“A cozy hero living in a noir world.”
That’s how Corey Lynn Fayman describes Rolly Waters, a guitar-playing gumshoe and recurring protagonist who breaks the investigator mold in his mystery series and most recent work Ballast Point Breakdown (Konstellation Press).
“He doesn’t carry a gun. He’s not physically intimidating. He lives next door to his mother. But that tenacity he needed to master his instrument is the same quality that makes him such a dedicated and resilient investigator,” says Fayman.
In Ballast Point Breakdown, Waters investigates a friend’s public suicide and its connections to a reclusive harmonica player, punk rock bands, former Navy SEALS, animal-rights militants, a top-secret dolphin-training project and the dead woman’s own dysfunctional family.
Q: So what was your inspiration for Waters?
A: There’s no specific inspiration. He’s more of a mash-up of five or six guitarists I’ve played with over the years. I’m a keyboard player myself, so I’ve ended up watching a lot of those guys perform, both on stage and off.
I like to say Rolly is my revenge on guitar players since I get to make so much trouble for him. I wanted to avoid private-eye clichés, and making him a guitar player seemed like a good place to start.
Q: Where do you come up with the storylines and plots for your books? How is an idea hatched?
A: Like me, Rolly lives in San Diego, so I generally start with some aspect of my hometown that intrigues me, often something I’ve learned about recently. Ballast Point Breakdown started with my discovery of the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal program that’s based in San Diego. Navy trainers are often out in the bay working with the sea lions and dolphins. After that, it’s a matter of playing around with characters and locations. Who are these people? Who might they interact with? What are their potential conflicts? I put together a list of possible characters and locations and take it from there.
Q: Why is music a significant part of your series?
A: I was a musician for many years, playing clubs, bars and social events. I’ve had a lot of experiences like Rolly’s, though not in the crime-solving sense. As a musician, you cross paths with a wide variety of people during your career, from homeless addicts to high-society matrons. You learn how to interact with all sorts of folks. I thought those kinds of skills would be great for a private detective as well. People underestimate Rolly because he seems so cool and self-effacing. That’s his superpower.
Q: What is the most difficult part of the writing process for you?
A: Somewhere between the end of the first draft and the start of the second draft. At first, my research and ideas keep me going each day, but somewhere about three quarters into the first draft I start seeing all the problems I’ve created — plot holes, inconsistent characters and timeline contradictions. They can look like unsolvable problems, and I sometimes get hung up worrying about them. I don’t know how I’m going to solve those issues yet. The third and last draft is always more fun. That’s when I get to really polish the characters and dialogue.
Q: Do you envision more books featuring Rolly? Do you see any projects without Rolly down the road?
A: There will be another Rolly Waters mystery, but right now I’m working on a trilogy of historical crime fiction novels set in La Jolla, CA, from the 1950s to the 1970s. It tracks the history of one family and the societal changes they go through, along with the lingering effects of a personal trauma they’ve shared.
I’ve also completed a 19th century historical mystery, which I’m shopping to agents. It’s written from the point of view of a Chinese-Scottish orphan growing up in San Diego in 1891. The action takes place during the week of the first presidential visit to San Diego and includes many authentic historical figures, including Wyatt Earp and Clara Foltz, the first woman to practice law in California.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from Ballast Point Breakdown?
A: First off, I hope they have a great time with it. There are a lot of colorful characters and snappy dialogue. But it’s also the “twistiest” mystery I’ve ever written, with some page-turning surprises at the end. I didn’t know some of the twists myself until I was about three-quarters finished! Rolly’s a unique fictional detective, with a different attitude and personality. I like to call him a “cozy hero living in a noir world.”
Ballast Point Breakdown is now available for purchase.
https://booktrib.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/corey_lynn_fayman_1000Color-550×550.jpg
About Corey Lynn Fayman:
“A powerful new voice on the crime-fiction scene” (ForeWord Reviews), Corey Lynn Fayman has done hard time as a musician, interactive developer, and theatrical sound designer, but still refuses to apologize for it. His hometown of San Diego, CA provides the backdrop for his mystery series featuring the guitar-slinging private detective Rolly Waters, including the award-winning Border Field Blues and Desert City Diva. The latest in the series, Ballast Point Breakdown, was published by Konstellation Press in March 2020. Follow him online at sunburnedfedora.com.
