Author Q & A: Insights on Black and White Smoke

SUMMARY: Preparing to launch his debut novel, Black & White Smoke, Thomas V Papa sat down with us to talk about the inspiration and journey in developing the book, and its plot and characters.

THE JOURNEY

What inspired you to have a go at writing fiction?

I’ve written a lot (i.e., technical writing) in my day job, which is related to accounting standard setting. The ‘itch’ to write a book has always been there. A few years ago, this itch morphed into a firm resolution to have a go at writing fiction, and this led to the development of a few privately shared short stories. The idea and impetus to write the Black and White Smoke came about during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What was the journey like?

My first draft was completed after six months. However, based on the initial feedback from beta readers and editors, further work was needed to get the manuscript into publication shape. That is, work on just about everything: the characters, plot, prose, dialogue, etc. When I got to it, the book kept ballooning. With limited spare time while doing my day job, it became challenging to tie it all up as a coherent story.

 In 2025, however, it occurred to me that I was doing too much in one book. Hence, I tightened the focus, and this made it easier to get to the finish line.

Any surprises?

Plenty! A mindset shift was necessary. The form of writing (i.e., technical writing) that I’m accustomed to is expositional and primarily head-oriented, while creative writing, in most cases, is primarily about entertainment, creating page-turning content, and is heart-oriented. It’s about emotionally engaging the reader. Hence, there was a bit of the leopard in me, having to change its spots.

I thoroughly enjoyed the less constrained character of creative writing, much as it has its set of dos and don’ts.

Ironically, much as writing a book is a lonely journey, I’ve had an enhanced appreciation of the reality that one can never write alone. One rides on the back of others, on the feedback of beta readers, the expertise and eagle eyes of editors, and the accumulated insights of the countless writing advisers. There has been a whole new vernacular around the craft of creative writing I’ve had to learn. Panzers versus outliners, narration point of view, psychic distance, etc. But that’s the fun of it.

Also, having to write fiction ignited a broader reading spree of both fiction and non-fiction books. A writer generally has to read a lot. In so doing, I found myself paying much more attention to how others write and how they express ideas, and I also became more curious and observant about human behavior in different settings.

GENRE

If a reader has never picked up a corporate thriller before, given your book, what would you tell them to expect—and why might this genre speak to our current moment?

Great question. I have written another blog on the corporate thriller genre. To recap, it’s a relatively underexplored part of fiction books, yet the business environment has all the ingredients to entertain readers.

DEVELOPING A PLOT

What was the inspiration for the book?

Whether it's related to political leadership, the papacy, or shakeups in the C-Suite, I’ve been fascinated by the transition of power and the double-edged dilemmas they sometimes present. And that is the book’s central theme.

With that said, inspiration was drawn from both fiction and non-fiction books, movies, TV, and cumulative observations of real-world situations.

Did you have it all figured out in your head at the start?

Heck no! One has to research a lot about the themes, circumstances, and locations being addressed in the book. From these, you learn a ton of new things. For instance, I was surprised by the pervasiveness and different forms of corporate espionage. As you write, you also discover the characters and their predilections. Such as how they would react to situations. Remarkably, sometimes, this was only clear in the heart of the situation.  Moreover, over time, the author is evolving as is the influencing environment.

In other words, even though the general concept or big-picture plot is what I had in mind at the start, crafting the book was also a journey of discovery.

How much was based on the real world and your experience?

Unless you are God, you can’t create something from nothing. Nonetheless, the characters don’t represent any particular person I’ve encountered. They are a composite of observed and imagined characters.

The book is fictitious and doesn’t depict actual events.  Inevitably, along with my imagination, my aggregated observations of interpersonal dynamics influenced the story’s development.

TIPS FROM THE CHARACTERS

One of the main characters, whom you describe as a bean counter, uses chess as a metaphor, as a way of framing his moves. What drew you to that?

Chess is a cerebral game. Hence, it shouldn’t be surprising that it’s often depicted as a game of sophisticated strategy. I was drawn to its imagery, in part, because in my younger days, I was a keen follower of World Chess Championships, and I’m still a fan, albeit to a lesser extent.  It didn’t hurt that one of my favorite movies and books, “From Russia with Love,” also employed the game as a metaphor for failsafe strategic planning.

At the same time, I’m cognizant that one of the greatest chess players, Garry Kasparov, has disabused the notion of chess moves representing the complexity of the real world. He pointed out that, much as chess has infinite moves, it’s a closed system with fixed and rigid rules. Each piece can only move in a certain way, and the regular game has the same starting point.  Business environments are volatile, dynamic, and uncertain. Unlike chess, the rules change, i.e., the business environment is a more open system. It’s harder to place all real-world variables into a bottle, so to speak. That, however, doesn’t mean that chess cannot provide potent imagery for the organization of thoughts and plans in business settings.

Another of the main characters appears to have a silver tongue. Why give so much weight to that?

Through my professional experience, one thing is strikingly obvious: To scale to the greatest heights in the C-Suite and other corridors of power, the gift of gab matters aplenty. In fact, if I were to advise my younger self, I would tell him to invest heavily in bolstering the full range of communication competencies, including negotiation, public presentation, and teaching.

The billionaire in the piece still eats pizza and drinks Budweiser. Why was it important to portray that such a colossally successful person never lost his blue-collar roots?

I suppose remembering where you came from can be essential to one’s success as it keeps you grounded.

Some of your characters seem quite philosophical – one even quotes Bruce Lee. What role does philosophy play in how powerful people justify their actions?

It goes back to my earlier point about communication. At the top echelons, the ability to connect and be memorable makes a world of difference.

NEXT STEPS

What are we to expect after Black and White Smoke?

I'm working on a collection of short stories, carrying on in the corporate thriller genre. In a couple of weeks, a teaser (one of the short stories) will be available for those who subscribe to the website on the homepage.