Author interview: Todd Bush

As you know, I have featured a number of best-selling authors here on my blog. But I also like to bring you the occasional undiscovered gem (like Carol Carr, for example) because new writers need readers, too.

Today I want to introduce you to a versatile and very talented writer. He has two young adult books out, adventure stories for boys, but I particularly enjoy his adult fiction. I see them as "noir" stories but I'll let him discuss the delicacies of sub-genre. I'll stop at "crime fiction." Excellent crime fiction, too, with characters who pop out of the page and brilliant voice.

Ladies and gentlemen, Todd Bush.

First, you write under the name "Scott Chase," a pen name. Why is that?

I wrote my YA thrillers under my real name, Todd Bush. However, I also love writing darker, noir tales that you wouldn't want your average teenager picking up simply because the same person wrote it. So it's really about branding. Todd Bush is for YA stuff, whereas Scott Chase will be the name I will write stories and novels geared toward adults.

Ah, yes, very sensible. Now, tell us what does "noir" mean exactly in the literary sense?

Welcome to one of the longest, and at times most annoying, literary arguments going today! Crime fiction has two main sub-genres: hard-boiled fiction and noir fiction. Otto Penzler, the owner of the famous Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, wrote that the difference is in the psychological outlook of the stories and their characters. Penzler suggests that hard-boiled stories, mainly those with a private detective at the center of the tale, have a positive outlook on the world even if the hard drinking, dour PI doesn't; noir, he says, contains none of the positive aspects of its cousin, but rather glorify the negative.

I tend to think in basic, simple terms. Noir stories lack hope. The characters are heading on a path toward doom and destruction. They think it is because of their actions, and thus their direction can be altered; unbeknownst to them, it is because of who they are, and not what they have done, that they cannot change their fates. This lack of hope is what separates the two and makes noir so distinctive.

When I look at picture of a city's skyline at night, I don't see the lights or the buildings. I see the shadows and I wonder what's going on in all that darkness. The same goes for people. Luke Skywalker was a pretty cool guy, but I want to know all about Darth Vader. He was well-rounded, he'd seen his dark side and decided to turn toward it. That was the basis for my interest in the genre.

Makes sense. Now, tell us about your wonderfully titled book, "The Backseat Virgin: A South Florida Noir Collection"

This is from the back of the book itself and describes it perfectly: South Florida is glitz, glamour, surf and sand. But it’s also full of shadows, a place where life's hard road crawls through back alleys, dark corners and right up to the doorstep of the sexiest place on earth. Some say this dark side is the very thing that makes it sexy. This collection of stories shows the hidden side of South Florida, and the human soul, in all its noir glory.

The inspiration of the stories came from watching a few documentaries on South Florida during the late 1970's and early 1980's, during the drug boom and the ensuing war in the streets. I thought it was a perfect place to search for that darkness, that lack of hope.

Where can people find and download it?

It is available for download at Amazon.com, BN.com and can be purchased in print at Amazon.

Who influenced you most in this style of writing?

I didn't even think about trying to do this kind of writing until I read James Ellroy's The Black Dahlia. It was fun to think about writing something that was not only a great story, but also a window into a time and place that so many people wanted to learn about. Ellory is a master.

So who are the good noir writers these days?

George Pelecanos is the best going right now. He is best known as a writer for the TV series, "The Wire." Also, John Rector and Steve Sidor (his early stuff), who you have interviewed on this blog, could be considered noir writers. It's tough, because certain people write mysteries that could be noir. However, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the queen of noir, Megan Abbot. If you haven't read Pelecanos or Abbot, do so. Soon.

These stories conjure images of Bogart and Cagney... do you have a favorite classic crime movie?

That's really a compliment. One reviewer said that it was nearly impossible to read this collection without seeing the action in black & white. To be compared to the classics like that is a real honor. I like the old movies. "Double Indemnity" is good, so is "The Postman Always Rings Twice". "Chinatown" is great. But lately, some newer films have touched on noir and done it quite well, including "The Big Easy", "Memento", "The Machinist", and "Fight Club" are tremendous examples of modern, or neo-noir.

Tell us about your normal life, what you do and who you are when you're not writing.

I work at a high school. In fact, I am a teacher, trying to educate our youth about writing. It's a tough job because they have two diametrically opposing forces pulling them away from good technique. First, society is abandoning the written word for texting and Twitter and boiling our lives down to 140 characters; second, modern educational theory puts out the theory that bland is good and creative thinking is bad. Drives me nuts.

I do have a family, contrary to the dark tone of my writing. My wife and I live in South Florida, have one son and another baby on the way.

That's one busy life -- when do you find time to write?

