Interview of Neil Low, 
author of THICK AS THIEVES

Interviewed by R. Murry

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

I’m a career police officer, having joined the Seattle Police Department as a cadet at age nineteen, forty-five years ago. I’ve risen through the ranks, making captain about eleven years ago. I still love police work, figure I’m contributing to society, and I currently serve as the Night Commander, which means I’m in charge of all police emergency services when all the other brass are in bed—like being a battalion chief at a fire department. I’ve been interested in writing since reading Joe Wambaugh’s New Centurions, when I returned from Naval Service in Vietnam. After reading Wambaugh’sa stories, I vowed that I would write someday, but first I had to go out and gather experience and then learn to write. I did just that. I went back to college in 1995 and graduated cum laude from the University of Washington Bothell in 2003.

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

While in Vietnam I lost my lucky hat, when it fell overboard, off the ship I was on. I dramatized the telling of this non-event to my mother, implying that it was a best friend who had died at sea. She was completely taken-in by the story and didn’t find out until the very end of the letter that it was just my blue cap I was missing. She told me I had a writing talent worth pursuing.

Were you inspired by someone or something?

When I first read Joe Wambaugh’s New Centurions and The Blue Knight, I was impressed that here was someone who understood police officers and could tell our story, something people wanted to hear, if told well. Joe was an active L.A. police sergeant at that time, with a Masters degree in English. I had read detective novels before this, but I think Wambaugh was the first to capture what real police officers dealt with when working the street. It was much grittier and true to life than Adam 12 or Dragnet had ever been. Later, when I went back to college, a professor encouraged me to write a paper on Raymond Chandler and his crime fiction novels, and that was the spark that changed my whole perspective on what and how I wanted to write. I had been a police detective for several years by then, and I was very impressed with Chandler’s style and his craftsmanship in telling stories. I decided to emulate him while telling my own stories. He continues to be my inspiration. I think I’ve read or own everything he’s ever written.

What do you like about writing a story?

When I first started writing, I enjoyed the storytelling process. I write organically, meaning I do not use an outline; I let my characters tell me their story. But as I say this, I know that I have a built-in boiler plate, knowing what is necessary for a criminal case to go to trial. For a novel to be complete enough for publication, it has to meet the same standards as a case for prosecution. All the leads must be followed, and the facts have to logically point to a satisfactory conclusion.  I love sitting down at the computer with the hint of an idea and then typing out what I’ve learned by paying attention to my characters interacting with each other. BUT—this is only part of the fun. I have since learned that there is a lot of pleasure to be had in the rewriting and polishing of the novel, if you are into craftsmanship. I appreciate the creation of a well-turned phrase, and I love adding foreshadowing and alliterations, as well as metaphors and similes. I love the feedback I get when a fan/reader tells me how much they liked my story, and they quote a passage back to me. Makes me feel like Raymond Chandler. This is probably a good point to mention that I have an art background and am a very visual person. I try to write so my readers see what I see, appreciating the detail that makes a story feel real to them and me.

Can you tell us about your book?

THICK AS THIEVES is at its heart a revenge story. Young Alan Stewart has lost his private detective father, who dies in his arms, following a beating, and Alan vows revenge for the murder, even though he’s not yet sure who did it, why they did it, or how he will possibly achieve his goal. As fate would have it, Alan gets hired by his dad’s former employer when he turns twenty-one, and he starts uncovering details of his father’s shadowy life and then learns who killed him. Fate intervenes again, and Alan has a chance to exact revenge on the same men who killed his father--at the exact place where they dealt their death blows to him, while he also protects a friend and mentor, who has helped him become a detective. There is also a factually accurate tie to the Lindbergh kidnapping, which drives this plot forward, and there is a very angry corrupt police official who desperately wants what Alan has found. Blackjacks, beatings, machine guns, pistols, secret passages, ransom money, dark secrets, car chases, and lust.

How did you come up with the story?

While working on another story, involving a vault burglary, I started doing the back story on two of the main characters, which took me away from the outline I was working with. While fleshing in Alan Stewart, I added information a friend had told me about concerning the death of his dad in the 40s, dying of injuries suffered from a beating at a union meeting. When I asked him if the police caught whoever killed his father, he said, “I think it was the police who killed him.” Since we were both police sergeants at this time on the same department, I asked how that could be, and he told me, “It was a different era back then. We had corruption like we’ve never seen in our careers!” Before long, Alan’s back story stretched to eight chapters, and of course it begged the questions: Who killed Mackie Stewart and why? So I followed my instincts and went with the story, letting my characters explain what happened to them. I felt like I was merely the recording secretary of a story being told by ghosts.

