Randy Singer Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about who Randy Singer is.

A: Let’s start with the most important thing-a sinner saved by grace. Next in order of importance-husband to Rhonda and father to Rosalyn (South Carolina Law School) and Joshua (Auburn University). In terms of my work-I tell people I’ve got a Jekyll and Hyde thing going, part time trial lawyer and part time teaching pastor. I am a partner in the Norfolk, Virginia law firm of Willcox & Savage and teaching pastor at Trinity Church in Virginia Beach. Yes, I live about a mile from the beach-a tough life but somebody’s got to minister in such a stressful environment: Because I think that sleep is highly overrated, I also teach law at Regent Law School and have a weekly gig on a radio talk show on Sirius Channel 161.

To escape from all this madness, I write novels.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?

A. I don’t know if these technically qualify as “highlights,” but I’ll tell you my three favorite things about writing. First are the emails I receive from readers-testimonies about how the book have spoken to them or kept them awake turning pages or simply made them smile. Second are Christian readers who tell me that they have given a book to a friend who is not a believer and the friend really liked it. Most will say that they used the book as a springboard to talk about spiritual issues. Third are my friends who tell me, almost always with a hint of incredulity in their voice-“This book is actually pretty good!”-meaning, of course, that they expected it to be awful: I think we all have an unspoken presumption that nobody we personally know could actually write a decent novel.

Getting my first book published was also a highlight, of course. When I started Directed Verdict, I had no clue how the publishing business worked. I don’t want to over-spiritualize this, but I felt like God gave me a story and I wrote it down. A year later, after getting up at about 5:30 every morning so I could write for a few hours before I went to work, I had a novel but no plan about how to get it published. I prayed, researched Christian publishers, sent out about six letters with a copy of the manuscript and waited for the We loved it and want to pay you big bucks! letter to arrive. To tell the truth, I didn’t get a ton of rejection letters, it was more like I didn’t hear much of anything. After a few months of sending additional letters to the black hole, I prayed that God would show me what He wanted me to do. His answer: “Write another book.”

“Okay, God. I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”

After a few months, while I was diligently working on my second novel, I finally heard back from WaterBrook Press, one of the publishers who received my original manuscript, saying that they were interested in publishing the book. After a six-month rewrite process under the tutelage of super-editor Erin Healy a whole new book emerged. That book was released in 2002 and won the Christy Award for the best Christian suspense novel.

Q: Are you still practicing law and if so in what capacity?

A: Yes. I am a litigation partner in the sixty-person law firm Willcox & Savage. I specialize in complex personal injury cases and commercial cases. Some examples of cases I’m handling right now are a wrongful death case (a wife accused of poisoning her husband), a brain damage case and medical malpractice case. I love being an advocate for people at a critical juncture in their life and I still love the thrill of the courtroom.

Q: Other than the obvious answer of, ‘it helps write convincing courtroom scenes,’ how has your law career helped you as a writer?

A: Good trial lawyers are storytellers. And, a lot of our advocacy is written-we file briefs to support our motions, briefs to support our appeals, and trial briefs to convince the judge to rule in our favor. Nothing will sharpen your writing skills like having another person getting paid $300 an hour to tell the court why everything you just wrote is wrong.

Not only that, but you meet a lot of interesting people as clients and they always come to you at a crisis point in their lives. I get lots of ideas from cases I handle. For example, one of my clients who recently passed away was in the witness protection program. My last book featured a character in that program.

A third thing is that good writers know how to create conflict in their stories. Since the life of a trial lawyer is a life of constant conflict, incorporating tension into my stories seems pretty natural for me. Try disagreeing with that-I dare you!

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release, By Reason of Insanity?

A. By Reason of Insanity is the story of a Las Vegas lawyer named Quinn Newberg who specializes in the insanity plea. I can’t really describe it any better than the marketing materials so I hope that’s not “cheating:”

Quinn’s latest client is Catherine O’Rourke, a Virginia Beach reporter accused of being the serial killer named the Avenger of Blood. Catherine maintains her innocence, though she claims to have seen visions with graphic details of the crimes-details only the killer would know. Quinn doesn’t believe in the supernatural and thinks these “visions” are nothing more than the product of a fractured personality disorder, triggered by a traumatic event in Catherine’s past.

