Interview with James Hayman, author of new thriller novel The Cutting

Like the hero of The Cutting, James Hayman is a transplanted New Yorker. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Manhattan, he spent more than twenty years writing TV advertising for clients like The U.S. Army, Lincoln-Mercury and Procter & Gamble. He moved to Portland, Maine in 2001. Four years later he decided to scratch a lifelong itch to write fiction and began work on his first suspense thriller featuring homicide detective Mike McCabe. St. Martin´s/Minotaur bought rights to The Cutting and published it in July, 2009. Hayman is currently at work on the second McCabe novel which is due to be published in July, 2010. The tentative title is The Chill of Night.

Thank you for this interview, James. Can you tell us briefly what your latest book, The Cutting is all about?

First and foremost The Cutting is about a character named McCabe. He´s an ex-NYPD homicide cop, a single father, who hoped moving to a place like Portland Maine would allow him to build a new and safer life, both for himself and his teenage daughter. Little did he know what terrible violence was waiting on the cobblestoned streets of this small and charming city.

Can you tell us who or what was the inspiration behind your book?

I´ve always been a mystery and thriller fan. I loved writers like Michael Connelly and his hero, LAPD detective, Harry Bosch and Ian Rankin and his hero, Edinburgh, Scotland detective, John Rebus. I wanted to right books in the same genre. I think The Cutting follows in that tradition.

Is this your first published book and if so, can you tell us your experiences in finding a publisher for it?

This is my first commercially published book. I´ve also written two non-fiction books under contract that were privately published by my clients.

The process of finding a publisher for The Cutting turned out to be amazingly easy. I showed the finished manuscript of The Cutting to exactly one agent and I was very fortunate. She loved it and signed me up almost immediately as a client. It turned out that she was one of the best mystery/thriller agents in the business who represented a number of best-selling mystery writers like Tess Gerritsen and Lisa Gardner. She had great contacts at all the major publishers. She sent The Cutting to six or seven editors. Two made offers. I signed a two-book deal with St. Martin´s Press Minotaur imprint less than two years after writing the first lines.

How has St. Martin´s Press/Minotaur been to work with?

Terrific. I have a smart, responsive editor in Charlie Spicer. In spite of small budgets they´ve done a good job promoting the book. They have an excellent sales force that got The Cutting into all the major chains and almost all of the indies.

Do you have an agent?

As I said earlier, I do. My agent is Meg Ruley of the Jane Rotrosen Agency in New York. As I note in the acknowledgements to The Cutting she´s about the best agent a first-time novelist could ever hope to land.

Can you tell us how long it took you to write your book and also how long it took from the time St. Martin´s/Minotaur sent the contract and the time it was released?

About eighteen months.

Do you have any words of inspiration from other writers who would like to be wearing your shoes?

Learn all you can about writing and the publishing process. Read books on the subject. Go to writers´ conferences. Meet other writers and, if possible, meet agents and editors.

Be disciplined about your writing. Keep at it until you have the best manuscript you can possibly write. Then find an agent with the experience and resources to help you find a publisher. And don´t let rejections discourage you.

If you really want to do this, you can.

Finally, keep reading. You can´t be a good writer if you´re not a good reader.

I understand that you are touring with Pump Up Your Book Promotion in October and November '09 via a virtual book tour. Can you tell us all why you chose a virtual book tour to promote your book online?

It´s important to promote your book in any and every way you can. I wasn´t very knowledgeable about the online book world and didn´t really have time to learn all about it. Pump Up Your Book Promotion helped get me onto blog sites and other places online I wouldn´t have found on my own.

What´s next for you?

I´m just finishing editorial revisions for the second Michael McCabe thriller, The Chill of Night. St. Martin´s/Minotaur will publish the book in June/July 2010.

Thank you for this interview, James. Can you tell us how we can find out more about you and your new book?

You can learn more about me and my book at my website www.jameshaymanthrillers.com and on The Cutting´s Facebook fan page. www.facebook.com/thecutting.

You might also want to read the reviews from the Portland Press Herald and The Bangor Daily News at:

Press Herald

The Bangor Daily News