What genre best fits for the book?

I write noir murder/mystery.

Are you working on something new at the moment?

THICK AS THIEVES led to a sequel, SIGN OF THE DRAGON, and I’ve followed that with UNREASONABLE PERSUASION, and UNHOLY ALLIANCE. My fifth in the Alan Stewart series is DEADLY ATTRACTION, and it’s due for release mid-November.  All five have been published by Kristen Morris of Tigress Publishing (Seattle and L.A.) who has been a joy to work with. She’s been very active in the book designs, promotions, editing, and concept development.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

Learn as much as you can about writing. Read Stephens King’s On Writing, Robert McKee’s Story, and everything else you can find on your craft. I started reading Writer’s Digest, and now read blogs on writing. And as Ray Bradbury has already said, I urge would-be writers to start writing and make it a habit. Bradbury suggests starting with short-stories, completing one a week, which is what he did, and it’s also how Stephen King honed his skills. I also took every college class I could find on writing or literature, because it is all about learning your craft. I’ll also reiterate what other authors have said: If you want to write, you need to read. Read everything you can and expand your taste in reading. Educate yourself.

Which authors inspire you?

I started with literature and read that before popular fiction, so let’s start with that: Mark Twain, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Toni Morrison, and O. Henry. Moving to crime fiction, I started with The Hardy Boys as a kid, reading every one of their mysteries. And since then, it has been Joe Wambaugh, James Elroy, Dashiell Hammett, and Raymond Chandler, among others. Currently, I’m on a Michael Connelly jag, reading everything I can of his. He does a particularly great job of capturing courtroom drama. Having spent a lot of time in court as a detective, I’m impressed how an outsider can gain such keen insight into how the “system” works/doesn’t work, while explaining it in an entertaining manner.

Where can people go to read your work?

My novels are available in print, and all bookstores can order them through Partner’s West Distributing. Or, they can order them at discount through my website: http://neillow.com/  I’m also available on Kindle at: http://www.amazon.com/Thieves-Detectives-Stewart-Deward-ebook/dp/B004XQWQVS/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1345782046&sr=8-3

Where can people find you on the internet?

http://neillow.com/ 

Face book, under Neil Low, and

Twitter: @TheMasterThief

Is there anything else you would like to share with your readers?

For would-be writers, I would encourage them to make their stories as perfect as they can before trying to submit their work. There really is no such thing as a perfect first draft that comes as a gift from the gods. Everything authors write can and should be improved upon. A writer has an implicit duty to do this before submission. Make it as tight as possible, and if they’re still serious about submitting their work or publishing it electronically, hire a professional editor to go over it first. I would also urge authors to search out the right publishing arrangement that works for them, helping them create something they will be proud to see on a book shelf. Personally, I’d be concerned about a company that just wanted to slap a cover on the first draft they saw, having no marketing plan, and leaving the writer disappointed with a garage full of books s/he can’t sell. If your followers have technical questions on writing, detective work, or publishing, they can contact me through my website, or message me at Twitter, providing contact information. As long as I’m not overwhelmed, time permitting, I’d be glad to answer their questions.

Review of Space Orville

Review of: Space Orville

Reviewer: R. Murry

Jeff’s imagination took possession of my mind from the start of this space odyssey.  He invents characters, places, words, and scenes that could only have been produced with much time and effort.

Colors will pulse, turn into a glowballs, become liquid blankets, and smooch to name a few ways they are used.  Objects exist but you can’t see them; and they chuffled, wheebling, and merbled.  As you can see, he makes up words that flow well in the situation they're put, and make you laugh, because of their usage.

 

Space Orville, a sixteen year old, is out to catch the bad guy Bizmo while a host of characters are after the Weezle Bums.  They come together to search for the villains.

For me to try to describe the characters would do discredit to Mr. Whelan’s superb effort.  There’s NeutroFuzz, Space Orville’s side-kick who performs what Orville describes as amazing tricks, and then there are the General, Commander, and Ivan.  Lidweena and her Spoonies, Zabooka, and Miles are also contributors in trying to find the universal criminals.