Quinn knows insanity cases are unpredictable, but nothing in his past has prepared him for this one. To win, or even survive, he’ll need more than his famed legal maneuvering and biting sarcasm.

On this case, he’ll need a miracle.

Q: If your readers could take away only one message from By Reason of Insanity, what would that be?

A. I’m trying to show that there is more to life than what we can see, touch and feel-there is a very real spiritual dimension out there, what the Bible calls “principalities and powers…spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV). There are also angels directed by God and the power of the Holy Spirit working against Satan, who is called the Prince of the Air. The point is that what we see and touch and taste is only a small part of what is going on in this universe.

I’m also trying to show (I know you said one thing, but I’m a lawyer and lawyers don’t follow directions well) what the Bible means when it says “the iniquities of the fathers will be visited on the children unto the third and fourth generation.” Exodus 20:5. This does not mean that the children are punished for the sins of their fathers, but with certain sins the children bear the consequences of the sin and then pass these generational “chains” unto the next generation. It will often take an act of great courage and sacrifice for someone in that family to recognize this principle and step up and break those chains.

Q: One of the things I found most moving about By Reason of Insanity was the intense internal struggle Cat faces not only through the incarceration, but as she tries to figure out if she might be the Avenger. As the author, how did you put yourself in her place to write this so convincingly?

A. This aspect of the book actually took a lot of work and several revisions. My editors kept pushing me on this point-“make her doubts and struggle even more believable.” I could eventually do this by tapping into those moments of self-doubt that we all experience. For example, we see somebody doing something horrible and our first reaction is that we could never do that. Then we think about it some more and often conclude: there but for the grace of God goes me. What if the scientific evidence seemed to indicate that we really did do these horrible things? I think sometimes Christians don’t really appreciate how far we might stoop but for the restraining work of the Holy Spirit.

Q: The plot for By Reason of Insanity is filled with great twists and turns that revolve around visions seen by the reporter Cat. How did you come up with the idea of using visions?

A. There were actually two sources of inspiration for this part of the plot. The idea for the book itself came from a trial that occurred nearly two thousand years ago and is recorded in the pages of the New Testament. When the apostle Paul was on trial for his life, he told King Agrippa about a heavenly vision that the apostle experienced on the road to Damascus. Paul’s defense was interrupted by Festus, a governor who had already tried Paul and not released him. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” Festus shouted. “Your great learning is driving you insane.” Paul’s measured response: “I am not insane, most excellent Festus. What I am saying is true and reasonable.”

So you can see that even two thousand years ago, Paul had a vision from God and those in authority thought he was insane.

Today, God sometimes reveals Himself to people in the Muslim world through dreams and visions. This was the second thing that got me thinking about this aspect of the plot. Could He do that here in the United States? I think He could. But we must also realize that God has already fully revealed Himself to us through His written Word and would never show us anything in visions or dreams inconsistent with His Word.

Q: Another area that I found quite interesting is the whole concept of using the insanity plea as a defense. As an attorney have you had experience with this line of defense or did the book require considerable research?

A. The answer is both. I had a case several years ago that hinged on the mental status of a criminal defendant (I was actually handling the civil wrongful death lawsuit) and I had a chance to cross-examine some of the top forensic psychiatrists in the country on the insanity issue. For this book, however, I had to bring that research up to date since the insanity defense is constantly evolving. I tried to research the legal issues for the book with the same standard of diligence I would apply to a major case. I want my readers to feel like they can trust the realism of the legal aspects of my books.

Q: Along the same lines, though Cat maintains her innocence, she agrees to let her attorneys run with the insanity defense. What a struggle it was for her to allow them to proceed with proving she was the Avenger due to temporary insanity. How common is it in our court system for an innocent person to choose the best defense versus maintaining their innocence?

