Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Three books written in the Clinton Lovell Stone series. The Trojan Treasure conspiracy. The Shakespeare conspiracy. And The Romanoff conspiracy. Each Clayton level stone adventure requires stone to solve an actual historic mystery in order to solve the current crime murder mystery. And then beyond, the Clinton Lovell Stone series, there’s The queen and the Playwright, the story of the actual author of the Shakespeare plays and his sensual relationship with Queen Elizabeth 1st, “the virgin queen.”
About Myself. After years as a practicing clinical psychologist, I have recently turned my attention to a fantasy life of writing novels. Clayton Lovell Stone, my action-hero alter-ego, stands over my shoulder and dictates as I scribe his adventures. When someone asked me what I do to keep busy, I said I write thriller novels. I spend a lot of time figuring out different ways to kill people. “Isn’t that nice, she said.”
In my real work life, I am a clinical psychologist who practiced in Delaware, Maryland, and New Mexico. For many years, I was the Chief Psychologist at the Upper Shore Mental Health Center in Chestertown, Maryland, and had a private practice in Easton. I taught therapy and psychopathology courses in Washington College’s Graduate Psychology Program. I was employed as a consultant for adult and adolescent rehabilitation programs, geriatric centers, and law enforcement. I testified as an expert witness in psychological profiling for both the prosecution and the defense and was a member of the State of Maryland’s Forensic Evaluation Team. I supervised psychologists for the Maryland Prison System and served in the Mental Health Section to the 24th Infantry Division of the United States Army in Munich, Germany. I graduated from Stanford University in California and earned a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Maryland. I live and write on Long Island, New York.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Heinrich Schliemann’s Discovery of what he thought was the original Troy in Homer’s Iliad. I need a backstory for a current Clayton Lovell Stone Adventure since all the adventures in the series require stoned to solve a actual historic mystery in order to serve the current crime or mystery. Schliemann’s actual story – his adventure – fit that well. As the son of a poor Lutheran preacher who quit school at 14, Schliemann had no way to live a life of exploration and adventure. But the dream remained. But he was bright and took to languages easily, working his way up from a cabin boy on a ship to an office assistant at a shipping company, and later to a bookkeeper. And then, at age 22, he took a new position with B. H. Schröder & Co., an import/export firm, where he worked his way up to management.
And then at age 27, Schliemann’s brother Ludwig, a wealthy California gold speculator, died, leaving his fortune to Schliemann. Schliemann immediately set up a bank in Sacramento and sold off close to a million dollars in gold bullion in less than six months. Now he was wealthy. Now he could pursue his dreams of exploration and adventure. Now he could search for that “face that launched a thousand ships.”
Not quite yet, though. He had even more money to make. It was not until 1858, at the age of 36, that he retired from business and, as he later wrote in his memoirs, “Set out to dedicate myself to the pursuit of Troy.”
All this is the backstory in the first chapters as stone sets off on his current adventure defined the loss Trojan treasure.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Nothing unusual. When Ernest Hemingway was asked how he writes, he said, “I put the points of a pencil on the left side of a blank sheet of paper and then move it from left to right.” By which he meant, he just writes. He says he didn’t wait for inspiration, He just wrote. So that’s pretty much what I do after my coffee in the morning. I sit at my desk, put my fingers on the keyboard and wait to see what surprises me, as it often does.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My action hero, Clayton Lovell Stone, was inspired by John D. McDonald’s Travis McGee. Travis is a “salvage consultant” who lives on a houseboat in Fort Lauderdale and works as a recovery specialist, taking half the value of the property he recovers as his fee. He is characterized by his rugged charm, philosophical insights, and a moral compass that guides him through adventures involving crime and corruption.
My character, Clayton Lovell Stone, lives in a converted water tower house on a single-line railroad track 14 miles south of Annapolis. A former investigator in the FBI’s art antiquities recovery division, fired for going into Syria to rescue his friend Ezzy against orders, he takes some private cases of lost or stolen order treasure. He drives a 1957 turquoise Chevrolet Bel Air convertible named Martha. He works the toughest New York Times crossword puzzles and plays chess with himself to keep his mind active when he’s otherwise inactive. To his chagrin and confusion, he easily attracts women who don’t seem to hang around too long.
What are you working on now?
The next in the Clayton Lovell Stone Adventure series. I have three done and online in Amazon, a forth one started and two others in the back of my mind. That should keep me going for a while.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My own website. https://readbrucebooks.com
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Set a schedule and write every day.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When I ask how we wrote, Ernest Hemingway said he “puts a point of a pencil on the left side of a blank sheet of paper and move it from left or right.” By which he meant, just do it. Just right. So that’s what I do. I write. I just do it.
What are you reading now?
Rereading all the John D. McDonald Travis McGee novels. They keep teaching me something else about how to write a good action-adventure story with a thoughtful, intellectual character.
What’s next for you as a writer?
The next in the Clayton Lovell Stone Adventure series. I have three done and online in Amazon, a forth one started and two others in the back of my mind. That should keep me going for a while.
What is your favorite book of all time?
Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm, published in 1812. It contains all the elements of an exciting, dangerous, action-adventure novel. Just change the characters to adults and make it for grown-ups.
Author Websites and Profiles
Bruce Hutchison Website
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