If you’re looking for some historical fiction-fun, then you might need to add Daniel D. Smith’s “The Biltmore’s Mona Lisa: A Heist Novel” to your TBR pile.
Editor Haley here, I got to sit down with this local author + retired US Navy veteran to find out a little more about what led him on this path after serving our country for 26 years.
Q: As a retired veteran, what led you to become an author?
A: I used to write for an automotive magazine because I’m a big car guy. This was back in the ‘70s, and that writing got me to try some short stories. I’m also a military historian because I’m retired US Navy.
I generally write something with a military theme or a character who’s retired military. As they say, write what you know — most of my stuff features a military background, whether it’s a character who mentions being military [...], it sneaks in every time.
Q: What are some highlights of your previous work?
A: The other four are military collectible reference books. Military collectibles, in the instance of three of the four books, is [when] Navy sailors collect memorabilia from their time in the service. So, I covered all the different types and different units.
From 1997 through 2000, I was director of the National Medal of Honor Museum of Military History (now named the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center), back when it was on Georgia Avenue. Writing for their newsletter, I wrote lots of articles about the Medal of Honor, and I compiled all of those articles and wrote the book “The Medal of Honor and the Battles for Chattanooga.” During the Civil War, there were 52 Medals of Honor awarded for actions in this area — in fact, the very first Medal of Honor action was for the Great Locomotive Chase.
Q: What led to the making of this next book?
A: It was interesting how the story gelled in my mind from three different personal events. I had visited the Biltmore several times, beginning back in the late ‘80s, and one of the tour guides told me about the national gallery of Art during WWII and stolen paintings from the Biltmore House. Then when I returned, I saw a TV special on German U-boats being sited off the coasts from the beach sinking ally ships. Being a military historian, I already knew that German general Hermann Göring (the organizer behind the heist in the novel) considered himself an art collector.
I put those three events together for this novel, and I’ve had that idea for 25 years before I actually wrote it.
Q: Were there any challenges with your first fiction piece + how did you overcome them?
A: Writing dialogue. Non-fiction doesn’t require dialogue, and I had to write a couple short stories to get a feel for writing it. I kind of relied on how dialogue went in my 26 years and later leadership in the Navy, of how I talked to my sailors and how they responded, and how I listened to officers and senior enlisted give orders for certain operations + how the back and forth conversation went in a room when they were planning those operations.
Q: Any tips for the local writing scene?
A: I chose to self-publish on Amazon, IngramSpark, and Barnes & Noble because if you choose to go with traditional publishing you’ve got to meet their deadlines + wait an extra 18 to 24 months before it gets on a bookshelf. I truly didn’t want to wait that long for this.
I was very fortunate that it turned out to be a family affair. My wife’s a retired elementary school teacher, she did the first edit of every page of every chapter. My daughter Angela, she’s actually my publicist [...], she also edited and was a beta reader. My son, he’s created all five covers of my books.
Q: What is something you want people to know about you as a writer + veteran when they read your work?
A: I’m very proud of my naval career, probably after my family, it is the proudest thing I’ve done. I also had an eight-year career in the Tennessee State Guard + retired as a lieutenant colonel. In the Navy, I was what was called a command senior chief, which is a senior in an enlisted position. I went into the Navy very young, I went in at 17. So, I felt like the Navy, for the next three or four years actually raised me — I would watch the officers and senior enlisted, and when I saw traits in them that I thought were good, I tried to adopt those.
Ready to flip the page? Smith will be holding a book signing at The Book & Cover on Thursday, Aug. 8 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. + you can also find his books online through his website, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble.
