Man, Dogs, and Evil: An Interview with thriller writer C.K. Raggio

1) Please tell us about Heron Park.

Heron Park is a crime thriller with a horror/psychological twist to it. A small town detective and an FBI agent team up to stop a sadist, who uses highly trained dogs to terrorize and torture his female victims. I tell the story from both sides. The cops searching for clues and chasing a monster, and the monster searching for prey while evading the cops. The dogs have a huge part in the story, and I think this is where Heron Park differs from other serial killer/cop novels.

2) Please tell us about your main characters.

Detective Cassie Logan is a woman who grew up on Long Island's Great South Bay. She's a fisherman's daughter, a tomboy who doesn't look the part. She's confident, hard working and loyal. But her toughness is tested time and again throughout the book. Sometimes she cracks, but she never breaks, and she only grows stronger as the story progresses.

FBI Agent Rick Sanders is a bit of a womanizer. He's good looking and he knows it, but he's also really good at his job. He studied to become a profiler but changed his mind once he realized that meant he wouldn't be leaving the office much. This training comes in huge with the case. Think along the lines of Criminal Minds. He also finds himself quite attracted to a certain Detective Logan.

Timmy. Timmy is a sadistic, twisted killer. You don't find out his real name until about half way through the book. His violence and corrupted imagination lead to some very disturbing scenes. I've been told from some unflappable readers that they were definitely reacting during his murders. Some nausea, some cringes, and a bunch of flinching. I won't say much more about him besides he was one hell of a character to write.

3) What inspired this story?

I'm a dog trainer, and I was working with a small terrier in a nearby park. It was a bit late, the sun almost going down so the park was empty. Or so I thought. As I came around a sharp corner there was a man in a hooded sweatshirt with a golden retriever who obviously didn't like small dogs. It ripped free from it's owner and charged us. I scooped my pup up just in time and yelled at the dog to stay (in my most masculine of voices). It slowed, but didn't stop. I was able to turn my body and stomp down on his leash as he continued to try and rip the small dog from my arms.

The owner finally got control of his dog. After some very disapproving words from me, which I can't say here, I strode in the opposite direction. This got me thinking. What if that dog had been too big for me to control? He could've killed the dog I was walking. Hmm, then - What if he'd been trained to attack, so that while I was focused on my dog being ripped apart the owner could grab me from behind? Jackpot!

And so Heron Park was born.

4) Why do you think so many readers have such interest in such terrible crimes?

That's a tough one. I'd guess that most of these people have a sort of curiosity to violence and death. Maybe a part of them likes to see, read and experience a controlled type of fear. It's the same reason that some people enjoy horror movies. It gets your adrenaline pumping. Turns on the fight or flight mode. Do you read it, or do you skip through to the next scene? Do you watch it, or do you cover your eyes? I think it all depends on a person's ability to separate themselves from the brutality. Kind of like a doctor working in an emergency room, or a detective working on a homicide case.

I don't like to hurt any living thing. I release spiders outside, save earthworms from drowning in puddles after rain storms. Yes, seriously. You'd probably never think that after reading my book. But anyway, I think it's more of a wonderment for me. Why and what made this, or these persons, act that way? I like to try and figure people out. I always have.

5) Does delving into the darkness as part of the writing process ever cause you any distress?

I love this question.

I've been reading horror and true crime stories since I was in high school. I began delving even deeper when I started writing Heron Park three years ago. To say that this research has made me cautious is an understatement.

I had no problem walking by myself at night in the woods a few years ago. Now I wouldn't even consider it. I've woken up in the middle of the night, okay so I wake up most every night to the smallest sound. And I'd be lying if I said I hadn't tiptoed around, bat in hand, looking for an intruder and double checking all the locks.

I'm a little worried I'm going to start sounding like a paranoid loon, but I'll tell you anyhow. I almost broke my husband's nose with an elbow when he snuck up behind me one day. Yeah, not good. He hasn't snuck up on me since though, so I guess that's a good thing.

All in all, it has caused me distress, but I think in a good way. The world isn't all ice cream cake and unicorns. That feeling of being watched, when your hair stands up, and that chill crawls up your back like a giant hairy spider, is usually right. While before I would've ignored it, shook it off, now I take notice and let my instincts decide what I should do next.

6) Do you have any links to any particular excerpts you'd like to share?

My first chapter is available on TG Davis' website - http://tgdavis0.blogspot.com/p/heron-park-by-ck-raggio.html?m=1

7) Where can readers find out more about you?

Website - http://www.ckraggio.com/
Amazon Author Page - http://www.amazon.com/C.K.-Raggio/e/B00AIBN4LI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/ckRaggio
Facebook Fan Page - http://www.facebook.com/ckRaggio1
Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16237045-heron-park
Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/ckraggio/

Want the Book?

Amazon Kindle - http://amzn.to/W4k3Ig

A Tangled Web of Intrigue and Corruption in Jamaica: An interview with thriller author J.P. Lane

1) Please tell us about your book. 

It’s a complex story, which is why I called it The Tangled Web. I’ve noticed that a few reviewers seem to agree. There have been several comments like “truly a tangled web,” “drugs, violence, politics and love all wrapped up in this tangled web,” “indeed an intriguing international tangled web.” There are two main plots, and sub plots, that interweave, but don’t come together until the end. It’s a Historical Thriller in a sense, because there are events in it that actually took place. I can’t go into great detail on the actual story without throwing out spoilers. Simply put, The Tangled Web is about a group of people who get together to prevent their country from becoming a drug state and use extraordinary means to do so. To quote one of my promotional tweets, black and white become a murky shade of gray when tough decisions have to be made.

2) Please tell us about your main characters. 

I’ll start with Lauren Andersen. Lauren is in her early thirties. She’s beautiful, independent, an aggressive investigative reporter, and a woman with a mind of her own. She’s also well connected. Her aunt is a minister of government. By and large, I show my characters the way other characters see them rather than describing them through the narrative voice, so I’ll quote what a few of them have to say about her. But before I do, I should mention that Lauren is digging up dirt on a lot of people, so the first two characters are on the defensive.

“She’s a shark, Logan. Watch out. Beautiful woman though, drop-dead gorgeous.”

“Just don’t forget there’s a piranha lurking in that pretty package, Gordon.”

And here’s Lauren having a meeting with her Aunt, which I think gives a little more insight into her character.

Margaret rolled the edge of her napkin contemplatively. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve agonized over asking you to do this, but I can think of no one else. There are certain things you’ve never come out and said in so many words, but I can read between the lines of your columns. I have to confess as a minister of the very government you criticize so vehemently, sometimes what you write makes me cringe with embarrassment.”

Lauren’s eyes narrowed on her aunt. What exactly was Margaret attempting to rope her into? Whatever it was, she was now reasonably sure it had something to do with the government. She helped herself to a slice of pineapple upside down cake to buy time to think.

Logan Armstrong is the other main character. He happens to be my favorite of the two, I suppose because he’s like me in some ways. He’s a bit of a recluse who guards his privacy like a pit bull, he’s camera shy, and he loves the country of his birth passionately. Also like me, he hasn’t lived there since he was in his twenties, but maintains close ties.

Logan is a wealthy man by his own making although he’s by no means from a humble background. He’s a member of the island elite, from a family who have been big sugar plantation owners for generations. His base is New York from which he runs an entertainment and media empire which he built from scratch. He’s a brilliant businessman and there’s a slightly ruthless side to him, but there’s also an almost tender side which shows in his interactions with his family. Logan is a man who will stop at nothing to help his country, and he does – though in the most surprising way.

3) What inspired this story?

If anything inspired the story, it was completely subconscious. I have no idea where it came from. It just came out of nowhere.

4) What are the primary themes your story explores?

