Behcet Kaya

Poor, shy, hungry, cold, child labor. Long held traditions in my family were: Father knows best and respect my elders.

My most unforgettable travel memory was traveling by train from Belgium to London with two Australian girls; I was a mere 14-years-old and they were in their 20’s. Another travel adventure I will never forget was when my wife and I drove cross-country from Atlanta to Los Angeles to make our move to the West coast. This trip was incredibly exciting and fearful at the same time as it was the two of us with all our life savings and belongings packed into a small U-Haul.

I refer to the poem by Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken.” Most people are mistaken what the meaning of the poem actually is. Frost wrote this poem especially for an English friend. Would have, should have, could have… So what would I do differently? Nothing. I like the way it all has happened. I would not change a thing.

I don’t have any regrets. This question has come up before and I have thought about for a very long time, but really there is nothing I would change. The question boils down to: I did not have ambitions to be a politician and aspire to occupy the highest office. I enjoy and like my life, although I did have many difficulties and insecurities about money when I was younger. Back then I did worry about how to pay my rent during my school years in London.

During the time of my student years in London, from 1965 to 1976, I was a waiter at the “London Steak House.” It was located on the very spot on Kensington High Street that now houses a McDonald’s. I was quite happy about my earnings. I rented a room on Gunterstone Road in West Kensington, and also stayed in one of the dormitories at Hatfield Polytechnic, which is now the University of Hertfordshire. I would work three months during the summer, and along with my grants from Inner London Authority, it would suffice to pay the tuition and my housing. During my high school years, I was working both days and nights and going to school to do my “O” levels and “A” levels. I was lending money to the Turkish students who were sent to London by different firms to study. I had no other occupations other than waiter.

My very first readings were the crime stories featuring the character Mike Hammer, written by Mickey Spillane. I read all of them in Turkish. I was also influenced by Yasar Kemal, one of Turkey’s literary giants. I have read his series of books, Ince Memet, all crime stories. Then, I started reading of Fyordor Dostoyevsky, including “Crime and Punishment,” “Brothers Karamasov,” and “The Idiot.” I have also read all of Tolstoy’s books, most of Dickens, D.H. Lawrence, all of Shakespeare, “La Miserable,” Alexander Dumas, and so many, many more. I believe I have read most all the classics. As you can see, crime stories, including classics were a part of my early and young adult life. I am currently writing a crime story about a character by the name of Jacques Ludefance that I first developed in my previous novel, “Treacherous Estate.” He is a Cajun man from New Orleans. I intend to write more about him in a series of books. But I also write tragedy, as in my very first novel, “Voice of Conscience,” which many of my reviewers considered a modern day Shakespearean tragedy.

This novel is my favorite. I wanted to write a book after seeing and being influenced by a British movie called, “Conduct Unbecoming.” There were many stars in that movie including Travis Howard, Richard Attenborough, Stacy Keach, Christopher Plummer, Michael York, and Susan Savannah. I originally wanted to write about a character in the navy who had reached the highest rank and then committed suicide because of some shame that had come to light. My wife influenced me by warning me that if I wrote another tragedy, then I would be known as a writer of tragedy. Second, if you notice just before the first chapter, there is a quote, “Where does a story begin? At the beginning, or the middle, or the end?” from my mother-in-law, Arlene Webster, who was also respected writer. I think her quote suited that novel perfectly. I wrote it in flashback because I wanted to capture the reader at the very first page. I think I accomplished that. And if you don’t do that, the reader is not likely continue reading. If I had tried tell the story in chronological order, that would have lost the reader’s interest. Sometimes a writer needs to shock the reader in the first chapter.

I think all my characters I have developed are interesting and good-looking. For example, Anderson Garrett Belguzar is a good looking guy, but he is so ashamed that his mother was a prostitute. Ramzi Ozcomert was very proud and his entire life was consumed by wanting to take revenge, and, in the end, he destroyed himself. Jacques Ludefance is a rugged guy and good-looking, but has a scar on his face telling us that he is a tough character. So all the characters in my books are good looking but they also have their flaws.

It was not difficult for me to create such a character. The society of Turks are full of feuds. There are still communities in Turkey where there are “codes of conduct,” on how to behave in those communities. If one does not know the traditions and old rules, one cannot survive. The codes are instilled in boys from a very early age. The descriptions of the places in the first part of “Voice of Conscience,” were from my own village. I merely changed the name of the village. The boy, Ramzi, is based on myself. However the actual story is fiction.

That was not difficult. I have been training all my life to be a successful actor, but it did not materialize the way I wanted. The script had already been written in English, but the producer wanted to have my lines said in Turkish, and that is what I did.

I used Istanbul because Erin’s father worked in Istanbul, and later in the novel, came back and murdered people. I have lived in Istanbul and every year I stop in Istanbul; so it is not unfamiliar to me. Also Erin had a half brother born in Istanbul.

Two favorite ones are “Autopsy,” and “Payback.” I wrote “Payback” based on a personal experience.

I have a lot of author friends on Facebook, but I don’t think I get much help from them, nor do I help them. The few authors that I know on a personal basis? Yes, we do help one another. One particular author is Jocelyne Forget from Canada, and we converse a lot. She has written only one book, but it is a great book.

The question should be how did I juggle being an actor, author and hold down a full-time engineering job. While I was in school in England, I was studying acting as hobby. While I was working as a full-time engineer, I discovered my love for writing. “Body in the Woods” hopefully will be ready for publication in August of 2019.

I could not make that choice. It is equally important for me to read and to write. Without reading how does one write? One has to read furiously. In acting one plays a character to tell his story. One writes a novel to tell a story.