Interview With Don Helin

 

 

by Mark Meier

Don Helin writes fast paced thrillers with intriguing villians. Don gets some of his ideas and material from his years of military experience, including the three tours he served in the Pentagon.
 
GLVWG member Mark Meier recently got in touch with Don to ask him about his writing  and about the two sessions he'll be teaching at the Write Stuff conference.

Mark: When did you start considering writing as a possible career, and what was your first big break?

 

Don: When I left the Pentagon and Washington D.C. to return to Pennsylvania, I signed up for an eight-week travel writing seminar from The Washington Post. I worked as a travel writer for about four years until I got the bug to write fiction. I've always enjoyed thrillers so I thought, hey I can do that. It turned out that writing thrillers was much harder to do than I thought. It took me about four years before I got that wonderful call from the Acquisitions Editor at Medallion saying they wanted to publish my book. My wife thought I was crazy dancing around the kitchen with the phone in my hand. After that call, it took almost two years before the book actually came out.

Mark: How does your military experience inform your books?

 

Don: My protagonist works for the president's national security advisor with his duty station in the Pentagon. I'm able to paint a factual picture for my readers on life in the Pentagon and life in the military.

 

Mark: In one session, you'll be discussing the villain's journey. How did you come to start thinking about villains as on a journey, and who are some of your favorite villains and why?

 

Don: I've always been concerned that the villain is a match for my protagonist. In seminars, actually at The Write Stuff conference, James Frey and Donald Maass convinced me that a believable villain has to face off against the protagonist. Also that I should develop a biography sheet for each of my characters, particularly the villain and the hero. That biography sheet outlines the villain's journey:  How did he get where he is and why does he want what he does? There are many wonderful villains who nearly beat the hero, but of course, not quite. The godfather is a classic. And, who could forget Hannibal Lecktor?  John Sanford is probably my favorite thriller writer and one of his best villains was Carla Rinker. She is a killer, but had such a difficult youth that it almost makes the reader root for her.

 

Mark: In another session, you'll address pacing. What are some of the most common problems you've encountered with pacing?

 

Don: The most common problem I see is authors piling up a stack of back story in the first chapter. They feel the reader needs to know everything about the character before they will be involved. I've learned you must trust the reader and drop in bits of back story slowly over the novel. Only give the reader what he/she needs at that moment. The second thing I've learned it to try and leave the reader hanging at the end of a chapter or section. Make them want to keep reading.

 

Mark: In the thriller genre, which kinds of details must be absolutely true and which can be fudged a little?

 

Don: Thriller author Jim Rollins always talks about the telling detail. If you plant enough actual fact in the story, the reader will ride with you on the fictional parts. This is where my experience in the Pentagon helps me. I can write factually about weapons, communications, organizations, etc.

 

~~~

Don's first thriller, Thy Kingdom Come, was published by Medallion Press in March, 2009. His latest thriller, Devil's Den, was published by Headline Books in September, 2012. Don is hard at work on his next thriller, Red Dog.

 

LATE BREAKING NEWS! NEW OPPORTUNITIES!

by Kathryn Craft, Agent/Editor Chair

Folio Jr. agent Molly Jaffa has sent her deep regrets that she will not be able to attend this year's conference. The fifteen conferees assigned appointments with her have been informed of a substitute mode of pitching to her (if you are one of them, and didn't receive the e-mailed notification, please contact us with a correct e-mail address asap).

We'll miss Molly, who had enthusiastically volunteered for other aspects of The Write Stuff as well. Over the course of the past week the conference committee has been busy digging for what opportunities this last-minute turn of events might afford.

And here they are!

Our loss:
Molly's Saturday 8:50 a.m. session, Getting a “Yes!”: From Query to Representation in Ten Steps.

Your gain:
NOW OPEN! Jonathan Maberry and Janice Gable Bashman's highly desired two-hour workshop, Interviewing Techniques And Strategies For Obtaining Expert Help With Fiction & Nonfiction Writing—which quickly filled and has a waiting list an arm long—will now move to Salon A. If you wanted to attend that session but didn't make the cut, you are no longer closed out.

ADDED SPEAKER/NEW SESSION! At 8:50 am, in Room 235, author, attorney, and former literary agent Ann Boyle (bio below) will give Page Cuts: the Query Letter Version. Yes, bring your query letters along! Ann will cover what an agent looks for in a query letter, and what turns her off—then offer feedback on as many letters as time allows. This is a small room, so the session will go to the first 15 conferees to show up. Still learning what the whole querying game is about? No problem—bringing along a query is not a prerequisite.

ON THE MOVE: During the 9:50 a.m. session, Donald Maass's Creating Depth of Character will move to Salon C, and Juliet Grame's Elements of a Bloody Good Crime Novel will move to Room 235. Again, please note that Room 235 only holds 15 people, so if you want this session, please arrive promptly. Kathleen Coddington's Dressing Your Characters, which features costume models (rumor has it this includes conference chair Tammy Burke!), will stay put in Salon B.

Our loss:
Page Cuts panelist Molly Jaffa.

Your gain:
NEW PAGE CUTS PANELISTS! In addition to the roster of Page Cuts panelists already in place, which include agents Sarah LaPolla and Alia Hanna Habib, editor Juliet Grames, publisher Karen Syed, and author/presenters Jonathan Maberry and Janice Gable Bashman, we are happy to announce the addition of thriller author Don Helin; author, attorney, and former literary agent Ann Boyle; as well as fantasy author and attorney Michael Ventrella. Read on for their bios.

A.M. Boyle gave up a 17 year career as a trial lawyer to pursue her love of writing. Having lived at various times in New York, Pennsylvania and South Florida, she now resides in South Jersey with her husband, two kids, and various “fur children.” She has published numerous short stories and other material both in her own name and as a ghostwriter. Her first novel, Turn of the Sentry, was published in 2009, and is slated to be re-released shortly as part of a trilogy. She’s also worked as a Literary Agent for several years, both independently and as part of a firm. Currently, because of her writing projects, she is on hiatus from her literary agency, but hopes to continue with it again in the near future. When not writing and revising, she spends her time doing Missions Outreach for her local church.

Michael A. Ventrella is the author of the fantasy novels Arch Enemies and The Axes of Evil.  He is editor of the forthcoming Tales from Fortannis: A Bard’s Eye View anthology, and his pirate short stories have appeared in the anthologies Rum and Runestones and the soon-to-be-released Cutlass and Musket: Tales of Piratical Skulduggery.  He’s currently working on a novel about a vampire who runs for president. At his website’s blog he interviews other authors, editors, agents and publishers to get advice for the starting
writer. In his spare time, he is a lawyer.

Don Helin is the author of the thriller The Kingdom Come. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, he entered the U.S. Army and served in posts across the United States, and overseas in Vietnam and Germany. After his military career, Don spent a number of years in Washington D.C. as a lobbyist for industry, giving him more material for thrillers. Don used his experience in the Pentagon to create his protagonist, Colonel Sam Thorpe. He is an active member of the International Thriller Writers and Pennwriters.




See you at The Write Stuff next week!