Greed, crime, corruption and the effects of them - not only on individuals, but on entire societies. Although it’s said that we in the U.S. are the largest users of illegal drugs in the world, the effects aren’t nearly as visible as in Third World countries ravaged by the cocaine industry – which is the main focus of The Tangled Web. I use Jamaica as the setting for the story, but it could be about any Latin American or Caribbean country. Drug trafficking is a problem that was endemic to the region until very recently. It’s still a huge problem in Mexico. You’ve seen the news. It’s horrifying.

5) How did your background growing up in Jamaica influence your setting and character choices for this book?

Well, obviously I’m comfortable writing about Jamaica because I know it so well. They say write about what you know. But I’m not alone in using Jamaica as the setting for a novel. Ian Fleming’s novels Dr. No, Live and Let Die, The Man With the Golden Gun and his short story Octopussy were set in Jamaica, either largely or in part. One of Robert Ludlum’s earlier novels, The Cry of the Halidon, was also set in Jamaica. I read The Cry of the Halidon and I will say that although Ludlum’s descriptions of Jamaica were good, they weren’t quite as eloquent as mine, or I should say weren’t infused with the same passion. And that’s probably because I’m Jamaican and he wasn’t. I think my love for Jamaica shows in my writing. It goes without saying that the character choices were influenced by half a lifetime in Jamaica. Nobody who hasn’t lived in Jamaica for some length of time could create those characters, or write the dialect they speak. Though there are characters in the book from other countries. Maria is from Colombia. Pavel is from Prague, or at least that’s where he hangs out. I’ve traveled from an early age and that has also influenced my writing. The Tangled Web trots around the globe and so does the book I’m writing now. But somehow I always return to Jamaica.

6) What do you think people most often misunderstand about Jamaica?

I think there’s a general misconception that Jamaica is about rastas and reggae and everyone there smokes pot. Lord knows Jamaicans are laid back enough without the whole population being stoned. The reality is few Jamaicans smoke the herb as it’s popularly known there – the h in herb not pronounced. Jamaica is culturally diverse and I think I do a good job of showing that diversity in The Tangled Web. I certainly show a side of Jamaica few visitors ever see.

7) You have a somewhat complex web of plotting in this book. When you wrote the book, what sort of organizational techniques did you use to keep everything straight?

I wish I could tell you I had some brilliant organizational technique, but that wasn’t the case. The book was pretty much written in a piecemeal fashion. I wrote scenes or chapters as they came to me. For example, chapter thirty-three was written before chapter one. While I was writing, I had a general idea of how it was all going to come together, but until it did, it was a bit chaotic. The only thing vaguely resembling organization was having two files – one with finished chapters in sequential order and the other with unfinished chapters.

8) Do you have any links to excerpts you'd like to share?

I don’t have excerpts on my website or blog, so if you don’t mind me sharing one here, I will. It’s a scene with Pavel in Prague, which I visited a few months before I started writing The Tangled Web.

Across the Atlantic in the Czech Republic, Pavel slid his mobile phone back into his pocket and lit a cigarette. It seemed things were finally coming together on the island. Now he needed to book his flight to London, but breakfast would have to come first. He went into the kitchen and rummaged through the refrigerator not surprised to find virtually nothing but a few cans of Plzen, his favorite Czech beer. The last thing he wanted to do was go out, but he had little choice this morning if he wanted to eat. He locked his front door carefully then skipped down four flights of old stone stairs to the ground floor. As an added precaution, he locked the heavy wooden door that opened onto Navratilova, one of the well-trod historic thoroughfares of Prague. Within short walking distance, there was a small restaurant that had become his mainstay for a good, basic meal at any hour.

It was only mid-October, but winter had already begun to show its frosty face in a chilling drizzle that transformed the dull of the old cobblestone street to a smooth sheen. As he walked towards the restaurant thinking about his upcoming meeting with the woman from the island, Pavel hunched against the cold, which showed little respect for his expensive outer jacket. The leaves on the trees in the park across the street were in their final death throes, signaling the end of a season. Even nature can’t escape death. He smiled darkly.

9) Where can readers find out more about you?

Readers can find out more about me at my website www.jp-lane.com. I can also be e-mailed from the contact page on my website.

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The tangled web is available for purchase at Amazon.

A Murder Across Two Centuries: An interview with historical fiction author Barbara Gaskell Denvil

1) Please tell us about your book.


FAIR WEATHER is a historical thriller which covers several genres. It is also an adventure/romance, and a crime mystery. The plot is based around a time switch, so that action takes place both in 13th century England, and in modern day England. These switches are integral to the plot. The romance also interweaves through time – and in an unusual sense, time is an actual character within the story.

2) Why did you decide to combine historical fiction with modern paranormal suspense?

My inspiration for the whole plot came from dreams. I used these dreams and wove my characters through the ideas and visions which came to me. Fair Weather was therefore crafted very much as a labour of love, and not created in any logical or practical sense.

3) In modern times, in most countries, women have fairly easy freedom of movement. Given that you go so far back, the interaction of women with their society was considerably changed, even compared to other later English historical eras. Did this present any difficulties in plotting?

Surprisingly, no. My heroine is a beggar girl, and few restrictions have ever been put on the abjectly poor as long as they can escape the jurisdiction of the law. It is invariably the noblewomen who are watched and limited by society’s conventions. The poor go where they will. Also, in the 13th century, society was less conventional in many ways and women were not quite so tethered as is sometimes imagined. Female subjugation actually got far worse from the 16th century onwards.

4) Given the ignorance that afflicted the distant path, do you think it's easier or more difficult to maintain tension in murder plots. The lack of forensics, systematic investigation, et cetera, for instance, makes it easier for guilty folk to reasonably evade the authorities in the past, but, in modern times, access to technology by criminals and improved education provide their own opportunities for mischief.

Yes, I do agree. And nowadays the author herself must do some thorough research on national standards of justice, police procedures and the latest forensic science. But my murders come under the label of black magic, so it was different again. I did a great deal of research – but not at all the sort a modern crime-writer might have to do.

5) With all of English history (or history for that matter) to choose from what made you pick the particular period you chose?

Although the Church was very powerful during the 13th century, there were still pockets and aspects of religion that echoed back very strongly to the old pagan beliefs. Many priests got away with being married, country rituals and celebrations could be more pagan than Christian, and there was still considerable acceptance of fairies and spells. Witchcraft was not illegal – (no one was burned for it in spite of many modern film depictions) and the ‘wise women’ were respected and sought out. Since my book is wrapped around pagan magic, this was the ideal time in history to base it. It’s also a period I already knew a good deal about in the more general sense – the costumes, the way of life, the architecture and the details of Old London. I adore this era for its atmosphere and the fascinating colours of the period, so very, very different from our own.

6) Please tell us something interesting you found out about this period during your research?

I became very interested in the character of King John. We usually hear about him only as the wicked brother who tried to usurp good King Richard’s throne. That’s all from the Robin Hood sagas, and of course, we know Robin Hood was not entirely true at all. Apart from the fact that I dislike the sound of “good King Richard”, I was struck by how difficult it is to judge history and historical personalities through the extremely limited documentation that remains to us, and most especially because of the bias shown by those who wrote it. I did not grow to love King John, but I do admit we have very little right to think we know him at all.

7) What other projects are you currently working on?

My big early Tudor mystery adventure/romance (SUMERFORD’S AUTUMN) is due out in hard copy this coming June. The plot is once again somewhat multi-layered, but largely concerns the so called pretender “Perkin Warbeck”. Then I have another book in the works – BELSSOP’S WIFE – and yes – it’s a historical mystery/romance, but set a little earlier this time during the first tumultuous year of Richard III’s reign. I have a passion for this period in history – and after researching the times of King John, I moved on to the late medieval and Richard III. So I have two books waiting for publication, but neither of these has a black magic or time switch element to the plot.

