Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I write both fiction and nonfiction and have several thriller series, the most recent I call my Cain’Harper series. The first installment just came out and is titled SKIN IN THE GAME. I also have a podcast series as well as a blog and I consult with many writers and screenwriters about medical and forensic science issues in their stories. For 3 1/2 years I cohosted with Jan Burke a radio show called Crime and Science Radio where we interviewed experts in the forensic science in criminal justice fields. This recent release is my 19th book and the 20th will be out in May.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
As I said above, my latest book is titled SKIN IN THE GAME. It features Bobby Cain and Harper McCoy, nonbiological brother and sister who were raised by an itinerant gypsy family that trained them in all sorts of criminal activities ranging from breaking and entering, to pick-pocketing, to scams of all types. Bobby also became an expert with knives. The idea for these characters was many years in the making but it reflects back to my childhood in Alabama where gypsies actually did come through town. In the 1950s they did so in horse-drawn wagons. I was always fascinated by them. Though Bobby and Harper were not part of a true gypsy family, they lived and grew up that way.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure any of my habits are all that unusual except that I refuse to have a schedule. I write when I feel like it, and I don’t when I don’t. Earlier in my career, I outlined extensively but I no longer do that. I simply have a scene or two that I feel will lead in the direction of a good story and I begin writing. I really like that as it gives me great freedom.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Easily the two authors that have influenced me the most are James Lee Burke and Elmore Leonard. Each is a master storytellier but they do it very differently. James Lee Burke writes poetic fiction that is also gritty while Elmore Leonard spins yarns that are dark and humorous and sparsely crafted. Much can be learned from each of them.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on the next Cain/Harper thriller as well as the next in my Jake Longly comedic thriller series. Both are going exceptionally well.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think that’s a multi-headed animal. I have a website, a blog, and a podcast series which I call Criminal Mischief: The Art And Science Of Crime Fiction. My writing is of course promoted on each of these platforms as well as on Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, and other sites.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read, read, read, write, write, write, repeat. In order to write, you must read. Writing is an apprenticeship and you learn by seeing what other people do and picking up those parts that work for you and pressing forward. The second, and perhaps most important advice, is to get out of your own way and write the story in your own voice. Voice is the one thing that sells a story more than anything else.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I think it was Hemingway that said something on the order of, “Write drunk, edit sober.” I think that’s excellent advice. I believe what he was saying is that you need to get out of your way and tell the story in your own voice. Get it on the page rapidly, and slippily, and then go back with clear eyes and edit the heck out of it.
What are you reading now?
I have an advanced copy of The Deserter by Nelson DeMille and am reading it right now. Fantastic, as is all his stuff.
What’s next for you as a writer?
More of the same, keep writing and keep podcasting and keep blogging and keep moving forward. As long as it’s fun, I’ll continue doing it.
What is your favorite book of all time?
Boy that’s a tough one since there have been so many. I always have to give a nod to Jules Verne because the first “real novel” I read was Journey to the Center of the Earth. I was 14 at the time and it launched me into a lifelong passion for reading. Others would be The Godfather, The Day of the Jackal, California Girl by T Jefferson Parker, Black Cherry Blues by James Lee Burke, and Riding The Rap by Elmore Leonard. There are so many others but these stand out right now.
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