We visit the land of the Reality Free Zone, Andorica, Narvosis and Selador to name a few.  I know I missed one or two, because there are many interesting places in Mr. Whelan’s universe of conscious,

subconscious, and dreams that we as humans traverse.  Examples are: Miles hands Space Orville the Fog Napkin, an instrument of life or death, saying, “Remember, that’s a lot of time you’ve got on your hands.”  Zabooka says to Space Orville’s group, “…You may not know which way you’re going, but that won’ stop you from getting somewhere.”

There are gadgets that are mind boggling.  And again, for me to describe them would be fruitless.  I’ll just say you will enjoy seeing hearing, and watching what they do through Mr. Whelan’s colorful and descriptive prose.

Purchase at http://amzn.to/1txiZQa .     

     

Review of The Desolate Garden

               The Desolate Garden         

By Danny Kemp

Reviewed by R. Murry

“Me, being the irrepressible confident soul that I am, I figuratively dived into the ruck and went searching for the ball.” is a quote of the Honourable Harry Paterson at the beginning of this character-driven suspense who-done-it novel.  Moreover, it was not the butler who did it, as in many an English murder story alludes.  As you can see by the spelling of honorable, I had to use an Oxford dictionary to read this book. Just kidding, the story is written that any non-Englishman could follow without trouble.

For those Americans, like myself, “Diving into the ruck” is a rugby term meaning getting down and dirty, taking the ball and running with it, which Harry attempts to do in the investigation into the murder of his father.  However, he is sidetracked by his chauvinistic ways.

The other main character in this novel interwoven with killings, espionage, money laundering, family lineages, is Judith Meadows.  She is the unlikely government investigator brought in to solve the central crime, which turns into unraveling a book of offenses that crisscrosses international boundaries.  So it may seem.

Who is the instigator of the crime?  That is what Judy and H. are spending their brain power on trying to figure out.  They become familiar with their communications to the point that H. thinks he is falling in love.  Mr. Kemp’s dialog between these two leads one to believe that we have a love story in the making.  His characters fit well together – their wit and sarcasm have you expecting a marriage in the making.

Things are more complicated in Mr. Kemp’s tales of the haves against the have-nots in politics, money, power, and greed. You have to be quick of mind to follow the plot and all the intriguing individuals that make up this journey through a world of decadence and corruption.  The effort is well worth spent.

The novel ends with a surprise that not even Lord Harry Peterson or Judith Meadows would have conjured up.  The enemy is closer than you think.

Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2Y4D0EP

 

Legacy Forgotten by Nicole Hill

Review of Nicole Hill's

Legacy Forgotten

Reviewed by Author R. Murry

“Relax,” Camelita told her (Ailis,) “The answer will come to you.  Most of the time the answer we see most is the one we cannot find.”

This is the premise of Legacy Forgotten.  Kenneth, a vampire, is looking for his place in life, even though he has live hundreds of them.  Monolo is destroying the world is the center of.  Ailis is coming of age in strength and wisdom as a women leader.  All these main characters are looking for something that is right in front of them, but they can’t grasp it.

They are all interwoven into finding what is important to them.  And that turns out to be a Legacy Forgotten, which is found through conflict that is foiled by sanity of women’s love for an ideal – somewhat a love story.

Vampire lore and legacy, I have little knowledge of.  Ms. Hill makes it clear in an entertaining way to a novice like me through her literary descriptions.

All I all, I enjoyed the adventure into yore, but give Ms. Hill’s effort Three Stars, because the story was somewhat difficult for me to follow for one who has limited knowledge in Vampire oddities.  However, I believe the book would be a welcome addition to a blood sucker’s library. 

Purchase at Amazon.com:  Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Forgotten-1-Nicole-Hill/dp/1477460853/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343914329&sr=1-1&keywords=legacy+forgotten

Review of R, Murry's book The Audubon Caper

The Audubon Caper: Untold Story of the Theft of an American Treasure

Written by R. Murry

Guest Reviewer: Theresa Braun

R. Murry’s The Audubon Caper was a fast-paced story.  There are so many things going on in this creative non-fiction tale.  One of the greatest things about this book is that it’s based on a true story.  I kept thinking about that as I read, noting that definitely truth can be stranger than fiction.  Murry’s writing lets us really get to know him.  He’s frequently very open about his thoughts and feelings throughout the tale, something I really enjoyed.  We see him get caught up in drugs, booze, and sex, very fitting for the 70s scene—yet he graduates from college and accomplishes a lot, such as surviving Viet Nam and a number of other military feats.  Some other adventures include running drugs and flying off to Haiti.