Now, naturally, I am writing yet another. Well, if I didn’t write all the time, what on earth would I do?

8) Where can readers find more out about you?

I have a blog, www.bgdenvil.com which gives information on my books – and of course,

 I sell both FAIR WEATHER and my other historical crime adventure SATIN CINNABAR on Amazon U.K. and U.S.A., where I also have an author’s page. And once my next book is on the market mid year – there’ll be more I hope! 

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Thanks, Barbara.

I also previously interviewed Barbara about SUMERFORD'S AUTUMN. Please check it out.

A Gruesome Vision of Murder: An interview with paranormal thriller author John "Rocky" Leonard

1) Please tell us about your book. 

Dan Harper is a computer programmer, not a cop or a private detective. When he has a vision of a gruesome crime, he struggles to decide whether to try and ignore what he saw, or dismiss it as a hallucination. He’s a rational man, a family man, with a pregnant wife and a full plate at home and work. The last thing he wants or needs to do is to get involved in a murder investigation, but he soon discovers he doesn’t have much choice but to investigate these visions himself to either put his own mind at rest, or gather clues to provide the police.

2) Please give us some insight into the mind of your lead, Dan Harper. 

Dan is just a regular guy who likes his job, the competition of playing tennis, and being married to his wife. He’s very pragmatic and reason-oriented. With an analytical mind used to solving problems in computer software, Dan is accustomed to figuring out complex problems rather easily. He’s always looking for the most logical solution to any problem. When things begin to happen that don’t seem to make any sense and for which he has no explanation, considerable conflict erupts between Dan’s rational mind and his senses. He knows what his eyes see and his ears hear, but can’t explain why he’s experiencing these strange and violent visions.

3) What inspired this book?

My own personal experience with the paranormal, particularly with ghosts inspired Secondhand Sight, as well as an interview with Detective Joe Kozenczak, the man who arrested serial killer John Wayne Gacy. In the interview and his book The Chicago Killer, Kozenczak credited a pair of psychics with providing him critical information that led to Gacy’s capture. So I thought, what if the murder victims of a serial killer communicated with a psychic in order to help catch the murderer? What if the psychic didn’t know he was gifted prior to this particular case?

In some respects, there was actually more of a basis in reality for Secondhand Sight than Coastal Empire.

4) Different sub-genres tend to tolerate different levels of depicted violence. In your book, you don't shy away from depicting violence. How did you decide what to show and what not to show?

While I didn’t want to disturb people unnecessarily, I must confess the inspiration for some of the descriptions of man’s inhumanity to man didn’t come from dramatized shows like CSI, but instead documentary-styled programs where very bad things happened to real people. I’ve observed enough of reality to conclude that if anything, truth is often worse than fiction, and most certainly stranger. I do not believe that the true nature of evil should be sugarcoated—good people ought to know what they are up against.

There really are people like Clayton in this world, unfortunately.

5) Your previous book, Coastal Empire, was a more conventional suspense book in that it didn't have any paranormal elements. Were there any particular challenges you faced writing Secondhand Sight, related to the paranormal elements, that you didn't face with Coastal Empire?

If anything, Secondhand Sight was easier to write because my own personal experiences were borrowed from for the story. I really do believe that ghosts exist, because of personal experience. One or two incidents might have been rationalized away, but I had too many strange experiences, often witnessed, to deny the supernatural. With Coastal Empire, the idea was nothing more than a seed that grew into a plot, so it was actually tougher to write. I had to make up more stuff.

6) Genre is always a nebulous thing, but, contrary to what some might argue, it also brings with it a certain amount of tradition and associated expectations. Do you feel the inclusion of supernatural elements into your narrative puts it into a separate literary tradition compared to mysteries and suspense books that don't include such elements?

That’s a very good question. Yes, it’s very hard to classify the book and mention similar works, if nothing else. Dean Koontz and Ted Dekker are the only authors that readily come to mind, when asked for a comparative reference.

With all fiction, the author is asking the reader to suspend his or her disbelief, as long as we adhere to an unwritten code that demands we strive for realism as much as possible. I think it’s very important for my readers to know that Hidden Hills really is an abandoned golf course, and I spent hours and hours wandering around…I wanted someone who happened to follow in my footsteps to see what I saw. So believability for the reader is very important to me. With paranormal elements, that’s not so easy to do.

In a rather conventional action-adventure detective novel like Coastal Empire, it’s not that difficult to wander around Bonaventure Cemetery and see the tombstones and crypts I described, and I wanted the reader tempted to look for the bullet holes marking the gunfight there. It’s a little harder for people to envision what a ghost might look like, or how a psychic might receive information from unconventional sources. The burden is a little harder on the writer to convince the reader to suspend disbelief. Although I’ve certainly witnessed paranormal activity, I can’t exactly claim that I’ve seen a ghost. I did see an orb at a legitimate haunted house, once. Some people just don’t believe in ghosts—heck, I didn’t always believe in them myself. To this day, I still have had no personal experience with psychics, and would not have considered it possible had I not watched the Kozenczak interview.

So, when someone asks me to classify Secondhand Sight as a horror novel or a detective thriller, the temptation is for me to say something along the lines, “Imagine if Dean Koontz and Michael Connelly co-wrote a novel…”

7) Please tell us about your literary influences.

I am a rather voracious reader in general, but I really love detective novels and thrillers. If you get me started on science fiction, I can literally start with Asimov and go to Zelazny without picking a favorite author. My favorite detective novelists include Michael Connelly, Nelson DeMille, T. Jefferson Parker, Michael Crichton, Dean Koontz, Jeffery Deaver, John Sandford, Thomas Harris among others.

If you asked me specifically by what standard I’d like to eventually measure my work, I think the Michaels—Connelly and Crichton, are about as good as it gets.

8) Please share with us a bit about some of your other projects.

I use the pseudonym Rocky Leonard for my novels so readers can easily differentiate my fiction from my nonfiction writing. I’ve written a book called Divine Evolution, my attempt to reconcile creation with evolution theory, and another that’s going to be called Counterarguments for God. The draft hasn’t been given to my editor yet. I also wrote a collection of short stories about our adventures in animal rescue, called Always a Next One.

My next project as Rocky, currently in rewrite, is the sequel to Coastal Empire, with the working title of Purgatory.

9) Do you have  any excerpts you'd like to share?

Here are a couple of short excerpts. If those don’t work for you, let me know.

***

I looked into the mirror and gasped. Blood splatters covered the glass, obscuring my reflection in the mirror. My hands felt warm and sticky. Reluctantly, I looked down and saw to my horror that they were covered in wet blood. It was all over me. My mind reeled. Bile rose in my throat. I looked around frantically for the source of the spreading crimson stains. Did I cut myself? I felt no pain.

***

It happened on the way home from the hospital. I must have blacked out behind the wheel. I remembered turning right onto Alpharetta Highway heading home, and then I snapped out of a trance and found myself parked with the engine shut off in front of a strange, dark house on an unfamiliar street, nowhere near my neighborhood.

How in the hell did I get here?

*** 

Thanks for stopping by.

Contact information:

Web site - www.southernprose.com
Email – john@southernprose.com

Purchase links:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

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John L. Leonard was born in Savannah, Georgia and graduated from Savannah Christian School. He holds a BBA in Management Information Systems from the University of Georgia and worked as a computer programmer for more than twenty years before becoming a writer.

John has spent most of his adult life in the northern suburbs of Atlanta. His writing has also been influenced by shorter stints working as a bartender, real estate investor and landlord.

He has been married to wife Lisa for twenty-one years and is the proud father of two and grandfather of three, as well as pack leader for several wonderful dogs and a hostile Maine Coon cat.

His first non-fiction book was published in 2010.

John writes detective novels under the pen name Rocky Leonard. His first detective thriller was published in 2012.

