Starting the Celebration

 December marks my 25th anniversary being a published author, and I'm starting the celebration early. I've planned a book signing tour and a few other things, but I wanted to share a recent profile from a literary magazine called Pie, Pages & Porch Talk (formerly Ignitivefy magazine). It's a product of author Savannah McCann's publishing group in Texas (hence the down-home flavor). The story is courtesy of a friend from my newspaper days, and I've included the magazine link below. Enjoy!

A Few Words with Author Tim Smith

By T.R. Savage

With 30 published books and a ton of blogs and newspaper stories to his credit, Tim Smith of Dayton, Ohio knows a thing or two about telling a compelling story. The award-winning, bestselling author didn’t enter the publishing game until his midlife crisis period, but he’s made up for lost time.    

“I did a lot of writing in high school and college, and I’ve always been an avid reader,” he said. “My college major was music education, and I taught for a few years before moving into human services, but writing was always a secret desire. I had an idea for a character and story that had been bouncing around in my head for years. One day I challenged myself to either write the damn thing or stop talking about it.”

That “damn thing” turned out to be a romantic spy thriller titled “Memories Die Last.” It’s set in the Florida Keys and features a former CIA agent named Nick Seven, who quit the covert ops world and now owns a trendy bar on the Gulf. By the end of the story, he’s sharing that corner of paradise with another former CIA co-worker, the beautiful Felicia Hagens from Barbados. The book found an audience and won awards, along with great reviews, and became the first installment in a series that’s still going. Surprisingly, Smith wasn’t initially interested in pursuing publication.

“I wrote the first one as a lark, sort of a been-there-done-that thing, to get it out of my system. I didn’t plan on doing anything with it, but a couple of friends read it and convinced me to consider publishing,” he said. “I began the submission process and eventually found a publisher that liked it. Memories Die Last was released in the spring of 2002, and I haven’t stopped.”

After following the success of the first book with two well-received sequels, Smith decided to branch out and try something different—writing a contemporary romantic comedy told from the man’s point of view.

“I was appearing at a large book festival and noticed other authors attracting more customers,” he said. “I approached a couple of them and found out they were selling romance novels. My stories contained a fair amount of affection between the two lead characters, but not enough to fit into that category. After reading their books, I decided to try writing one, but told from the man’s side of the bed, and with a lot more humor.”

Finding a publisher for this unique-concept novel (which he titled “Anywhere the Heart Goes”) would be a challenge, but it actually came at the right time.   

“The truth is, I’d had a disastrous experience with my publisher on my most recent book, and I was looking for a better neighborhood to call home. I researched publishers and identified some that offered the services and supports I wanted. Thanks to a friend’s referral, I landed with my current publisher in 2009, and I’ve been with them ever since.”

After a few rom-coms and a reboot of the Nick Seven series for a new audience, Smith decided to tackle his dream project—updating the hard-boiled private eye of the 1940s to a contemporary setting.

“I grew up watching film noir crime dramas with Bogart and other tough guy actors, and I read everything by Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane, and Dashiell Hammett. I had always wanted to write those kinds of stories. My hero is a former cop turned private eye named Vic Fallon, who operates in Sandusky, Ohio, on the Lake Erie shore. It’s about as far away from The Keys as you can get, and that’s what I wanted.”

Along with the mystery/thrillers, he’s written a number of short romantic comedies in two different series—Key West Heat and Holiday Stocking Stuffers.

“Those were seasonal offerings by my publisher, Extasy Books,” he said. “The Key West Heat stories are summertime vacation romances, and the Holiday Stocking Stuffers have a yuletide theme. I like to write those as a break from the intense action-adventures with my tough guy heroes, because they’re light romantic comedies. Think about episodes of Love Boat or Love, American Style and you’ll get the idea.”

Smith usually manages to include some personal experiences or subtle topical references in his stories. Although he relies on current events and headlines for inspiration, an engrossing story is the thing.

 “I’m not big on messages, but the theme is always the good guys beat the bad guys, then the hero and heroine sail off together into the sunset. I try to write entertaining stories with humor, realistic atmosphere, and a playful romance between the main characters. People read to be entertained, and like I tell aspiring writers, ‘If you want to send a message, use e-mail.’ When you read one of my books, hopefully you’ll come away feeling as though you just watched a good movie.”

You can find the complete profile spread with photos here: Pie, Pages & Porch Talk. My author page is AllAuthor/Tim Smith.