Lee Salter asked Ray Celestin:

Hi Ray, I'm just starting Sunset Swing, having read the first three in the series in about a fortnight!! Absolutely love what you've created with these books. Just a question about your process really. What's the ratio of research time / writing time? Did you have an interest in the Mafia or Jazz before embarking on the series?

Ray Celestin

Hi Lee,

Thanks for your question. It's great to hear that you're enjoying the series so much.

So, I keep a tally of what daily work I do, because I'm a massive nerd, so I'm in a position to answer your question in great detail. Prepare yourself for way more info than you expected:

I started work on Sunset Swing on 5th June 2018, and finished on 8th July 2021, writing nine drafts in total.

Over those three-ish years I spent 303 work days on the book. (The rest of the time I worked on other projects.)

Apparently I spent 25 days solely on research. I was really surprised by this, it seems WAY too small, I had to read so many books, websites, articles, etc. But I guess the stats don't lie.

I spent 29 days organising notes (both research notes and feedback from readers).

53 days outlining.

And 185 days actually writing.

So, that's the breakdown across all nine drafts. Which was probably more interesting for me to put together than it was for you to read.

In response to your other questions, yes, I'm a massive jazz fan, which I came to by being a teenage hip-hop fan and tracing all the samples used in my favourite tunes, which got me to jazz via funk.

I was never really into the mafia as much as I was into detective films and books and mafia movies / TV shows. It was only when I started working on the books that I really got into the actual, real-life mafia history.

I hope that answers everything. And thanks again for getting in contact.

Cheers!
Ray

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