The local color in his writing is equally authentic whether the setting is a Georgia beach, downtown Atlanta, or the Appalachian foothills in north Georgia.

Religious Transition in Tudor England Revisited: An interview with Nancy Bilyeau about The Crown

In January, I first interviewed Nancy about the release of The Crown, her Tudor-era mystery novel to positive critical reviews and even an award nomination.  As her publisher just re-released the book in paperback, Nancy and I talked briefly about her debut novel experience and her upcoming sequel.

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1) For those who didn't see the first interview or haven't had a chance to read your book yet, tell us a bit about The Crown.

It’s a historical thriller set in 1537 England, written in the first person from the perspective of a 26-year-old Dominican novice at a priory in Dartford. Sister Joanna Stafford learns that her favorite cousin has been condemned by Henry VIII to be burned at the stake for treason in a rebellion. Defying the rule of enclosure, Joanna leaves the priory to stand at her cousin’s side. Arrested for interfering with the king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, is sent to the Tower of London. She is forced to return to her priory as a spy: to save her father’s life she must find an ancient relic—a crown so powerful, it may possess the ability to end the Reformation.

2) The Crown has been out for nine months and now is going into paperback. It's well-received including some awards nominations. Please tell us a bit about that.

I’m extraordinarily grateful for the response. I didn’t know what to expect, truly, and you know the first review I received was not so good. I was crushed: I slept three hours that night. Then more reviews came in, some mixed and some positive, and then some more positive ones. I think the good reviews from Oprah and Kirkus and Entertainment Weekly gave the biggest boosts. But I try not to get caught up in it, because you start to feel confident about the writing after a good review and then crushed all over again by a bad review. It’s not a great way to live your life. The award nomination—the Crime Writers’ Association’s Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award—was a surprise. I opened the email first thing in the morning—because of the time difference between London and New York, I sometimes have emails waiting for me when I wake up—and it was one from my editor at Orion Books, telling me about making it onto the short list for the award. I didn’t end up winning but I was ecstatic to get as far as I did.

3) Not every debut necessarily goes well. Timing, subject matter, and the ebb and flow of trends can work against authors. Are you surprised at how well your story of a curious nun drawn into religious and political turmoil has done?

Yes! While I was writing it, I was filled with doubts about it—should I have written in the first person? Will people be turned off by a nun protagonist? I had no idea if I could get an agent, much less sell it in America and nine foreign countries. I tried to write the sort of book that I would enjoy reading myself. I really love historical thrillers.

4) Some authors do nothing but look forward. Authors agonize over every perceived mistake. Your reviews, overall, are quite positive. That being said, is there anything you wished you could have done differently?

I wish I had written it five years earlier. This is a volatile time to be a debut novelist. I just have to hang in there, and hope that no matter what, people do like to read stories, and I need to work hard to deliver the best stories I can.

5) Your sequel isn't out until spring of next year, but can you give us a little sneak peak about The Chalice?

It’s a darker book than The Crown, it’s less of a murder mystery and more of an international thriller. But also there is more romance.

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Thanks, Nancy.

If you'd like to see more from Nancy, please visit   www.nancybilyeau.com. 

Here is a trailer for The Crown:

Here is also a three minute video interview with Nancy:

The Crown is now available in paperback at all major bookstores and online at all major vendors including Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

A SWAT Ninja Zealot in the Gritty Shadows of Dystopian New York: An interview with Christian Porter

Today I'm talking with Christian Porter about his thriller, Shadow Precinct.

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1) Please tell us about Shadow Precinct.

A: Shadow Precinct is the story of Everett Santeaux, a man who has been trained since a child to become a master in hand to hand combat techniques and applied technology called a zealot. His goal as such is to help in the recollection of firearms, which have been heavily restricted in this alternate reality United States. A mob boss is found murdered and he is asked to help investigate. In doing so, a whole bunch of stuff unfolds that push the story forward and hopefully keep the reader guessing.

2) How did you come with the idea of the zealots? Even though by the time your story starts your protagonist is an adult, were you influenced at all by the use of child soldiers in certain parts of the world?

A: That is a really good question. The idea for zealots came from just thinking about life in this type of world and how the hierarchy would shift in terms of the police force, or any organization tasked with protecting citizens for that matter. I knew that I wanted to inject martial arts into the action and story, and I wanted to incorporate that into a system that could seemingly naturally blossom from the events in Shadow Precinct’s story. I started to think, when police need that extra level of force or expertise, they call in the SWAT team, but what if that wasn’t enough? That’s where I kind of started to formulate where zealots would fit into that equation. I wanted an awesome, high tech, ninja SWAT team.

As far as the influence of child soldiers from around the world, I am happy you touched on that because, yes, that definitely helped me formulate ideas about the zealot system. I’m not going to front and say I did exhaustive research about the topic, but I am aware of places like Sierra Leone and Liberia where child soldiers were exploited and the stories are awful. You read or hear some of the first-hand accounts and it’s unbelievable that a child came through that. Conversely, it’s despicable that any human would put a child through that. I wanted to take some of those aspects that are uncomfortable and inject them into the story. The training that zealots are put through in the story is pretty intense, pretty brutal. I want the reader to feel somewhat uncomfortable about what they’re witnessing in hopes that it reflects the desperation of the situation to implement such a program in the first place.

3) Why did you choose to set your story in a dystopian New York City?

A: I wanted to set it in this alternate version of New York City for a couple of reasons. One, New York is one of the most iconic cities in the world, and probably the most instantly recognized American city, I’d think. Visually, it was just very intriguing for me to imagine that city mutating under the context of this alternate reality that I was trying to create. The second reason, and really the main reason, is because of the hip hop influence. The genre was born in New York and the main story takes place in the year 1997, which is during one of the golden eras of hip hop to me. There is a consistent hip hop heartbeat throughout the story whether it be lines that reference different albums, or excerpts from songs from that particular time period. I wanted my love for the music to shine through in a subtle way and give other fans of the genre some cool Easter eggs. I think every song that I reference in the book, a true hip hop fan will give me a slow nod of approval, at least that’s my hope. I was careful in selecting the songs that I reference because I wanted them to play into the story in different ways. I hope that is something else that people will catch on to as they’re reading it.

4) Well, the premise of this book promises both a lot of tense mystery and action. What kind of actions scenes can readers look forward to?

A: I think people should expect some intriguing detective mysteries connected with entertaining fight scenes throughout. I want people to get the feel of watching a intricately choreographed fight scene from a classic movie with a high tech spin on it. I tried to break up the seriousness a bit with some humor interspersed throughout as well.

5) Most novels don't have concept art, but yours does. Can you tell us a bit about your creative process in developing this book?

A: Well, after I graduated from college I got a job in the video game industry as a programmer. Doing that, I just saw the use of concept art pretty much through every phase of our design process. I always had a respect for artists because I can’t draw to save my life. I’m also a very visual person, so I wanted to go beyond my words and add a little bit more to jumpstart the reader’s imagination. I’m fortunate that Luther Berry, the artist that did the cover and the interior art, is a very talented. We were able to get a good vibe going and he was able to see my vision. It was very cool to see my ideas realized in that way. My love for comics and manga played a part in that as well.

6) Do you plan any sequels?

A: Yeah, for sure. My original outline was for a trilogy. I know that’s the cool thing to do now, unnecessarily stretch your material to fit into that context, but I want to reassure people that this was the original plan! I’m working on the follow up now and it’s going really well.

7) Do you have any other unrelated stories in the works?
A: I do have some ideas for some other things, but the main focus is Shadow Precinct right now and making sure that’s in a solid place. I just want to make sure each part of the Shadow Precinct saga is better than the last.

8) Are there any authors who have inspired or influenced you?

