Interview: David Myles Robinson, Author of TROPICAL DOUBTS @DNRobinsonWrite #interview

David Myles Robinson was a trial attorney in Honolulu, HI for 38 years before retiring to the mountains of New Mexico, where he lives with his wife, a former Honolulu trial judge. In the days of yore, before becoming a lawyer, he was a freelance journalist and a staff reporter for a minority newspaper in Pasadena, CA. He is an award-winning author of six novels, three of which are Pancho McMartin legal thrillers set in Honolulu.

Having traveled to all seven continents, he has also published a travel memoir entitled CONGA LINE ON THE AMAZON, which includes two Solas Traveler’s Tales award winners.

He says he includes his middle name, Myles, in his authorial appellation because there are far too many other David Robinson’s running around.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: davidmylesrobinson.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DNRobinsonWrite
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidMylesRobinson/

Pancho McMartin watched as his client, newly convicted of murder, was escorted to the side door of the courtroom by two men in brown jumpsuits with “Sheriff” stenciled across the back. The client, a large Samoan in his early twenties, had a shaved head. Except for his face, every square inch of visible flesh was tattooed. 

With shackles on his wrists and ankles, he shuffled to the door and then stopped and glanced over his shoulder at Pancho. He’d sat through the trial with a look of absolute disdain, even menace, and now Pancho almost laughed out loud at the expression on the man’s face—fear. Pancho gave him a small nod, which he hoped would convey some sense of encouragement. Not that there was much to encourage. The Samoan would spend the rest of his life in prison unless Pancho could win an appeal of little or no merit.

--From TROPICAL DOUBTS

 

 

Welcome to The Writer's Life!  Now that your book has been published, we’d love to find out more about the process.  Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning?  When did you come up with the idea to write your book?

I was a trial attorney in Honolulu, Hawaii, for 38 years, so writing a legal thriller seemed like a natural. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. My first attempt, about 25 years ago, was pretty bad. Too many years of writing legal briefs and memoranda of law made my writing stilted. So when I was finally getting ready to retire, I wrote a novel which had nothing to do with the law. It was a golf-oriented suspense novel, Unplayable Lie, which was published in 2012. Having found I could write a novel without completely embarrassing myself, I then wrote my first legal thriller, set in Honolulu: Tropical Lies.

Tropical Doubts is my third legal thriller, all of which have the same protagonist, Pancho McMartin, said to be the best criminal defense attorney in Honolulu. My inspiration for it was an actual medical malpractice case my partner and I handled some years ago. Luckily, there was no murder involved.

Who is your publisher and how did you find them or did you self-publish?

My current publisher is Terra Nova Books out of Santa Fe. I had been accepted by an agent for one of my non-legal suspense thrillers, The Pinochet Plot, but she’d been unable to sell it to any of the larger traditional houses. She referred me to Terra Nova. Based on her recommendation, I switched from my prior small traditional publishing house based in Florida to Terra Nova, which has since published The Pinochet Plot, Son of Saigon (another non-legal suspense thriller), and Tropical Doubts.

Is there anything that surprised you about getting your first book published?

Pretty much everything. Unplayable Lie was my first published book and without a doubt, the most important surprise was how much people liked it. My publisher even compared my writing to one of the most popular and successful contemporary writers. The validation from readers was important to me as it allowed me to continue writing, which I love.

Do you believe a book cover plays an important role in the selling process?

I do. In fact, I have received some harsh criticism for the covers of my first two legal thrillers, Tropical Lies and Tropical Judgments. One reviewer actually said she almost didn’t read the book because she hated the cover. To be fair to my former publisher, I think it’s not particularly easy to create a cover for a book which takes place in Hawaii without being a little cliché. I’m very happy with the understated cover of Tropical Doubts.

How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?

First and foremost, you have to love writing. I’ve been writing short stories and poems and unfinished novels since I was a kid. In college I worked as a staff reporter for a minority newspaper in Pasadena, CA, and did quite a bit of free-lance work. If you love to write, and have an idea, start writing. I don’t think it matters if you start with an outline or if you just start writing, that depends more on your personality and organizational skills. I don’t outline. I enjoy the process of writing and letting the story unfold. Yes, I often write myself into a corner and have to retreat, but that too is part of what I love.

That said, I’m probably the last person to give tips on writing. I’m very undisciplined. I simply write. Many experts say a writer should “write what you know,” and that’s certainly helpful up to a point. That’s why my legal thrillers are pretty true to reality. By the same token, I hate being in a rut, and I like to intersperse my legal thrillers with novels well removed from the law.

What other books are you working on and when will they be published?

My next novel is also a Pancho McMartin legal thriller which will be published this fall (I think). Its title (still a working title) is Tropical Scandal and was inspired by truly bizarre and scandalous events in Honolulu’s legal community. I am also putting the finishing touches on a very difficult novel I’ve been working on for several years. It spans decades, beginning in the late 1960s, and involves race relations, love, friendship, betrayal, and historical events. As I was writing it, I didn’t expect that it would become so extraordinarily relevant as current events have made it seem. It’s a true labor of love. I don’t yet have a title I’m happy with.

What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people?

I’m not sure it would be much of a surprise, but the medical malpractice aspect of the book is based on a real-life case I had in Honolulu.

Finally, what message are you trying to get across with your book?

The fragility of life is certainly an aspect of this story. A woman goes in for a routine surgery and comes out in a permanent vegetative state. The ripple effect of these kinds of tragedies can be compelling. The devastation to her husband of many decades is heart wrenching. One of the doctors involved in the surgery is murdered. The other doctors involved are sued for malpractice. And from the legal perspective, I wanted to show how difficult and expensive it is for attorneys to handle and win medical malpractice cases. Pancho puts close to a quarter million dollars into the case for expert witness and other costs, none of which he will get back if he loses. 

  

Thank you again for this interview!  Do you have any final words?

Thank you and your readers for your time. Read and enjoy!