Gary Edgington
Outside the Wire
A retired LA counterterrorism cop and a fearless Army doctor risk everything, including their burgeoning romance, as they battle clandestine Iranian operatives bent on the slaughter of thousands of innocents and ultimately the destruction of America.
The Writer’s Dossier 5/7/2024 – The Gary Edgington interview
DOSSIER: You’ve made so many cool career moves, it’s hard to pin down exactly where you’re a subject matter expert other than to say you have “a certain set of skills.” For your novel, OUTSIDE THE WIRE, what element of your experience helped you the most with writing it—your work as a California law man, being assigned as a military contractor in Iraq, or the action-packed battlefield of being a grandfather?
EDGINGTON: Some have said I can’t hold a job. However, I can say I am no stranger to background investigations or polygraphs. After taking and passing nine or ten, I should qualify for some amateur polygrapher status or at least a merit badge. I would have to say that my “certain set of skills” would have to include being a patient and thorough investigator. Listening to people and learning how to effectively communicate with them has served me well. Over the years I’ve gotten pretty good at getting cop-outs and flipping informants. Having a keen interest in history, military affairs and technology also served me very well in the counter terrorism arena. To be effective in the very complex and dynamic world of international terrorism you must gain an understanding of your foe’s history, religion, and culture. I also learned a great deal while embedded with the US Army in Iraq.
Speaking of foreign cultures, the US Army must rank near the top of the list when it comes to complexity, tradition, and staggering bureaucracy. I thought the FBI had that one sown up until I went to the sandbox in 2008. Outside the Wire was inspired by that desert experience, but it was shaped by the totality of my experiences as a uniformed Southern California cop, an investigator, a counter terrorism agent and later CT task force commander. The humor in the book is pure cop, but I think one could say cops and soldiers have a lot in common including the ability to find humor in things that the uninitiated would be horrified by. Just like me, my protagonist Rick was never in the service and like me he was mystified by the acronyms and other peculiarities of the modern U.S. military.
DOSSIER: Your wife, Lisa Kridos, is a TV executive. We thought you were married to Lisa Kudrow and now have the song Smelly Cat in our head. Given all of your different work assignments around the world, how much of a challenge has it been on your family, and how do they feel about you being a novelist now?
EDGINGTON: Ah “Smelly Cat,” who can forget it’s mournful refrain, “It’s not your fault.” BTW, those are words no married man has ever, ever, ever heard. Being away from home was very challenging for my kids and especially my wife Lisa. Her career field in TV production requires long hours and is very demanding. But she managed it all, enabling me to visit strange and exotic places like Baghdad, USSOCOM in Tampa and the strangest of all Pentagon City. I actually lived in the same the high rise as the illegal Russian spy-chicks. I used to not notice them lounging by the pool. My family has been very supportive of my writing endeavors. My son Ryan who is also in the book trade in London was without a doubt the best line editor I ever worked with. He’s also a damn good screenwriter and I’d love to see him adapt Outside the Wire, but he has his own writing projects going. My daughter Megan helped me not only with the manuscript but also with the technicalities and sensitivities of writing female characters. Lisa read and re-read the manuscript and the ARC several times, finding errors the professionals missed!
DOSSIER: When and where do you write, and what kind of environment do you prefer? (Absolute silence/music playing/the gun range)
EDGINGTON: I prefer to write in the mornings. My routine is to first get my butt kicked in a CrossFit morning class, limp home, get a cup of BRCC coffee (Blackbeard’s Delight). Then I go to work unless an irresistible distraction i.e. my grandson presents itself. I used to write on the couch in the family room. But planes, hotel rooms and even a sedan front seat during a very long surveillance, have served in the past. However, since the arrival of my very active grandson, I have moved to a quieter space. I have bogarted a spare bedroom and call it my own. Now I simply announce I’m going in the SCIF, close the door, turn on the red light, and amazingly no one, not even the little sir bothers me. I should have done this much earlier.
DOSSIER: The story in your book sounds a lot like what you’ve done in real life—a retired L.A. cop goes to Iraq and mixes things up a little. Not exactly Mr. Smith Goes to Washington! How much from your personal experiences did you actually draw from for this book, and how much is pure fiction?
EDGINGTON: I am frequently asked, “how much of your book really happened?” My usual answer is, “ask me which part you’re curious about and I’ll tell you.” Much of the book is drawn from my own LE experiences as well as my time embedded with the Army in Iraq. For instance, Chapter SIX, “Shots Fired Officer Down” was based on my own experience when my father was killed in the line of duty in 1979 while I was in the third week of LE academy training. While poetic license was taken in a few places, many of the beats that are in that chapter did actually occur. As I wrote the book, I tried very hard to capture the feel of the settings I encountered in Iraq. The sights, smells (they are all bad!) heat and dust. The myriad of interesting personalities and somewhat baffling big Army policies and behaviors are all there as well. The chow halls, the hooches, the Blackhawk flights, the soldiers and the locals are all real (sort of). Even the latrines. I could have done a whole chapter on that one. Many of the incidents and conflicts in the book did actually occur like the time I accidentally drove my white Ford Ranger pickup off base (at night) into bad-guy country with nothing more than an empty M-9 pistol and a middle finger. That was just a bit spicy I can tell you. As for the book’s action sequences, I drew upon my own training and experience as a LE firearms and tactics instructor, as well as the experiences and technical expertise of my friends who have actually been down range and “seen the elephant.” The medical stuff was provided by a physician friend of mine as well as my son-in-law who is also a medical professional. The bottom line is I enjoy reading fiction that gets the details right. Nothing will turn me off quicker than when I start seeing easy details that the author didn’t bother to get right. How many of us have cringed when a cop’s semi auto pistol is described as a “service revolver?” When I start seeing stuff like that I stop reading.
DOSSIER: Whenever I post a photo of your book on social media, people comment on how much they like the cover. Where did that cover come from, and what would you like to tell people about your publishing experience with Köehler Books?
EDGINGTON: A very talented graphic artist with Koehler Books named Lauren Sheldon designed that cover. I remember the day I was sent several different options for the cover. I actually got chills when I saw the image that now adorns the cover of my book. I think Koehler hit it out of the ballpark with the cover art, and internal layout. It looks fantastic and I am immensely proud of it. I liked the process Koehler uses to design cover art. It begins with the author describing the elements they would like to see on the cover. The artist also familiarizes themselves with the content of the book and the main characters. Then choices are prepared, and a poll is conducted. The present cover was the hands down winner. I wanted a cover that incorporated a portion of an LAPD Lieutenant’s badge. I also wanted visual elements that indicated that the story was set in the middle east. I think the background color and mosaic image really convey that nicely with being too “on the nose.” I’m very glad I went with Koehler.
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