            The story keeps us on our toes, shifting from the present and going into the past, and around again.  Murry tells us one of the reasons he gets involved in stealing the Audubon paintings is because of being loosened up by cocaine and scotch.  His rich college buddy van Zandt ends up roping Murry into the theft by using the powers of friendship.  In addition, Murry has vowed to van Zandt’s father to keep an eye on him, keeping him out of prison.  We see Murry getting in way over his head and that’s before we learn about the big named mafia guys who are connected to van Zandt.    

            Much of the story takes place in Key West, where the theft and the trial take place.  Murry’s colorful description of Key West is well done, as are his noting of details of his characters, giving us a rundown of what they wear and drink.  We get a really good historical sense of the significance of the Audubon paintings, something Murry does well.  It’s also fascinating how easily these artistic treasures are taken.  

Dancing with the FBI is one of the best parts of the story.  Murry explains his complex feelings about having already served his country in war and then having to serve his country to help catch the mob.  The trial where Murry testifies about his involvement in the Audubon Caper is really intense.  We see his having to think about himself and his new wife he hopes to be reunited with at the end of the story.  Murry has to outsmart van Zandt’s lawyer and many other players in the whole legal debacle.  We want to see him succeed and make it into the witness protection program as he is promised by the FBI.  Murry builds effective suspense at the end of his tale and we get a satisfying conclusion—partly because we know he lives to write about it. 

Review of Theresa Braun's Groom and Doom

Review of Theresa Braun's Groom and Doom

Reviewed by R. Murry

Ms. Braun writes very well about the love story of Angela and her Greek god Stavros.  One statement, in the Pre-Wedding part of the tale, says a lot about what will follow.  Angela gets a psychic reading that basically states the love affair won’t work.  She gets upset and cries – she cries many times in the story.  Her friend consoles her by saying, “Forget him (His reading.) There’re always Whackos out there.”

Well, I’m not saying Whacko is a word I would use for all the characters in this novella, but I would say that the main characters lack mental fortitude.  Angela is living in a fantasy world when it comes to her love for Stavros.  She loves the mystic of the Greek world he’s from.  To her, he is not like any other man she knows, meaning he is not endowed with the masculine side she sees in others she has dated.

What Angela doesn’t see is that he is not the man, who stands up for his own - his lover – first.  It’s not in his character.  He is lovey-dovey though.  This character flaw doesn’t come out until the Wedding Trip, where his father, Georgius, is the main “Axe hole,” as Theresa states towards the end of her story.  She doesn’t even stand up for herself or her family.  Fools and whackos fall in love for stupid reasons.  Who am I to judge?

The Love Birds are in Greece for their marriage.  All doesn’t go the way Angela or Stavros cared for, because his father presents problems every chance he can against the wedding proceedings.  A non-excuse in my mind is his wife died eleven months ago; and the family must mourn her death for twelve.  A Greek tradition is not properly revered and stains the whole wedding celebrations – end of world.

Everything else in this novella is secondary but important to the characters development: family members fight over who gets what – cars, rooms, places at dinner, background, setting, etc., while preparing for the wedding.  All could have been avoided if Angela asked Stavros one question when he said he loved her and asked her “Will you marry me?”  That question should have been, “Which is it, me or your family?”  A harsh question, but it’s a realistic one before getting married. 

I know what the answer to that question would have been and so does Angela.  Then there wouldn’t have been a Greek Wedding in Greece.  The wedding would have been in the USA or there would not have been one.

Ms. Braun weaves a good story that shows the naiveté and flawed traits of her characters to their fullest.  This novella is geared towards women and is not the type of book I would normally read, but I must say it’s a tear jerker that soap opera fans would love.

Therefore, I give this endeavor FOUR STARS.

You may purchase:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Groom+and+Doom%3A+A+Greek+Love+Story  OR http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/groom-and-doom-theresa-braun/1111638850?ean=2940014695541

          

Interview with Theresa Braun, Author of Groom and Doom: A Greek Love Story

Interviewed by R. Murry.  A Review of Groom and Doom is forth coming.

