with my coffee and a novel. I’d read this author before and this book changed everything—but not in the way you might think. It was awful. I tossed the book aside and I made some off the cuff comment like, “I could do better than that.”
I took it as a challenge. Could I? Could I really do better than the novel I just put down? I mean, I wasn’t an author—I was a prison guy. So, where do I start? What do I do? I’d always been a crime fiction reader, but this was different.
Writing commercial crime fiction meant learning story structure. It meant discovering dialogue, tone, point of view, and pacing—all new territory for me. Books, online resources helped, but it wasn’t until I began attending workshops and classes that it started to come together. In particular, I credit the Book Passage Mystery Writers conference with putting me on the right course. It’s a small writer-focused weekend bringing in established authors who present craft sessions and offer their insights and encouragement. It gave me the basic tools of the trade.
But there was something missing. Sure, I had the technical skills in my pocket. But could I truly write crime fiction? The confidence—the can I really do this—held me back. Until I thought back to one of the first jobs I held as a probation officer preparing presentence reports for the sentencing judge.
A presentence report gives the judge a complete picture of the case and the defendant. I would interview the convicted person in the jail and get their take on the offense. Did they express remorse? Blame the victim? I read all the investigative reports, interviewed the detectives, spoke with the victim, or the next of kin, all to get a sense of the defendant and the crime. All this information would be cobbled together in a narrative for the judge. Years later, it dawned on me that I’d been writing crimes stories all along.
The realization that I’d done this before was enough to give me the confidence to take on writing crime fiction.
Now, working on the draft of what will be my tenth novel, I’ve come to realize it doesn’t get any easier, but I’ve got the tools and confidence to see it through. Oh, I did meet that author—the one whose book a tossed aside. I thanked them for giving me the inspiration to become an author. I didn’t tell them exactly how they inspired my path. Sometimes you don’t need to tell the whole story.
About The Face of Greed:
Greed, corruption, and betrayal—no murder is as simple as it seems
When a prominent Sacramento businessman is killed and his wife injured in a brutal home invasion, Detective Emily Hunter and her partner, Javier Medina, are called to investigate. At first glance, it seems like a crime of opportunity gone horribly wrong, but Emily soon finds there might be more to both the crime and the dead man.
The high-stakes investigation also comes at a time when Emily is caring for her mother, who has early-onset Alzheimer’s, and Emily struggles to balance her job with her personal life. The city’s political elite seem to want the case solved quickly, but darker forces want it buried.
Could there have been a motive behind the attack, making it more than a random home invasion? Emily uncovers clues that cause her to reconsider her understanding of the crime. A deadly game of greed and deception pulls Emily deeper into the shadowy world of gang violence and retribution. She has to walk the razor’s edge to identify the killer—without becoming the next victim.
About the Author: James L’Etoile uses his twenty-nine years behind bars as an influence in his award-winning novels, short stories, and screenplays. He is a former associate warden in a maximum-security prison, a hostage negotiator, and director of California’s state parole system. His novels have been shortlisted or awarded the Lefty, Anthony, Silver Falchion, and the Public Safety Writers Award. Face of Greed is his most recent novel. Look for Served Cold and River of Lies, coming in 2024.You can find out more at www.jamesletoile.com
Jim, Face of Greed looks like my kind of read! I’ve preordered! Thank you for sharing your transition from prison to writing. (That sounds wrong, doesn’t it?) 🙂
Thanks for hosting me here, Donnell! I consider myself on work release from the prison life…
My pleasure! 🙂
Love that last line! Sometimes not telling the whole story is that best way to ensure the reader remembers the most important part. Can’t wait for Face of Greed!!
Thank you, Marie! Sometimes the real story is between the lines.
What a perfect background for a crime novelist! Congratulations, James, on your successful writing career!
Thank you, Gay. Who would have guessed it would come in handy?
I discovered/met James at Left Coast Crime in Albuquerque when he handed out chocolate with his book cover as labels. And yes, they were effective, because I started reading his books, which I also enjoyed. And they lasted a lot longer than the chocolate. With fewer calories.
So good to know chocolate has magical powers! Thanks so much, Terry.
Thanks Donnell and Jim,
An excellent reminder of the work and dedication necessary in the world of writing. And for the kick in the caboose.
George, my caboose frequently needs a good kick. Thank you!
A fun interview, James and Donnell. I love the last sentence, “Sometimes you don’t need to tell the whole story.” So true.