You Killed My Brother
by Keith Rommel
Rainer is a successful doctor and father of two. He’s a celebrated member of the community for his exceptional care and charity work. Brick is a local street thug that can’t keep his nose clean. When fate brings the two together through tragedy, the life of Rainer is changed dramatically.
Glenn is a seasoned cop and Rainer’s younger brother. Trusting the justice system, he keeps his desire for revenge in check as Brick is brought to trial. But when the jury hands Brick a lean sentence, Glenn sets out to avenge his family’s suffering. But what he forgets in his rage is that for every action, there is a reaction.
Characters interview
You Killed My Brother is a fast paced crime thriller that pits the rich and powerful against a ruthless street gang.
Today I am here with Ruth from the gang known as The South side Sinners and Jennifer, the wife of a prominent doctor and celebrated member of the community for his exceptional care and charity work.
The two met in the opening scene of You Killed My Brother when they had a near miss in a car accident that could have been deadly.
The near miss enraged Ruth, and in her anger she confronted Jennifer.
Hello ladies and welcome. I'd like to keep this as organized as possible and allow you two a chance to answer each question. So if you could speak one at a tome and to me and not each other, that would be great.
You two had quite the explosive meeting. Can you tell me how you feel about it now?
Jennifer: I have no idea why she acted the way she did.Ruth: You almost killed me! You sit there with that stupid look on your face, and it's the same one that annoyed me the day you almost ran into me.Ladies, speak to me and not each other.Jennifer: I don't know why she's taking this so personal. It was an accident! It's not like I rolled into the intersection on purpose!Ruth: That's the problem with you rich people. You think you own the road and can do whatever you want. But you can't.Jennifer: My financial status has nothing to do with —Ruth: It has everything to do with it. You act like you own everything.Ruth, I'm directing this question towards you. When you were so upset with Jennifer after the near accident, she refused to get out of the car and fight you. Why did you turn that aggression towards her young kids?Ruth: Because they just cried, screaming and carrying on, acting like spoiled brats.Jennifer: They're just kids and they were scared. What do you expect them to do?Ruth: I expect them to shut up and not annoy me.Jennifer: You are so uncivilized.Ladies, to me please.Ruth: (laughs) She talks about my being uncivilized. She's over civilized like everything about her and her life is fake, handed to her on a silver spoon. She darts out in the middle of traffic, pays no attention to traffic signs and almost kills me and she has the nerve to sit here and say that I’m uncivilized?Jennifer: It's true. You're like an animal. You are wild and out of control and walk around with this attitude. You have this chip on your shoulder for no good reason.Ruth: When it comes to people like you, I do.Jennifer: People like me?Ruth: Rich snobs. Just like your husband.Okay, hold on. Let's not jump around so much here. I'd like to stay on the question.Jennifer: Don't bring my husband into this. Especially not after what happened to him because of your boyfriend.Ruth: He's not my boyfriend and your husband deserved what he got. I could care less about him.Jennifer: You think he deserved that? (shakes her head) You have to be kidding me!Ruth: Deserved it, that’s what I said. He's not such a superhero anymore, now is he? And your brother-in-law got what he deserved, too.Jennifer: There's something seriously wrong with you!Ruth: Yeah, people like you that walk around like everything is ice cream and puppies, that’s what’s wrong with me. I’ll give you a dose of reality.Ladies, please...Jennifer: How do you want me to have a conversation with her when she talks like that about my husband and threatens me? She's as crazy as all those people she runs around town with, tormenting everyone.Ruth: I'll show you how crazy I am. (stands and kicks her chair over) Come on then, stand up and let's settle this once and for all.Jennifer: You see? How can you expect me to sit here and take this?Ladies, please. Why do you fight with each other like this? There’s got to be some middle ground. Ruth, why don't you pick up your chair so we can hash this out?Ruth: I'm not interested and have nothing in common with her. I'd really like to kick her ass for all the grief she's caused me.Jennifer: That I've caused you? (shakes her head) You have no idea how much that day, my mistake, haunts me.Ruth: Oh please, don't act like you care now.Jennifer: I've always cared and never wanted it to turn into what it turned into. But you wouldn't let it go.Ruth: Eye for an eye.If I could interrupt you ladies for a moment. Aren't you two overlooking the one person that is really responsible for this?Jennifer & Ruth: What are you talking about?I’m talking about Keith Rommel. The author. The guy that wrote the story. I mean isn’t he responsible? After all, he’s the one who pitted you two against one another.Ruth: You know, you might have a point.Jennifer: He did put us through a lot. All so he can get people’s attention to sell some books.Ruth: Well, he has my attention now and I’m not happy about it...
