M.J. Payne
asked
E.Michael Helms:
You cast a wide net in terms of your personal interests and in the "voices" of the characters in your books. The war books have entirely different voices. The mysteries with Mac and Dinger are unique. How do you experience the emergence of such diverse voice in literature?
E.Michael Helms
Thanks for the question, MJ. I suppose it's a matter of "feeling" the mood or tone of the story/book, and allowing the characters' voices to "fit" the mold. In the war books, The Proud Bastards is a memoir. I wanted to capture the "here and now" experience for the reader, so I used the voice of the 18-19 year old Marine I was at the time. A first person present, stream of consciousness voice just seemed natural to let the reader "inside" that young Marine's head and experience what he was experiencing.
The Private War of Corporal Henson, on the other hand, is a novel although it's based on true characters and events. It's told in third person, with several of the characters involved narrating their experiences as they battle PTSD in and out of group therapy. At times the narration edges into an "omniscient" viewpoint.
Of Blood and Brothers is set during and after the Civil War, and features three narrators: Calvin Hogue, the young cub reporter from Pennsylvania working at his uncle's newspaper in 1927 NW Florida; and the two Malburn brothers, old codgers now in their 80s who fought on opposite sides during the war. To sustain each character's distinctive voice throughout nearly six hundred pages was a challenge. I based the brothers' voices on two old gents in their 80s that I knew as a young boy. Their father had fought for the Confederacy during the late War for Southern Independence (as we Southerns are fond of calling it).
Now for the mysteries. The Mac McClellan Mystery series is set in the present day Florida panhandle. Mac's a retired Marine with combat experience. He's easy going, a Southern gentleman (most of the time), an admirer of the fairer sex (though Semper Fidelis is his watchword), but can turn into your worst enemy in an instant if given cause.
My new private eye, Dinger, is still trying to shake off the horrors of the intense combat he experienced as a (surprise!) Marine during WWII. He's settled and opened up shop in post-war Las Vegas. It's a darker setting. He's more straightforward than Mac, lacks Mac's sense of humor, and isn't afraid to snuff out the bad guys if he's rubbed the wrong way. I've tried to make his voice more "hardboiled noir." I'm hoping to write enough "Dinger, PI" stories for a collection, and then possibly move on to a full-length novel.
Hope this answers your question!
The Private War of Corporal Henson, on the other hand, is a novel although it's based on true characters and events. It's told in third person, with several of the characters involved narrating their experiences as they battle PTSD in and out of group therapy. At times the narration edges into an "omniscient" viewpoint.
Of Blood and Brothers is set during and after the Civil War, and features three narrators: Calvin Hogue, the young cub reporter from Pennsylvania working at his uncle's newspaper in 1927 NW Florida; and the two Malburn brothers, old codgers now in their 80s who fought on opposite sides during the war. To sustain each character's distinctive voice throughout nearly six hundred pages was a challenge. I based the brothers' voices on two old gents in their 80s that I knew as a young boy. Their father had fought for the Confederacy during the late War for Southern Independence (as we Southerns are fond of calling it).
Now for the mysteries. The Mac McClellan Mystery series is set in the present day Florida panhandle. Mac's a retired Marine with combat experience. He's easy going, a Southern gentleman (most of the time), an admirer of the fairer sex (though Semper Fidelis is his watchword), but can turn into your worst enemy in an instant if given cause.
My new private eye, Dinger, is still trying to shake off the horrors of the intense combat he experienced as a (surprise!) Marine during WWII. He's settled and opened up shop in post-war Las Vegas. It's a darker setting. He's more straightforward than Mac, lacks Mac's sense of humor, and isn't afraid to snuff out the bad guys if he's rubbed the wrong way. I've tried to make his voice more "hardboiled noir." I'm hoping to write enough "Dinger, PI" stories for a collection, and then possibly move on to a full-length novel.
Hope this answers your question!
More Answered Questions
M.J. Payne
asked
E.Michael Helms:
Having finished "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque I was musing over a particular part and also thinking of your classic war memoir "Proud Bastards", that I also read. One of the horrors of Remarque's book was the unnecessary surgery done on the German soldiers' feet by the sadistic military doctors. It seemed a strange thing to do on a regular basis, Were the American docs sadistic?
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