That is a great question, especially considering this time of year. Normally, I write at night after work, sitting at my dining room table with my in-laws watching TV in the living room and my wife watching TV in the den. Not the ideal quiet space, but it works for me. However with summer coming to an end, I am going to have to put a lot of my writing on hold. Aside from being a teacher at a high school, I also am an assistant football coach at the same high school, and football season starts in August. So until December, I'll be busy and writing will take a little bit of a back seat. Once again, it's not ideal, and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who is starting out, but it works for me.

What do you think about the self-publishing, e-publishing revolution?

Some people see this as a two-front war, with those who espouse the traditional publishing model on one side, and those who claim digital is the way to go and the traditional way is dead on the other. I disagree. Both are methods of getting stories to readers, which is the goal of every writer. I self-published two YA novels before this collection, Rick Frost & the Alaskan Adventure and Rick Frost & the Sword of Calibum, both available in print and as an ebook on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I tried to find an agent, and had two that were interested. In the end, I decided that I wanted to get my product out to readers quicker than the standard two year wait of traditional publishing. Some might say that was a bad decision because I haven't sold tens of thousands of copies, but my books have only been out for a month. And as a smarter person than I once said, "it's a marathon, not a sprint." I think both ways of publishing are going to be around and continuing to give readers entertainment for a long time. Hopefully, I'll be along with them.

I'm guessing you will. Thanks, and much success to you!

Author interview: David Lindsey

My devoted readers are thinking, 'Wait, not the David Lindsey?'

To which I reply, 'Oh yes, yes indeed.'

David was kind enough to grant me an interview over a year ago. It is here. The full story is that I emailed him asking if I could send some questions, and he wrote back and said, "How about we do coffee instead?" We ended up doing both, and a nicer man you couldn't wish to meet. Seriously, he spent several hours talking to me about writing and the intricacies of the publishing world, and I was most grateful. A real gentleman.

And this is why I'm so excited to host him here again, you see, he's not published a book for a while. Seven years to be precise, which is a great loss to the thriller world.

Until now.

Oh yes, he's back. A slight change of name, but we won't hold that against him. Here's a new, and quick, interview with him. If you want to see more, David also has a new website.

Welcome back to the blog, you are our first repeat author! You have a new book out, please tell us about it.
Thank you for asking me back again. I appreciate it.

In Pacific Heights, a San Francisco psychoanalyst named Vera List discovers that two of her clients, both women, are having an affair with the same man. The women don’t know each other, and Vera doesn’t know the man’s identity. She realizes that the man must be breaking into her confidential files because he’s using information that could only be found there to manipulate his way into the women’s lives. Terrified by this discovery, Vera hires Marten Fane, a former intelligence officer with the San Francisco Police Department, to discover the man’s identity and stop him. And she wants all of this resolved discreetly, without anyone ever knowing what has happened.

Fane's search takes him into the secret lives of two troubled women who are unaware that they have become the central players in a deadly scheme that has frightening consequences far beyond their own involvement. As Fane unravels the latticework of lies entangling the women, he struggles with a faceless puppeteer who is himself manipulated by an even darker, and more powerful, agency of deception.

Though Pacific Heights introduces Marten Fane who will appear in subsequent novels, it isn’t part of a traditional new series in which Fane is the protagonist in a string of separate stories. The story that is introduced in Pacific Heights will play out over multiple novels. In this regard Pacific Heights is more akin to the first episode in a serial novel, rather than the first novel of a series. This is the beginning of a story that is larger than Pacific Heights. The themes, characters, and story threads that are introduced here will continue, and Marten Fane will continue to struggle with the complexities of what he discovers—and uncovers—in Pacific Heights.

I’ll be the first to acknowledge that this is an ambitious concept. I realize that the “Marten Fane” story is unorthodox in terms of what mystery/thriller/suspense/spy readers are used to seeing. Strictly speaking, this concept is a hybrid. It’s none of those genre categories exclusively, and yet it’s all of them at one time or another as the story unfolds. The readers, as always, will ultimately decide whether or not this works. As a writer, I’m very excited to be telling a story like this, and I hope I’m able to draw my readers into this larger vision.

So you are using a nom de plume - why is that?
The pseudonym is the child of several fathers. I had proposed the idea to my agent at that time nearly ten years ago. I wanted to write a couple of novels that didn’t really fit into the mold of the kind of the novels I had become known for writing. Once you develop a fan base by writing certain kinds of novels, many readers have very specific expectations of your forthcoming books. They want more of the same. “Something like the last one, but different.” At that time, I ended up not using a pseudonym, or writing the different kind of novel I wanted to write. Now seven years have passed since my last novel. I have a new agent. I have a new publisher. And I have a new idea for a different kind of approach to storytelling. It seemed to me to be a good time to try the pseudonym again and, hopefully, signal the readers to be prepared for something different.

