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Interview with Bill A. Brier, author of The Killer Who Hated Soup

What can you tell us about your new release, The Killer Who Hated Soup?

The car, dripping with sludge, hung from a crane. “Honey, get in here—quick,” I called from the TV room to my wife. In 1957, the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in honor of the state’s fifty years of statehood, put to rest a brand new Plymouth Belvedere under the courthouse lawn, figuring that fifty years later, they’d bring it back to life.

So they thought.

It was now 2007, the state’s one-hundredth birthday, and the whole town came out, nervous as crickets on a dance floor. In the car were hundreds of postcards, on which citizens had written their guesses of the town’s now current census. The person with the closest guess (or, their descendant) would be given a hardy handshake and the keys to the classic automobile.

Unfortunately, the winner got neither. After decades of hibernating in cold, wet darkness, the car that emerged was no more than, well, a rust bucket. The Belvedere’s concrete vault was not up to fifty years of trucks rumbling past on the street above.

As I watched the car lowered to the ground, and the slimy brown covering being peeled back like diseased skin, I thought to myself, There’s a story inside that car’s trunk. Hence, the birth of The Killer Who Hated Soup. And the title? An author's gotta keep some secrets!

What's the last book you read?

I'm now reading, "SOMEBODY, the Reckless Life and Remarkable Career of MARLON BRANDO," by Stefan Kanfer, who describes the famed actor: "Before Brando, actors acted. After Brando, they behaved." Marlon and I go way back. He was on a movie set once, talking on a phone, and as I walked past, he winked at me. Those were the days.

What's a typical day like for you?

I worry a lot. Am I getting this done? Am I getting that done? What about this? What about that? But it's not so bad. By the time I start worrying about that, I've forgotten about this.

Where is your happy place? Why does it bring you joy?

Lying down and thinking ... and then dozing is my happy place. Because I like letting my mind wonder ... and wander ... and then I wake up refreshed, often with a new idea.

What inspires your book ideas?

I tried waiting for inspiration, but when it didn't work, I buckled down and followed Glenn Frey's example

It was the 1970s, and the rock star was living in a cheap apartment above Jackson Browne’s. Every morning he’d hear Browne’s teapot go off. Then a few notes on his piano. Over and over and over. Each time, a little different. Then a second verse, and the same thing, again and again. It would be quiet awhile, then once more that first verse on the piano, and it would start all over again. Ah, ha, Frey thought. So that’s how it’s done. Not through inspiration, not by waiting for great ideas to float into your head. Elbow grease … time … thought … persistence.

Who was your first literary hero?

My first literary hero was Sydney Sheldon. I hadn’t heard of him until I worked on the production of one of his stories for TV. I loved the story so much that I immediately went out and bought all of his paperbacks.
I appreciated his use of parallel action. He often had two stories going on at once, which eventually came together at the end. But what I liked most was that although I felt terribly disappointed when a chapter ended—he was a master at writing cliffhangers—I’d turn the page and be thrilled to pick up where the previous story had left off.
My second literary hero was Elmore Leonard, who taught me to cut out the boring parts. “Anything that doesn’t show character development, move the story forward, or put readers on the edges of their seats, must be thrown in the scrap heap!”

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

I take after Bucky. Live and let live. I love everybody and respect all people and all animals (unless I'm attacked by either).

Bill A. Brier is the author of the new book The Killer Who Hated Soup.

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Interview with J.J. Hebert, author of The Backwards K

What can you tell us about your new release, The Backwards K?

The Backwards K, my latest inspirational novel, follows aging baseball great, Jet Brine, as he tries to get past the awful defining moment of his baseball career – striking out looking in the World Series -- and reclaim his life.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

My love for telling stories drove me to get into writing initially. I started writing seriously in middle-school. I tried my hand at writing a sci-fi manuscript on my father’s computer. I saved everything on a floppy disk. I wrote about 50 pages of that book as a 13 or 14 year old and gave up on it. Fast forward a decade, after reading a couple Harry Potter books: I picked up the pen once again to write a fantasy novel. I wrote seven drafts as an adult, learned a lot through the process, but decided to move on from that manuscript as well. In 2006, I started writing Unconventional. I found a literary agent to represent me, but I ultimately self-published Unconventional and sold over 100,000 copies as an indie author. The Backwards K is my second published novel.

Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

I’d want to interview J.K. Rowling. Her Harry Potter series is one of my favorites. I really want to know if she’s going to write another series of Harry Potter books. I know we got Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a screenplay, but I’m referring to more Harry Potter novels…

What's your favorite thing about writing?

Creating something from nothing. Every writer starts with a blank page.

What makes your world go round? Why does it bring you joy?

My family, of course, but I also love reading a good book and/or watching a good film. I enjoy being entertained and I love entertaining as well. I’m also a huge sports fan, I’m sure you guessed.

BAM. You're a superhero. What's your superpower?

Time travel.

What scene in The Backwards K was your favorite to write?

There are a few. I don’t want to insert any spoilers here, so I’ll just say that one of my favorite scenes to write included Jet with his estranged son in a diner.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

The Golden Rule is a philosophy I generally try my hardest to follow.

J.J. Hebert is the author of the new book The Backwards K.

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Books To Read If You Like Iris Johansen

New York Times Bestselling Author Iris Johansen is well known as a leading writer of Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, with notable novels like Night Watch, No Easy Target, and the new release Mind Game. She has been writing since the early 1980's, where she got her start writing romance. In 1991, she switched to suspenseful historical romance and then in 1996 tried her hand at crime fiction. Since the move, she has had seventeen consecutive NYT Bestsellers and shows no sign of slowing down. If you are on the hunt for an exciting new Mystery, Thriller & Suspense novel, check out these books to read if you like Iris Johansen!

Books To Read If You Like Iris Johansen

The Killer Who Hated Soup

Bill A. Brier

Release Date: October 21, 2017

The year is 1956 and Bucky Ontario is energetic and eager to make his mark on what Time Magazine called the next great boom town. Bucky hops on a bus and leaves his Louisiana home en-route to Defiance, Oklahoma—a town not particularly adverse to murders, just to the embarrassment of them. While helping his friend, Kindra, search for a ring that once belonged to her dead mother, Bucky is told: “Find the baby, find the ring.”

The Girls On Poppy Drive

Alex Gates

Release Date: October 14, 2017

It's a family's worst nightmare... you never think it will happen in your town. Never happen to families you know. Never happen on your street. Never happen... again. And again. Three little girls have disappeared, all missing from the same safe suburban street. What monster is targeting these families and what has he done with the girls?

Alibi Aficionado

Harvey Church

Release Date: February 1, 2017

Edwin Burrows, an accountant turned accidental investigator, is about to find out how far he will go to cover up an alibi for his firms biggest client. The problem is that Edwin can’t do anything right and everyone has low expectations. Cursed with an investigation that's doomed from the start, he knows that everyone expects him to fail. When the client is arrested, Edwin must decide if he wants to save the guilty man from prosecution or tell the truth.

What We Kill

Howard Odentz

Release Date: October 13, 2017

Four friends wake in the woods overlooking the highway, none of them have any memory of how they got there. One has a triangle burned into his forearm. One has lost her pants. One is missing his glass eye. The last is covered in blood. What happened to them? What is happening to their town? Why can't they remember any of it? What... did they do?

The Aleutian Portal

Christopher Cartwright

Release Date: October 11, 2017

A Russian cargo ship sinks in the shallow waters of the Bering Strait, and vanishes... In the Colorado Desert, a cowboy follows a river of sand into an undiscovered ruin... A tunnel-boring operation between the Alaskan and Siberian peninsulas is stalled when its largest burrowing machine disappears into an abyss... Sam Reilly leads a search and rescue mission for the missing ship and crew but discovers all three strange events are irrevocably connected.

Deep Freeze

John Sandford

Release Date: October 17, 2017

Virgil knows the town of Trippton, Minnesota, a little too well. A few years back, he investigated the corrupt—and as it turned out, homicidal—local school board, and now the town’s back in view with more alarming news: A woman’s been found dead, frozen in a block of ice.

