The book started as a memoir and galloped off to become a suspense/thriller. To keep the pace ripping right along I had to remove ten thousand words of backstory.

Russ Hall – 23 November 2014

The Back Flap

Trouble big as all hell. Retired sheriff’s detective Al Quinn hasn’t spoken to his brother, Maury, in twenty years. When Maury lands in the hospital under suspicious circumstances, though, Al reluctantly abandons his quiet country seclusion to look into the matter. A second attempt to take Maury out drives the brothers back to Al’s lakeside home, where Al knows the territory, but they’re not alone for long. ICE agents demand that Maury rat on his silent partner, city cop Fergie Jergens comes investigating the murders of Maury’s lady friends, and someone takes a match to Al’s house. Al soon learns his problems are only getting started-his brother’s in trouble on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Caught in a ruthless power struggle between the ICE and Los Zetas, a vicious Mexican mafia bent on ascendancy, Al learns the hard way who he can trust-and who’s willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. With everything he loves on the line, Al will find out just how far he’ll go to protect his own.

About the book

What is the book about?

A person’s  peaceful ,everyday life can get disrupted by a number of things, but if that relatively innocent life comes face to face with a brutal danger so great and eminent  that survival is odds-against, then that’s disruption!

When Al Quinn retires as a sheriff’s department deputy he hopes for a lot of quiet time alone.  He instead gets involved in his brother Maury’s life. Someone is trying to kill Maury, and Al suspects at first it may be because Maury was a womanizer, the reason Al hasn’t spoken to his brother in twenty years. He’s tempted to leave Maury to his fate, since he’d once been tempted to kill Maury himself. Yet they’re brothers, and blood will have its way, especially when others seek to spill it. Protecting Maury turns out to not be an easy task as they get swept into the vortex of the Texas drug scene and come up against one of the fiercest cells of Mexican mafia.

When did you start writing the book?

I actually started writing a memoir about two brothers growing up together and then falling apart, only to have to reconcile and work together when they must do so to survive.  I first started tinkering with that notion about five years ago.

 How long did it take you to write it?

Normally it takes me about a year-and-a-half to write a novel. This one took over three years.

 Where did you get the idea from?

The idea began as an exploration of the lives of a couple of siblings. The dark shadow that swept over the story to head it toward becoming a thriller is the increasing brutality of the billion-dollar Mexican drug cartels as they compete for business in the U.S. and the rough and tumble federal agencies that combat them.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

The book started as a memoir and galloped off to become a suspense/thriller. To keep the pace ripping right along I had to remove ten thousand words of backstory.

What came easily?

Once the action starts it’s just a matter of hanging onto the characters’ shirttails as they rush pell mell along into the jaws of increasing danger.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

Al Quinn and I share a few things, like fishing, chess, classical music, and living alone. Al’s brother Maury and my brother have little in common at all, thank goodness. All the other characters sprang to life from the usual observed bits of people-watching and speculation writers do.  Then begins the craft of developing the right interests, quirks, and complexities to make them real and interesting, with the right contrast to each other for engaging tension.

 We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

I read a great number of authors, mainstream as well as genre. Those who write about characters I’d like to be around, in settings of interest, and in a compelling voice influence me the most.  Among the authors I’ve read quite a bit: Colin Cotterill, John Burdett, Robert Campbell, Lee Child, Stuart Kaminsky, Dennis Lehane, Elmore Leonard, John J. McDonald, Ross McDonald, Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, Ross Thomas,  and on and on.

 Do you have a target reader?

Al Quinn is different from many past protagonists who are young and attractive. He is retired and his brother is a year older. That puts him in an emerging category some call “geezer” fiction. Colin Cotterill’s 72-year-old Dr. Siri is an example. While I hope people of all ages can enjoy the story, I think folks who are baby boomers can perhaps especially relate and resonate to a story where someone closer to their age confronts life-threatening situations, and does so with a certain elan.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

I often start a book from a moment of tension and move forward from there, getting my protagonist and his friends into increasingly worse scenarios, even painting them into a corner now and again where only heroic action can extricate them.  Also, not knowing what’s going to happen next keeps me interested in the writing, and that translates into stories that readers don’t find formulaic or predictable.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

I outline every book, as soon as I’m done writing it. I believe not outlining helps the book follow its own realistic and organic paths. At a certain point the characters often come to life and speak to me as I drive or mow the lawn. They tell me if they would have said or done something differently than I’d portrayed it. I sometimes have a rough idea of how I think a book will end, but am more times than not surprised since the characters and events nudge me into being true to the story instead of trying to manipulate the plot or scenes.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

I edit constantly. During the writing of each scene or chapter, again after writing, and when I think should be perfect I print out a hard copy and edit again with the cold-blooded tough love editorial side of me.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

I sometimes play classical music. I don’t want anything with words or that calls too much attention to itself while I’m tightly focused on writing.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

Yes, and had interest, but the changing and toughening market helped me decide to go indie with this series.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

The book publishing scene changed considerable with the bookstore redux—Border’s folding, etc. The number of indie bookstores is diminishing rapidly too. It’s going to take new ways to get print and digital books into the hands of readers, so I was looking around for who was trying new things to obtain and maintain momentum.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did it you do it yourself?

Professionally done.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

I have a detailed marketing plan that it open to expansion and fresh ideas and approaches.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

Seek the opinions of other authors in the imprint, if possible. Look for blogs that relate details of the experiences of others. Consider what you gain and what you give up.

End of Interview:

For more, visit Russ Hall’s website.

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