A: When people’s lives are on the line, they usually aren’t very interested in standing on principle. They tend to take a more pragmatic approach that goes something like this: “I didn’t do it, Singer. You figure out how to get me off.”

But as a lawyer, I don’t think I can really be effective unless I actually believe in the rightness of my cause. Juries can tell if you’re just going through the motions. This is why I don’t typically handle criminal defense cases unless I really think the potential client is innocent.

Q: Where do you find inspirations for your plots?

A. My law practice is probably the best incubator but I also try to be a keen observer of life in general. If someone is a good storyteller (not just an author, but a person just sharing a story, or a public speaker, etc), I’ll analyze the story. What drew me in? What made that story compelling? What transcendent features did that story have? What if I added this twist and that turn and this character? Pretty soon, the whole idea has morphed a long way from the original story and sometimes becomes interesting enough to form the basis of a novel.

News stories also provide some good food for thought. As they say, life is stranger than fiction.

Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession?

A. There never seems to be enough time to write the way I always envisioned it. I saw myself sitting around, thinking great and creative thoughts, then going to some nice isolated setting and agonizing over the best twist of a phrase. In reality, the life of a published author is a lot more disciplined and detail-oriented than I thought it would be. When you’re turning out a manuscript, you basically have to write every day, whether you feel like it or not. And there are a thousand details associated with editing, marketing, contracts, etc. that most writers would rather do without.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?

A. My next book is tentatively called The Imposter. It’s an exploration of the biblical truth that “a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” James 1:8. Here’s a brief synopsis of the book:

The Imposter is Jason Noble, a small-church pastor on Sunday and an ambulance chasing lawyer the rest of the week. On his most important case-when he is called on to defend his former rector against allegations of sexual abuse-Jason will need every trick in his legal arsenal. But things fall apart when his double life leaves him vulnerable to manipulation and blackmail. His enemies threaten to expose a devastating secret and Jason must decide whether he will protect his own reputation or save his client.

Fear paralyzes when you have everything to lose.

As the case goes to trial, the web of deceit spreads, and Jason finds an ally in the most unlikely of places. What they do next will shock everyone.

Courage comes when you have nothing left to hide.

Q. As a multi-published author, what do you see as the greatest obstacle to becoming published today?

A. Getting a good story through the “no thanks” gauntlet that publishers and agents have established in order to keep their sanity is the greatest challenge. In the law we have the presumption that you are innocent until proven guilty. In the publishing business, a manuscript is generally presumed to be not worthy of publication unless it really catches somebody’s attention in the first few pages or is “high concept”-such a compelling plot idea that it practically jumps off the page.

I think the best way to get through this gauntlet is to attend conferences and workshops where you get to sit down with agents and acquisitions editors and personally pitch your storyline. Getting that initial hearing is sometimes half the battle. Even if you don’t get a contract, you get helpful feedback as opposed to the sterile “no thanks” letter you might otherwise receive.

Q: Would you name three

great fiction books you read in 2007 and tell us why you think they were great?
A. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory had rich characterizations of the three Boleyn girls vying for Henry VIII’s attention. Gregory brought that time frame vividly to life and showed how Anne of Cleves courageously dealt with the treachery and false accusations against her. Exile by Richard North Patterson personalized the Middle East conflict through the eyes of some memorable characters. And Daddy’s Girl by Lisa Scottoline. This is actually not Scottoline’s best, but she still has a way of placing you right in the middle of South Philly with all its gritty Italian texture and fascinating characters.

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?

A. Thanks for the interview and really thinking about these questions. You’ve got a great web site. I’m in the process of revamping mine so that people will be able to download my sermons for free, keep track of my speaking engagements and new books, etc. My site is www.randysinger.net. If you type in randysinger.com you’ll realize that a harmonica player with my name made it to the Internet before I did. It probably goes without saying, but I want readers to have fun reading my books. Yes, I’m writing with some messages in mind, but those messages won’t be communicated if the story isn’t compelling. Even after seven novels, I still have fun writing them. I sometimes find it hard to believe that I get paid for doing something I enjoy so much.