Interview with author Jeff Edwards
http://www.joenavy.com/sailors/articles/321/1/Interview-with-author-Jeff-Edwards/Page1.html
JoeNavy Staff
Staff and Volunteers strive provide a platform for mutual learning between Sailors working together towards a common goal. Staff and Volunteers strive to place hard to find content at your finger tips via the internet. By JoeNavy Staff
Published on 05/12/2008
I never stop studying; I never stop experimenting with new ideas, and I never stop looking for ways to improve. Perhaps most importantly, I’m not afraid to ask for help.
Interview with author Jeff Edwards
JoeNavy: Tell us about your book Torpedo and how it came about:
Jeff Edwards: I hate to admit it, but my agent had to talk me into trying a military novel. I was writing high-tech detective novels, and thoroughly enjoying myself, when a New York publisher suggested that I take a whack at writing a military thriller. I guess he figured that I should put all those years of military experience to good use in my writing. My agent thought it sounded like good advice, so he started pushing me to write a military novel. I didn’t really want to. I’ve always enjoyed reading military thrillers, but I didn’t think I could write one. I eventually agreed to write the first ten pages of a military thriller, with the understanding that I didn’t have to write page #11 if I wasn’t enjoying it. To my surprise, I fell in love with the book. I couldn’t stop at ten pages, or twenty, or even two-hundred. I’ve been writing military thrillers ever since.
JoeNavy: Who were some of your mentors and how did they affect you?
Jeff Edwards: My first ship was a guided missile cruiser based out of Japan in the early 1980s. The Senior Chief Sonar Technician in charge of my division was amazing. His tactical skills were superb. He could rattle off the contents of every publication and manual in the safe. He could diagram complex search and attack plans from memory. He could tell you which plans worked, which ones didn’t, and why. He knew frequencies and operating modes for every tactical sonar in every navy. He could calculate torpedo gyro angles in his head, and he could practically smell a Soviet submarine.
Senior Chief Hardy was a strong leader and an excellent mentor. I learned a lot more than Anti-Submarine Warfare from him. I learned that a good leader rewards his personnel in public, but disciplines them in private. I learned how to apply innovation and creativity in tactical situations, long before the phrase ‘outside the box’ had even been coined. I learned that correcting problems is more effective than assigning blame. I learned that people tend to live up to your expectations, or down to them, depending on where you set the bar. I learned about leadership, self reliance, and personal integrity. I learned to value my own skills and abilities.
Senior Chief was the first in a long string of mentors. Many of them were from different departments, or even different commands. Some of my mentors taught me about my job and the Navy mission. Others taught me about life, and the importance of living up to my own potential.
JoeNavy: As an author, tell us one struggle that you turned into a success?
Jeff Edwards: When I wrote ‘Torpedo,’ I made a conscious decision to portray my characters as ordinary people. The ‘hero’ in a typical military thriller can pilot an F-18, shoot like a sniper, defuse a terrorist bomb, and fight like Chuck Norris. It can be fun to read that kind of stuff, but I wanted to write about real Sailors. I served in the U.S. Navy for twenty-three years, and I never met a single superhero. The men and women I served with were ordinary Americans, who accomplished extraordinary things through teamwork and sacrifice. They didn’t look like Tom Cruz, and they didn’t have superhuman powers. They were real people, who put their lives on the line to make the world a safer place. That’s what I decided to write about.
The major publishing companies all thought I was crazy. Several publishers offered me contracts, but they wanted me to give the book a Hollywood superhero character. They told me that the book wouldn’t sell without one. I thought they were wrong, so I turned down several lucrative deals, and signed a deal with a small alternative publisher. Since then, Torpedo has won six awards, and sold many thousands of copies. The book has been optioned by a major Hollywood movie producer, and it’s been recorded as an audio book. It’s been translated into Japanese, and it’s selling like crazy in Asia. These successes only came to me because I believed in what I was doing, and I stuck to my guns.
JoeNavy: What habits, guiding principles, help make you successful?
Jeff Edwards: I’m a lifelong learner. I never stop studying; I never stop experimenting with new ideas, and I never stop looking for ways to improve. Perhaps most importantly, I’m not afraid to ask for help. If you read the acknowledgments page for Torpedo, or for my new book, The Seventh Angel, you’ll see that I had help from a lot of people. It’s nearly impossible to tackle a major project without teamwork. That principle (obviously) applies as much in real life as it does in writing fiction.
JoeNavy: What sea story would you use to motivate Sailors?
Jeff Edwards: On one of my ships, there was a young Seaman in First Division (Deck Division) who wanted to become a Torpedoman. He was a good kid - a hard worker, with a heart of gold. He didn’t smoke, but he carried a lighter in his pocket in case someone else needed a light. That’s the kind of guy he was. Day after day, he worked his butt off for First Division, and then went up to the torpedo decks to work and learn.
We would have gladly taken this kid into our division, but his ASVAB scores were too low to qualify for the TM rating. He re-took the test, and still scored too low. Finally, I had to break the bad news to him. There was no way the Navy was ever going to let him become a TM.
The next day, when his First Division duties were complete, he showed up on the torpedo decks just like always, ready to study and help. He understood that we couldn’t make him a Torpedoman, but he didn’t care. He refused to stop trying.
