Author Interview: G.M. Nair

A few months ago, I featured Duckett and Dyer: Dicks for Hire by G.M. Nair on Spotlight. Like a lot of the books I feature there, I hadn’t personally read it at that point but it had come highly recommended to me by a few other people from Twitter’s vast #WritingCommunity who had read it.

Naturally I was keen to read it myself after hearing such good things about it and, by the magic of the internet, the author was kind enough to gift me a copy. Let me tell you, it’s a scream from start to finish; funny, irreverent and with just enough substance to make it hard to put down.

I’ve since had the pleasure of interviewing the author, G.M. Nair, about his writing, and especially his novel, Duckett and Dyer: Dicks for Hire. Read on to see our full conversation.

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How did you first get into writing?

My grandfather lived with my family when I was growing up and was a big lover and writer of poetry, and always encouraged me in my own creative writing efforts, so I’m pretty sure I got the writing bug from him. But I also think my healthy consumption of novels, TV and movies gave me the desire and know-how to tell stories.

Duckett and Dyer: Dicks for Hire is, hands down, the wackiest book I’ve read in a long time. What was the initial inspiration behind it?

The idea for Duckett & Dyer came to me back in 2007, and went through several iterations until finally winding up on bookshelves. Back then, I had a boss named Michael Dyer who was pretty quirky and his name struck me – for whatever reason – as interesting. So I affixed it to a bumbling detective and came up with the idea of a webcomic called ‘You’re A Mystery, Michael Dyer.’ I lacked any sort of follow-through on that, but the idea eventually evolved into a duo, and the subtitle ‘Dicks for Hire’ just screamed at me, because who doesn’t like a good rhyme?

It first started off as a simple mystery series with a bumbling pair of detectives, but I had brief periods where I tried to merge them into a sort of spy-fi world, or even as action heroes, or time-travelling ne’er-do-wells. Ultimately, that last one struck a chord with me and, with a slight massage into multi-verse hopping (to allow me to do whatever I really wanted), the final Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire manuscript was born.

Reading Duckett and Dyer and looking through your website, it’s obvious you have a fondness for comedy. What’s the hardest thing about writing funny fiction?

The hardest thing about writing things that are funny is remembering what actually is funny. After four or five or six different drafts of looking at the same joke over and over, you might end up cutting something really good because it just doesn’t make you laugh anymore.

Any tips for authors who want to add a bit of comedy to their writing?

The first thing to remember is that no matter how funny you are, you’ll fail. Humor’s subjective, so not everybody will find your comedy funny. But once you’re okay with ‘bombing’, writing jokes becomes much easier. Just try to make ‘em feel natural and not forced.

I loved the characters in this story. Were they based on anyone from real life to any extent?

Michael and Stephanie’s characters come easily to me because they’re very much two sides of my own personality. I have been known to be a nervous overthinker who is his own worst critic, while simultaneously being and outwardly worry-free comedic jokester who tries not to take things too seriously.

It’s tough being a walking contradiction, but it makes writing Michael and Stephanie very simple, as I only need to consider what kind of dumb joke I would make, while juxtaposing it against how a Nervous Nellie would feel when completely out of their depth.

I’m lucky to have both of them in my head, because, splitting this into two characters makes for an interesting friendship dynamic that hammers home that neither sort of personality can fully function without the other.

Plotter or pantser?

Plotter for the story. Pantser for the execution.

I typically make a ‘Beat Sheet’ that cover all the individual details and story beats that I need to cover in a specific order. I’m an engineer by trade and really enjoy architecting my stories and universes as tightly as possible ahead of time. Then, the actual word-to-word writing (and the jokes) is done off the top of my head to connect the dots.

What are you doing when you’re not writing?

Well, I’ve been working on a TV Pilot with a friend of mine – wait, no that’s writing. I’m also one of the writers on a New York-based Sketch Comedy team – wait, that’s also writing. Oh, I guess you mean my day job.

I’m currently employed as an Aviation and Aerospace Consultant, and that’s what I do to pay the bills.

What authors or books have had the biggest influence on your own writing?

I think the obvious conclusion is Douglas Adams. There’s no way I can escape that comparison (not that I’d want to). But I also draw a lot of inspiration from Agatha Christie, Arthur C. Clarke, as well as comic book writers Jonathan Hickman and Chip Zdarsky.

If they ever make Duckett and Dyer into a movie, who would you want to play the main characters?

Honestly, while I’ve thought about this a lot, I’d really have to go with two unknown actors who’d have impeccable chemistry with one another. Otherwise, the jokes and timing just wouldn’t work.

What’s next for Duckett and Dyer?

Oh, I have about nine books planned. Some novels, some short story collections. But, most immediately, I’m finishing the final drafts of the sequel: The One-Hundred Percent Solution, and it should be out in a month or so if all goes to plan! So expect more nonsense soon!

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ATTENTION AUTHORS:

Every Tuesday, I post a new edition of Spotlight: a short post which shines a proverbial spotlight on a published novel or collection of short fiction. If you would like to have your book considered for a future edition of Spotlight, drop us an e-mail including a short synopsis of your book and a link to where we can buy it. Better yet, send me a copy of your book and I can include a mini-review.

I’m still looking to interview fiction authors here on Penstricken, especially new or indie authors. Whether it’s books, plays, comics or any other kind of fiction, if you’ve got something written, I want to hear about it. If you’re interested in having your work featured on Penstricken, be to sure to drop us an e-mail or message us on Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest.

Please be advised that due to a recent surge in interest, I am presently committed to a significant number of reviews/interviews over the next couple of months. If you would like an interview or review, I would still love to hear from you, though it is unlikely that I will be able to begin work immediately.

You can check out our previous interviews here:

• Sharleen Nelson, author of The Time Tourists [2]
• D. Wallace Peach, author of the Shattered Sea duology [2]
• Jacob Klop, author of Crooked Souls
• H.L. Walsh, author of From Men and Angels [2]