Perilous Gambit by Kevin G. Chapman - Audio Book Tour
Author: Kevin G. Chapman
Narrator: Kevin G. Chapman
Length: 9 hours 44 minutes
Series: Mike Stoneman, Book 5
Publisher: First Legacy Productions
Released: Oct. 29, 2021
Genre: Thriller
A Las Vegas drag queen and a South Dakota Senator– both murdered. How are they related? NYPD Homicide detectives Mike Stoneman and Jason Dickson wouldn’t be involved, except they’re in Vegas for Jason’s wedding . . . and the bride’s brother, Jackie, is the prime suspect. Mike and Jason try to intercede with the local cops, but when somebody tries to kill Jackie, being arrested is the least of his troubles. The harrowing events threaten to ruin the vacation, the wedding, and Jackie’s career. Is there yet another murder in the casino cards? When the heat is on in Las Vegas, Mike may need to take a huge gamble that could cost them everything. Their only way out may be a PERILOUS GAMBIT.
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Kevin G. Chapman is an attorney specializing in labor and employment law and an
independent author. His current project is the Mike Stoneman Thriller series.
Book #3 in the series, Lethal Voyage, was the WINNER of the 2021 Kindle Book
Award as best mystery/thriller of the year! Righteous Assassin (Mike Stoneman
Thriller #1), was named one of the top 20 Mystery/Thrillers of 2019 by the
Kindle Book Review and a finalist for the Chanticleer Book Review CLUE award.
Deadly Enterprise (Mike Stoneman Thriller #2) was also named a top-20
Mystery/Thriller of 2020 by the Kindle Book Review and made the Short-List for
the 2020 CLUE Award. Book #3, Lethal Voyage, in addition to winning the Kindle
Book Award, was a Finalist for the CLUE, and a Finalists for the InD’Tale
Magazine 2021 RONE Award. Book #4 in the series, Fatal Infraction, was published
in July of 2021, and book #5 (Perilous Gambit) is scheduled for publication
November 24, 2021. Kevin has also written a serious political drama, A Legacy of
One, originally published in 2016, which was short-listed for the Chanticleer
Somerset Award for literary fiction. A Legacy of One was re-published in a newly
re-edited and revised second edition in 2021. Kevin is a resident of Central New
Jersey and is a graduate of Columbia College and Boston University School of
Law. Readers can contact Kevin via his website at
www.KevinGChapman.com.
Website
Sensitivity Readers (Targeted Beta Readers)
By Kevin G. Chapman
If you’re an indie author like me, you probably already know the value of
beta readers. In a well-planned book production process, you should send out
an early manuscript (even before you send it to your editor) for beta reads.
After you have completed a first draft (or second, or third) in which you
think the story is pretty well finished, beta readers give you feedback that
you can only get from the perspective of different eyes. This is not the copy
edit – it’s when you find out that there’s a huge plot hole you didn’t see, or
a logical jump you need to explain, or a character whose personality changes
without explanation between chapter 2 and chapter 22.
You need to cultivate a bench of beta readers who are objective, tough,
creative, and who will tell it to you straight when you need to change
something in your story. Having many different people read your draft will
always improve your book. You want is to improve your book. Therefore, you
should welcome critical comments and use them to fix your draft. Editors are
wonderful, but you want the manuscript you send to your editor to be the best
it can be. Plus, no matter how good your editor is, he or she can’t see every
flaw and fix every problem.
The Value of Beta Readers
Here’s a perfect example from my own writing. I published Book #3 in my Mike
Stoneman crime-thriller series, Lethal Voyage, in November of 2020. In June, after I finished the first draft, I sent it
out to ten beta readers. Among other useful critical comments, seven of the
ten readers told me that there was a serious lack of action between chapters 3
and 19. In chapter 19, the book really starts moving along when one of the
characters aboard the cruise ship is found dead, having fallen (or jumped, or
was thrown) from her balcony and landed on a lifeboat five floors below. Was
it a suicide? An accident? Or a murder? If the book started there, it would be
an action-packed story. It would also be only about 50,000 words. My beta
readers told me that I needed to cut down the description of life aboard the
cruise ship, and the subplots involving the relationships between the
characters. I needed to “get to the action” quicker.
Ultimately, I did cut down some of the scenes, and I also inserted an action
sequence, which helped establish the character of the killer. The end product
was much improved (and garnered a 5-star review from InD’Tale magazine).