Books To Read If You Like Meghan March

With over twenty novels, USA Today bestselling author Meghan March knows a thing or two about hot and steamy romance. Best known for her popular The Dirty Billionaire Trilogy, Real Duet and Real Dirty Duet; March has also just released book one in her new Mount Trilogy. If you are a fan of the hot writing of Meghan March and are craving more, check out these brand new contemporary romance novels!

Books To Read If You Like Meghan March

Mustang Buck

Sienna Parks

Release Date: October 8, 2017

When Savannah Adams arrived in town, all Jax could think about was taming this wild stranger. Jax is known as a player around the small town of Kingsbury Falls, but this wrangler has a heart of gold and is finally ready to settle down. He has his sights firmly set on Savannah. Now that he has opened his heart to the possibility of happily ever after, nothing can prepare him the revelations coming his way.

TinderElla

Eddie Cleveland

Release Date: October 11, 2017

I learned a hard lesson that life is no fairy-tale and I'm no princess. When I was smuggled into the US, I became a slave for a horrible woman who wouldn't think twice about selling me to the black market. I know it's dangerous and foolish, but when she goes out of town I set up a dating app profile. I can't spend my entire life wondering what I'm missing... I was supposed to get lost in the fantasy, not his eyes. Not his tall, muscular body. I'm not the kind of girl who gets a happily ever after. So, why am I willing to risk everything to see him again?

Knocked Up by the Master

Penelope Bloom

Release Date: October 13, 2017

Leo was a mistake. A beautiful and scorching-hot mistake... This stranger showed me the pleasure of submission and the thrill of being dominated. He changed my life and then he disappeared. I told myself it was for the best, that girls like me and guys like him aren't meant to be, but it still hurts. The worst part about all this is I’m pregnant, and he has no idea.

Burn For You

J.T. Geissinger

Release Date: October 17, 2017

Jackson “The Beast” Boudreaux is rich, gorgeous, and unbelievably rude to the staff at Chef Bianca Hardwick’s restaurant. Bianca never wants to cook for Jackson again, but when he asks her to cater his fund-raiser, she finds it hard to refuse, needing the money for her mother's medical bills. He then ups the offer with a marriage proposal. The unconventional offer includes an enormous sum of money—even if it does come with a contract—and a huge ring.

Misadventures of a Backup Bride

Shayla Black

Release Date: October 17, 2017

Carson Frost has just inherited his late Father's company that rakes in billions. But when he finds out it is too cash-strapped to last another sixty days, must accept a loan from a rival. There are two catches: He must sign over a permanent stake in the company and marry his daughter. When he gets cold feet, Carson must concoct a fake bride to keep his end of the deal. That's where Ella Hope comes in.

Slap Shot

Kelly Jamieson

Release Date: October 17, 2017

Pro hockey player Max Hall has been away from the game for over a year. After his wife died from cancer, sex and hockey were the last things on his mind. Now, after fifteen months of drinking too much and feeling sorry for himself, Max faces an uphill battle to play for the Chicago Aces again. He's not looking for a relationship, but his libido has come roaring back to life. A fling with Kendra Armstrong might be just what he needs.

Interview with Alex Gates, author of The Girls On Poppy Drive

What can you tell us about your new release, The Girls On Poppy Drive?

Poppy Drive might be my favorite book yet, but it’s hard to describe without giving a ton of twists away. Basically, it’s a suburban nightmare—over seven years, three little girls have been kidnapped from a single street. The book is full of surprises, but I think my favorite element is that it focuses more on the heroine (Detective London McKenna) than on any graphic or terrible heart-breaking material. The book really examines how a terrible case can impact the investigator—her professional life, her interactions with the victims, and what happens to her relationship when she brings that darkness home.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I remember reading Harry Potter as a kid…and hating it. Probably the only kid in the world who wasn’t a fan, but I figured…if JK Rowling can do it, I can too. (Don’t worry, lower the pitchforks, JK and I are cool now.) I had always wanted to write and used to do little stories, so in seventh grade, I started writing my first fantasy series. By the time I reached college, that series was over three hundred thousand words long and was just terrible.

