Interview with E.C. Hanes, author of The Bus to Beulah

Today it gives the Indie Crime Scene great pleasure to interview E.C. Hanes, whose novel The Bus to Beulah is our featured new release on May 10.

What was the inspiration behind your new crime thriller The Bus to Beulah?

There was an article in BuzzFeed about an individual who created a business to acquire temporary work visas for seasonal, migrant workers in both the agricultural and leisure/hospitality fields. The article pointed out the vast number of migrants supplied to both of these industries and specifically the corruption and greed involved with the recruitment and distribution of these seasonal laborers. The farmers paid to get the workers and the workers paid to get the visas. The sums were staggering and often illegal.

You have had a remarkable career, not only serving in Vietnam but setting up a major corporation, as well as pursuing support for the arts, wildlife and conservation, and standing for public office. What drove you to become a writer?

I have always been told that before one can become a writer, one must be a reader, and with the exception of a few particularly frantic college years, I have always been an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction. I have also been an enthusiastic collector of books, manuscripts, and art works from the ancient to the contemporary. I have been known as a talkative lad and one given to storytelling, so it seemed natural to put some of my stories down on paper.

Throughout your life, you have shown a sustained interest in the creative arts, working with and serving on the boards of many arts organizations both local and national. Where does your interest in the arts spring from and why is it important to you?

My interest in the arts undoubtedly started from the earliest possible age. Both of my parents were interested in and trained in various areas of the creative arts. My father majored in literature, played the guitar, and was an avid art collector from his earliest days. My mother was a drama and voice major and taught both at a girl’s school. Their influence plus the guidance of some very fine teachers at my prep school laid a foundation that I have always been grateful for.

How do you set out to write and do you have a routine?

After opening my eyes in the morning, clearing my head, and listening, as I stand up, to the creaking of my knees, I make and then pour a very large and strong cup of coffee. Next, I settle into my chair in the library, turn on my laptop and re-read the last pages of my current effort. After I have decided what to keep and what to flush, I plunge ahead and write the next day's effort. Such a routine is only possible following a substantial period of research in the relevant areas about which I am writing. I am primarily a fiction writer with forays into non-fiction when invited, but whether fiction or nonfiction, research and facts are important. Mark Twain once gave some advice to the young Rudyard Kipling, “get your facts first, then you can distort them anyway you please.”

Tell us more about The Bus to Beulah. Who is Maria Puente and what happens to her?

Maria Puente is a young woman who has just graduated from a fine school in Mexico and has an opportunity to come to the United States to live with her uncle who lives in North Carolina and has gotten her an H-1B visa. During her bus ride to North Carolina, she overhears something that puts her life in danger. When she is confronted by the human traffickers about what she heard, she says that she didn’t understand what was said, but is nonetheless kidnapped by the traffickers because they don’t believe her. The story centers around her attempts to get free, her captors’ determination to get rid of her, and her uncle’s devotion to find and free her.

How did you set out to research The Bus to Beulah?

I wrote down the things that I felt I should be acquainted with, such as; federal immigration law; the size, necessity, and complexity of seasonal migrant labor; the statistics surrounding human trafficking, migrant aid and advocacy etc: One of the first places I went was to the Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina to see whether they had done studies on the subject of immigration. They had, so from there I went to the NC Dept of Labor, The NC attorney general’s office, The NC Dept of Commerce, the SBI, the NC Labor Department, and various farmers, produce suppliers, and Student advocacy organizations. All in all, I spent about eight or nine months collecting information.

Your protagonist, Will Moser, the Hogg County high sheriff, has to deal with dangerous antagonists: Mexican cartels and powerful business interests at home. Who is Will Moser and how does he rise to the challenge?

Will Moser is the scion of one of the most prominent and wealthy families in Eastern North Carolina, but was never interested in following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. After graduating from Vanderbilt, he served for a number of years as an officer in the U.S. Army Military police with a final tour of duty in Vietnam. After his experience in the MPs, he realized that law enforcement was his calling, not the timber and paper business; however, as the heir to such a large and powerful family fortune and a business major in college, he realized that for a number of reasons, he needed to keep his hand in the family business. Will was not only a respected Sheriff, but a man with substantial political power. As a popular and often-elected government official, plus a man with considerable personal wealth and family contacts, Will was no one to be ignored, and he knew how and when to apply this power to achieve his ends.  

Will is driven to call on the help of Elijah Kahn, who he got to know while serving in Vietnam, though he has serious misgivings about the international security firm that Kahn runs. How did the two men meet and how does Kahn differ from Will Moser?

Elijah Kahn was an army special forces captain when he got to know Will in Vietnam. They were both stationed in the 4th corps in the Mekong Delta. Will was in charge of security for several installations, and Elijah was in charge of gathering intelligence about enemy activity. Elijah stayed in the army as a career and worked primarily in the intelligence field. When he retired, he partnered with an ex CIA officer to form a for-profit security and intelligence company. Elijah is a citizen of the world, a man with no permanent base. Will is a citizen of North Carolina and Hogg County with a family and community involvement. Both are hard men, but Eli is a bit harder and more prone to the unorthodox. 