Keith Rommel
Suspense/Horror writer Keith Rommel goes out of his comfort zone to bring you a fast paced crime novel You Killed My Brother. We got the chance to pick Keith’s brain on why he made the shift and some insights into the critically acclaimed novel.
You Killed My Brother (YKMB) is a crime thriller and you normally write in the suspense/horror genre. Why the shift?Keith: Crime fiction is something that has always appealed to me. I wanted to challenge myself as a writer to see if I could leap into another genre that appealed to me and make it enjoyable for readers without them recognizing that most of my work is in the suspense/horror genre.When you write a novel, do you normally outline the entire story before you start writing or do you start with an idea and see where it brings you?Keith: With YKMB I had a fully fleshed out outline and stuck with it almost the entire way. This is a rare occurrence because as the characters take shape and begin to insert their own personalities, it usually shifts the outline beyond the boundaries I set in the outline. Sometimes this takes me far away from my original plans. In this instance, only the very end was changed upon the advice of my editors, Erin Al-Mehairi and Tim Busbey. And that advice, according to reviews and reader feedback was a great decision.You Killed My Brother is an interesting title. How did you come up with it?Keith: (laughs) It actually came to me as I began the outlining process. I decided I was going to actually put my brother, Glenn in the book. Although I am close with him, that doesn’t mean I’m going to be nice to him. In fact, there are nearly a dozen people in the book that know me on a very personal level. The more I love them, the worse I gave it to them, hoping readers would appreciate my pitting family and friends against a ruthless street gang. As one reviewer said on Amazon, “The story takes on a domino effect rendering the title “You Killed My Brother” a perfect title.Who is your favorite character and why?Keith: I have a few favorite characters and for different reasons. I like Ruth who is the antagonist on the gang side and does a very good job of manipulating people and turning something that was no big deal into this catastrophic event. I often nicknamed her Ruthless. Another favorite would be Glenn. I suppose there is a some real personality alignments that character has with my brother. He is a man that believes in the system and once it has let him down, he snaps and goes after the people he holds responsible. His reaction is real and although violent, made from a position of love and frustration.You tend to write in a nonlinear style. Can you explain what that is and if you applied that style to YKMB and why?Keith: Nonlinear is where you shift back and forth in timelines in order to create a puzzle for the reader to try and figure out where you’re going as you tell the story. I do use that style in YKMB, but only mildly when compared to my other works. I allow the reader to see both sides of the story to help add a depth of being in the mix of it all, therefore eliminating the need to rely on a backstory.Why didn’t you specify what city or state these events take place in? Was that done on purpose?
Keith: Yes, I did do that on purpose. To me, each individual reader has areas that they live in they can identify as being an upscale neighborhood or an area that is rife with drug or gang activity. I wanted them the ability to place the setting they are familiar with within the story in order to create a more realistic setting.The ending is quite the cliffhanger. Do you intend on releasing a sequel to let readers know what happened?Keith: A sequel is in the works and it picks up right where we left off in You Killed My Brother. It will explore the pressing question of happened to the two characters that are left in a standoff at the end. More characters remained standing at the end of the first book and will introduce more into the chaos
A day in the life of a writer: Keith RommelWith multiple books under his belt and a movie currently being filmed based off of one of his novels, what does a day in the life of a writer look like for Keith Rommel? We've had a chance to talk to him and this is what he had to say:For most writers, being able to write full time is part of the dream of being published and recognized as an accomplished writer. But as with most artists and art forms, passion doesn't pay the bills and real life obstacles get in the way, creating a unique challenge of balancing a job, a family, and a hobby. This is true for me.