But I learned a lot from it—including the rush you get when you finish a book. So I started another….then another…Eventually romance seemed more popular than anything, so I ducked into romance and have two successful romance pen names which no one will ever learn. 😉

Once I was a bit stable, I started writing the Detective London McKenna series, and now nothing will ever be the same. Thrillers and crime novels are my lifeblood. I love them!

What's the last book you read?

Small Gods by Terry Pratchett. The man was an absolute genius. I love, love, love his entire Discworld series.

What fictional literary world would you mot like to viit?

It’s not fictional, but I’m addicted to Minecraft at the moment. I’d love a world full of diamond blocks as big as your head!

Hmm…my books are set in Pittsburgh…that’s not really fun. If it has to be literary…I’d say the world in the Riddle Master of Hed series by Patricia A McKillip. It’s not a world where there’s the imminent invasion of orcs or any sort of impending destruction. Just a quaint sort of small-town rural fiefdom type life. People in the hero’s kingdom are just making ale and sweeping floors. Sort of like the world in In The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Nothing too dangerous, just good old fashioned medieval romanticism. No antibiotics or internet, but at least you’re not in imminent danger of dagger impalement

What's a typical day like for you?

I’ll warn you…it isn’t glamorous. If I’m under a time crunch, I might not see the sun for a couple weeks.

I’ll wake up, sit at my computer, and I’ll alternate twenty minutes of writing with ten minutes of the computer game Overwatch (Mercy Main, woo!) and just try to write it all down.

Unfortunately, this summer was a bit rough. I had to take some time off writing because I lost my father, so I had to write Poppy in about a month. Most of it was sitting at my desk for sixteen hours at a time just working my butt off. But I honestly think I work better with impending, dire deadlines.

Fortunately, my husband is amazing. He takes care of everything—food, laundry, bills, etc. He’s either the most supportive man I know, or he’s a complete enabler to this madness. I think it’s a bit of both. 😉

What makes your world go round? Why does it bring you joy?

My husband, but that’s a corny answer.

I love sushi. It’s probably my biggest motivator. We can get sushi when I’m done writing the chapter? Well, hot damn. Looks like I’m killing off this particular character so I can get my rainbow roll!

Of course, the real story behind the sushi is that it’s a date with my husband. Something fun we can do together as time away from my computer. When we go out, I can be a normal person again who is actually dressed, wearing makeup, styling my hair, not just tossing on a pair of sweats and heading to the computer to work. 😉

What scene in The Girls On Poppy Drive was your favorite to write?

The epilogue, lol! And I can’t say what it is, what it involves, or why it’s important except to say that it’s setting up the fourth book in the series, and that is the one everyone has been dying to read. It answers all the questions about London’s past, and it should be fantastic. So…essentially, I wrote eighty thousand words of Poppy Drive just to get to the epilogue. Ha!

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

I feel like I *should* have something, but I also feel like Dory from Finding Nemo – Just keep writing, just keep writing…

Alex Gates is the author of the new book The Girls On Poppy Drive.

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Interview with Eddie Cleveland, author of TinderElla

What can you tell us about your new release, TinderElla?

TinderElla was a book I poured myself into and really wrote from the heart. It’s about a broken veteran who is saved by love. First by the love of his daughter and then by the love he never dreamed he could find with Ella. There are a lot of obstacles and darkness this couple has to overcome and together they are strong enough to take that on.

Which book from your childhood or teenage years has stuck with you as an adult?

The book that really drew me in and changed my whole perspective on how writing could make you feel was Stephen King’s IT. That book was a perfect blend of a coming of age story and horror. I remember when I first borrowed IT from the library thinking there were dictionaries with less pages. It felt a bit daunting to read something so long, but I’m so glad I did.

You're hosting a literary dinner party. Which three writers are invited?

If they can be living or dead, I would invite Hunter S. Thompson because I love his work and he seems like he’d be fun to party with. Stephen King because he had such a great influence on me when I was growing up. My final guest would be E.L. James, I would love a night to pick the brain of the woman behind the indie romance publishing revolution.

What's your favorite thing about writing?

My favorite thing about writing is when I become immersed in a chapter, and the walls in my house disappear and I feel like I can see the scene I’m working on unfold like a movie in my head. When that happens, this job doesn’t feel like work at all.