Eventually, we managed to get him transferred to our division so that he could work with the TMs full time. He became a Torpedoman in all but name. The ship’s Career Counselor began firing off waiver requests, trying to get this young Sailor accepted into the TM rating, despite his ASVAB scores. Eventually, somebody at the Bureau decided to give the kid a break. One of the (many) waiver requests was approved, and he was allowed to strike for Torpedoman. By the time I transferred off the ship, he was a TM3, and still climbing. He didn’t give up. He never stopped trying, not even when he saw no chance of success. It took a long time, but his perseverance paid off in the long run.
Jeff Edwards: I hate to admit it, but my agent had to talk me into trying a military novel. I was writing high-tech detective novels, and thoroughly enjoying myself, when a New York publisher suggested that I take a whack at writing a military thriller. I guess he figured that I should put all those years of military experience to good use in my writing. My agent thought it sounded like good advice, so he started pushing me to write a military novel. I didn’t really want to. I’ve always enjoyed reading military thrillers, but I didn’t think I could write one. I eventually agreed to write the first ten pages of a military thriller, with the understanding that I didn’t have to write page #11 if I wasn’t enjoying it. To my surprise, I fell in love with the book. I couldn’t stop at ten pages, or twenty, or even two-hundred. I’ve been writing military thrillers ever since.
JoeNavy: Who were some of your mentors and how did they affect you?
Jeff Edwards: My first ship was a guided missile cruiser based out of Japan in the early 1980s. The Senior Chief Sonar Technician in charge of my division was amazing. His tactical skills were superb. He could rattle off the contents of every publication and manual in the safe. He could diagram complex search and attack plans from memory. He could tell you which plans worked, which ones didn’t, and why. He knew frequencies and operating modes for every tactical sonar in every navy. He could calculate torpedo gyro angles in his head, and he could practically smell a Soviet submarine.
Senior Chief Hardy was a strong leader and an excellent mentor. I learned a lot more than Anti-Submarine Warfare from him. I learned that a good leader rewards his personnel in public, but disciplines them in private. I learned how to apply innovation and creativity in tactical situations, long before the phrase ‘outside the box’ had even been coined. I learned that correcting problems is more effective than assigning blame. I learned that people tend to live up to your expectations, or down to them, depending on where you set the bar. I learned about leadership, self reliance, and personal integrity. I learned to value my own skills and abilities.
Senior Chief was the first in a long string of mentors. Many of them were from different departments, or even different commands. Some of my mentors taught me about my job and the Navy mission. Others taught me about life, and the importance of living up to my own potential.
JoeNavy: As an author, tell us one struggle that you turned into a success?
Jeff Edwards: When I wrote ‘Torpedo,’ I made a conscious decision to portray my characters as ordinary people. The ‘hero’ in a typical military thriller can pilot an F-18, shoot like a sniper, defuse a terrorist bomb, and fight like Chuck Norris. It can be fun to read that kind of stuff, but I wanted to write about real Sailors. I served in the U.S. Navy for twenty-three years, and I never met a single superhero. The men and women I served with were ordinary Americans, who accomplished extraordinary things through teamwork and sacrifice. They didn’t look like Tom Cruz, and they didn’t have superhuman powers. They were real people, who put their lives on the line to make the world a safer place. That’s what I decided to write about.
The major publishing companies all thought I was crazy. Several publishers offered me contracts, but they wanted me to give the book a Hollywood superhero character. They told me that the book wouldn’t sell without one. I thought they were wrong, so I turned down several lucrative deals, and signed a deal with a small alternative publisher. Since then, Torpedo has won six awards, and sold many thousands of copies. The book has been optioned by a major Hollywood movie producer, and it’s been recorded as an audio book. It’s been translated into Japanese, and it’s selling like crazy in Asia. These successes only came to me because I believed in what I was doing, and I stuck to my guns.
JoeNavy: What habits, guiding principles, help make you successful?
Jeff Edwards: I’m a lifelong learner. I never stop studying; I never stop experimenting with new ideas, and I never stop looking for ways to improve. Perhaps most importantly, I’m not afraid to ask for help. If you read the acknowledgments page for Torpedo, or for my new book, The Seventh Angel, you’ll see that I had help from a lot of people. It’s nearly impossible to tackle a major project without teamwork. That principle (obviously) applies as much in real life as it does in writing fiction.
JoeNavy: What sea story would you use to motivate Sailors?
Jeff Edwards: On one of my ships, there was a young Seaman in First Division (Deck Division) who wanted to become a Torpedoman. He was a good kid - a hard worker, with a heart of gold. He didn’t smoke, but he carried a lighter in his pocket in case someone else needed a light. That’s the kind of guy he was. Day after day, he worked his butt off for First Division, and then went up to the torpedo decks to work and learn.
We would have gladly taken this kid into our division, but his ASVAB scores were too low to qualify for the TM rating. He re-took the test, and still scored too low. Finally, I had to break the bad news to him. There was no way the Navy was ever going to let him become a TM.
The next day, when his First Division duties were complete, he showed up on the torpedo decks just like always, ready to study and help. He understood that we couldn’t make him a Torpedoman, but he didn’t care. He refused to stop trying.
Eventually, we managed to get him transferred to our division so that he could work with the TMs full time. He became a Torpedoman in all but name. The ship’s Career Counselor began firing off waiver requests, trying to get this young Sailor accepted into the TM rating, despite his ASVAB scores. Eventually, somebody at the Bureau decided to give the kid a break. One of the (many) waiver requests was approved, and he was allowed to strike for Torpedoman. By the time I transferred off the ship, he was a TM3, and still climbing. He didn’t give up. He never stopped trying, not even when he saw no chance of success. It took a long time, but his perseverance paid off in the long run.