You have an event where people can meet you in Austin, right? Are you doing more of a book tour?
Yes, I’ll be speaking and signing books at Book People on July 11, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Before that I’ll be on a panel at ThrillerFest VI in New York, and after that I’ll be in Houston, then San Francisco, then at the Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale. After that, I don’t know yet.

What's next for Paul Harper?
As I mentioned above, there will be other Marten Fane novels. I’m already into the next one (and late for the next deadline).

And will we be seeing something by David Lindsey any time in the future?
Paul Harper is in the driver’s seat for a while I think. Options, of course, are always open.

Just a wee taste, I know. But I encourage you to try his new book, and his old ones, too. Hard to pick a favorite but I really loved RULES OF SILENCE and MERCY.

Thanks David, and come back soon!

Author interview: John Rector

Finally, another author interview. Good one too, because not only is he a fantastic storyteller but he speaks his mind. Love that.

His name is John Rector and he's a prize-winning short story writer and author of the novels THE COLD KISS (optioned for a feature film now in development), and THE GROVE. He's also the friend of a friend (thanks to author Todd Bush for the introduction) and has garnered the praise of mega-authors like Ken Bruen and Eric Van Lustbader. Yeah. Pretty cool.

By the way, I can say that I have read one of John's books, which ain't always the case with my author interviews. THE COLD KISS is really, really excellent. [Insert cliche about not being able to put it down, and note that some cliches are truisms.]

Anyway, the interview:

• Did you always want to be a writer, or did you come to it as an adult?

I didn’t think about writing until I turned thirty and decided to give it a shot. I’d always been an avid reader, but English was always my worst subject in school. Writing a book was something other people did, definitely not me.

• Did you have a lot of support when you began writing, or did you suffer the same raised eyebrow most of us do? In other words, what kept you motivated at the start of your career?

I had a lot of support from my wife, and that’s all that mattered. I didn’t care what other people thought, and looking back now, I’m sure a few people rolled their eyes and laughed behind my back, but who cares? Those people are irrelevant.

The sad fact is that when you decide to create something, whether it’s a novel or a painting or a song or whatever, there will always be some little prick standing safely on the sidelines trying to make you feel like shit about it. Art is intimidating to some people, especially to the ones who aren’t creative themselves, and more often than not, their response is to attack. All you can do is recognize them for what they are and dismiss them. It’s not hard to do.
As far as what kept me motivated... It’s the same thing that keeps me motivated today, an overpowering fear of failure.

• Are you able to write full-time, or are you holding down a regular job, too?

If I was childless, I’d be able to write full time, but with two pre-school age kids running around, I need the security of a regular paycheck.

• What is your writing schedule?

I’m a slow writer, but I try to get in at least three pages a day.

• Do you work in a study, all alone, or do you prefer a cafe where there are people to watch (and bug you!)?

I have an office in my house where I can lock the door and block out the world. I could never work in public. I’m too easily distracted.

• Do you actively look for story ideas (combing newspapers etc), or do they just come to you?

I’ve never actively looked for a story, and I’m not sure going out and combing the papers would work for me. Every idea I’ve had has come to me as a whisper. I’ve never had an idea explode in my head where I had to grab the nearest pen and paper and start writing. It’s always something small, and it’s usually visual. If I don’t have an idea to work on I’ll just start typing and see where it leads. I’ll let what I’m writing introduce me to the characters and setting, and if it’s good, it’ll build from there. That’s how The Cold Kiss started. I just sat down and wrote the opening scene off the top of my head. That was the first time I met any of those characters.

• How on earth did you manage to get Ken Bruen and Eric van Lustbader to blurb The Cold Kiss (if you're allowed to reveal that info)?

Those came about through contacts my agent had, or through the publisher. When you release a book with a major publisher, they’ll usually help solicit blurbs by sending the book to people who might be interested. I’ve since met Eric and Scott Phillips and was able to thank them in person for the blurbs, but I haven’t had the opportunity to meet Ken yet. I hope to soon. I’m a big fan.

• What are you working on, and when might we see it?

Right now I’m working on my fourth novel, and I hope to have it done by the fall. My third novel, ALREADY GONE, is coming out on October 25th in the US, and December 8th in the UK.

• How much energy do you put into the language aspect of your novels, the “art” so to speak?

The majority of my energy goes toward the language. My goal is to make everything I write as clean and simple as I possibly can. I don’t want a single sentence in a novel that will make the reader stumble. I want the prose to be invisible, and that’s a lot harder than it looks. I’ll tinker with one line for hours.

• What was your favorite novel of 2010?

It wasn’t a novel, rather a collection of novellas, but Stephen King’s Full Dark No Stars was fantastic.

• If you could offer just one piece of advice to aspiring novelists, what would it be?