A: Yeah, definitely. The first one I always say is Phillip K. Dick. Between Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Ubiq, those two stories just inspired me so much to write science fiction. The Blade Runner film that was based on Electric Sheep gave me a lot of visual inspiration as well. Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5 was another one that inspired me with his unorthodox storytelling and use of humor in dire situations. Junot Diaz’ The Brief and Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao is another one of my favorites. I just really love the way that book is written and it helped me build confidence in letting myself show through my writing. The Watchmen graphic novel is essential for me. George R. R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire), Hiroshi Sakurazaka (All You Need Is Kill), and Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto manga), are all authors I highly respect and their works are definitely inspirational to me as well.

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Thanks, Christian.

You can find more about Christian and Shadow Precinct at  http://www.shadowprecinct.com/ and at the publisher (http://www.azizapublishing.com/).
   

Tropical paradises are the perfect places for murder: An interview with thriller and mystery author Mike Meyer

Today I'm talking with Mike Meyer about his Caribbean mystery/thriller, DEADLY EYES.


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1) Please tell us about your book. 

DEADLY EYES is a haunting Caribbean mystery. James Cuffy, better known as Cuff, is living in paradise with his girlfriend, on the small Caribbean island of St. Croix, where the sky is as blue as Cuff's eyes, the ocean as pretty as Rosie's cheeks, where the gentle lapping of the waves is a lullaby, and the swaying of the palm trees is a dance. The sandy beaches are as white as sugar, and the horizon is a world away. St. Croix indeed is paradise, the perfect place for living, laughing, and loving. 
But the sandy beaches and the turquoise sea can provide no cover from the deadly eyes of the unknown stalker pursuing Cuff. Murder leads to murder as he attempts to untangle the terrible web in which he has suddenly become entangled. 

The twists and turns are relentless, the roads of the fast action leading in all directions, but time is running out, and Cuff, his faithful Rosie at his side, knows it.

2) What inspired this book? 


I was a professor of writing for four years at the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix campus. I fell in love with the Caribbean. It truly is American paradise. I have always loved a good mystery, especially one with never-ending twists, turns, and surprises. Local color is important to me, so I saw that placing a mystery on the romantic island of St. Croix was a win-win situation for me, since I am like a reader when I write, never quite knowing what will happen next.

3) The grimy decay of the urban jungle is often intimately associated with thrillers. You've gone a different direction. Why did you choose to set your book in the Caribbean? 


Reggae, calypso, swaying palms and sandy beaches provide such a terrifying contrast to the fact that a romantically linked couple is so brazenly stalked in such an idyllic setting, which sets the perfect tone for what I wanted to achieve in this mystery. Romance, beauty, and mystery are all intermingled in DEADLY EYES.

4) Ever have an opportunity to do a little on-site research in St. Croix? 


I spent four wonderful years as a college professor on the beautiful island of St. Croix. I love the island! I miss being there. The only research I needed was to make full use of my own memory bank, which is a storehouse of exciting moments personally experienced by this author. St. Croix is a part of me and always will be.



5) Did setting the book on a Caribbean island present any unexpected plot difficulties as you wrote the book? 


Since I know the island of St. Croix so well, having lived there, the setting posed no problems at all for me. In fact, the setting actually enhanced everything I was attempting to achieve. The local color is authentic, but the plot is my own creation, the bits and pieces falling into place as I dug deeper into the story.

6) Tell us about your lead, James "Cuff" Cuffy. 


Cuff is a laid-back sort of guy, a real looker, a guy who has come to live on the island to get away from some bad memories on the mainland. He and his girlfriend, Rosie, are both very strong individuals, and the repartee between them was quite enjoyable for me, the reader-writer, to observe. She is like Maureen O’Hara, the one woman who could actually stand up to John Wayne. The two actors were like magic on the screen together, and that is how I view the relationship Cuff has with Rosie. They are both caught up in something scary that they do not understand, but neither will slow down one iota in their quest for justice.



7) With several novels under your belt and decades of experience as a writing professor, you are hardly a neophyte when it comes to the written word. Can you tell us a little about your journey and career as a writer? 


I wrote my first book when I was ten years old. My parents bought the only copy, paying me a dollar. I have continued to write my entire life. My study was filled with unfinished manuscripts, begun, discarded, and then restarted over the years, so the year before I retired, I had all the bits and pieces word processed for me, so that when I retired, having all the time in the world to devote to one of my lifelong passions, writing, I could do so. And that is what I have done. I now have four novels published on Amazon Kindle, and the fifth is well on its way. I hope to keep writing until I die. It is my favorite avocation. I only wish I could have retired years ago.

8) Please tell us briefly about your other works.


COVERT DREAMS is an international thriller set primarily in both Munich and Saudi Arabia, two other places I have lived. It, like DEADLY EYES, is a novel of suspense that takes place in colorful settings. THE FAMOUS UNION is a rollicking romp through the halls of academia, where the often-eccentric characters are forced to cope in an atmosphere where compromise is a four-letter word. One reviewer said that the characters would make good case studies for a psych class. I like that. THE SURVIVAL OF MARVIN BAINES is about a loving husband and father, who, at midlife, suddenly begins to find his life unraveling. He wants escape, but instead he gets something altogether unexpected.


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Thanks, Mike.


DEADLY EYES is available at Amazon.

Who is the hero? Who is the villain? An interview with romantic suspense author Kristine Cayne

Today I'm talking with Kristine Cayne about her romantic suspense DEADLY ADDICTION.

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1) Tell us about your book.

DEADLY ADDICTION is the second book in my Deadly Vices series. It’s the story of a half-white native man who teams up with a white policewoman to restore policing to his native community. Here’s a short description:

Rife with crime and drug abuse, the Blackriver Reservation is a powder keg ready to blow. Fed up with white interference, a radical sovereigntist sets off a chain of events that can only end in catastrophe. Two people, Rémi Whitedeer, a proud warrior, and Alyssa Morgan, a maverick cop, join forces to save a nation.

2) What inspired you to write this book?

I grew up in the Montréal area, where there are several native reserves. About twenty years ago, there was a huge altercation between the native populations and the provincial police that resulted in the Canadian Armed Forces being called in. Hard feelings still exist on both sides. The other aspect that drew me to this story is that although I had grown up within a few miles of one of the reserves, I knew virtually nothing about these amazing people.

Regarding the unpoliced reserve aspect of the story, one of the reserves in the area did disband their police services several years ago and has remained without a force ever since. This has led to even more difficult relations with the provincial police, because reserves fall under their jurisdiction if the reserve does not have a police service of its own. I thought all of this made for a fabulously intriguing story with opportunities to learn about a little-known people and explore motivations on both sides of the issue.

3) Tell us about your leads, Rémi and Alyssa?

Rémi Whitedeer is a police officer turned substance-abuse counselor who dreams of restoring order to his tribe. The tribe has been without law enforcement since their previous police force was disbanded four years earlier on charges of corruption. Matters are coming to a head though, as crime is escalating, and tensions are rising between the various factions on the reserve. As the mixed-race cousin of Chaz Whitedeer, the Guardians’ leader, Rémi is caught in a no-man’s land—several groups lay claim to him, but all want him to deny his white blood.

Alyssa Morgan is a sergeant with the provincial police (Sûreté du Québec). In her previous assignment, she infiltrated the Vipers to take down the leader of the outlaw biker gang responsible for her brother’s death. She got her man, but her superiors think she went too far. Her disregard for protocol and her ends-justify-the-means ethics have branded her an unreliable maverick. To salvage her career, she accepts an assignment to set up a squad of native provincial officers on a reserve.

Together, Rémi and Alyssa must find a way to bring policing back to the reserve. But fed up with white interference and his cousin Rémi’s growing affection for Alyssa, radical sovereigntist Chaz Whitedeer sets off a catastrophic chain of events.

