Vernon, B.C. 鈥� Lawrence 鈥淟arry鈥� Ricketts took the old adage of 鈥榳rite what you know鈥� to heart while penning his debut novel The Third Law.

Ricketts spent 30 years working for the RCMP, 29 of which as an undercover operator.

Initially, he admits that he never considered becoming a police officer due to his small build and short stature. He described a somewhat serendipitous meeting with an RCMP recruiter which eventually landed him a spot in an RCMP training program.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even know I wanted to be a cop until I had a bad day at work at Woodwards department store 鈥� that鈥檚 where I worked at the time,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was having lunch when I noticed a guy looking for a place to sit and asked him if he wanted to sit down. Turns out, the man was an RCMP recruiting officer.鈥�

After speaking with the recruiter, Ricketts committed to attending the RCMP training program and soon found himself pegged as an informant. He admits that, with a vast theatre background, the job came quite naturally to him.

Related:

Related:

鈥淲hen I first got into the training program in 1967, I had done a lot of acting and theatre acting and I guess it showed up in my resume because I had no idea what I was in for,鈥� said Ricketts. 鈥淭hey have what they call an undercover pool and that is run out of Ottawa and so if there鈥檚 a murder or a drug problem, any kind of major crime anywhere in Canada and they need a person with certain qualifications, they鈥檒l type that into the computer and if your name pops out, they鈥檒l ask you if you鈥檇 take on the project.鈥�

This is where he spent most of his career 鈥� specifically in drug sections and major crimes. Starting in Ontario, he worked in Toronto drugs for eight years before moving back out west. He worked in a similar unit in Vancouver for 20 years and spent two years in Victoria doing major crime work.

鈥淎fter that long, you become 鈥� not an expert by any means 鈥� but you have a pretty good handle on human behaviour and what causes people to be bad and then use that to exploit as much as you can after studying a specific target,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou look for any weakness that鈥檚 going to help you get close to them and be friendly and that鈥檚 the one thing I found. There鈥檚 always a weakness.鈥�

Related:

Related:

After retiring from the RCMP in 1997, he spent about ten years doing private consulting work, setting up operations and training others. Meanwhile, Ricketts began toying with the idea of writing a novel, jotting down ideas when inspiration hit.

鈥淭he job was like a 30-year course in human behaviour,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how I would probably nutshell it and that鈥檚 what I used when I started writing.鈥�

He describes his stories as a way to relive his career. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what makes it fun.鈥�

Set in the late 1990s, the book uses his own experiences, he loosely based all the characters on people he met throughout his career. Authenticity and truth, he said, are his main goal.

鈥淭he main reason for writing this was to show how fragile things are and even in bad guys, there鈥檚 a bit of good 鈥� not a whole lot but no one is totally black and no one is totally white 鈥� hence the cover鈥� 鈥� a yin and yang symbol.

鈥淲riting what I know saves hundreds of hours of research 鈥� especially if you want it to be truthful and accurate. My whole idea with this book was to make it as truthful as possible and make the characters as believable as possible using the people I had met and worked with and against.鈥�

Since the book鈥檚 conception, Ricketts said it鈥檚 taken 18 years in total 鈥� though the result is almost unrecognizable to his first draft.

鈥淏y the time you鈥檝e finished your first novel, you鈥檝e written at least ten.鈥�

Produced by Tellwell publishing, the final draft was released in June. Unlike large publishing houses like Harper Collins or Random House, Tellwell is a type of self-publishing platform.

鈥淭he difficulty if you aren鈥檛 a known author, the traditional publishing houses are very skeptical to take you, plus they鈥檝e got a lineup of manuscripts from authors who are known and established,鈥� Ricketts said. 鈥淭hen you鈥檝e got the self-publishing companies who would publish 400 blank pages if you want because you鈥檙e paying for it. Tellwell is one of the ones now where you鈥檝e kind of got an in-between 鈥� they edit it and tell you if it鈥檚 good enough to publish.鈥�

He said he decided on this route because they offer an honest review of the book before publishing. Though he believes this was the right decision for his debut novel, he鈥檚 hopeful his future novels will be picked up by larger publishers.

鈥淚鈥檝e done everything I thought I could to get it out to people and get their true feeling about it and that鈥檚 why I鈥檓 excited about it now. And with reviews from well-known writers and being approved by Indie Reader, I鈥檓 confident it鈥檚 a good book.鈥�

Related:

Related:

Related:

For those interested, the synopsis allows for some valuable insight into its content: 鈥淪tarting over for Paul Goldman and his family had been quiet, and peaceful, everything life should be, until one night his world was torn apart. Now, with the leader of a South American drug cartel vowing to have him killed, and the police, trying to protect him, Paul enlists the help of two former comrades from his past to help him stay alive and go after everyone responsible.鈥�

Ricketts assures his fans that the story doesn鈥檛 end with this book. Though it has the ability to stand alone, he has already begun writing his second novel and tells this reporter that many of the same characters are also included. The Third Law is available on amazon or through Coles, Indigo and Chapters.

To report a typo, email:
newstips@vernonmorningstar.com.