Get rid of your TV. Pack it up, sell it, whatever you have to do to get rid of it. Don’t just cut back on what you watch, don’t watch it at all, ever. Once you do that, read everything you can get your hands on. Read outside your genre, and read the masters who came before you. They have a lot to teach if you’re open to learn. Then write, everyday.

• Do you outline your novels?

Yes, but I don’t consider it an outline as much as a roadmap. One thing about writing a novel is that you have to work on it everyday if you want it to be good, and if you’re like me, there are bad days when the last thing you want to do is be creative. If I had to sit down on one of those days and try to figure out what I needed to write and how it was going to fit into the novel, I’d never finish anything. What my roadmap (or outline) does is show me where I am in the book and where I need to go. I don’t care how bad of a day I’ve had, if I know what I have to write that day, I can always knock out a few words.

• Do you recommend any specific "how-to" writing books for mystery/thriller writers?

Writing Mystery/Thriller novels is really no different than writing any novel. The basics are the same. If you’re a rank beginner who isn’t sure how to start, Stephen King’s On Writing is the best book you’ll find. If you’ve been at it for a while, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers is practically required reading.

• What is the value of writing conferences -- do you attend, or have a favorite?

I’ve been to a few conferences, and I’ve met some great people, but I’m not sold on their value. Conferences are basically a great way to make contacts and reconnect with other writers who you never see, but that’s about it. Whether that’s worth the cost of attending is the question.

• What do you think of the e-book debate - is the trend away from paper books it good for authors, readers, publishers, anyone, everyone?

I think ebooks are great for authors because it’s making everyone take a new look at how things are done and how writers are paid. Right now there is a lot of speculation about the future, but no one really knows what’s going to happen, and I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. All I can do is keep writing. The format my books are published in doesn’t matter, because in the end, it’s all about content.

Author interview: Steven Sidor

It is a truly rare occasion when I will finish a book and immediately rush out and grab another by the same author. It's a quirk of my personality that I love change, in almost all things. So after reading a military-style thriller by, say, Stephen Leather, I'll plump for the artistry of French author Fred Vargas, and then toughen it up with something by Don Winslow.

But you remember my camping trip? I finished up THE MIRROR'S EDGE by Steven Sidor on that trip. And then, ignoring three books waiting on my nightstand, I went out and grabbed a copy of SKIN RIVER.

Steve's going to see this post so I feel stupid gushing. Read his books.

That's all I'll say.

And, as an added bonus to that recommendation, here's the man behind the pen, Steven Sidor (here's his website, and his blog is a link on my blogroll already):

• Did you always want to be a writer, or did you come to it as an adult?

I decided I wanted to be a writer around age seven. I read no fiction at the time. Mostly I liked books about world disasters and strange trivia. The first things I wrote were one-act plays which my teachers let the class perform on Fridays. In truth, I stole my ideas from the old Carol Burnett show, except there were a lot more gunfights in my plays. I also performed magic at school talent shows, and I told scary stories to bullies so they wouldn’t beat me up – that’s the root of it all.

• What is your writing schedule?

I’ve written all four of my novels late at night and on the weekends. I used to drink a pot of coffee around 9pm. That committed me because I was going to be wide awake one way or the other, so I might as well be writing. I’m a big believer in writing efficiently, but I need a good chunk of time, at least a two-hour bite. I can reread/edit myself in little bursts. I’m a stay-at-home dad so I’ve learned to improvise. Recently, my schedule changed. Both my kids are in school. I write in the mornings for a few hours, and then I go to the gym and lift weights. I come home, take a shower, and rewrite. Then I read.

I work in a basement office, on a desktop. It’s quite nice down there . . . carpeted, heated, warmly lit . . . and I have a great big desk a friend built for me. I face a blank wall. No windows. Distractions will undo me, so I eliminate them. I’ve had no TV access in my home for fifteen years. Seriously, if I had TV I would have no books with my name on them – I’ll watch anything, even test patterns.

• Have you ever thought about writing in a different genre?

I freely blend genres in my writing these days. Thriller, mystery, horror, sci-fi – I think the most exciting genre writing is no longer purely in one field but a mix. I’ve never felt boxed-in by genre; to the contrary, I think you can do things in genre fiction that you can’t in mainstream or literary fiction.

• You have a new novel coming out, PITCH DARK, tell us about it.

PITCH DARK is a supernatural thriller about a young woman on the run from a cult. She’s stolen something from them, and they’ll do anything to get it back. During a Christmas Eve blizzard, the woman holes up at a roadside motel on Minnesota’s northern border. The family that runs the motel has encountered unspeakable evil before, and now they’ll have to protect themselves and the rest of the world from an evil called The Pitch. It’s the most action-packed book I’ve written, and I hope readers will enjoy all the twists and surprises I built in.