Having been in retail management for most of my professional career, I am no stranger to long hours and the need to give in to my exhaustion. Sixty hours plus are a typical week in the workplace leaving me with little energy to contend with a four year old son, a six year old daughter and a wife that needs a break too. If I'm lucky enough to be home on time to have dinner with the family, the children look at me as their own personal jungle-gym. Teaching them baseball, taking them to parks or riding bikes, coloring and reading them books is a typical night before we settle down in front of the television and watch an episode of Judge Judy or Americas Funniest Videos before everyone turns in for bed. That is, everyone but me.When the lights go out and everyone is sleeping, I'll dedic
ate about an hour or two almost every night to writing my next novel or promoting the ones that have already been released. My mood and energy level dictates whether or not I'm writing something new, outlining, editing or simply typing in corrections.
Often times within that hour plus dedicated to writing, I'll take a break and read a comic book, watch one of my favorite shows such as Ghost Adventures, The Walking Dead or even Survivorman to help clear my mind. I struggle on a daily basis with PTSD and find myself in battle with high level anxiety attacks that sometimes interfere with my concentration and routine. But I've been writing for years now and the habits are there. So I deal with the demands of my job, my duties as a father and husband, my hobbies and the distraction of having acute anxiety all in attempt to fulfill a passion that can never be satisfied.
Doubt - it's part of the gameYou already have the skill or are working on developing it. So how do you know when you're ready to take that step from being a writer to a published author?
I'm not going to attempt to answer that question for you because each person’s journey, skill level and dedication will bring them down different paths. But what I can speak about is my experience and tell you how my opportunity came and the tools I used along the way.
It is my hope as I share my experience how I honed my craft (and continue to do so) that ultimately brought me to multiple publications and a movie deal, that you understand I continue to struggle with doubt on whether or not my work is good enough. Some days that doubt is downright heavy and defeating. But as a writer, we learn to peel that off of us and find the inspiration to move on. How? When something is a passion quitting is not an option. We have a story to tell and want someone to listen.
As I write this and reflect why we as writers have a natural doubt, I wonder if it is merely a side effect of our own attempts to achieve perfection. Might that be true? I know it is for me. Measured by sales or reviewers, and all the sweat and tears forgotten about as we move on to the next project, hoping for acceptance and our big break. But there are so many obstacles we must overcome as writers. So where can we draw inspiration from, even when doubt has us down?
The most valuable tool I use is the website The Critique Circle. It is a point building website where you crit other writers works of your choosing and in turn, you earn points to be able to put your own work up for others to comment on. The most important feature of this interactive community is that it isn't friends and family members telling you how wonderful your work is. Rather, it is other likeminded people that are looking to give honest to god feedback that you can use to learn and grow and aren't worried about your feelings in the process. Don't get me wrong, I've never had a rude critter, but some that were brutally honest and I believe those were the ones I learned the most from. This website and community will give you something tangible to take away and apply to your writing and best of all it's free. Of course with any such sites, you'll have to figure out what is a good crit and what is not. How do you do that? You'll just know. I used the CC site for years as I honed my debut novel and continue to use the site to this day.
I've also devoured a book entitled Self Editing For Fiction Writers by Renni Brown & David King. This book is packed with tips on style including showing vs tell, , point of view, proportion, passive voice and a bunch more. I often revisit the book, picking up more tips and tricks along the way, sometimes getting my nose into it as a refresher.