4) Your book deals quite heavily with both Native American substance abuse and radical politics. Did you do a lot of research on these issues?
Substance abuse does have a role in my book. It is a big problem on most reserves and reservations, especially those with high poverty rates. However, many native communities are taking an active role in dealing with these issues and offering services to help those affected.

The political issues, I researched in-depth. I read reports and studies on the Akwesasne and Oka Crises (1990) both from the native and the military perspective. I watched documentaries, read fictional and non-fictional accounts. But most importantly, to understand the current political situation within the Iroquois, I went to Kahnesatake and spoke with various tribe members. I was fascinated to learn how divided the Iroquois are. And most of those divisions stem from the past. For example, there are tensions between people who believe in the traditional political system—the Longhouse—and those who support the government-imposed political system—the band council. However, the Canadian government only recognizes band leaders and will not negotiate with traditional leaders. Furthermore, because of residential schools and conversions by Christian missionaries, many natives are Christian, creating another divide. Traditionalists follow the Longhouse and its code of ethics and traditions.

One interesting note to be made here: in the Montréal area, since the Crises in 1990, there has been an upsurge in conversions to the Longhouse both politically and spiritually. In addition, many communities are now offering children education in their native languages and providing language classes to adults. A clear effort is being made to return to their roots.

5) This is the second book in the Deadly Vices series. Will people who have not read the first book be able to slide into this one without too much trouble?

Yes. The books are loosely connected through the friendships of the characters. When characters from the previous book are mentioned, I’m careful to introduce them in such a way that the reader knows who they are in relation to the hero/heroine of the current book.

6) Racial and ethnic elements in stories can bring with them potential controversy. Are you concerned about anyone taking issue with any of your depictions of Native peoples in this book?
Yes and no. I’ve done my best to represent in as truthful a manner as I could the great diversity among First Nations people. I have characters who are band council members and supporters, moderate traditionalists, radical traditionalists, Longhouse followers, Christians, etc. Some people will feel that Chaz Whitedeer is a hero, and that’s okay. Which character, Rémi or Chaz, the reader views as the protagonist and the antagonist will depend on the reader’s own beliefs. Many traditionalists will find that Rémi was not a hero because as Chaz says, he put his personal needs above those of his people. Of course, Chaz says this in a much more colorful manner.  Others will think Rémi is a hero because he did follow his heart. He didn’t give in to the demands of those around him. He had the courage to go his own way. It’s all a question of perspective.

7) What ingredients do you think make for the best thrillers?

Personally, I think the best thrillers are those that make us think. They shouldn’t be so far out there that the reader is detached from what is happening. The reader needs to feel it is believable enough and plausible enough to be real.

The other aspect they need is a great villain. To me a great villain is one where I can understand his or her motives. I might even feel that in their shoes, I might experience some of the same feelings. I wouldn’t go so far as to destroy a community or kill people, but I might be able to see why this person would think it necessary to achieve his goal.

8) Tell us about your other works?

I’m currently working on a short story/novella for an anthology coming out this spring. I’m also working on Deadly Betrayal, the third book in the Deadly Vices series. This book will take us to Afghanistan, where Kaden Christiansen, a character introduced in the first two books, will be forced to face some truths about his past and his present.

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Thanks, Kristine.

If you'd like to see more from Kristine, please check out her website http://site.kristinecayne.com/.

DEADLY ADDICTION can be purchased at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

How far would you go for your family? An interview with thriller author Andy Hollomon

Today I'm interviewing Andy Hollomon, author of the thriller Shades of Gray.


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1) Tell us about your book.

Shades of Gray is a thriller/suspense novel that revolves around the theme of crossing the line into criminal activity in order to save someone you love. My protagonist is a single father who's daughter has a serious medical condition that requires him to come up with a plan to smuggle drugs aboard cruise ships in order to earn the money quickly. Furthermore, his travel agency is struggling due to 9/11 and this factor is also pushing him to this extreme option.

2) What inspired this book?

For 12 years (mostly in the 90s) I was the owner of a travel agency. One of my sales agents reported a situation to me where one of her clients was purchasing airline tickets in a legal, but unusual manner. Not too long after this, the woman was found murdered inside her burned out home. This solidified our suspicion that she must have been a drug dealer. After 9/11 and the subsequent downturn in the travel industry, an idea grew in my mind “What lengths would a business owner go to in order to save his company?” So this is how the novel was formulated.

3) It's been over a decade, but the pain of 9/11 still lingers in the American national consciousness. Were you concerned about having that as a background element of your plot?

Great question!! I was for a while when I first started writing but that concern faded as i progressed in the construction of the story (this was approx. 2003- 2006) as it became a small plot point. Furthermore, as time as passed, 9/11 has been something that has been used more and more in books and films.

4) What's the fundamental thematic question your novel explores?

How far will would a desperate father go in order to save his child's life? Would he break the law?

5) What drew you to that theme?

My experience as a travel industry owner during the tumultuous period for the industry just after 9/11 had me in a dire situation and anyone that has faced the closure of a business knows that their desperation can become overwhelming. I never turned to drug smuggling or anything illegal, but the closing of my business was traumatic and painful. Plus, I feel that this theme is one that many folks can relate to.

6) Your main characters make some hard choices; choices that some readers may find morally questionable. Did you ever worry that readers would have difficulty identifying with your characters?


Not really. I'm certain that almost everyone has had desperate financial situations and has contemplated illegal activity as a means to an end. I think readers will enjoy the morally questionable choices that are made by these characters and find that they can relate.

Part of the title, Shades of Gray, to me, represents the fact that the world is a "gray" place and very few of the decisions that we all make (especially when we are up against a wall) are black and white.

7) Can you give us any insight into any current works-in-progress?

Right now I just have a very, very rough idea and outline of my next novel. For the time being, I'm just describing it as a "Irving-esque romp through the 1990's as seen through the eyes of two Irish brothers coming of age just as the Internet is coming of age.

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Thanks, Andy.

If you'd like to see more from Andy, please visit his blog at http://novelistandyholloman.wordpress.com/.

Shades of Gray can be purchased at Andy's website or Amazon.

Some Wounds Never Heal: An interview with historical thriller author Tim Ashby

Today, I'm talking with Tim Ashby. Tim's had a varied career including working as a counter-terrorism analyst and assisting in privatization projects in Central and Eastern Europe.

His novel, Devil's Den, is a nested historical thriller taking place in the 1920s but also including elements from the American Civil War.

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1) Tell us about your book.

In Devil’s Den, the 1923 murder of a Civil War veteran leaves a trail of conspiracy, cover-up and corruption stretching from the Battle of Gettysburg to the halls of the Harding-era Congress and the fledgling Bureau of Investigation (precursor to the FBI). Someone is killing elderly Civil War veterans and BI agent Seth Armitage must discover what links the victims in order to find the killer, unaware that the investigation is being manipulated by the Bureau's corrupt director Harry M. Daugherty (real-life Attorney General in the tainted Harding Administration) and a shadowy member of the Senate. Providing a Machiavellian counterweight to the plot is the BI's ambitious assistant director J. Edgar Hoover. The case draws Virginia-born Armitage, haunted by his memories of World War I France, to the site of the bloody battlefield where his grandfathers fought for the Confederacy. Armitage uncovers a conspiracy that goes to the highest levels of government. Devil’s Den shows the absurdity of Prohibition, the violence and racial injustice of the resurgent Ku Klux Klan, and the unparalleled corruption that pervaded the Harding government. As such, the "Devil's Den" of the title works on two levels, referring both to the rocky corner of the Gettysburg killing fields and Washington of the Roaring Twenties.

2) When people think of thrillers with political elements, they tend to think of more modern settings, not the 1920s. Even the core canon of the hard-boiled detective genre is a bit more contemporary than your setting. What drew you to this time period?


The decade of the1920s was a time of great social and technological change, and was a fascinating “bridge” between America’s (and the world’s) agrarian past and the “modern” era. The decade is filled with famous and infamous characters, as well as a number of real “history’s mysteries” which my hero, Seth Armitage, will investigate.