• How much energy do you put into the language aspect of your novels, the “art” so to speak?

I write relatively slowly. Two keeper pages per day is good for me. Five is a great day. I pay a lot of attention to language. The telling of a story is what appeals to me as a reader, so I focus on that as a writer. I don’t like flavorless writing. I want style. The style I prefer usually is pretty stripped-down and energetic. I hate padding. I don’t want to read somebody’s research. I’m easily bored as a reader, and nothing bores me more than pages of bland extraneous writing that should have been edited out. When it comes to editing my own work, I’m a cutter – a taker-outer. Less is more. When I go too far, then less is less and I have to put more ink on the page. I’m quick to give up on any book I’m reading if the writing gets lazy or bogs down. I hope to avoid those same mistakes when I write.

• If you could offer just one piece of advice to aspiring novelists, what would it be?

Quit. Seriously, if you can quit then you should. Go get a hobby. Writing to publish is a thankless, painful, and heartbreaking enterprise. If you can get by without it, then take the out. Now, if you can’t live without it, then my advice would be different. Never quit. No matter what. Write every day. Read more.

• Do you outline your novels?

I can’t outline a novel. I’ve tried. If I outline, then the story dies for me. I feel like I’ve already written it. I prepare for writing a novel by writing detailed character sketches. I also storyboard the plot. I take very small sticky notes and jot a word or two about scenes I want to appear in the book, and then I arrange them on a large black poster board that I keep next to my computer. As I progress, I rip down the notes for scenes I’ve written and I add new ones. Plotting is the hardest part of novel writing. Anything you can do to help, you should. I just can’t outline.

• Do you recommend any specific "how-to" writing books for mystery/thriller writers?

I think every writer needs to find his or her own way. “How-to” books never helped me much. Many aspiring novelists think there’s some secret to writing a book, a magic formula. Sitting down and doing it is the only thing I know that works. The best book I ever read about writing is probably pretty hard to find these days, and the information in it might be a little dated. But Dean Koontz’s “How to Write Best Selling Fiction” taught me a lot of practical tips.

• What do you think of the e-book debate - is the trend away from paper books good for authors, readers, publishers, anyone, everyone?

I’m terrible at predicting trends. Given that, it seems obvious to me that the future is digital. Books will go the way of LPs. Some folks will love them and collect them but most won’t. The younger generations will have little or no attachment to paper. Publishers will eventually catch up to readers, who at this point are ahead of the industry on the tech side, as they were with the music business. Storytelling will always find a way to reach people. I’ll try to do the same.

Author interview: Mark Russinovich

You may not have heard of him yet, but my guess is you will. Well, clearly you will because I'm talking about him.

You know what I mean.

He's that rare breed of fiction writer, the guy who writes about scary things that might actually happen. His first novel, ZERO DAY is now out, and not only is it getting rave reviews as a work of fiction but I'm also reading comments about how it may be a glimpse into the future.

Check it out.

Oh, while we're at it, meet Mark Russinovich:

Did you always want to be a writer, or did you come to it as an adult?
I was a voracious reader from a very young age. Like many boys, I was fascinated by science fiction, especially hard-core science fiction that’s grounded in science. I probably read most of the collective works of Asimov, Heinlein, Pohl, Niven and several other author classic sci-fi authors.

I knew that someday I wanted to craft a story anchored in technology, and expected that it would be a sci-fi novel. In seventh grade when a friend got an Apple II and we spent hours writing programs, I knew I wanted a career in computers. I also wanted to share and educate and wrote my first article for the magazine COMPUTE! when I was a senior in high school. I continued my writing as a columnist for Windows NT Magazine (now Windows IT Pro Magazine) and in 2000 coauthored my first non-fiction book, Inside Windows 2000. The book covers the internal operation of Windows and I’ve since coauthored two additional editions of the book, which is now called Windows Internals.

In around 2004, the germ of an idea for a novel emerged and I finally began writing Zero Day in early 2005.

Did you have a lot of support when you began writing, or did you suffer the same raised eyebrow most of us do? In other words, what kept you motivated at the start of your career?

Only a few people knew I was writing a book and they were all very supportive. My wife and close friends read numerous drafts and provided great constructive feedback. It was only a couple of months ago that I announced to the world that the book was coming out.

What is your writing schedule? I'm guessing a full time job interferes with what you'd like it to be...

Yes, it’s hard to find time to write. I generally do it in the mornings before work and in the evenings, but the bulk I get done on weekends. Squeezing it in like that makes it take a long time to write, but that gives me opportunity to think through pretty carefully where the book is and where I’d like it go. I started working on the sequel about a year ago and may have a draft to start sharing with friends in another few months.

