r/books • u/paddyhirsch AMA Author • Jun 27 '18
ama 1pm Hi, I'm Paddy Hirsch, debut novelist, financial reporter (for Planet Money and more), and author of The Devil's Half Mile. Ask me anything!
Hi, My name's Paddy Hirsch. My first novel, The Devil's Half Mile, was published by Macmillan a few weeks ago.
I'd love to talk about anything related to the book - if you have questions about plot or characters, bring 'em on. If you'd like to ask about my process, or the publication process, please fire away. Ask me anything!
Some links for you:
- The Book: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765399137
- My Website: https://www.paddyhirsch.com
- I'm on twitter and Instagram @paddyhirsch
- My Facebook page is at paddyhirsch101
- An article about the genesis of TDHM: http://thrillbegins.com/2018/06/18/genesis/
Proof: /img/3nqb4qvw08611.jpg
3
Jun 27 '18
How did your research into the history of Wall Street inspire ideas for fictional characters and situations?
5
u/paddyhirsch Jun 27 '18 edited Jun 27 '18
Oh, so much! The man who effectively caused America's first financial crisis in 1792 was a fascinating character. His name was William Duer, and he was a very upright citizen, soldier, financier, member of the Continental Congress, etc etc. But he was a greedy amoral man who brought the US economy to the brink with his selfish speculation. He was real, but he made me think about creating all sorts of other characters with dark sides that were effectively unfettered by rules back then, because we had so few laws.
I was also very interested in what Irish immigrants might have been like back then, and how they would have behaved once they arrived in New York. They might have expected an enlightened land of opportunity, but, of course, New York had been an English city for years before, and remained English in all but name. So the Irish encounters as much discrimination in New York as they wold have at home. They were regarded as subhuman, depicted as apes and shut out of society and education because of their religion. How would they have reacted and coped? That was a huge inspiration for me.
3
u/buzznights Jun 27 '18
What was the most painful part of the publishing process? Cover design? Editing?
5
u/paddyhirsch Jun 27 '18
Cover design was not painful, but quite amusing, in retrospect. The initial idea was to put pictures of the main characters on the cover, and some of the initial concepts were very Regency. Lots of lace and velvet and unbuttoned blouses. I was terrified when those ideas came up, but fortunately we didn't go that way! Editing was fine. There was a fair bit of back and forth, but I'm an editor myself, so I'm used to the process, and I'm aware that sometimes you have to make fairly radical cuts and additions to make things work. Once I trusted my editor - which didn't take long - I was good to go.
1
u/buzznights Jun 27 '18
Lots of lace and velvet and unbuttoned blouses
That's a whole different Regency category!
→ More replies (1)
3
u/mookler Jun 27 '18
What surprised you the most about the process from start to finish? Was anything a lot easier or harder than you expected it would be?
4
u/paddyhirsch Jun 27 '18 edited Jun 27 '18
Yes, writing fiction was really hard. I thought it would be easy to make stuff up, but it really isn't. Making fake things believable is really difficult (although you may not think that with all that fake news out there). I was constantly second guessing myself. I was also surprised by how much I threw out. The writer Louise Welsh, who coached me at the Banff Centre, warned me that sometimes you'll write pages and pages and pages and then be forced to toss it all, but I didn't really believe her until it happened. Scenes, chapters, characters. It was a well-stuffed trash bin in the end.
3
u/EmbarrassedSpread Jun 27 '18
Hi Paddy! Thanks for doing this! What was the most fun part about writing this novel? What about most difficult?
3
u/paddyhirsch Jun 27 '18 edited Jun 27 '18
Thank you! The most fun part was being able to write full time. I talked it over with my wife and decided that if I was going to do it, I should commit 100%. So I quit my job at Marketplace and went freelance to give me the time to get the project done. That feeling of freedom was amazing. The most difficult was trusting that what I was writing was any good. I had these dark moments of despair. I was convinced that what I was doing was useless and unreadable. Pushing through those periods was very hard. Fortunately, I had a lot of support form friends and family. I could easily have given up, so I consider myself very fortunate.
2
u/Melancholia8 Jun 27 '18
What mystery writers are you a reader of and also would you say that your knowledge of finance/money as a background helped you with this book?
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Duke_Paul Jun 27 '18
Oh ok separate question entirely from everything else I asked: What impact do you think Hamilton's Report on Manufactures would have had, had Congress actually acted upon it? Specifically subsidizing industry.
→ More replies (1)
2
Jun 27 '18 edited Jun 29 '18
What do you think the character Justy would make of the financial crisis of 2008, were he transported to today?
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Inkberrow Jun 27 '18
If your protagonist Flanagan is Irish, as it sounds, how did he overcome the obstacles you reference below and become a practicing attorney in the States?
→ More replies (6)
2
2
Jun 27 '18
Are you considering publishing any short stories? (They're my favorite format).
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Melancholia8 Jun 27 '18
Thoughts for next books? Are you staying in the genre or going to expand?
→ More replies (1)
2
u/8-Bit-Gamer Jun 27 '18
Hello there,
First off great work. Looking forward to to more of your skills penetrating my brain.
My Question:
If you could make a copy of yourself and stand face to face with yourself - what is the first question you would ask yourself?
→ More replies (4)
2
u/mrwhaleslug Jun 27 '18
Have you ever been kidnapped by or considered joining the Symbionese Liberation Army? I don't have a question other than that question, but I wanted to say I enjoy your work on Planet Money and have ordered the novel, it sounds fantastic. Thanks for taking the time to do this and good luck with future projects!
→ More replies (1)
2
2
5
u/paddyhirsch Jun 27 '18 edited Jun 27 '18
I'm stoked to be answering questions today. Happy to talk about anything: the new book, my last book, being an NPR journalist, process, content, being Irish, whatever. Thanks for hanging out!
I've had an amazing few weeks since The Devils Half Mile launched on June 5. I've been reading in Washington DC, New York, Boston, Stillwater MN, Excelsior MN, Healdsburg CA and Orange CA. And I've learned a lot about book promotion on the way!
5
u/Duke_Paul Jun 27 '18 edited Jun 27 '18
Hi Paddy, welcome to r/books, and thanks for doing an AMA!
First off, congrats on getting published. I'm curious, how did you decide to write a thriller, let alone a historical thriller? Secondly, what was the biggest difference between reporting and writing long-form (besides the deadlines)? What kind of research did you do in the writing of this novel/what level of historical accuracy did you aim for?
Oh, and which kinds of scenes do you find most difficult to write, and why?
Thanks! Big fan of your work (largely know you from Marketplace)!