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

I grew up in Minnesota and now live in South Florida.  I’m a recovering English teacher, having taught for about fourteen years.  Every minute I can get, I’m writing or doing research for my next project.  I would love to read more.  Finding symbolic or thematic meaning in a writer’s work is so much fun, which is one of the reasons I became an English teacher.  Also, I’m very interested in psychology and how people think and act.  Every day is a great lesson in character studies.  I’m also very fascinated by the unexplained, whether that be the possibility of past lives or the paranormal.  Ghosts, angels, demons, all interest me very much.

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

I’ve always been writing and creating things.  As a child I would write my own greeting cards for my parents and relatives.  I then started keeping a diary or journal.  There are notebooks upon notebooks of stories that I’ve started writing that are sitting in my closet right now.  I had the most fun in school when it came to creative writing—whether it be a poem or short story.

Were you inspired by someone or something?

Groom and Doom was inspired by my wedding in Greece.  The experience was so unbelievable, I knew that truth was stranger than fiction and I had to write the story.  Things are fictionalized and exaggerated, but there are definitely some real truths in it.  The whole process of writing it and making parts of it even more ridiculous was very cathartic for me.   

What do you like about writing a story?

I love the process of writing and getting in touch with the deepest part of myself.  I’d like to think that comes out in my work.  It’s also such a thrill to write a sentence and wonder, did I really write that?  I really believe that we often can tap into the collective unconscious.  That’s really what bonds us as human beings—we’re all somehow connected and can respond to universal truths.  Shakespeare is proof of that—it’s why he’s still relevant today.

Can you tell us about your book?

The main character tries to make sense of tragedy in her life and search for spiritual answers/meaning.  She tries to look at what happens to her as a way to find self-empowerment and be a stronger person.  One of the themes is "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger."  The book covers a wide range of life questions like can we live happily ever after with a soul mate, or is it more complicated than that?  I also try to get the reader to wonder why things really happen to us.  How can we learn from life experiences?  Although there are some tragic moments, I also make an effort to make situations and reactions to them humorous.  I feel we need to laugh at life and its circumstances as much as possible.  If we don’t laugh, we cry.  Laughing is always better.

How did you come up with the story?

During the wedding in Greece, I found myself taking notes and knew I would use them in a book.  To me, that was a sign I had to write the story.

What genre best fits for the book?

I’m not really sure how to answer that.  It’s part family drama, part romantic tragi-comedy; it’s spiritual, and so many other things.  I would probably say it falls most closely under chicklit, partly because my target audience is women.  

Are you working on something new at the moment?

I've already begun writing another novel set in Renaissance England.  It will have more sex and violence in it and will be part of a series.  The main character struggles to find herself and her personal empowerment in a time period when women had little power.  Gender roles and issues of self-esteem really fascinate me.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

Write, write, and write some more.  Set aside a specific time to write and always carry a little notepad to take down thoughts.  What really helped me was to join a writers’ group.  I found great ones on Meetup.com.  It’s a way to get feedback and to network.  I also found that it would make me write something every week to bring to the meetings—it’s a fabulous way to have a deadline.  Twitter has also been an incredible way to network.  There are so many writers who post tips or have blogs on writing. 

Which authors inspire you?

The list is endless and it really depends on my mood.  Vonnegut is one of my favorites because he took so many risks in his writing and because he often surprised me with his subject matter.  I love gothic literature—Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  I also enjoy great satire—Catch-22 was an amazing read for me.  Books sometimes find me when I need them.  Eat, Pray, Love was given to me by a friend when I was going through a tough time.  It was the right book at the right time.  I really could go on all day about my favorite books or authors.  David Sedaris is such a superb comedic author—and I’ve met him personally.  He takes the time to talk to all of his fans and is very gracious.  That truly inspires me.

Where can people go to read your work?

The book is on Amazon and on Barnes and Noble.  Sample chapters are available on my website.

Where can people find you on the internet?

http://www.theresabraunauthor.com

Is there anything else you would like to share with your readers?

I just hope that my readers will not only enjoy my books, but be able to gain something meaningful.  A successful book leaves us with something—an inspirational thought or discussion.  That is my wish for my readers.