Do you work in a study, all alone, or do you prefer a cafe where there are people to watch (and bug you!)?

I definitely prefer to study alone and undisturbed in my home office. I’m easily thrown off by modern distractions like email so have to even shut down by email client so that I can get into the writing zone.

You have a new novel coming out, ZERO DAY, tell us about it.

Zero Day is a book about a scenario that, frankly, I’m surprised hasn’t yet occurred. After the virus waves of 2000-2003, it became obvious to me that a relatively minor effort by a few computer-experts could cause destruction that would easily dwarf that of 9/11. It’s the perfect weapon for terrorist because it has the potential for much wider damage than a physical attack, is virtually anonymous, and is based on technology that’s readily accessible.

I decided in 2005 to raise awareness and thought it writing a thriller would be a fun and effective way of doing that. It shows how such an attack could unfold, with typical thriller misdirection and plot twists.

Was the journey from idea to publication as you'd imagined?

Not at all. I thought with my background as an expert in the field with non-fiction books and an established audience (my blog is read by tens of thousands of people a month) that I’d have no trouble finding an agent and then a publisher. That didn’t seem to have much influence, though, and I received a few dozen agent rejections and a dozen publisher rejections. Many times during the process I seriously considered giving up on mainstream publishing and going the self-publishing route. I even researched self-publishing options. But every time I was on the verge of giving up, something would happen either to keep my hopes alive or to keep the ball moving and here I about six years after I started with a published novel. My agent, Ann Collette, was great support.

Your novel is very reality based, no? Do envisage it making any impact on the way people view technology?

It was one of my intentions to highlight just how dependent we are on technology. Like many things we take for granted, I don’t think people worry about what would happen if their PC died and they lost all the data on it until it happens to them or a friend. And that includes small business owners. Even large corporations get lax about verifying backups or developing contingency plans in the event that their main servers crash and won’t recover.

At a larger scale, we also need to be more thoughtful about the design of our infrastructure systems, including power and other utilities. Boundaries need to be erected between them and the Internet and they need to be subdivided such that cyber-attacks are isolated to just part of the system. Today, there’s very little of that formalized thinking.

Who are your favorite authors?

Besides some of the science fiction authors I’ve mentioned, Michael Crichton has a special spot in my list. I remember reading The Andromeda Strain when I was in seventh grade and being fascinated by the science he weaved into the story. He did it in a way that taught you while entertaining and I finished the book feeling smarter than when I had started. The experience I had with Jurassic Park was the same. I knew that if I wrote a novel that I would strive for the same authenticity and try to give even non-technical readers an understanding of the technology on which the story was based.

What was your favorite thriller/mystery novel of 2010?

It’s hard to pick one because I don’t necessarily read books as they are being released. Most of the thrillers I read in 2010 weren’t released in 2010. A couple of exceptions were Daniel Suarez’s Freedom, the sequel to his first novel, Daemon. Daniel’s books are also cyberthillers, though more futuristic in their portrayal of technology. In some cases I don’t think we’ll see what he imagines for several decades, but it was a great read nonetheless.

A 2010 non-fiction book I thought was great was Cyberwarefare by Richard Clarke and Robert Knake. Like my novel Zero Day, it’s a wakeup call that highlights how unprepared we are for a world where wars are fought in cyberspace. Richard and Robert not only describe the current state, but make concrete recommendations for improving our defenses.

If you could offer just one piece of advice to aspiring novelists, what would it be?

First, try to look at your work objectively and get as much feedback from friends as possible. Don’t be afraid to go back and rework parts of the book that slow the plot. And most of all, if you believe that you have a good story, don’t give up trying to get it published. It can be a long process, but like you always hear, there’s a good bit of luck involved to getting a first novel published that you’ll only find with persistence.

Have you, or will you, attend writing conferences? Which one(s)?

Yes, I plan on attending Bouchercon in St Louis in September. My agent recommended it as one of the best writer conferences for meeting readers, reviewers, and other established writers. My agent put me in contact with another writer that’s attended several years and she had nothing but glowing things to say about the great experience and sharing she’d had there.

What's next, another novel in the works?

I actually have three books coming out this year: Zero Day, which is non-fiction, the 6^th edition of the Windows Internals book, and The Sysinternals Administrator’s Reference. The Sysinternals Administrator’s Reference is a book I’m coauthoring on how to use the computer administration and troubleshooting tools I’ve created.

I’m also working on the sequel to Zero Day. I don’t have a firm title yet, but the book involves China, oil, and Iran’s nuclear program and is based on the real-world cyber-espionage that we’ve seen China engaged in. All the major powers have cyber operations that spy on, and in some cases interfere, with the activities of other nations. The attacks on Google last year and the Stuxnet virus attack on Iran are just some of the examples we’re aware of.