3) The juxtaposition of the 1920s and Civil War elements is unusual. Why did you choose to intertwine the Civil War in your plot?


My family has strong ties to the Civil War and northern Virginia (where scenes of the book are set). I was influenced by childhood stories from relatives whose parents and grandparents served in the conflict. The interlocking conspiracies in Devil’s Den – separated by 60 years – are based on real events. Many Civil War veterans were alive in the 1920s, and some were still active in the US government and business.

4) Often when doing historical research, authors stumble upon something they didn't expect. Did you have any experiences like this?

I had not previously grasped the magnitude of corruption within the Harding administration, or the national extent and power of the Ku Klux Klan - which was not confined to the Old South. I was also struck by the rapid growth of new technologies. We think that we live in an era of rapid technological change, but between 1918 and 1923, telephones, radios, motion pictures, and automobiles were adopted at exponential growth rates. Closed cabin passenger and cargo airplanes were also in use – I feature one in Devil’s Den!

5) Even if one ignores the over-the-top technology one occasionally sees on some television police procedurals, it's hard to escape the association of forensics and advanced data mining techniques with investigation. Did you find it challenging to explore investigation in this story absent many of the technologies and procedures now taken for granted by law enforcement?

In Devil’s Den, I show the resistance to new forensic investigatory techniques. For example, my protagonist, Seth Armitage, an advocate of using fingerprints, clashes with a rural sheriff who considers such methods akin to witchcraft. Throughout the book, I demonstrate the Bureau of Investigation’s use of 1920s “leading edge” forensics techniques. Regardless of what one may think of J. Edgar Hoover – and he is portrayed as a Machiavellian character in the book – I give him credit for being a staunch advocate of such investigatory technologies.

6) Hartley declared that "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there." That being said, it's often striking how little we moderns do differ from our ancestors. Although no one can deny that striking changes have taken place in the United States over the past ninety years, there are many aspects that seem to have changed little if not at all. In what ways do you think 1920s America was the same, if not very similar, to modern America?

As I have discussed on my author blog at www.timashby.com, xenophobia was widespread in 1920s America and it seems to be returning today. In the USA of 90 years ago, young people were similarly fascinated by technology, cars, airplanes, fashion trends, movie stars and sports.

7) People often tend to grow attached to the protagonist in mysteries and thrillers. Should we expect a sequel?

Yes. Devil’s Den is intended to be the first in a series. The sequel, In Shadowland (the title is from a popular 1925 son), is my current work in progress.

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Thanks, Tim. If you'd like to see more from Tim, please check out his website  http://timashby.com/.

Devil's Den can be purchased in physical or electronic form from Amazon or physical form from Barnes and Noble.

Religious transition, mystery, and adventure: An interview with historical fiction author, Nancy Bilyeau

Today, I am talking with Nancy Bilyeau. Nancy is a long-time writer and editor who has worked at a number of magazines including InStyle, Rolling Stone, and Entertainment Weekly. Her debut novel, The Crown,  has her tacking mystery under the backdrop of religious transition in Tudor England.

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1) Tell us about your book.


The Crown is a historical thriller set in 1537-1538 about a half-English, half-Spanish Dominican novice named Joanna Stafford who gets caught up in a conspiracy and quest to locate a hidden object of mystical importance.

2) English history is filled with fascinating chapters and episodes. What caught your interest about the period covered in your novel?


Ever since I was 11 years old, I loved the 16th century, I suppose for the high drama of the personalities. More recently, I’ve wondered if our fascination with the Tudors goes beyond the obviousness of “Divorced/Beheaded/Died/Divorced/Beheaded/Survived.” Thanks to Holbein’s portraits and the chroniclers of the age—among them some wonderfully snarky ambassadors--the central cast of characters leap out at us. They feel close in. Much more so than the Plantagenets earlier. And as time went on, and Parliament became more important and governmental movements and issuances, the royal family was not quite as directly responsible for what happened to ordinary people every day. Henry VIII, while flailing about trying to divorce Catherine of Aragon for Anne Boleyn’s flashing dark eyes, would ride out and people occasionally shouted, “Back to your wife!” Even now, we feel as if we have a front row seat to the show and people feel emboldened to shout at Henry or Mary or Elizabeth. They have some sort of stake in it all. Also, there is something intoxicating about the mix of the time—the medieval world shading into the early modern age. I love the writers of the time: not just Shakespeare but Erasmus and More and Henry Howard.

3) The overall Tudor period, particularly in recent years, has been a popular period for fiction, but a lot of this fiction has primarily focused on key royal figures and those closely associated with them. Although there are a few famous faces in your book, your protagonist is a Dominican novice, someone pretty far from the hallowed halls of power. What went into your decision to focus on this sort of protagonist?


I felt that the royals of the 16th century had been quite well covered. I’ve always been curious about the more “ordinary” people of history. I wanted to write a story that thrust a character into the heart of the most compelling conflicts of the time. Because religious conflict fascinates me, I thought a person who had taken vows to follow a monastic life would inevitably be part of the turmoil. I wanted to write a female main character, and so I came up with a novice in a Dominican order. The order existed: Dartford Priory, in Kent.

4) Though this book is set during a time of great religious transition, it is, at its heart, a suspense-filled mystery focused on a lost artifact. Did you find it difficult to balance the mystery elements and the historical elements?


No, I loved it. I found that the history of the time lent itself to mystery and suspense without much effort on my part. I’m writing a thriller set in Tudor England, rather than a historical story that happens to have a mystery in the plot.

5) What was the most surprising thing you learned in doing research for this book?


The audacity of the manipulations that allowed the government to dismantle the monasteries. It was done ostensibly for reform, yet there was no reform. The abbeys and priories were closed, the people living inside ejected. And then these beautiful buildings were often stripped down to the lead. All that remains of the Dominican “Blackfriars” monastery in London, a complex of magnificent buildings that stretched between the Thames and Ludgate Hill, is a four-foot-long piece of stone wall. I’ve seen it. No, this was a financial initiative, no question. At various junctures, resistance would be met with incredible savagery. Monks were starved, tortured, beheaded. Abbots were executed and pieces of their bodies were displayed in public. This did a lot to deter others from resisting! Yet there was a popular uprising—the Pilgrimage of Grace—in large part to the common people’s outrage. Of course nothing stopped it in the end.

6) This period is filled with countless fascinating figures. Is there anyone in particular that you found particularly compelling?


Bishop Stephen Gardiner, my antagonist, was such a complex man. He was one of the legal minds behind the divorce from Catherine of Aragon—he was brilliant, everyone agrees. Yet as the country moved more and more toward Protestantism, he tried to halt that. Such irony in his struggle.

7) Arguably, the primary appeal of historical fiction is letting a reader experience, in some small way, a past they will otherwise never know. At the same time, people still are interested in fundamental storytelling aspects such as plot and pacing. How did you balance the detail necessary to turn your novel into a time machine without overwhelming the reader?


I tried as much as possible to weave in the historical detail as part of the action. I don’t like it when writers come full stop to describe a ceiling—gosh, having said that, I hope I didn’t do it. I find writing in first person helps in this regard—everything is through the eyes of Sister Joanna Stafford. By the way, what I’ve done in writing a first-person thriller set in the 16th century is not common. There are murder mysteries written this way. But thrillers are often split it into two time tracks—modern and the past, with the two plots intertangling. I broke ranks, so to speak, because I just felt this was the way for me to tell a story.

8) HF authors are knowingly creating stories and details they know may not have existed, but they can't risk deviating too much from the known history without risking losing the very appeal of their subject matter. At the same time, some aspects of the past can be so alien to modern readers that they are difficult to communicate well in novel. Did such thoughts influence your choices concerning what historical details to emphasize or include?


