In Scam at Mount Diablo, you blend elements of romance, humor, and mystery into the crime thriller genre. What inspired you to take this approach and how do you balance these different elements in your writing?

As my stories are based on true events, in my experience, in real life, romance, humour ansd mystery are not mutually exclusive nor do they occur sequentailly.

In the darkest of mysteries in one’s life, sparks of humor can appear unexpectedly and at the same time, the beginnings of a love interest can appear. Anyway, my life has been like this. I didn’t have to invent it.

Jack Rhodes is a complex character with both computer and martial arts skills. How did you develop his character, and what challenges did you face in creating such a multi-faceted protagonist?

I have met people who have exceptionall computer and martial arts skils, but in focusing to develp these skills some part of them gets lost or part of them was missing or wired differently in the first place which enable these skills to develope above and beyond the norm. An example is people with autism who exhibit savant capabilities within a narrow focus.

Scam at Mount Diablo is the third book in the series. How has your writing process changed or evolved over the course of your career, and what have you learned from your previous works?

My writing regime hasn’t changed. I rise at 5 am. walk on the beach with my wife, we have breakfast together, she goes to work and I am at my desk by 6:30 am. I then write for three hours, despite what is happening in the world. I have learned that I must ensure that there is consistency in the Jack Rhodes character as well as the secondary characters who are in all the books. Someone once described Jack Rhodes as a Jame Bond Noir, which, when I read it, I realised wasn’t a bad summation.

What advice would you give to aspiring crime and mystery writers who are looking to develop well-drawn characters while also maintaining a thrilling plot full of twists and turns?

When you are next in a coffee shop, get out your notebook, choose someone in the coffee shop (don’t stare) and describe them. Not just there physical charactistics, but what they are wearing and why are they wearing those clothes and what you think is going on in their mind. Then write the most unlikely thing you think they will do. (Maybe this person will come over and smack you because you were staring). A weel later read what you wrote. Write everyday and read every day.

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Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/02/19/the-darkest-mysteries/