How did your experience as a police officer and military police officer influence your writing, particularly “The Hollow”?
I believe our lives are made up of many experiences, and from these we draw our inspirations and ideas. Being a Military Police Officer allowed me at a young age to form a world view of life beyond the safety of childhood. In the Army I met people from all walks of life and learned from them. In the Hollow, and beyond, I bring the harsh realities of being a soldier to the story and use those experiences to shape the life of Bruce Westman.
Being a police officer for 32+ years influences much of my writing. As an officer I received many hours of training, and sought out the classes on serial killers, missing persons, and the effects of child abuse on adults. I believe I wove many of these lessons into the development of my bad guys.
What first inspired you to start writing crime fiction? Was it always a passion, or did it develop over time?
I started writing stories when I was in High School, and most of them involved vampires, werewolves, and other assorted creatures. Bruce Westman was one of these ideas. Back then he chased the vampires or ther things, but then one day I simply placed him up and shelf and forgot about him. Six years ago, I was home up in Connecticut sitting in the parking lot of Globe Hollow swimming pool. It was late fall and the pool was closed. I looked through the fence and thought, what if there was a body floating in the water. From that thought brought back the haracter of Bruce Westman and grounded him.
How does your firsthand knowledge of law enforcement shape the realism in your books?
As I stated above, I took everything law enforcement had to offer as well as many personnel experiences as a soldier and a police officer to shape Bruce's stories. The Hollow is just the first book of Bruce Westman stories. Book 2, Killer Art continues his adventures.
“The Hollow” was published with Dark Ink Publishing. Can you share a bit about the book’s premise and what readers can expect?
In Book 1, The Hollow, Bruce, a former Iraqi war Veteran with PTSD, is chasing a serial killer across Connecticut with his brother, Jeffery, a police detective with the Manchester Police Department. The Hollow is a thriller/suspense story along the lines of James Patterson and David Baldacci. The reader can expect a fast-paced story with many twists laced throughout.
What themes or messages do you hope readers take away from “The Hollow”?
My goal as a writer is to entertain people and leave them guessing as to what will happen next. I'm not there are any messages or themes to take away from the story other than, anyone can be the hero.
Your second and third books in the series are on the way—can you give us a sneak peek into what’s next?
Agent Jerrod Shelby, an FBI agent we meet in book one hires Bruce on the side to assist with a killer stalking prostitutes in an area of the Bronx called Hunts Point. With the assistance of a street walker named Laurie, Bruce races against the clock to stop the Rosary Killer.
In book 3, Missing, Bruce is hired by the dying mother of a girl who has been missing for sixteen years. The story, that begins in Connecticut, travels halfway across the country to Houston, Texas. Bruce is assisted by Laurie from book 2 as she escorts him through the dirty underworld of human trafficking.
Do you consider “The Hollow” a standalone novel, or is it essential to read the series in order?
I believe the Hollow is a necessary read to get to know Bruce Westman and his pain. Deep down, Bruce is a broken and damaged person suffering guilt and trauma from his life experiences. As an avid reader I always wanted to know what happened next in any story I read. As a writer I am the same way.
What kind of research do you conduct when crafting crime and suspense elements in your stories?
I love researching the history of the places where a story takes place and then weaving this information into the book. I explain where and why something exists and how it might have gotten there. For the crime aspect of the story, I draw on my own life experiences.
Are any of the characters in your books inspired by real-life people you encountered in your law enforcement career?
Yes and No. I use the idea of people I know or have seen and create something new. Places and people are woven throughout the stories but only my imagination of them, not who they really are.
How do you balance authenticity in police procedures with the need for dramatic storytelling?
I try to use the KISS method to keep things simple. If people really knew how much paperwork and sitting goes into police work, they might wonder why we ever chose the job in the first place. The paperwork is mountainous. I can't tell you how many trees I must have killed over the years, but all that aside, there were many days when I came home from work and told my wife, "I would have done this for free tonight." There is nothing like chasing the bad guys and catching them. No drug can match that feeling.
Do you find it challenging to write from different perspectives, such as criminals versus law enforcement officers?
Oddly enough, I don't find that hard at all. I find writing for the bad guy easier than the good guy sometimes. I'm not sure what that says about me but getting into their thoughts and ideas almost feels natural.
What’s your writing process like? Do you outline extensively or write more organically?
I am a true organic writer. I write with a point in my head. In the hollow, all I knew for sure was that I wanted a body floating in that pool. I wasn't sure how it got or who was going to find it. I just sat down in front of my laptop, took a breath, and started writing. This is how I have always done my writing. I write a thousand words and then go back to the start and edit and change what I wrote until I like what I see. The next day I go back to the beginning again and edit things once more before pushing a thousand words forward into the story. I do this over and over again until the story is finished, and then I read through the whole thing making changes, explaining things better, and fleshing thing out more. Once this is done, I start the next story because, like i said earlier, I always want to know what comes next.
How do you handle writing intense or dark scenes, given your real-life experience with crime and law enforcement?
Dark and Intense. That is a good to describe my writing style. I don't pull any punches. I allow everything to just hang right on out there. Policework, the things I've seen people do to each other, the harm human beings are capable of doing to one another fills many pages.
After finishing this series, do you have plans for other books, or will you continue expanding this world?
My plans have plans. I am writing book 8 at the moment in the Bruce Westman series. How far the series goes I'm not sure. I'm thinking 12 books but once upon a time I thought 3, so who knows. I am also working on a middle grade fiction story at the moment. When I was a kid, my dad would threaten me with calling someone named Archibald Popscaluski and sending me to the Little Boy Factory. I'm working on creating a whole world centered on a boy taken to this place by Archibald Popscaluski. I also have many stories on the shelf that I've written over the years that I want to take down and rewrite.
How has been your experience working with AllAuthor?
I have nothing but good things to say about working with AllAuthor. I enjoy the cover of the month contest. The Hollow did well, making it into the final round. I didn't win but the experience was a good one.