What do you think of the e-book debate - is the trend away from paper books it good for authors, readers, publishers, anyone, everyone?

I think it’s good for authors and publishers, but it’s going to take the publishers time to adapt. There’s no shortage of demand for quality writing and publishers are generally a good filter for good content. They’ll continue to serve that role, but e-books democratize the publishing business and enable authors that otherwise wouldn’t ever have a voice to get published. We’ve already seen cases of first-time authors create a large following and earn some good income self-publishing on Kindle.

I ultimately think that, while the e-book business might be around ten percent of physical books today, in ten years you’ll see that ratio close to inverted. Publishers will have to take a much more active role in marketing authors to stay relevant.

Author interview: J.T. Ellison

And they just keep getting better.

You know, it's not just gratifying when great writers agree to do interviews, but when they really take their time to answer the questions, to show us a little about themselves, it's an absolute thrill. This week, I'm ecstatic to have J.T. Ellison on the blog. She's the best-selling author of the Taylor Jackson series that started with the acclaimed ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS and continues with. . . well, you can read about her new one, below.

And do check out her website - so many author sites are old or clunky (or both). Ms. Ellison's contains a wealth of information about her, her books, and writing generally.

And, for heaven's sake, buy her books. They are awesome and so is she.

Did you always want to be a writer growing up, or did you come to it as an adult?

Both. I was a huge reader as a kid, and wrote the requisite horrible poetry about my loves – boys who kissed me, rock formations, clouds, blue sky and cats… Eventually I went to school for a creative writing degree. I was actually a double major in English and Politics. My senior thesis advisor wouldn’t write me a recommendation to the MFA program I wanted, told me I’d never get published. So I quit writing and got involved in the political world, got my Masters at GW in Politics instead of the MFA. I didn’t come back to writing for fifteen years, when I found John Sandford. Reading the Prey series reminded me of what I loved most about writing – storytelling. I decided on the spot that I wanted to be a storyteller, ASAP.

Did you have a lot of support when you began writing, or did you suffer the same raised eyebrow most of us do? In other words, what kept you motivated at the start of your career?

My husband, absolutely. And my parents. They all seemed to believe I had it in me to write, even though I barely believed it myself. My husband let me stay home and write full time instead of getting a job, and that made all the difference. Not just the time factor, but because I had to teach myself HOW to write, and that took almost a year. The storytelling came naturally, but I didn’t have the first idea about how to write a novel. I ended up deconstructing a Sandford book, chapter by chapter, until I finally saw the patterns emerging. Then I tried it for myself.

What is your writing schedule?

I used to be militant about shutting things down and working from 12 - 4 daily. As the pressures of writing, editing and promoting two books a year mount, I find myself snatching time whenever I can get it. I’m always working – whether my fingers are on the keyboard or not. The mental writing is vital to the actual writing for me. I map the story out in my head, then go to it. I’m getting back on the 12 - 4 schedule though. Mornings are usually for business, but I’m turning some of the heavy lifting over to an assistant so I can focus on the creative again.

Do you work in a study, all alone, or do you prefer a cafe where there are people to watch (and bug you!)?

I’m a loner, no doubt. I’m a magpie, easily distracted by shiny objects. I need quiet and solitude to coax my Muse into showing herself. She can be quite shy. That is, when she’s not being a totally slutty wanton beast, begging me to tease her into being. She does that a lot too.

Do you actively look for story ideas (combing newspapers etc.), or do they just come to you?

That’s a good question. I read a lot online. Crimes and stories catch my attention, and I usually glance at them, then pop them into Evernote to be looked at later. I also have an idea box, with newspaper clippings, story ideas, titles… Strangely enough, I find that I rarely look through either of those forums for ideas. I guess the good ones lodge in my head. I bookmarked a story last year that really got under my skin, and now I’m writing it, so I guess my system works, however ragged it may be.

As a full-time writer, do you miss the hustle and bustle of a 'normal' working day, or do you get enough interaction in other ways?

No. Absolutely not. It’s terrible to say that, I know, but I really am happier all by myself. I never did play well with others. And I stopped working in an office environment in 1998, so all I remember was how annoying the constant interruptions would get. Ironically, I tried to go to my husband’s office to work yesterday, and I ended up looking out the window at the skyline, cursing the fact that I didn’t have my wrist pad, wondering who the big hulking dude was in the hall and whether he was going to break into my office, and why no one ever seems to flush toilets anymore. Very, very distracting. At home all I have to battle is my cat’s incessant need to be in my lap. I use Facebook, Twitter, email and the phone to interact with people, and it works great for me.

Have you ever thought about writing in a different genre?

Sure. But it always boils down to crime for me – I think it’s the act that transcends genres.

