▼ TODAY, THE PALO ALTO RESIDENT CAN USUALLY BE FOUND WRITING IN HIS FAVORITE LOCAL CAFE, WHERE JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY KNOWS HIS NAME. October/November 2014 69 Of course, that’s not to say the Palo Alto mystery writer has ever been accused of a murder or lost a loved one in a bombing or was called in by the president to help prevent a nuclear crisis—as have some of his main characters. But in real life, Raffel has worn quite a few hats and lived in many different worlds. In addition to executive, entrepreneur and Washington attorney, he has also been a political candidate for U.S. Congress, a carpenter, a writing instructor and a professional gambler. Today, Raffel is an author with a loyal and growing fan base for his smart and suspenseful mystery-thrillers. It’s all part of what Raffel calls his “career ADD.” “I love trying different things. If I haven’t tried any one of them, I think I’d have a huge regret,” he explains. “For example, running for Congress did not exactly work out as I intended, but if I hadn’t run, I’d be sorry about it. I loved talking about the issues, even if I hated losing.” Raffel is happily working on his writing full time, an endeavor that he says gives him the luxury of escaping reality for a while. “I don’t want to make it sound like I’m running away, but I think, to a certain extent, I am,” he says. “And why not? Look at what’s happening in this world we’re living in. I’m reading about rising student debt, about the horrific bloodshed in the Middle East, about madmen getting nuclear weapons. Although I love my family, friends and fans dearly, why not escape to a world where you have a little more control?” FALLING INTO WRITING But Raffel’s career story doesn’t follow that familiar trajectory of the famous writer who began penning prose when barely out of diapers. He grew up reading mysteries but never really pictured himself writing them. It just happened. “When I read interviews with writers, they always say things like, ‘Oh, I was selling stories when I was 5 years old,’ or ‘I always knew I would be a writer.’ Not me. I’ve always enjoyed writing, and it was an important part of every job I’ve ever had, but I just kind of fell into it,” he explains. Here’s how: Raffel had been working at a company and found himself with a little spare time. He saw a writing course at UC Berkeley Extension, and on a lark, he signed up for it. About six months after writing about a third of a mystery, he ended up putting it on the back burner, leaving the company he worked for and starting his own company. It was five or six years later when he pulled the book out again, finished it up and started figuring out how to get it published. “So really, the whole thing was kind of a fluke to me,” he says. Raffel has since published four books and just finished writing his fifth, titled “Temple Mount” and due out in October. In this latest work, the central character is a Woodside entrepreneur who has just sold his company and finds himself at a crossroads in life. A surprising phone call sends him on a quest to Jerusalem, where he pursues a dangerous, ancient mystery. Back in the real world, the Palo Alto resident can usually be found writing in his favorite local café, where just about everybody knows his name. “When I go in there, I feel like Norm from ‘Cheers,’” he says. “Right away, they bring me my favorite kind of tea and turn down the music where I am. I put on my noise-canceling headphones, and five minutes later, I’m in that other world.” Although the café offers free guest Internet access, he intentionally blocks it using a program called Freedom. That, he says, is the only way he can get work done. “With the program, you just set a time, like ... say, two hours, that I don’t want to get on the Internet.” That kind of diversion, he says, can lead a writer down all sorts of rabbit holes. “You say, ‘OK, my protagonist is going down Channing Street in Palo Alto. I remember it runs one way. Is it one-way east or one-way west? Let me look.’ And about 20 minutes later, you’re reading about the 13th dynasty of Ancient Egypt.” So Raffel marks all the areas where he has questions with an “XX,” and sets a time later that he’ll devote to his research at home, getting the facts down and fixing any problems. When it comes to getting the work done, he follows the mantra of James Thurber: “Don’t get it right; get it written.” NOTHING COMES EASY His approach to writing—tightly focused research and hard work—is similar to the way he has taken on his other roles. Before becoming an attorney to the Senate Intelligence Committee, he went to Harvard, then Harvard Law School. As a successful professional gambler, he painstakingly studied the racing forms and figured out how to get the best odds. And as a full-time writer, he puts in about five uninterrupted hours a day completely absorbed in his work—which is not so easy to do with writing. Even when he’s not working, Raffel keeps his mind open for new ideas and directions for his novels. In addition to what he’s gleaned from personal experience, he has found many ideas through casual conversations with friends or discussions he’s participated in at writing events. When he’s not working on his writing, he’s often thinking about, or actively pursuing, new business ventures that interest him. “There was a great sign on Highway 101; I think it was put up by eTrade,” he recalls. “It said, ‘Someone will win the lottery; it just won’t be you.’ And I think that’s just (continued on pg. 104)
South Bay Accent - Oct/Nov 2014
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