FAQ
Q: What is The Secret History about?
A: At its core it’s about the gray men and women who control the intelligence apparatus, the faceless ones who pull the strings, for good or for ill. Were they responsible for the torture and murder of a U.S. drug agent in Mexico? It’s also about the obsession that takes over the main character: an obsession to do what’s necessary, not necessarily what’s right.
Q: Can you tell me more?
A: A fixer named Dahl is hired to rescue a Cartel boss’s niece from Border Patrol custody. Meanwhile, a spy agency assigns an operative to unravel the conspiracy behind the torture and murder of a U.S. drug agent in Mexico forty years ago. Dahl secures the niece, but they’re ambushed by Dahl’s former partner in a Latin America assassination program, one of its victims, unbeknownst to Dahl, bearing the secret of the drug agent’s death. In the explosive climax, with Trump dead, DeSantis headed for the nomination and a militia uprising in the offing, Dahl learns the truth and waits with a rifle on a hillside at the final 2024 rally.
Q: Why did you write it?
A: I was interested in seeing what my main character would do in an extraordinary situation. Beyond that I’ve always been fascinated by the real-life murder of the DEA agent in Mexico: who was responsible?
Q: What is your background?
A: I was a newspaper writer and editor for many years. Much of that time was spent as a columnist and investigative reporter. Later, I worked as a private investigator and as a fraud investigator for a major insurance company.
Q: Have you published anything previously?
A: Numerous short stories and a novella. You can find a collection of some of them for sale on Amazon. Look for Lynerkim’s Dance and Other Stories.
Q: Where have your short stories appeared?
A: Mostly in literary magazines. By the way, many of my efforts are on my website, rhemmers.com.
Q: Is writing a novel harder than writing short stories?
A: It’s different. In a novel you have much more space for the back stories of characters, much more space to expand on a character’s motivations, much more space to meander. Also, a most importantly, in my opinion anyway, you have to be able to sit at a keyboard for a long time: so, a hard butt is necessary. In a short story, with a maximum of 5,000 words or less, every word must count and advance the story; no meandering allowed. Rewriting over and over again. Personally, I prefer short stories: I have a short attention space.
Q: Do you have a website?
A: Yes, it’s Rhemmers.com.
Q: Where can I buy The Secret History?
A: Amazon.
Q: How has your journalism career affected your writing?
A: I’m tempted to say I learned the value of writing clearly. That’s true, but I think the most important thing I learned was how to interview someone and how to listen to what they’re saying, really listen. When I was a private investigator, my partner was an ex-cop. I was a much better interviewer because, in my opinion, he was accustomed to people having to talk to him while I had to work at it. I often found myself empathizing with the person I was interviewing and that worked to open them up.
Q: What about this book specifically?
A: Newspaper work taught me that what is most true is often what is most hidden and that it’s a writer’s job to find that truth.
Q: You were a newspaper investigator and then a private investigator. What sort of things did you investigate?
A: When I worked in journalism, I wrote about everything from police corruption to political shenanigans. As a private investigator and later as an investigator for an insurance company that sold a large number of high-end disability policies I concentrated on fraudulent claims. Some of the claims were incredibly complicated and difficult to unravel.
Q: Is The Secret History true?
A: It’s fiction and most of the characters are fictional. But the conclusion of the operative’s investigation is based on fact or, to be totally fair, on well supported allegations. But to tell you any more would give away too much. You’ll have to read it to find out.
Q: Which writers have influenced you?
A: I grew up in the generation when Hemingway was still a strong influence on writers. I moved beyond that, which is not meant to imply that his style wasn’t influential, perfectly fitted to his subjects and graceful to the point of beauty. It just means that I developed my own way of writing. And I still love to read Hemingway’s short stories and early work. (But not the later novels.) I suppose my primary influence now is Robert Stone because of the way he combined action and the literary. I’ve often reread Dog Soldiers and A Flag for Sunrise.