Am I right in thinking Lee Child blurbed your first novel? How on earth did you manage that?!

Lee is a darling man who was quite keen on helping a group of new writers all published in 2007 called Killer Year. He was assigned as my mentor through ITW’s debut author program, and I was so honored to have him. He was incredibly kind to me, in myriad ways, and taught me so much about publishing. And trust me, that blurb made me cry.

You have a new novel coming out, tell us about it.

SO CLOSE THE HAND OF DEATH is in stores now – it is the sequel to 14. The Snow White’s Apprentice, now called the Pretender, is back, and making his final move in the chess game he’s been playing with homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson. But Taylor doesn’t play games. She is a vengeful angel in this book, out to stop the Pretender at all costs, even if it takes everything from her - her moral code, her sense of justice, even her life.

How much energy do you put into the language aspect of your novels, the “art” so to speak?

A lot. Like everyone, I’m always learning and growing, searching for the best way to phrase something for the most impact. I’m not a reviser in the sense that I belabor a sentence until it’s perfect. Instead, I’ll go back and adjust as necessary during the revision process. I write fast and try not to think about it too much until I hit that second draft. Then all bets are off and I’m working very hard to make sure my meaning is succinct and crystal clear and the language is vivid without being purple and bruised.

Who are your favorite authors and inspirations?

John Sandford, who inspired the Taylor Jackson series, John Connolly, who inspired my ever-evolving writing style, Lee Child, who’s friendship and guidance has been invaluable. The thriller chicks: Tess Gerritsen, Erica Spindler, Alex Kava, Karin Slaughter and Allison Brennan, for showing me how not to compromise my subject matter just because I’m a woman. Diana Gabaldon, for teaching me how to create worlds. J.K. Rowling, for teaching me to follow my heart. Sharon Penman, Karleen Koen, Danielle Steele and Mary Stewart, for helping me move from children’s books to adult books (i.e.: teaching me the differences between love, romance and sex. I guess I better include Judy Blume’s FOREVER in there too, for that very reason.) Ayn Rand’s ANTHEM changed my life, Book VII of Plato’s REPUBLIC got me into graduate school, Sun Tzu’s THE ART OF WAR helped me find my soul mate, and my all-time favorite, LOLITA, by Vladimir Nabokov, showed me it’s possible to have lovable monsters.

What was your favorite thriller/mystery novel of 2010?

Oh, that’s an impossible question. Put it this way, I gobbled up Daniel Silva’s THE REMBRANT AFFAIR and Suzanne Collins HUNGER GAMES trilogy.

If you could offer just one piece of advice to aspiring novelists, what would it be?

Read everything, and try your best to write every day, even if you feel like it’s crap. 750 words of crap can be refined into 500 gossamer, silky threads, and if you do that every day for six months, you’ll have a novel.

Do you outline your novels?

I try desperately not to, because any time I know what’s happening next, I get bored and lose momentum. I do a lot of mental planning, building around particular scenes that occur solely in my head, and that seems to work best. Every time I outline I get very grumpy. At times it’s necessary, but that kind of outline for me is very top line – no more than a single sentence describing the chapter’s message, purpose or climactic event.

Do you recommend any specific "how-to" writing books for mystery/thriller writers?

On Writing - Stephen King
Write Away - Elizabeth George
The Writer's Journey - Christopher Vogler
Screenwriting Tips for Authors - Alexandra Sokoloff
Forest For The Trees - Betsy Lerner
The War of Art – Steven Pressfield
The Creative Habit – Twyla Tharp
Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life – Winifred Gallagher
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Hamlet's Blackberry - William Powers

What is the value of writing conferences -- do you attend, or have a favorite?

They are invaluable, because you can meet everyone – heroes, agents, editors… there isn’t a better way to get involved in the writing community than sharing a few sweaty, tipsy days with a bunch of fellow writers and readers. Thrillerfest is always a good time. And my favorite small conference is Mayhem in the Midlands, in Omaha, Nebraska. It’s stellar.

You participate in a blog, Muderati: is that for marketing purposes, to connect with other writers, or just 'cos?

I’ve been on Murderati from the beginning. It started as a way to market myself, because I didn’t have a book deal, and was nascently involved with my wonderful agent. We’ve built a lovely community or readers and writers who speak the truth about the industry. I think it’s the most important forum I participate in.

What do you think of the e-book debate - is the trend away from paper books it good for authors, readers, publishers, anyone, everyone?

I want readers to read, and I don’t care what format they choose so long as they’re reading. That said, I never thought ebooks would kill the bookstores. I’m crushed to see the carnage out there right now. It’s horrid. I hope that somehow, someway, we can save our bookstores. That’s paramount right now.

Thanks so much for having me, Mark!