As I worked on book #4, Fatal Infraction (due out this summer), I had my usual batch of beta readers. But I also had
two very specific issues that I needed some help with. These issues went
beyond the normal beta reader issues. First, I have a character in the story
who is British – an investigator from the London insurance company sent to
assess whether the cause of death triggers the payment on a $20 million
policy. Second, the story includes a significant discussion of racial
discrimination and Black protests for social justice. To make sure I got these
right, I needed some special help. Enter the “Sensitivity Reader.”
The Sensitivity Reader
My British character seemed pretty simple at first. He would be very proper
and buttoned-down. He would be a bit of comic relief for the story – a
fish-out-of-water trailing along with my New York City homicide detectives. I
pictured him as John Cleese in A Fish Called Wanda. I gave him a bowler hat and a series of pressed suits with matching silk
handkerchiefs. He wipes the New York grime off chairs before he sits. He also
plays an important part in the plot. He was fun to write and I was sure he
would be a hit with my readers. And I was right! Most of my beta readers loved
him. But one of them is originally from London, now living in New Zealand, and
she flagged some issues. You see, my “ear” for British dialogue is based on
watching movies, mostly comedies. What works for Monty Python is not
necessarily accurate to an English reader.
So, I sent the manuscript out to three fellow authors in the UK and asked
them to critique the dialogue and let me know if anything sounded off to an
English ear. Boy, did I get back a lot of comments! It turns out that my
character was a total caricature of an English insurance investigator – and an
offensive one at that. I got so much wrong, from his title to his wardrobe to
his word usage. To an English reader, he was a joke – what an uninformed
American might think an Englishman would say and do. It was an education. I
re-wrote so much after that.
The lesson here is that, as much as I like to think I have a good ear for
dialogue, my personal experience is limited. If I’m writing a female
character, I always seek out opinions from female readers (including my wife
and my daughter/editor). But I had no built-in resources to help me with a
British character. I thought I knew, but I was dead wrong.
In this case, my “Sensitivity Readers” were looking for very specific issues
where they are more sensitive to the problems than I am. If I have my
character refer to someone getting into an elevator, it seems fine. But an
Englishman would never say “elevator” – he would say “lift.” It’s a small
issue, but it would drive an English reader crazy, and likely result in a more
negative impression of my writing (and a more negative review). Those little
details can really make a difference. I’m totally blind to them, so without a
beta reader to help me out, I would certainly miss them.
Venturing Into Dangerous Waters
My other issue in this book is one that is fraught with danger if I get it
wrong. I’m a White author trying to write dialogue for a Black character who
is schooling his White partner on race issues. It may sound great to me, but
for a Black reader, if I screw this up it will ruin the whole book. Worse, it
could create a negative impression for a wide swath of my readers that will
stick to me for all my future writing.
Here again, I needed a Sensitivity Reader – or maybe three or four. I reached
out to my Black friends, fellow authors, and readers to get their take on my
story and dialogue. At first, I was slightly worried about approaching Black
colleagues and asking them for a critique. Would that be insulting?
Embarrassing? In the end I put aside any trepidation and just asked. The
response was wonderful and supportive. It turns out that my friends and
colleagues were happy to help, and even happier to make sure that I got things
right and didn’t step on myself. We all want things to be accurate. Getting
help – and giving it – is part of the process.
Whenever you are venturing in to an area that could be emotional or
political, you need to work hard at the research and do everything possible to
get it “right.”
Look For Subjects Where a Sensitivity Reader Can Help
I’m a lawyer, and noting bothers me more in a book than when the author gets
the law wrong. Grrrr. You can’t interrupt a witness who is testifying in
court, pull him aside to tell him about the newly discovered evidence, and
then put him back on the stand to talk about it. Sure, it makes good drama,
and might happen on Perry Mason or some TV show or movie – but not on real
life. You drop in an incorrect fact like that and I turn off instantly.
We all know lawyers. How hard is it to find one who is willing to check your
story for legal accuracy? It’s not hard. Do it! Otherwise, you may thrill a
large part of your readership, but you will lose your lawyers and others who
know that you just bent reality beyond the breaking point. It matters.
Medicine is anther area. Writing about autopsies and Medical Examiners’
reports requires specific information and careful study. Psychological
syndromes? Financial transactions? Specific foreign locations. The list can go
on and on – but you have to be looking for them. When you recognize that you
lack the context and experience to go it alone – get some help. You’ll be
surprised how many people will gladly offer.
Click here to view the full tour schedule!
Plugging you into the audio community since 2016.
2 Comments
Thanks for hosting my blog tour. I love talking to readers about my books (and audiobooks), so please feel free to post a comment here and I'll respond, or ping me on my website at www.kevingchapman.com. And get your FREE short story, Fool Me Twice, from my website's home page. Cheers! -- Kevin G. Chapman
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome! :)
DeletePlease try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.