As a writer, I think it is important to keep your expectations real. You can dream big but if you're expecting instant success, it's highly unlikely and unrealistic. That is, unless you appear on television regularly in some reality show. Keep your focus on improving your craft whether through the examples mentioned above or some other way, and always keep writing. Even if your doubt is heavy like mine, tell your story and enjoy what you do. And remember, writing the novel is only a part of the process. The gruelling work starts when it's time to promote your work.
So as I bring this article to a close, I still ask myself as I so often do whether my bodies of work are worthy of someone's time and money where they don't feel cheated. I'll keep applying the principals above, keep writing the stories I love to tell, and allow my readers to decide for themselves.
The Query LetterOver the years, I have scoured the Internet for information on how to write a query letter. I have found hundreds of articles that provided an outline explaining what a writer should do and not showing. I’m going to show you by breaking down a query letter. I am going to comment on each entry to try and give you some insight as to the reasons why I chose certain wording.
First, let’s take a look at the query without notes:Dear Agent/Publisher,
How far would you go to make someone pay for hurting a loved one?
Rainer is a successful doctor and father of two. He’s a celebrated member of the community for his exceptional care and charity work. Brick is a local street thug that can’t keep his nose clean. When fate brings the two together through tragedy, the life of Rainer is changed dramatically, setting into motion events that change communities.
Glenn is a seasoned cop and Rainer’s younger brother. Trusting the justice system, he keeps his desire for revenge in check as Brick is brought to trial. But when the jury hands Brick a lean sentence, Glenn sets out to avenge his family’s suffering. But what he forgets in his rage is that for every action, there is a reaction.
You Killed My Brother is a novel of crime and suspense where the rich collides with a local street gang. At around 55,000 words, it is paced for a quick-and-easy read. This the first book in the Cultures Collide series.
Best Regards,
Keith RommelNow, let’s break down the query into parts:Dear Agent/Publisher,
Your greeting to the agent or publisher should be specific. It is important to familiarize yourself with any agent or publisher you’re considering for representation and or publication before you submit to them. All too often writers don’t pinpoint appropriate agents or publishers that are proper for their work, thus increasing their rejections. Rejections are going to happen, but if you do your homework, you will avoid some of those “no thanks” responses and receive a positive response.How far would you go to make someone pay for hurting a loved one?This is the hook. It is a fast logline about the story that is intended to pique the agent/publisher’s interest right away. Most times you will only have one sentence to do it, so make it sharp.Rainer is a successful doctor and father of two. He’s a celebrated member of the community for his exceptional care and charity work.The second and third sentences deliver facts about the protagonist. I intentionally keep the sentence short and sharp.Brick is a local street thug that can’t keep his nose clean.Here is where I explain the antagonist.When fate brings the two together through tragedy, the life of Rainer is changed dramatically, setting into motion events that change communities.This is where I reveal the tension of the plot and intend on building the tension again, bringing the targeted agent/publisher on a mini rollercoaster ride. What I have done thus far is provide the details of the plot with minimal word usage.Glenn is a seasoned cop and Rainer’s younger brother.Here I add a new layer to the story by introducing a new character and how he’s connected to the protagonist.Trusting the justice system, he keeps his desire for revenge in check as Brick is brought to trial. But when the jury hands Brick a lean sentence, Glenn sets out to avenge his family’s suffering. But what he forgets in his rage is that for every action, there is a reaction.The final portion of the query leaves the entire outline of the story fully explained in a short, concise pitch that begs for more answers.You Killed My Brother is a novel of crime and suspense where the rich collides with a local street gang. At around 55,000 words, it is paced for a quick-and-easy read This the first book in the Cultures Collide series.In the closing paragraph, I provide genre and I mention word count. Depending on your publishing history, some agents/publishers will find your word count useful. I also mention this is part of a series, citing intention of a desire to continue with the story.
I often say that selling books is not a race, but a marathon. Go into it with the intention of getting to know humility and working as hard to reach publication as you did to write your novel.
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