This is your debut novel after a forty-plus year business career, principally in real estate. What inspired you to write a novel, and particularly Waking Up, a murder mystery featuring international characters and the drug underworld?
My real estate career ended when I retired in March 2005, happily before the markets collapsed (as they also did from time to time over my years in the business). My work was never easy; its demands included long hours and intense concentration, which left me little free time. Thus, the beginnings of my itch to write had to be satisfied within the framework of my profession. So whenever someone at a meeting had to take responsibility for the minutes, or when descriptive materials for a property offering had to be prepared, I was always the first to raise my hand. One of my colleagues once paid me what I considered the ultimate compliment. He said, “You never have to bother going to a meeting. Just read Joe’s notes and you were there.”
A year of post-retirement training at Gotham Writers’ Workshop helped me learn the rudiments of the craft and convinced me that I should take a chance and write a novel.
I once said I love writing fiction and was asked why. I answered whimsically at first, saying that except for basketball and sex, it’s the most fun thing I’ve ever engaged in. Then I turned serious and said that over my real estate career I was involved in a few hundred transactions involving several billion dollars of value, every one of which would have happened without my involvement—some better and perhaps, some worse. But be assured, each deal would have absolutely taken place. My novel, on the other hand, would not exist without me.
As for the inspiration for Waking Up, I came across a short item in Newsweek—a “designer” drug had apparently become the hot new item for upscale addicts. I immediately envisioned a connection to the real estate business—I mean, providers of illegal drugs have to manufacture them somewhere, don’t they? And in a story featuring drug addiction, the involvement of the underworld (which has spawned many memorable characters in literature) is almost a given. Bringing in real estate deals and Japanese characters made sense for me, as it’s what I know based upon my life experience.
The novel’s title, Waking Up, is very apropos. The main character, Michael Hayes, goes through a series of life-altering “wake-up” calls. Which of Hayes’ wake-up calls would you consider most pivotal throughout the novel?
Three clearly stand out. The first is obvious—the inciting incident that kicks off the story, the middle-of-the-night phone call from the kidnapper that awakens Hayes with the threat that his eleven-year old son is about to be murdered.
The second flows from Hayes having allowed his success as a real estate investment banker to obfuscate the troubled relationships his behavior has caused—with his family, friends and colleagues at work. A jarring visitation from the spirit of his dead boy stuns him into recognizing what he has allowed himself to become. As a skilled practitioner, he understands that he has created imaginative business plans to deal with clients’ properties; now he awakens to the realization that he must prepare a plan for himself and begin the uphill journey to regain the love and respect of the persons he cares about most.
Regarding the third, it takes place near the end of the novel. That’s all I’m prepared to reveal, as I’d better not give away the climax.
The saying goes, “Write what you know.” What parts of the novel did you draw upon your own experiences and what parts were flights of fancy?
In much of the novel, I’ll confess that I dramatized accounts of many of the interesting and exciting episodes I lived through while practicing real estate. That means the “wheeling and dealing” that takes place in the sub-plot, although fictional, is quite real.
The main and secondary characters, though, are all creatures from my imagination. (My former colleagues, should they read Waking Up, may try to guess who each one is, but I don’t expect they’ll be able to.) Yet the protagonist contains essential elements of, and personality traits shown to me by, many of the successful practitioners I worked with over the years. Particularly realistic are Hayes’ dealings with his family and his business associates. (How do I know this? Well, when working on out-of-town assignments with people, there’s lots of time to talk and get to know them—like in hotel bars and on long plane rides, both of which are featured prominently in Waking Up.)
As for the international aspects of the novel, I spent the final thirteen years of my real estate career working at the U.S. affiliate of one of the largest Japanese real estate companies. I cannot even count the number of times I had to fly over the Arctic Circle to meet with our executives. And each time I visited, I learned something new about their people or society which I found unique and captivating. My colleagues or friends would say to me, “Joe-san, it’s the Japanese way.” Imparting some of these features in the novel will, I believe, impact my readers in a similar manner.
Yes, much of the novel feels very true to life. In fact, the yakuza (the Japanese mafia) exists. How did you come to know of the yakuza?
For those of us who lived through the late 1980s, it’s impossible to forget how the acquisition of landmark U.S. real estate by Japanese investors—Rockefeller Center, Pebble Beach, and others—had Americans believing that our nation would soon be one of their subsidiaries. During that period, I represented a major Japanese entity that had assembled a sizeable U.S. portfolio and was considering adding to it. On a Sunday, I flew to Japan and worked all week to be ready for a meeting at which I would present the latest potential acquisition to the decision-makers. But when I entered the conference room on Friday with my papers and charts, it was empty. Only then did I learn that the Ministry of Finance, that very morning, had levied accusations on my client’s top officials that they engaged in salacious activities involving favoring domestic customers over foreigners and also in transactions with the yakuza. Thus I was introduced to the nefarious elements of that country. My personal experience, as well as several others that followed, found their way into Waking Up.
Did you intend for the metamorphosis of Hayes, an emotionally detached, career-driven individual, to be a comment on today’s society?
Given the worldwide recession brought about by the creation and marketing of over-aggressive financial instruments, the character of my protagonist may seem consistent with that of many of the personalities who have dominated the news since early 2008. But frankly, my story could be set in any era and would resonate. People who gravitate to the financial business and who are fortunate to achieve material wealth cannot help but be changed as a result; if they are not careful, they could (like Hayes) become persons that they would not have recognized at earlier times in their lives. For such people, waking up is an excellent idea.
Is there another book in the works? What’s next for you?
In his hit song Piano Man, Billy Joel sang of Paul, the real estate novelist. I have always longed to be Paul, although happily, I have had time for a wife. So in my next novel, the real estate business will be featured again.
Why real estate? Think about it this way. If you find a story set in your home town, or one that contains major scenes which take place at your alma mater, you’re drawn to it. Recognition of the setting instantly grounds you, as you clearly visualize the actions conveyed by the written words. Well, real estate has been a part of almost every aspect of our lives—we’ve all bought houses or rented apartments, stayed at hotels and either worked in or visited office buildings, and who hasn’t spent time in a shopping center?
Given the story arc of Waking Up, which begins with a kidnapping/murder, I was asked by an amused former colleague if in my real estate career I’d ever come across a dead body. Actually, the answer is “almost.” I once consulted for a client who was trying to determine what to do about a failed transaction. While my work progressed, their attorneys started litigation which quickly became quite messy. One night, a key client officer headed for his car in the parking garage beneath their office building. He never made it. We all had suspicions about who was responsible for his death, however the crime went unsolved. Ultimately, my team managed to work out the real estate problem, fortunately without me having to go below ground and visit the crime scene. But my memory of the incident and the story behind it identified a great premise on which to base my next novel, tentatively entitled The Ultimate Betrayal.