Sometimes you just need a thriller—something quick-paced, heart-pounding, and intriguing. Kimberly Lee’s debut, Have You Seen Him, about a man who discovers his own face in an age-progressed missing child ad, is all of the above. Plus, it has a nice touch of self-discovery and emotion (if you know me, you know I love that!).
I had the pleasure of working with Kimberly on this project and it was wonderful to interview her. Read on for a behind-the-scenes look at the book, plus tips for aspiring indie authors.
Detectives: Connect with Kimberly on Instagram, LinkedIn, and her website. Grab a copy of Have You Seen Him from Amazon, Bookshop.org, or Barnes & Noble.
Thanks for joining, Kimberly! Have You Seen Him follows David Byrdsong, a public defender who discovers his own face on an age-progressed missing child ad, sending him on a dangerous mission to discover the truth about himself and where he came from. What sparked the idea for this thriller, and/or David’s character?
Soon after we meet the book’s main character, David, he’s sifting through mail and sees the missing child ad with his own face. The inspiration for the book is a scenario pretty similar to that—I was sorting through my mail and saw an ad for a child who went missing when he was ten years old. The computer-progressed image showed him at age forty. I thought about how this boy’s family had been searching for over three decades and had never given up trying to find him. The faces haunted me. I tore it out and carried it around in my bag for a while, then sat down to write a story about it.
David is a public defender because I was one myself, for about five years here in Los Angeles County. That experience gave me the basis for writing scenes in which he appears in court, visits clients, and interacts with colleagues. When I was in law school, I’d get up early to read John Grisham’s latest book, prioritizing that before reading the cases assigned for my classes! I think I knew deep down I wanted to someday parlay my background in law to writing fiction, and I admired Grisham’s journey.
The book is set in Los Angeles. What do you love about LA, specifically as a setting for mysteries and thrillers?
Although I wasn’t born in Los Angeles, this beautiful city has been my home for more than two decades. Setting the book here is my version of a love letter to it. It’s an iconic city for a story, with many distinct neighborhoods, cultural venues, and tourist attractions, of course. People from every corner of the world. It’s a great setting for mysteries and thrillers because in addition to the familiar, well-known places, it’s large and varied enough for characters to take a low profile while they figure out their next move. There are plenty of lesser-known areas for them to hide if they’re on the run. When I was writing the story, everywhere I went became a potential setting, and I would suggest that lens to every writer, no matter where they are.
I love a tight-knit, fast-paced thriller, but I know it’s not always easy to perfect that pacing during initial drafts. Can you share some backstory into the book’s editing process? Were there parts of the story that you ended up cutting or revising to strengthen its structure?
An early editor reminded me that thrillers need to progress pretty quickly. My first draft was twice as long and would have fallen well outside the typical word count for this genre. The phrase “this scene needs to move!” appeared numerous times in that editor’s notes throughout the manuscript. As I revised it, many chapters and several characters were cut because they slowed things down and weren’t essential to the plot. It was difficult, because I had affection for those characters and had to do away with passages I’d painstakingly written. It was great advice, though, and I’m glad I listened. As a result, the book is leaner and the story is more effective, I believe.
As a debut author, and an indie author, what have you learned during this publishing process that has challenged, surprised, or excited you? Are there key takeaways you will incorporate into the publishing plan for your next book?
A favorite aspect of the process has been the input I was able to give surrounding cover design! I’m thrilled with how it turned out and it beautifully reflects the heart of the story. A book’s cover is so important and I’ve talked with writers who weren’t happy with their covers but didn’t have this level of decision-making power. As an indie author, that’s a perk—seeing your vision realized, with expert guidance.
I wasn’t particularly looking forward to the marketing aspect of this process but so much time went into writing the book, I owe it (and the characters) a chance to thrive and be read, for the story to be heard. So I kind of put a fire under myself to go for it. I also began viewing it as another way to be creative. A key takeaway in this area: Start early! It’s crucial to have a promotional plan in place and to begin implementing it before launching a new book.
Another important takeaway as an indie author is the importance of finding a knowledgeable publishing company to work with who you can trust to walk you through the self-publishing process and help with all the things you may not know. I’ve been truly happy with AuthorImprints—the ongoing communication and the high level of care my book has received, every step of the way. Some have assumed my book is traditionally published, by the polished way it looks on the outside as well as the professional editing it underwent on the inside.
Being part of the writing community has been really helpful—and I encourage writers to do what they can to get involved. I’ve volunteered with magazines and journals as a reader, intern, and editor, and I belong to a number of writing organizations. I workshopped chapters of the book in classes and critique groups, and I also lead workshops in creative and expressive writing. When the time came, I had a robust network to approach for honest assessments and evaluations. The feedback was invaluable and helped make the book the best it could be.
Lastly, what’s next for you? What are you currently working on, and/or are
Have You Seen Him is the first in a trilogy, so it’s back to my notebook to work on the second installment. Pen to page. I took more than ten years to write and publish this book, working on it off and on, but I don’t plan on taking anywhere close to that much time for the next two! I’ll start work on it at a writing retreat this September. A few people have asked me what’s going to happen with the characters, and to be honest, I’m not sure myself, although I have a few ideas.
Robert Frost said, “No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader.” We’ll all be surprised with the next developments—please stay tuned!
Thanks so much to Kimberly for the interview. Detectives, I hope you enjoyed it! If you aren’t already subscribed, please be sure to sign up for the Cluesletter and get author features like this alongside other mystery goodies, delivered to your inbox every other Tuesday.