The Bus to Beulah is organized in an hour-to-hour structure. What challenges did that pose to you as a writer?

Once I decided that I didn’t want to just tell a story, but rather create a suspenseful and frantic journey, I needed to create the necessary tension by pulling the reader along at breakneck speed. I needed to show what each character was thinking and doing on a day by day and hour by hour schedule. A chapter-by-chapter format would slow this process down. I needed to show what was happening from multiple character perspectives in order to maintain the tension I was looking for. What I gave up was the conventional prose laced descriptions of character background and development, psychological musings, and endless descriptions of places and people. I opted for a dash rather than a distance run. 

What part does your own life-experience play in writing such a story?

One’s life experience plays into every story. Depending on the type of fiction…historical, science fiction, or narrative, life experiences must always play some part in order to add credibility. At least for me. In reference to The Bus to Beulah, my experience in farming and the military played a significant role. The information about immigration and human trafficking were part of my research.

You have also played a substantial role in wildlife conservation and environmentalism. How has this influenced you as a writer and what is its importance to you today?

Environmentalism and protection of wildlife is of vital importance to me today. I have served on numerous boards of nonprofits that are concerned with the protection of our environment as well as those creatures which share our world. I wouldn’t say that this dedication to the environment has influenced me as a writer…yet.

Together with your many interests you have also pursued numerous hobbies, from playing golf to flying airplanes. How do you organize your time?

Organization of my time after retirement has become more difficult since there is no single demand which is paramount. While I was working everything focused on what I needed to do and where I needed to be for my business. Fitting in hobbies was easy because I had a clear mandatory schedule, thus could fit things in between work duties. Without this discipline I’m like a dog in the butcher shop, sitting on the floor looking up at a ceiling with dozens of pieces of meat hanging down and trying to decide which one to go after. 

Will there be a sequel to The Bus to Beulah and what are you working on now?

I have opened the door to a sequel for Bus to Beulah but whether I go through depends on what readers think of it. Actually, The Bus to Beulah is a sequel to Justice by Another Name, my second novel. The main characters, Sheriff Will Moser and his wife Lana, are both introduced in Justice; however at the end of The Bus to Beulah there is a clear path to a sequel. 

Education is clearly of great importance to you. Amidst all the problems, the internet seems to have created a renaissance of reading and writing. What are your thoughts about this?

I’m not sure that I would agree with the statement that the internet has created a renaissance of reading and writing. I think that it clearly has the potential to expand these skills, but as I see how many use this new technology, I wonder if thoughtful reading or writing has a place. It seems that short term entertainment and glib asides are the predominant uses.

Do you have any favorite writers in the crime and thriller genre, or other genres?

Like all writers, I have many favorites. In the contemporary arena, I like Tom Clancy for mystery and action stories. Dick Francis was a favorite for his mysteries surrounding horse racing. John Grisham tells a good tale. For a great story told exceedingly well I like Pat Conroy and Cormac McCarthy. If I pluck a great storyteller from the past, I would put Mark Twain at the head of the class with writers like Rudyard Kipling and Arthur Conan Doyle thrown in. There are so many that one can’t do a list justice. 

How important are the themes of immigration and human trafficking, especially now?

I think immigration and human trafficking are two of the most urgent themes of the current time. One can’t turn on the television or read a paper or magazine without hearing what this politician or that one has to say about the subjects. And all of this without much in the way of informed intelligence. People scream about the evils of immigration, legal and illegal, and yet live off of the sweat of those they condemn. I spent almost a year learning about the emigrant labor coming into the United States, North Carolina in particular, and am still amazed at the ignorant rants that some people make on the subject. Without immigrant labor the agricultural industry in North Carolina would be wiped out. The same holds true for a half dozen other states. Roofs would go unbuilt, lawns un-mowed, drywall un-hung, and the hospitality and recreation industry unstaffed. We are a nation of hypocrites.   

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About E.C. Hanes:

Eldridge C. Hanes, Redge to his friends, was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and graduated from Woodberry Forest School in Orange, Virginia, and then from Duke University in 1967 with a BA in Economics. He graduated from the Army Combat Engineering Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir in June of 1968 and served three years of active duty, the last of which was in the Republic of Vietnam and earned him the Bronze Star.  After the army, Redge worked seven years for Hanes Corporation and then left to start Xpres Corporation, which eventually became The Russ Companies, for whom Redge served as chairman for three years before retiring in 2011. In addition to his business interests, he has served on a number of boards in the education, environmental and arts fields. Redge has published two novels, Billy Bowater and Justice by Another Name, in addition to contributing essays and articles to various publications. His essay “Helen of Marion” appeared in the recent UNC Press anthology, Mothers and Strangers: Essays on Motherhood from the New South. Redge has been married for fifty years to Jane Grenley Hanes. They have a son, Philip, and a daughter, Lara, and are grandparents of five lively and beautiful grandchildren.

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