I’m the author of two Indie books – “Duty” a
collection of mystery and suspense short stories, and my latest, “The Killing
Depths,” a military mystery thriller. I’ve been writing for most of my life. In
fact, I was a journalist for many years before switching careers ten years ago
and going to work for the Navy as an analyst in combat medical capabilities.
Besides fiction, I still write nonfiction, mostly on military history and
things like wilderness survival and disaster response, for magazines and a
website. When I’m not working or writing, I spend time with my wife and son,
and spoil our two cats silly.
What do you think makes your genre special?
I don’t think the mystery genre is any more special
than any other genre. I love science fiction and historical fiction as well. I
fell into mysteries for a number of reasons. I started my journalism career as
a police reporter and wrote a lot about crime. Plus, my father-in-law was the
late mystery novelist Robert Wade who, with his partner H. Billy Miller, wrote
some 30 mystery and suspense novels under the names Wade Miller and Whit
Masterson. Bob influenced me a lot. The military also influences much of my
writing because I’ve been in the military reserves much of my adult life.
What do you think makes a great story?
I think character is the most important factor. You
can have gun battles, explosions and damsels in distress from here to doomsday,
but if the readers don’t like your characters and empathize with them, they
won’t read your books.
What is your latest book called and could you explain to us in
20 words what it is about?
It’s called “The Killing Depths.” The first coed crewed
US attack submarine is on a covert mission while threatened by a serial killer
onboard.
Which kind of reader do you think will enjoy your book?
If you like mysteries, you’ll like “The Killing
Depths.” If you like military thrillers, you’ll like “The Killing Depths.”
Is it a Standalone, or part of the series? If it the latter, how
long do you think will it go on?
“The Killing Depths” features NCIS agent-afloat
Linus Schag, who made his first appearance in the short story “Destroyer
Turns,” published by Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. I’ve got a couple more
Schag short stories in the can, but I haven’t decided on another Schag book.
I’ll wait and see how “Depths” does.
What influenced or inspired you writing it?
For
centuries, going to sea was a way for a man to get away from the pressures of
civilization, including women. That changed for the better when the naval
services started allowing women to go to sea. For a long time, however,
submarines were the only male-only ships in the U.S. Navy. Now the Navy is
training women to serve aboard large ballistic subs, but smaller attack subs
are still an all-male domain – for now. So I started to think what if …?
Why did you choose especially this title? Was it your first
choice?
I think it was my first choice. It probably came to
me while I was lying in bed thinking about the book. I do a lot of book
thinking in bed, lying awake. Obviously, I don’t sleep well…
What was the hardest part for you working on your book?
The research. Submarine operations are classified,
so you can’t easily learn a lot about them. Submariners aren’t called the
Silent Service for nothing. I was lucky enough to get a tour of a Los Angeles-class
submarine. I also reached out to submariners on websites and in person. Since I
have a military background, I was careful not to include anything in this book
that might broach on classified material. I just asked for clarification for
stuff I was able to find in the public domain.
Was there a scene that you didn’t want to add or remove in your
finished work?
Not one I didn’t want to add or remove. Several,
though, I knew I had to change drastically. I had drafted a background for the
killer before I finished my research. Once I did, I had to change the back
story of the killer. That meant changing several scenes where the killer
appears.
Do you already know what to do next?
I have a new mystery in the can that takes place in
the 1980s, but I put it aside to work on a sci-fi story. Well,
it started as a short story, but it’s been getting bigger, so it may become a
novella.
Where can we find more about you and your books?
You can find more information about me and my books
on my author’s page on Amazon.com. My books are also available on Barnes &
Noble. Or you can visit my web page at https://sites.google.com/site/martinroyhill2/.
Any last words?
Just
to thank you for this opportunity and to say I hope your readers will support
Indie authors like me.
The Killing Depths
A killer lurks beneath the waves of the western Pacific Ocean. The USS
Encinitas, the first attack submarine crewed by both men and women,
stalks the Crescent Moon, a renegade Iranian sub armed with
nuclear-tipped missiles. But another predator hides aboard the American
sub, a murderer who has already left a trail of dead women behind on
shore. While the crew of the Encinitas plays a deadly game of
hide-and-seek with the Crescent Moon, NCIS investigator Linus Schag must
discover the killer’s identity before his – or her – blood lust leads
to the submarine’s total destruction.
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