Where is your happy place? Why does it bring you joy?

I am always happiest when I’m lost in nature. I love hiking and canoeing to those little known places where your cell phone loses service and the stress of the world ceases to exist. I think there’s a quote about how there’s no problem that can’t be solved with a long walk, I really feel that way. Obviously, the walk itself can’t fix anything, but getting lost in the outdoors has a way of giving me perspective like nothing else can.

What's the best advice you've ever received?

If you risk nothing, then you risk everything. It took me a while, but I finally took that quote to heart when I retired from the military and walked away from my pension to pursue this dream of writing.

What scene in TinderElla was your favorite to write?

It was more than one scene for this book. Every scene that features the four-year-old daughter of Jackson, Chloe, was my favorite to write. I based her so much on my four-year-old, so writing those words I’ve heard and scenes I’ve watched in real life really made me smile.

Eddie Cleveland is the author of the new book TinderElla.

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Interview with Howard Odentz, author of What We Kill

What can you tell us about your new release, What We Kill?

What We Kill is a psychological thriller wrapped up inside a coming-of-age tale. Without giving away too much, the story centers around four seventeen-year-old friends who wake in the woods at the edge of their town without any memory of how they got there. As they grapple to deal with their own bizarre circumstances, they realize something bigger and darker is happening not just to them, but their community, as well. It has been described as “A simmering psychological thriller, bolstered by a dynamic narrative voice and a few unexpected twists.” –Kirkus Reviews. Yeah. I’ll agree with that.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I think we all express ourselves in different ways. Some paint, others play music or sculpt. For me, the inspiration to write as a means of expression has always been innate. Originally, I wrote musical comedies, but I was still missing something. When I finally sat down and wrote my first novel, I realized authoring books as a way of finding meaning in the world was perfect for me.

Since then, I haven’t looked back.

What's on your top 5 list for best books you've ever read?

I’ve been asked this a lot and my answers might be surprising. First, I love all things Harry Potter, so I guess that’s more than five books.

Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ will always hold a special place in my heart, because I think I read it in something like first grade.

I felt the novel ‘ Intervention’, by Julian May was amazingly profound and beautiful. I found myself buying up copies and giving them out to friends.

Stephen King and Peter Straub’s collaboration, ‘The Talisman’ was another important one for me, as was King’s ‘The Stand’ and his epic Gunslinger series.

I know that’s way more than five, none of which are exactly in my genre, so I’d also like to throw in Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’. The psychological terror of that book is something that I’ve never quite been able to shake.

Who is your favorite character from literature?

Gosh, there are so many. If I go with the first few that come to mind, I have to say I like psychologically interesting characters like the psychic rabbit, Fiver, from Richard Adams’ ‘Watership Down’, or Golding’s Piggy from ‘Lord of the Flies’.

What's a typical day like for you?

This question made me laugh. I don’t think I’ve never had a ‘typical’ day in my life. That being said, I’m very routine oriented, so I always make sure to carve out one hour right after a large cup of coffee, to do my writing for the day. The rest of the time I often feel like I wander the house like a cat. In truth, I’m a ‘To Do’ list kind of guy. I follow whatever chores I’ve written down for myself and stop when I’m done.

If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would you choose and why?

I think I’d love to enjoy a meal with my dad, who passed away almost 7 years ago. I’d ask him what he would do differently if he could do it all over again. It’s not like we didn’t have a good relationship. We were always in each other’s lives. It’s just that I would have liked to have known the real him instead of him as a father. I bet he’d have some great stories to tell.

What scene in What We Kill was your favorite to write?

That’s a hard one. All I am willing to say is that there is a pivotal scene in the book that I knew was coming but didn’t know exactly when or how. As any author will tell you, characters sometimes tell their own stories through our fingers. I didn’t know this scene was happening until my characters played it out for me. When I finished writing it, I think I was both exhausted and exhilarated, and maybe a little bit teary eyed.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

In writing, NO APOLOGIES. Write what you write, and change it later if change is needed. In real life, CAREFUL, OR YOU’LL END UP IN MY NOVEL.

Howard Odentz is the author of the new book What We Kill.

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