I revel in details and behavior that may seem alien today! I tried as much as possible NOT to force modern perceptions and standards onto my characters. I think when someone selects a book such as this to read, that person wants to explore a different mindset. But I don’t use dialogue that is accurate to Tudor England, people would find it heavy lifting. Here is an excerpt from Mouzell for Melastomus (do you like that title?), which was written by Rachel Speght, the first printed defence of women, in the early 1600s: “Thus if men would remember the duties they are to performe in being heads, fome would not ftand a tip-toe as they doe, thinking themlfelues Lords & Rulers, and account every omiffion of performing whatfoeuer they command, whether lawfull or not, to be matter of gret difparagement, and indignity done them.” I think you’ll agree with me it’s best to find a middle ground.

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Thanks, Nancy.

If you'd like to see more from Nancy, please check her out at www.nancybilyeau.com.

The Crown is now available at all major bookstores and online at all major vendors including Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Alzheimer's, Forty-billion missing dollars, and Russian Gangsters: An interview with thriller author Helen Hanson

Today, I'm welcoming back thriller author Helen Hanson. After reviewing and enjoying her book 3 Lies at Good Book Alert, I previously invited her over for an interview. She just released a new thriller, Dark Pool, and I've invited her back again for another interview.

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1) Tell us about your book.

To me, DARK POOL is a novel about the expectations we make in life. We tend to gauge our happiness or success by how well those expectations are met.  But we don’t always get a vote regarding our circumstances.

Here’s the official pixel-and-dust jacket blurb:

~ Forty Billion Reasons to Kill

By this time in her life, Maggie Fender expected to be on her way to law school. Instead she’s far from any degree, waiting tables to support her teenage half-brother and their ailing father. With early onset Alzheimer’s, her father’s lucid moments are few and unpredictable.

Her brother’s legal defense for felony hacking charges strained their finances to a snap. In spite of the conviction, he claims he was framed. But now that he’s on parole, he also claims their father is sending them messages.

Maggie’s tired of the struggle, but she’s everybody’s legal guardian. Slowing down will lead to disaster. She can hustle. Or face financial ruin.

This isn’t the life she envisioned.

In the news, disgraced hedge fund manager Patty O’Mara awaits trial for bilking investors out of forty billion dollars. The legendary dark pool wizard offered phenomenal profits until the SEC examined his books. Then they discovered O’Mara didn’t make any legitimate trades on the market.

O’Mara ran his hedge fund the way Charles Ponzi and Bernie Madoff ran theirs. It was all a fraud.

One wealthy investor rallies the troop of irate victims by hiring a noted private investigator to find the missing pot of gold. A Russian mobster, out thirty million in cash, prefers to search for the money alone and without witnesses. Their competing efforts sift the same set of facts.

So why are they interested in Maggie Fender’s incoherent father?

While SEC officials try to rebuild credibility for allowing the financial scandal to rage unchecked, the private investigator and the Russian mobster vie to answer a solitary question:

What happened to all that money? 

2) Your last book was a twist on fears of terrorism. This book is more a twist on the fear of Wall Street "fat cats" as it were. Anyone reading the book can't escape the parallels to Bernie Madoff. Was this book directly inspired by Madoff's Ponzi scheme or did you already have a similar idea when the Madoff scandal broke?

I was pondering a plot with a financial element when the Bernie Madoff scandal hit the wires.  His incredible story certainly fueled mine.  I liken his offense to that of a poisoner.  Poisoners are typically women and are often wives who murder their husbands over a long period of time.  She’ll feed him a little arsenic every day with his breakfast burrito, and then scurry to the store for Maalox when his tummy is upset.  She’s right by his side simmering with evil as his life slowly bleeds.  

How does a human do that to another?  I get shooting someone in the head.  Blam! It’s quick and requires little aforethought.  Regret may or may not follow.

But Bernie Madoff assumed a fiduciary responsibility to protect the financial assets of his clients.  As such, he bore a legal and moral obligation to be faithful to his client’s trust, to the point of putting their needs above his own. Instead, it was an investment travesty.  There were some high-profile victims, such as Steven Spielberg, but not all of his victims were able to absorb such a stunning loss.  Entire life savings were wiped out because of one man’s megalomaniacal greed. Positively egregious and, yet, fascinating.

Whether through gross incompetence or outright corruption, the SEC let him continue the slaughter for years.  They failed abysmally to uphold their duty to the people.  I think they should have cells adjoining Madoff’s. 

3) You have an appearance of a character from your previous novel, 3 Lies, in this book. Why do you choose to have the cross-over?

I view my story world as contiguous from one work to the next.  While timelines and locations shift, the people from one novel exist in the realm of the others.   For instance, Travis from Dark Pool was arrested for hacking about the time that Beth from 3 Lies started dialysis. 

If I ever write a science fiction novel, I may have to change this practice.  I don’t envision Maggie Fender battling Nausicaans on Risa.  But if she did, I suspect she would kick butt.

4) One thing that struck me about Dark Pool is the primary protagonists are on the younger side compared to what we saw in 3 Lies. Why did you choose to go that route? Plot-wise you could have told the same story focusing on say, a thirty-something sister and brother.

The “failure to launch” syndrome intrigues me because we typically bear some level of responsibility by the time we hit thirty. It’s the anomalous bloke who finds a way ‘round that fact. This isn’t the case with newly-minted adults.  For them it’s a stage of introspection and self-interest.  It’s a time to figure out their role in life or at least decide which step to take next.  Plus their experience in managing their environment is usually limited.  With Maggie at 22 and Travis at 15, they haven’t had an opportunity to launch.  Caring for their ailing father requires them to step up their game in ways they never expected.

5) Did you find it more difficult to write Dark Pool? The nature of the tension is rather different than what we saw in 3 Lies.

Dark Pool is a more personal story for me in many ways because I lost my father to Alzheimer’s. After my mother passed on, his condition spiraled, and his timeline ceased to be linear.  He’d want to visit people who were long gone.  One time, he asked my sister, “Who was that woman?” after I left the room.  I often wondered what he experienced from his side of the chasm.

Some of us get a glimpse of our future. But not everyone who does so is of the mindset to exploit the advantage.   I liked the idea of Martin Fender preparing for his own demise. 

6) Is there anything you learned from writing 3 Lies that you applied to Dark Pool?

I’m a planner by nature, so my systems for keeping track of storylines, characters, locations, et cetera are much cleaner now.  I know what works and what makes my head spin.  When editing 3 Lies, I compiled a list of my obvious personal excesses as a writer.  I tried to keep these in mind when I wrote my first draft of Dark Pool and used them as a filter on my last.

As an indie writer, the book isn’t finished when you type the final word.  After writing 3 Lies, I still had to deliver it to readers somehow, so I figured out how to format four different editions, and I put them up for sale at five different venues.  I even learned how to prep a cover for the paperback edition.  Each step was another curve to negotiate. With Dark Pool, it took very little time to actually publish.  And I no longer feared the process. 

Except marketing.  I still fear marketing.  Sometimes I feel like I’m standing under the lamp post wearing a halter and a mini yelling, “Hey, sailor. Wanna buy my book?”

7) You have financial/legal conspiracy and international espionage covered. What's next for you? Will anyone from 3 Lies and Dark Pool make it into your next book?

I suspect someone from 3 Lies or Dark Pool will make an appearance in my next novel.  I’m not certain who that might be, yet.  The protagonist of my current project isn’t a pillar of any community.  Baxter Cruise is a perpetual college student who makes his living by filling your in-box with spam.  Well someone has to do it.

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Thanks, Helen.

If you'd like to see more from Helen, please visit her website at http://www.helenhanson.com.

Dark Pool can be purchased at a variety of vendors but here at the links Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and here are the Amazon and Barnes and Noble for 3 Lies.