Left for Death follows a seasoned detective on his last case that turns out to be connected to a child trafficking with connections to the police department. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

I wanted to create a story that was dark and emotional. I’ve read many cozy light-hearted Murder She Wrote kind of mysteries, but that’s not my writing style. I wanted it to be something that would hit the reader hard and make them wince a bit. Some reviewers have stated they felt the story was a bit too dark, and too much like real life, but that’s exactly what I was aiming for.

Detective John Sandes is an intriguing character. What were some driving ideals behind his character’s development?

He is loosely based on my late father Joseph D’Aquisto Sr. who died in 2002. Much of his back story is similar minus his career as a police detective. Both of their personal experiences with family members draw certain parallels. He had always talked about moving to Seattle when he was alive. That never happened for him. Funny enough, it was actually me who ended up living in the Pacific Northwest for several years in Vancouver, B.C. and spending lots of time in Seattle as well.

I kind of created this character using my father as a base. As I write a follow-up to Left For Death, I have to remind myself that John Sandes is not my father, and there are differences between the two. Sometimes I think to myself “Would my father really do something like this?”, well maybe not, but that’s okay because this character isn’t actually my father. I’m become more accepting of the fact that the characters are splitting a bit. The character of John Sandes will become more of his own in future books.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

I think child trafficking is a huge problem today, and has been for a very long time. It was important for me to look at a serious crime. I didn’t want a reader to pick up my story to read about something petty.

Another theme that was important to me was family issues. I think many people assume that people have relatively normal upbringings. One of the most important lessons is not assuming everyone has similar upbringings and home-life situations

What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

I am working on a sequel to this book. John Sandes will once again be the main character. It takes place a few years after.

Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon